Sejong leads nationwide apartment occupancy forecast as Seoul surges past 110

This month, the national apartment occupancy outlook index has increased compared to last month. Sejong recorded the highest value nationwide.

The Korea Institute of Housing Industry noted on the 13th that the national apartment occupancy outlook index for May was recorded at 95.1 based on a survey of housing businesses. This is an increase of 7.6 points from the previous month (87.5). The occupancy outlook index is an indicator that predicts whether a person who has purchased an apartment can normally make the final payment and move in; a value below 100 indicates a dominant negative outlook on the occupancy market, while a value above 100 signifies a prevailing positive outlook.

By region, Sejong recorded 123, which is an increase of 14.7 points from the previous month, making it the highest in the country. The Korea Institute of Housing Industry analyzed that "political expectations are growing ahead of the presidential election, with the transfer of the National Assembly and presidential office pledges leading to a relatively undervalued perception of previously declining housing prices, strongly driving the rebound in the Daejeon and Chungcheong areas."

Seoul (110.2), Daejeon (100), Chungbuk (100), Chungnam (100), Ulsan (100), and Jeonbuk (100) also recorded values above the benchmark of 100. It is the first time since October of last year that the occupancy outlook index in Seoul has exceeded 110. Recently, the rise in apartment sale prices in Seoul has led to a sense of recovery spreading across the metropolitan area.

In the metropolitan area as a whole, the index recorded 99, an increase of 12.6 points from the previous month (86.4), while the metropolitan cities recorded 97.9 and the provincial areas recorded 91.5.

The Korea Institute of Housing Industry analyzed that "the decline in lending rates and the rising housing prices in the key metropolitan areas and large cities such as Ulsan and Sejong are stimulating market recovery sentiment, and as demand avoids regulation ahead of the implementation of the third phase of the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) scheduled for July, demand for occupancy is becoming concentrated."

Meanwhile, the national apartment occupancy rate in April was 73.7%, an increase of 3.9 percentage points from March. The metropolitan area stood at 83.5%, while the non-metropolitan area was at 71.6%, both rising compared to the previous month.