Foreign property owners in Seoul top 32,800, up over 1,000 in a year

As the government's foreign land transaction permit zone nears its one-year mark, the number of foreigners who have purchased homes in Seoul has grown by more than 1,000 over the past year.

An analysis of Supreme Court registry data on real estate ownership — broken down by Korean nationals, foreigners and corporations — conducted by real estate information app Jipoom found that the number of foreign-registered property owners in Seoul stood at 32,870 as of June, up 1,058 from a year earlier. The figure has also risen by 473 since the start of the year, when it stood at 32,397.

The ownership figures in the registry are compiled monthly based on the registered titleholders of each property, categorized as Korean nationals, foreigners or corporations, and may differ from the total number of properties owned.

The government designated Seoul in its entirety, along with major areas in the greater metropolitan region, as a "foreign land transaction permit zone" starting Aug. 26 last year. Foreigners seeking to acquire housing in the designated zone must obtain approval from the relevant local government. Those granted a permit must move in within four months of the approval date and fulfill an owner-occupancy requirement of approximately two years.

Since February, foreigners have also been required to submit a funding plan and supporting documentation. However, critics say that unlike Korean nationals, who are subject to strict loan regulations, foreigners can secure financing through overseas financial institutions or banks in their home countries, meaning comparatively looser regulations apply to them.

Among Seoul's autonomous districts, Gangnam-gu had the highest number of foreign-registered property owners at 3,440. It was followed by Guro-gu with 2,710, Seocho-gu with 2,353, Yeongdeungpo-gu with 2,112 and Songpa-gu with 1,913. Gangnam-gu and Guro-gu saw increases of 30 and 75, respectively, from a year earlier.

Looking at year-on-year growth over the same period, Gangseo-gu recorded the biggest gain at 87 (rising from 1,456 to 1,543). Geumcheon-gu followed with a gain of 85 (1,826 to 1,911), and Yongsan-gu added 81 (1,768 to 1,849).

Meanwhile, the number of Korean-registered property owners in Seoul reached 3,838,447, up 38,509, or 1.0 percent, from a year ago.

Gangdong-gu posted the largest increase among districts for Korean-registered owners, adding 7,754 to reach 188,040. Eunpyeong-gu and Dongjak-gu also posted gains of 3,779 and 3,731, reaching 178,475 and 137,698, respectively. Geumcheon-gu, Gangnam-gu and Songpa-gu saw declines in Korean-registered owners, falling by 445, 255 and 128, respectively.