"Did Everyone Just Give Up and Buy Stocks?"... Housing Subscription Account Holders Drop Sharply

[Financial News] The number of housing subscription account holders has fallen sharply in major regional cities such as Gwangju Metropolitan City, Daegu Metropolitan City, and Daejeon. As the market slump drags on, unsold apartment inventory has surged and new project launches have declined, eroding the appeal of these accounts.
According to Cheongyak Home, the official housing subscription platform, the region that saw the steepest drop in Housing Subscription Synthesized Savings Account holders over the past year (January 2025 to January 2026) was Gwangju Metropolitan City. The number fell 2.0%, from 732,999 in January 2025 to 718,174 this January. Gwangju was the only region to record a decline in the 2% range.
Daegu Metropolitan City, where unsold apartments have piled up, followed with a 1.7% decrease in account holders over the same period, from 1,119,043 to 1,100,382. Large regional cities such as Daejeon (down 1.4%) and Busan Metropolitan City (down 1.3%) also saw significant outflows from housing subscription accounts.
Compared with the Seoul metropolitan area, the scale of cancellations in regional cities is much larger. During this period, the decline in Housing Subscription Synthesized Savings Account holders was 0.7% in Seoul, 0.8% in Incheon Metropolitan City, and 0.9% in Gyeonggi Province, all under 1%. An industry official said, "Cancellations of housing subscription accounts keep increasing, and if you look by region, major regional cities are leading the trend."
The outflow of housing subscription account holders from major regional cities is particularly concerning because the market downturn is triggering a chain reaction. Rising volumes of unsold homes and fewer new launches are undermining the value of these accounts.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as of January, there were 17,568 unsold apartment units in regional metropolitan cities, accounting for 26% of the nationwide total of 66,576 unsold units. This backlog of unsold homes is leading to fewer new launches. In Daegu, only nine projects accepted subscription applications last year. Gwangju had 12 projects, Daejeon 12, and Busan Metropolitan City 33.
Industry representatives argue that tailored support measures are needed for regional markets. An association official stated, "The housing market slump is increasingly having a negative impact on local economies, including construction company bankruptcies," adding, "It is a very critical time to revitalize regional construction and the housing market."
ljb@fnnews.com Lee Jong-bae Reporter