Even apartments are getting old: 56% of homes nationwide are over 20 years old

[Financial News] More than half of homes nationwide were found to have been completed over 20 years ago. In regional areas, the share of aging homes is close to 60%, and permits for new housing have also declined this year. As aging housing and tighter supply converge, buyers are turning their attention to new developments, particularly in areas that have gone a long time without new apartment supply.
According to the National Data Agency on the 16th, of the roughly 20.18 million housing units nationwide last year, about 11.29 million were at least 20 years old, accounting for 56% of the total.
The share of aging homes was higher in regional areas than in the Seoul metropolitan area. Aging homes made up 59.2% of housing outside the capital region, 6.8 percentage points above the 52.4% average for the capital region, including Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon.
As existing homes in regional areas continue to age, new supply is also limited. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s July housing statistics, permits were issued for 61,742 housing units in regional areas from January through July this year, down 12.7% from 70,733 in the same period last year. The decline was steeper than the nationwide drop of 7.9%, with permits totaling 142,328 units. In light of this trend, observers say the problem of aging housing is likely to spread further, particularly in regional areas.
In regional areas with a high share of aging homes, a price gap can also be seen between new and older apartments. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real estate transaction price disclosure system, an 84-square-meter unit at Hillstate Xi Nonsan in Naedong, Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, sold for 432 million won in August. That same month, an 84-square-meter unit at nearby Nonsan Naedong Livenheim changed hands for 325 million won. The difference in transaction prices between the two complexes was 107 million won.
Hillstate Xi Nonsan was completed in 2019, while Nonsan Naedong Livenheim was completed in 2014. The two apartment complexes are in the same neighborhood of Naedong, but their completion dates are five years apart. Homes at least 20 years old account for 71.4% of the housing stock in Nonsan, and the Naedong area is considered to have gone about 10 years without a new apartment development.
Similar transactions have also been recorded in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. An 84-square-meter unit at Hillstate Eoullim Hyoja in Hyoja-dong, Wansan District, sold for 635 million won in September. That was 50 million won (8.5%) more than its transaction price of 585 million won in September last year. An 84-square-meter unit at nearby Shinwon Livewell sold for 418 million won in August.
Hillstate Eoullim Hyoja was completed in 2022, while Shinwon Livewell was completed in 2017. The transaction prices of the two complexes differ by 217 million won. The share of homes at least 20 years old in Jeonju is 62.6%, higher than the nationwide average.
Meanwhile, new apartment developments are being marketed or planned in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province; Busan; and Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Kyeryong Construction will launch Elif Nonsan The Edition in the Naedong 3 District of Nonsan this coming November. The complex will comprise 499 units, all with an exclusive area of 84 square meters, and will be the first new apartment development to be introduced in the Naedong area in about 10 years.
In Yeonsan-dong, Yeonje District, Busan, BS Hanyang plans to launch Yeonsan Station Sujain Centrio through the Sambo Apartment block housing redevelopment project. The complex will comprise 335 units with exclusive areas of 59, 74 and 84 square meters, of which 139 will be offered for general sale.
Kolon Global is marketing Samcheon Haneulchae Laviel in Samcheon-dong, Wansan District, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Of the 602 units, with exclusive areas ranging from 59 to 74 square meters, 116 will be offered for general sale.

[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter