The number of properties that went to auction due to an inability to repay loans has been counted at nearly 130,000 this year. This is the highest number in 11 years since 2013.
According to the 16th court registration information center, the number of applications for the commencement of voluntary auctions for real estate (land, buildings, and multi-unit buildings) from January to November this year is 129,703. This is the largest scale since 148,701 in 2013 and an increase of 35% compared to last year’s 105,614.
Voluntary auctions occur when a debtor who has borrowed money from banks and other financial institutions using real estate as collateral fails to repay the principal or interest for more than three months, leading to the auction of the property to recover the loan. In 2021, there were 66,248 cases and in 2022, there were 65,586 cases, but the number has doubled due to high-interest rates and a downturn in the real estate market.
In particular, the number of voluntary auctions for multi-unit buildings, such as apartments and officetels, has increased. From January to November, the number of applications for the commencement of voluntary auctions for multi-unit buildings was 51,853, up 48% from 35,149 in the same period last year.
Looking at this year’s voluntary auction numbers for multi-unit buildings by province, Gyeonggi accounted for the most at 10,694, making up 33% of the total. This is a 73% increase compared to the same period last year. Following were Busan with 6,428 cases, Seoul with 5,466 cases, and Incheon with 3,820 cases.