Seoul's housing unit growth hits record low in 2024, adding to home price hikes

This photo shows apartment buildings in Seoul, July 27. Yonhap

The total number of housing units in Seoul grew at the slowest pace ever in 2024 amid a continued increase in housing prices in the capital, data showed Tuesday.

As of Nov. 1, 2024, the total number of homes in the capital city stood at 3.17 million, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the census by Statistics Korea.

It marked the slowest growth since 1960, when the agency began compiling relevant data.

The growth rate of housing supply in Seoul has been on a steady decline from 2.1 percent in 2020 to 1.8 percent in 2021 and further to 1.4 percent in both 2022 and 2023.

"The slowing growth in the number of homes reflects a continued drop in the construction completion in Seoul since 2021," an agency official said.

A shortage of homes is seen as one of the key factors driving up housing prices in the capital.

Nationwide, the number of homes rose 1.7 percent year-on-year to 19.87 million in 2024.

Of the total housing units across Korea, 46.7 percent, or about 9.29 million, were concentrated in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, with 4.96 million located in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital

By housing type, the total number of apartment units across the nation stood at 13.27 million as of Nov. 1, accounting for 65.3 percent of all homes in the country. The reading marks a 2.2 percent increase from a year before.

Detached houses totaled 3.84 million units, accounting for 19.3 percent, while row houses and multiplex homes took up 14.3 percent of the total, the data showed.