Half of foreign-owned apartments in Seoul belong to Americans, followed by Chinese
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As of December 2024, Americans owned 5,678 apartments in the South Korean capital.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – US nationals own nearly half of all foreign-held apartments in Seoul, with a strong bias for high-value areas of the South Korean capital, data shows.
Figures compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board and disclosed by Representative Jeong Jun-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea show that as of December 2024, Americans owned 5,678 apartments in the capital.
That represented 45 per cent of the 12,516 units held by foreigners. Their preference was overwhelmingly tilted toward high-value neighborhoods.
In the three Gangnam districts of Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu and Songpa-gu, Americans owned 2,228 apartments.
In central Mapo-gu, Yongsan-gu and Seongdong-gu they owned 1,266.
Chinese buyers, the second-largest group, held 2,536 apartments.
Unlike Americans, their purchases were concentrated in Guro-gu (610 units) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (284), with smaller numbers in Dongdaemun-gu (150) and Geumcheon-gu (138). Only 159 were located in Gangnam-gu.
Local analysts say the pattern is tied to established Chinese communities in south-western Seoul, where buyers prefer to live near existing networks.
US and Chinese nationals were followed by Canadian citizens with 1,831 apartments, Taiwanese with 790 and Australians with 500 apartments.
A significant share of the most expensive apartments in districts like Gangnam-gu and Yongsan-gu are believed to belong to members of the Korean diaspora.
Earlier in August, the National Tax Service reported that 40 per cent of foreigners investigated for improper acquisitions were of Korean descent.
The release of the figures comes just as regulatory changes set to take effect on Aug 26 will subject foreign nationals to the same real estate restrictions
Following the changes, all districts of Seoul, most of Gyeonggi Province and parts of Incheon will be designated as permit zones.
In such areas, buyers – both institutional and private – are required to obtain approval before buying and must occupy the properties for at least two years. Buyers who violate the rule face fines of up to 10 per cent of the property price.
These rules build on the government’s June 27 housing package, which introduced sweeping restrictions on mortgages to cool soaring prices in the Seoul metropolitan area.
That plan limited housing loans to 600 million won (S$557,000), prohibited multiple-home owners from taking out new mortgages and required buyers to move into homes within six months of purchase.
Representative Jeong urged regulators to strike a middle ground.
“The rights of overseas Koreans and genuine residents must be protected, but speculative real estate shopping by foreigners must also be prevented,” he said. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
