Sales rose, but completions plunged... down 41% in the Seoul metropolitan area and Seoul

\r\n[Financial News] So far this year, nationwide condominium sales have increased sharply, while completion figures have plunged. As apartment transactions in Seoul continue to rise, the share of monthly rent in the rental market is also expanding.■Completions fall despite stronger salesAccording to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th, nationwide housing sales from January to April totaled 71,617 units, up 71.8% from a year earlier. The Seoul metropolitan area posted 39,885 units, up 76.5%, while non-metropolitan areas rose 66.3% to 31,732 units.
The increase in Seoul sales was especially notable. Sales in Seoul from January to April reached 8,829 units, surging 488.2% from the same period last year. In April alone, Seoul sales came to 1,897 units, up 369.6% from a year earlier.
By contrast, completion volumes continued to decline. Nationwide housing completions from January to April totaled 75,230 units, down 45.9% from a year earlier. Over the same period, completions in the Seoul metropolitan area fell 41.0% to 37,084 units. Non-metropolitan areas dropped 50.0% to 38,146 units, while Seoul completions also fell 41.3% to 11,197 units.
Permits and construction starts showed mixed trends by region. Nationwide housing permits for the year to date stood at 79,371 units, down 11.8% from a year earlier. Construction starts, however, rose 21.3% to 71,650 units. Starts in regional areas increased 49.9% year on year to 34,480 units, marking a relatively sharp gain.
\r\n\r■Seoul transaction recovery continuesHousing sales transactions remained on an upward trend. Nationwide housing sales in April totaled 69,755, down 3.1% from the previous month but up 6.6% from a year earlier. Cumulative transactions this year reached 260,965, an increase of 17.7% from the same period last year.
Apartment transactions in Seoul also continued to rise. Apartment sales in Seoul in April reached 7,521, up 16.9% from the previous month. As the recovery in transactions continues in major Seoul districts, analysts say both end-user demand and investment demand are moving together.
Jeonse and monthly rent transactions declined. Nationwide lease transactions in April totaled 234,339, down 16.2% from the previous month. Still, the figure was up 2.5% from the same month last year.
The share of monthly rent expanded. Monthly rent transactions came to 160,456, down 16.8% from the previous month but up 17.4% from a year earlier. On a cumulative basis for January-April, monthly rent accounted for 68.5% of all lease transactions, up 8.1 percentage points from the same period last year. With higher interest rates and the fallout from jeonse fraud continuing to weigh on the market, the shift toward monthly rent is becoming more pronounced.
Unsold homes edged down slightly. As of the end of April, nationwide unsold housing stood at 65,179 units, down 0.2% from the previous month. Unsold homes after completion fell 3.0% to 29,504 units. However, unsold homes in non-metropolitan areas rose 2.6% month on month to 47,881 units.
en1302@fnnews.com Jang In-seo Reporter