In June, the national apartment occupancy outlook index fell by 7.2 points from the previous month.
According to a survey conducted on June 12 by the Korea Housing Industry Research Institute of housing providers, the national apartment occupancy outlook index for June was recorded at 87.9, down 7.2 points from the previous month.
In the metropolitan area, Seoul (110.2→100.0, down 10.2 points) and Gyeonggi (97.2→92.5, down 4.7 points) decreased. On the other hand, Incheon (89.6→90.0, up 0.4 points) saw a slight increase.
In the five major cities, Daegu (81.8→84.2, up 2.4 points) increased, while Daejeon and Ulsan remained steady at 100.0, similar to last month. Busan (90.0→73.3, down 16.7 points) and Gwangju (92.8→84.6, down 8.2 points) declined.
In provincial areas, all except for Gyeongbuk (81.8→87.5, up 5.7 points) declined. Sejong (123.0→120, down 3.0 points) saw a slight decrease but maintained the highest index nationwide.
Other provincial areas, such as Gangwon (87.5→66.6, down 20.9 points), Jeonnam (90.9→71.4, down 19.5 points), and Chungbuk (100.0→83.3, down 16.7 points), experienced significant declines in their occupancy outlook indexes.
Meanwhile, the national apartment occupancy rate for May was surveyed at 67.2%, a decrease of 6.5 percentage points from the previous month. By region, the metropolitan area fell by 1.8 percentage points (83.5%→81.7%), the five major cities dropped by 5.1 percentage points (65.9%→60.8%), and other regions decreased by 9.2 percentage points (75.9%→66.7%).
The reasons for the unoccupied units were surveyed as follows: ▲ delays in the sale of existing dwellings (34.0%) ▲ failure to secure balance loans (28.0%) ▲ lack of tenants (22.0%) ▲ delays in selling subscription rights (6.0%).
The institute noted that, with the average interest rate on mortgage loans continuing to decline, the financial burden on housing demanders is decreasing. However, ahead of the implementation of the stress Debt Service Ratio (DSR) phase 3 scheduled for July, a temporary concentration of loan demand is expected. Consequently, with stricter household loan management, securing balance loans remains a key factor hindering occupancy.