"Let's Wait and See": 46.2% Plan to Sell Homes Next Year, Down 8 Percentage Points from First Half [Real Estate AtoZ]

Survey of Zigbang App Users
69.9% Plan to Buy a Home Within a Year
Fewer Intend to Sell, Market Adopts Wait-and-See Approach

Seven out of ten respondents said they plan to purchase a home next year. The proportion of those willing to sell was 46%, down 8.6 percentage points from the first half of the year.

Zigbang announced on the 29th the results of its 2026 housing market outlook survey, which was conducted with 485 users of its app from December 3 to 17. According to the survey, the percentage of respondents who plan to buy a house within the next year decreased from 73.1% in the first half to 69.9% as of this month. The proportion of those planning to sell dropped from 54.8% to 46.2%.

When examining the reasons for purchasing, demand for home buying for actual residence was found to be strong. The most common reason was "moving from rental to homeownership," accounting for 46.6%. This was followed by "moving to a different area" (22.7%) and "moving to a larger or smaller space" (10.3%). In contrast, the proportions for "investment purposes such as capital gains" (7.4%) and "rental income purposes" (2.9%) were low.

Regarding the budget for home purchases, the most frequent responses were "300 million won or less" (31.9%) and "over 300 million won up to 600 million won" (38.9%). Responses in the 600 million won or less range accounted for 70.8% of the total. "Over 600 million won up to 900 million won" was 16.8%, and "over 900 million won" was about 12%, indicating that demand is relatively concentrated in the mid- to low-priced housing segment.

As for the timing of home purchases, the most common answer was "the first quarter of 2026" (45.7%). Including "the second quarter" (18.3%), 64% of respondents were considering buying in the first half of the year. This suggests that rather than planning over a long period, many are focusing on making decisions in the first half of next year.

The willingness to sell has declined compared to the first half of the year. This appears to reflect the impact of rising home prices since the first half, with more people choosing to wait and see how prices develop before making a decision. The main reason for planning to sell was "moving to a different area" at 34.8%, followed by "moving to a larger or smaller space" (17.4%), indicating that most sales are driven by actual housing needs. The most common timing for selling was "the first quarter of 2026" (48.2%), followed by "the second quarter" (17.0%).

Among those with no plans to sell, the most common reason was "for actual residence (single household, single home) or not owning a home" (55.6%). This was followed by "because it seems home prices are rising" (11.5%) and "waiting for the right time to sell" (10.7%).

Experts point out that changes in internal and external factors such as interest rates, exchange rates, and loan regulations could alter market conditions, so it is important to comprehensively examine the supply and demand structure in areas of interest.

Kim Eunsun, Head of the Big Data Lab at Zigbang, explained, "Core areas with proven demand are likely to maintain stable price trends, but regions with lingering supply burdens or weak demand bases are seeing differences in the pace of recovery, and this is likely to continue in 2026. Since market perceptions can differ depending on local conditions, individual housing purposes, and financial situations, it is more important than ever to carefully review these conditions."