17 Districts in Seoul, Gyeonggi See Housing Shortage

Seventeen districts in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province need 10,000 to 20,000 new homes for each district every year, while supply exceeds demand in the western port city of Incheon.

The Dong-A Ilbo exclusively obtained a research report by the state-run Korean National Housing Corp. yesterday assessing supply and demand of new homes in 79 areas in the capital region at the end of 2007, dividing them into three groups.

Seventeen areas, including Seoul’s Gangnam and Gwanak districts and the suburbs of Siheung and Guri in Gyeonggi Province, were classified as areas with excessive demand. The study also estimated that Gangnam had a shortage of 19,881 homes, the largest among the areas surveyed.

Demand exceeded supply in 18 areas, including the Sangnok district of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district.

Seoul has the highest real estate inflation in the country. Nineteen of the city’s 25 districts saw demand exceeding supply, showing that the housing shortage has reached a serious level there.

Twenty-five districts, including the Seongnam district of Bundang, Suji and Giheung of Yongin, and Seoul’s Dobong, Eunpyeong and Seodaemun districts reached a balance between supply and demand. Nineteen other areas, including Seoul’s Nowon district and Incheon’s Yeonsu district, had a supply glut.

Most districts in Incheon had low demand for homes due to the city’s high ratio of home ownership.

jsonhng@donga.com