Number of Realtors Falling
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The number of licensed real estate agents fell last year from a year earlier as the sluggish property market forced some agencies to close and discouraged newcomers from opening businesses.
According to the Ministry of Construction and Transportation Friday, the number of realtors registered with the government came to 68,879 as of the end of December, down 0.4 percent, or 296, from September.
Last year, a total of 19,093 people passed a government-administered exam to become licensed real estate agents, up 82 percent, or 8,597, from 10,496 in 2006, but the number of realtors opening businesses stood at 2,603 amid the depressed property market.
In Gyeonggi Province, the number of registered realtors fell 433 to 21,658 in December from three months ago, while those in Seoul and Incheon increased by 137 and 84, respectively.
A real estate analyst at Real Estate Serve, a local property information provider, said that a growing number of licensed real estate agents have delayed opening businesses as the housing market has remained stagnant since the beginning of 2007, following a series of anti-speculation government measures.
``Imposing a cap on the prices of new apartments, tightening the rules for housing loans and other regulatory measures have put pressure on the real estate market, slashing the number of property transactions. Also, more prospective homebuyers have postponed housing purchases on the expectation that home prices will continue to fall and that they could buy houses at a cheaper price later,'' he said.
In 2007, the number of apartment transactions in Seoul fell 48.6 percent to 97,000 from 189,000 a year earlier, with that of detached houses declining 34.1 percent.