Apartment Constructions Increased 135% in Seoul

As housing constructions increase, the annual supply of houses is expected to top the initial plan.

A total of 367,226 houses were approved to be constructed from January to July this year, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MCT) said Sunday.

The figure, increased by 1.5 percent from a year ago, is the highest level since 1996, compared to the same period of each year.

By areas, the number of new apartment units in Seoul jumped 135 percent to 61,810 from a year ago, while that of Gyeonggi Province rose 67 percent to 69,256, that of Incheon gained 47 percent to 20,547, and that of other provinces increased 34 percent to 129,614.

The MCT had expected the amount of new apartment units this year to exceed the initial goal (500,000 units) to the same level as last year (670,000 units).

“Since the regulations on reconstruction were strengthened from July and people were concerned that the floor area ratio of residential areas, a key factor affecting profitability of housing businesses, will be trimmed, there were more applications for construction approval in June and July,” some experts pointed out. “The estimation of the government is too rosy,” they argued.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com