Last year, the number of dwellings owned by foreigners in Korea exceeded 100,000. More than half of these were owned by Chinese individuals.
According to the foreign land and dwelling ownership statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as of the end of 2024, there were 100,216 dwellings owned by foreigners as of the end of last year. This represents about 0.52% of all dwellings, an increase of 5,158 dwellings (5.4%) compared to six months ago.
The number of foreigners owning dwellings in Korea was 98,581. By nationality, Chinese individuals owned the most, with 56,301 dwellings (56.0%). The number of dwellings owned by Chinese individuals increased by 3,503 dwellings (6.6%) compared to six months ago. Following that, Americans owned 22,031 apartments (21.9%), and Canadians owned 6,315 dwellings (6.3%).
Among the dwellings owned by foreigners, 72.7% (72,868 dwellings) are concentrated in the metropolitan area. There are 39,144 dwellings in Gyeonggi Province, 23,741 in Seoul, and 9,983 in Incheon. In the regions outside the capital, there are 27,348 dwellings (27.3%).
By local government, the largest number of foreign-owned dwellings are in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province (5,203 dwellings, 5.2%), followed by Ansan, Gyeonggi Province (5,033 dwellings, 5.0%), Suwon, Gyeonggi Province (3,429 dwellings, 3.4%), and Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province (2,984 dwellings, 3.0%).
By type of dwelling, there were 91,518 residential complexes. Specifically, there are 60,654 apartments and 30,864 multi-family dwellings. Single-family homes accounted for 8,698 dwellings.
Of foreign dwelling owners, 93.4% (92,089 individuals) owned one dwelling. Those owning two dwellings accounted for 5.3% (5,182 individuals), and those owning three or more dwellings constituted 1.3% (1,310 individuals).
In terms of land, the area owned by foreigners is 267,905,000 square meters, accounting for about 0.27% of the total national land area. The publicly announced land value held by foreigners is 33.4892 trillion won, reflecting a 1.4% increase from the previous year.
By nationality, Americans are the largest landowners at 53.5%, followed by Chinese at 7.9% and Europeans at 7.1%. By region, Gyeonggi Province accounts for 18.5%, Jeollanam-do for 14.7%, and Gyeongsangbuk-do for 13.6%.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted that it plans to thoroughly investigate any suspicious transactions related to foreign land and dwelling ownership statistics and transaction reports, strictly managing foreign real estate speculative transactions.