Seoul apartment jeonse and monthly rent transactions fall 26% from a year ago

Seoul apartment lease transactions fell roughly 26% in May from a year earlier, as tightened land transaction permit regulations and a shrinking supply of multi-homeowner listings reduced available rental units. The ongoing shift from jeonse to monthly rent has also accelerated, pushing the monthly rent share of Seoul apartment lease deals above 50% for the first time this year.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's May 2026 Housing Statistics released Monday, Seoul apartment jeonse and monthly rent transactions totaled 20,101 in May, down 25.8% from the same month last year. On a Greater Seoul basis, transactions fell 22.3% year-on-year to 58,450, while the nationwide figure declined 21.7% to 94,027.

Non-apartment lease transactions also dropped sharply over the same period. Seoul non-apartment jeonse and monthly rent deals came to 42,664 in May, down 13.7% from a year earlier, while the Greater Seoul figure fell 14.7% to 81,088. Nationwide non-apartment lease transactions declined 12.7% to 115,727.

The owner-occupancy requirement now applied to all housing purchases across Seoul under the land transaction permit system, combined with tighter jeonse loan regulations, has driven more tenants toward monthly rent arrangements. The monthly rent share of Seoul apartment lease transactions from January through May reached 51.3%, up 7.3 percentage points from 44.0% in the same period last year. For non-apartment properties in Seoul, the monthly rent share stood at 78.4% over the same five months, approaching the 80% mark.

Seoul apartment sales totaled 8,946 last month, up 23.9% from 7,221 in the same month last year. The increase is attributed to a rush by multi-homeowners to sell before the reinstatement of the capital gains tax surcharge on multi-home sellers, which took effect May 10.

Meanwhile, housing groundbreakings — a leading indicator of future supply — totaled 2,607 units in Seoul last month, up 7.3% from 2,430 units in the same month last year. The January-to-May cumulative total came to 9,630 units, however, down 10.7% from 10,787 units in the same period a year ago. Seoul building permits issued in May reached 6,292 units, up 147% from 2,542 units a year earlier, while pre-sale units totaled 2,548, down 38% over the same period.