Last month, Seoul's indicators for dwellings supply deteriorated across the board. Permit approvals, housing starts, and completions all fell from a year earlier. As concerns about supply shortages persisted, transactions for Seoul dwellings nearly doubled from the same period last year despite the "triple regulation" of designated regulated areas and land transaction permit zones.
The problem of unsold dwellings in non-capital regions persisted. In particular, the volume of unsold dwellings after completion, classified as malignant unsold inventory, increased.
On the 27th, according to January dwellings statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of permits in Seoul was 1,266 households, down 55.9% from the same period a year earlier (2,783 households).
In the capital region as well, permit approvals were 8,636 households, a decrease of 42.9% from the same month a year earlier (15,128 households). In contrast, during the same period, non-capital permit approvals were 7,895 households, up 7.8% from the same month a year earlier (7,324 households).
Dwellings housing starts also decreased in Seoul. Seoul's January starts were 741 households, down 63.7% from the same month a year earlier (2,044 households). In the capital region, starts reached 7,529 households, a surge of 88.9% from the same month a year earlier (3,985 households). In non-capital regions, only 3,785 households broke ground, with starts down 38.9% from January last year (6,193 households).
Seoul's dwelling completions last month were 3,817 households, down 19.8% from the same month a year earlier (4,762 households). During the same period, completions in the capital region also fell 27.3% to 11,660 households, while non-capital completions dropped 58.4% to 10,680 households.
Seoul's January pre-sale volume was 959 households, down 12.6% from the same month a year earlier (1,097 households). In the capital region, 6,040 households were offered for sale, up 67.0% from January last year (3,617 households). In non-capital regions, January pre-sales were 1,860 households, down 51.3%.
Last month, transactions for dwelling sales in Seoul increased sharply, led by apartments. The total number of Seoul dwelling transactions was 9,574, up 80.4% from the same month a year earlier (5,307). That was an 11.8% increase from the previous month. Of these, apartment transactions accounted for 5,945. They rose 83.9% from a year earlier and 22.0% from the previous month.
Nationwide dwelling sales transactions totaled 61,450, up 60.4% from the same month a year earlier but down 2.3% from December last year. In the capital region, 30,142 transactions were recorded, up 68.9% from January last year and 3.8% from the previous month.
In the provinces, 31,308 dwelling sales were completed. That was up 52.9% from the same month a year earlier but down 7.5% from the previous month.
For jeonse and monthly rent transactions, 253,410 deals were concluded nationwide. That was down 0.3% from the previous month and up 26.3% from the same month a year earlier. Notably, the increase in monthly rent transactions outpaced jeonse. Nationwide monthly rent transactions were 169,305, up 42.5% from a year earlier. Jeonse rose 2.7% to 84,105.
The issue of unsold dwellings in the provinces remains severe. Nationwide unsold dwellings in January were 66,576 households, an increase of 0.1% (66 households) from the previous month (66,510 households). Non-capital unsold inventory accounted for 48,695 households, or 73.1% of the total, but fell 3.8% (1,932 households) from the previous month. In the capital region, unsold dwellings rose 12.6% (1,988 households) from the previous month to 17,881 households.
In particular, the volume of unsold dwellings after completion—classified as malignant unsold inventory because they remain unsold even after being fully built—was tallied at 29,555 households. This was up 3.2% (914 households) from the previous month (28,641 households).