Last month, the apartment occupancy rate in Seoul was the highest it has been in 2 years and 9 months. This is analyzed to be influenced by the spring moving season and the temporary lifting of land transaction permit areas.
The Korea Housing Industry Institute (KHI) noted that, according to a survey conducted on housing developers from 18th to 26th last month, the apartment occupancy rate in Seoul for March was recorded at 90.6%, an increase of 9.5 percentage points (p) from the previous month. It is the first time the occupancy rate for apartments in Seoul has exceeded 90% since July 2022, when it recorded 93.1%, marking 2 years and 9 months.
Thanks to the increase in Seoul, the occupancy rate in the metropolitan area also rose by 1.3 percentage points to 81.5% compared to the previous month. It has been rising for three consecutive months since January (74.1%). No Hee-soon, a researcher at the Korea Housing Industry Institute, explained, "Due to the lifting of the land transaction permit system, expectations for a 'good' single unit have risen, and the volume of housing supply in the metropolitan area has decreased, leading to an increase in occupancy rates."
The occupancy rate in non-metropolitan areas fell by 13.2 percentage points to 55.1%, the lowest since the survey began in July 2017, reaching a record low of 7 years and 9 months. By region, the declines were significant in Daejeon and Chungcheong regions (73.0%→51.7%), Jeju region (75.7%→57.0%), and Daegu, Busan, and Gyeongsang region (69.1%→58.3%).
The KHI evaluated, "Market instability and multiple-homeowner regulations are causing buying forces to concentrate in Seoul and some metropolitan areas, raising concerns about the worsening polarization between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas." The national apartment occupancy rate fell to 59.8%, down 10.6 percentage points from the previous month.
Last month, the main reason for unoccupied units was delays in selling existing dwellings, which accounted for 40.7%. This was followed by ▲ not securing final payment loans (31.5%) ▲ not securing tenants (13.0%) ▲ delays in selling subscription rights (7.4%).
This month, the national apartment occupancy outlook index rose to 87.5, an increase of 13.7 points from last month. If the index exceeds the baseline of 100, it indicates a dominant positive outlook for the occupancy market, while falling below 100 suggests a prevalence of negative expectations. The metropolitan area (72.4→86.4) rose by 14.0 points, while the large cities (71.9→92.2) increased by 20.3 points, and the provincial areas (75.9→84.5) rose by 8.6 points.