Real estate agents down 1,384 as transaction freeze deepens

The number of licensed real estate agents nationwide fell by more than 1,300 in the third quarter of this year, the third-largest quarterly decline since records began. Analysts attribute the drop to a surge in closures and a sharp fall in new openings, as the government's aggressive lending and transaction regulations have pushed the market into a wait-and-see mode.

According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Statistics Nuri portal, 106,935 licensed real estate agents — including individual brokers and brokerage firms — were in operation nationwide in the third quarter of this year, down 1,384 from the previous quarter's 108,319. The decline is the third-largest since quarterly tracking began in the second quarter of 2010, behind drops of 2,537 in the second quarter of 2022 and 1,592 in the first quarter of 2024.

The number of active agents peaked at 121,543 in the first quarter of 2022 and has been falling continuously since the third quarter of 2023. The pace of decline has steepened this year, however, as lending restrictions and the land transaction permit system have rapidly chilled buyer sentiment. Agents on the ground say the revenue base of many agencies has also been shaken by a slowdown in the lease market, where a shortage of available jeonse and monthly rent listings has reduced transaction activity.

The agent count fell by 397 in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, and by 600 in the second quarter. The third-quarter decline was roughly 2.3 times that of the immediately preceding quarter.

The head of a real estate agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, said the office is "practically shut down these days," adding that many neighboring agency owners are weighing whether to close for good. "Contracts have dried up in both the lease and sales markets — it's as if a bomb went off," the agent said. The agent said next year poses an even bigger problem than this year, citing a combination of lending restrictions, the land transaction permit system and a falling stock market.

Transaction data paint an equally stark picture. According to real estate big data firm Budongsan Planet, nationwide real estate sales transactions totaled 229,367 in the third quarter of this year, a 22.4 percent plunge from 295,739 in the previous quarter. The total value of those transactions fell 27.2 percent over the same period, from 131.69 trillion won ($98.5 billion) to 95.93 trillion won.

Agencies near Olympic Park Foreon in Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-gu — a complex of more than 12,000 units — report a similar situation. A representative at one agency inside the complex said listings are piling up with no buyers, and lease contracts have nearly vanished. "Even for a complex this size, we're lucky to see two sales transactions in a month," the representative said.

A representative at a real estate agency in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, echoed the sentiment. "The real estate market has simply stopped," the representative said. "With lending blocked, no one can move unless they're sitting on cash."

Closing up shop is no easy matter either, agents say. A representative of the Korea Association of Realtors said the situation has reached a point where agencies want to shut down but cannot. "Like other self-employed businesses, agencies pay a premium to take over a location — but right now, it's not just a matter of recovering that premium. It's nearly impossible to find anyone willing to take over the office at all," the representative said.

The representative added that while the number of agents has been declining consistently for some time, what is new is a sharp drop in new openings. "Agencies that have decided to close because they expect next year's market to be just as difficult are not putting it off," the representative said.

Experts also expect the downward trend to continue for now. Seo Jin-hyung, a professor in the real estate law department at Kwangwoon University, said government regulations have made it impossible for people to either buy or sell homes. "Real estate brokerage is ultimately a business, and when the absolute number of transactions falls, the industry inevitably takes a severe hit," Seo said.