Land minister calls Seoul home-price slowdown 'hopeful,' urges city to boost housing supply

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Ji-seon said Thursday that Seoul home prices are rising more slowly and pledged to make housing supply a top priority. Hong also urged the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which has been divided over proposals including housing development at Yongsan Park, to "actively work on supply measures that the public wants."

Hong made the remarks Thursday through a post on social media, saying "some hopeful signals are appearing in housing market price indicators."

"The pace of Seoul home-price increases has been slowing since July by the housing price trend survey measure and since June by the actual transaction price index," Hong said. "The Korea Real Estate Board's weekly trend survey shows a continued decline centered on the Gangnam area, and the KB apartment sale price index also shows a narrowing rate of increase across Seoul as a whole."

Hong also said the number of listings on the market is growing. "Listings for sale in Seoul have surpassed 80,000 — the highest level this year," the minister said.

Hong signaled the government's commitment to boosting supply. "Many people point to the accumulated supply shortage as the biggest source of instability in the housing market," Hong said. "Housing demand continues to grow, driven by marriage and the rise of single-person households, yet housing supply in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area has yet to keep pace."

"The solution is simple: we need to build homes. Supply is what must move first and fastest," Hong said, adding that the government has mobilized pan-government resources since taking office to reverse a slump in permits and ground-breakings that began in 2022. Three supply packages — announced Sept. 7, 2025, Jan. 29, 2026, and Aug. 13, 2026 — are now in place, targeting the construction of more than 1.5 million homes in the greater metropolitan area over five years.

Hong went on to say that an additional 104,000 housing units on new sites in the metropolitan area adjacent to Seoul had been announced. Public-sector ground-breakings are expected to rise from 16,000 units in 2023 to more than 60,000 this year, and total metropolitan-area ground-breakings this year are forecast to rebound to more than 200,000 units.

Hong closed by urging the Seoul Metropolitan Government to step up on supply. "Ultimately, supply within Seoul is something the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul city government must solve together," Hong said. "The ministry will mobilize every available tool — accelerating redevelopment and reconstruction projects, expanding supply at the Yongsan International Business District, fast-tracking public urban mixed-use projects, and identifying additional sites. I hope Seoul will also actively work on supply measures that the public wants."