The government has rolled out supply and financing support measures for rental dwellings to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market, but there are projections that it will be difficult to ease instability in rental markets in Seoul and the greater capital area in the short term. Newly supplied dwellings take years to reach actual move-in, while the number of apartments scheduled for occupancy in Seoul next year will fall 24% from this year. Some analysts also say that if jeonse loans for some owners of a single home are restricted starting next year, demand for half-jeonse and monthly rent could rise further.
On the 13th, the government announced a plan to quickly supply dwellings to stabilize the jeonse, monthly rent, and sales market. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will introduce financial support for long-term private rentals operated for 20 years or more, and expand support for businesses to increase non-apartment supply such as villas and row houses.
It will also newly introduce universal public rental dwellings and universal jeonse rentals for young adults. Supply of specialized rental dwellings for young adults, newlyweds, and older adults will be increased to 7,500 units per year by 2030.
The government will also push the jeonse and monthly rent safe trust program. Under the program, tenants' jeonse deposits are entrusted to the jeonse and monthly rent stabilization entity managed by the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), and the entity invests the funds and pays the landlord the investment revenue like monthly rent. It is designed to protect tenants' jeonse deposits while providing landlords with regular rental income.
However, there are concerns that the supply measures will not be able to resolve the immediate shortage of jeonse and monthly rent listings. The new public housing sites and major urban supply sites included in this package mostly aim to break ground in 2027–2030. Actual move-in takes several more years even after groundbreaking.
By contrast, the number of apartments available for occupancy in Seoul will decrease further next year. According to Real Estate R114, the number of apartments scheduled for occupancy in Seoul in 2027, excluding rental dwellings, is 13,019 units. That is a 24.4% decrease from 17,210 units this year.
Kim Hak-ryeol, head of the Smart Tube Real Estate Research Institute, said the package is a long-term supply plan, making it difficult to increase immediate move-in volume, and pointed out that in Seoul, measures to supplement supply by revitalizing existing dwellings transactions were left out. Seo Jin-hyung, a professor in the real estate law and administration department at Kwangwoon University, also said, "The supply plan will help, but its impact on the market will be limited," adding, "There is a lack of measures to immediately increase jeonse and monthly rent supply."
There are also projections that the jeonse loan regulations the Financial Services Commission will implement starting Jan. 1 next year could further stimulate demand for monthly rent. The regulations target owners of a single home who rent out apartments in the capital area and other regulated areas and who, along with their spouses, have no history of residing in the dwelling. In principle, they will face restrictions on new jeonse loans and extensions of existing loans. Exceptions will be allowed in cases such as planned self-occupancy or when a landlord cannot return the deposit.
The market expects the regulations to reduce some jeonse demand, but believes monthly rent demand could rise as single-home owners who rent out their own home and live on jeonse elsewhere switch to half-jeonse or monthly rent. Nam Hyuk-woo of the Woori Bank Real Estate Research Institute said some single-home owners who cannot extend their loans may return to the home they are renting out or choose half-jeonse or monthly rent.
In the mid to long term, there are also assessments that the package could lay the groundwork for stabilizing the rental market. Kim Hyo-seon, senior real estate expert at KB Kookmin Bank, said, "There can be no ultra-short-term measures in the rental market," and assessed that if the supply of purchase-type rental dwellings increases quickly and additional new housing sites continue to be supplied, it could help stabilize the market.