In Daegu, where the crisis of unsold apartments after completion is severe, those units declined for four straight months. On the surface, the unsold crisis appears to be easing, but in reality it is only a temporary halt in supply that has prevented an increase in severely unsold inventory. Since this is not a recovery in transactions centered on end users, some say fundamental measures are needed to resolve the unsold crisis.
According to unsold dwellings statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 9th, as of September, Daegu had 3,669 unsold apartments after completion, down a slight 0.9% from the previous month (3,702 units). A decline has continued for four consecutive months since June. However, it still remains the highest among the nation's 17 cities and provinces.
The reason unsold dwellings after completion are decreasing in Daegu is that recent supply volumes are shrinking rapidly. Projects that obtained permits or broke ground during the price upcycle have completed move-ins, and since then, with interest rates rising and concerns over real estate project financing (PF) insolvency, housing developers are reluctant to push projects forward. In addition, since 2023, Daegu City has put a complete hold on permits for dwellings construction.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), housing starts that totaled 12,691 units in January–September 2022 plunged to 1,144 units and 2,249 units in the same period of 2023 and 2024. This year, the figure was 734 units, down about 67.3% from last year. As a result, presales were also low this year at 2,969 units. In November, not a single new presale was conducted.
However, some say that merely choking off the supply of dwellings makes it difficult to resolve the severely unsold crisis. Recently, as the dwellings market has shifted toward end users rather than investors, preference for regional markets has declined further, leading to projections that it will become even harder to clear Daegu's unsold inventory.
Even in Daegu, excluding Suseong District, which has strong demand as a top school district, there are concerns that resolving the unsold crisis will be even more difficult. Unsold dwellings in Daegu are concentrated with more than 1,000 units each in three districts: 2,661 units in Dalseo District, 1,299 in Dong District, and 1,188 in Buk District.
A representative at A Real Estate Agency in Dong District, Daegu, said, "Suseong District has consistently held up, but other areas have been in a slump for a long time," and added, "There are no transactions at all and no inquiries, so not only is the real estate market depressed, but many real estate agencies are closing their doors."
Ko Jun-seok, chief professor at the Sangnam Institute of Management at Yonsei University, said, "Just as other areas in Seoul do not all rise simply because prices go up in the three Gangnam districts, regional markets see even more concentration in places like Haeundae District in Busan and Suseong District in Daegu," and added, "Also, with various regulations, the preference for one solid home has strengthened, making it hard for regional real estate slumps to recover quickly. In particular, Daegu has accumulated a lot of unsold inventory, so unless end users flock there, recovery will not be easy."