"First Since Statistics Began": Seoul's Lease Market Flips Upside Down

[Anchor] It's Wednesday Friendly Economy. We heard that the proportion of monthly rent transactions for apartments in Seoul has increased significantly?

[Reporter] Up to September of this year, the proportion of monthly rent (wolse) transactions among Seoul apartment lease transactions hit 51%, surpassing jeonse (lump-sum deposit leases) for the first time since statistics began.

Just a year ago, it was around 44%.

However, this is not because monthly rent transactions have increased.

Monthly rent transactions actually decreased slightly compared to a year ago, while jeonse transactions plummeted by 28%.

The drop is nearly 10 times that of monthly rent.

It is not that monthly rent won, but that jeonse has disappeared.

When you go looking for a home, you probably hear often that there is monthly rent, but no jeonse.

Jeonse loans have become harder to get, and since October of last year, when all of Seoul was designated as a land transaction permit zone, more landlords are moving in themselves, making jeonse scarce.

On top of this, existing tenants are extending their contracts and staying put, making newly available jeonse properties even scarcer.

There is an index called the "jeonse supply-demand index" that shows how scarce listings are compared to people looking for jeonse.

Last month, this index reached its highest level since 2020, when the three lease laws were implemented.

That is how difficult it is to find a jeonse home.

Looking at the full year, there has never been a year when monthly rent exceeded half since statistics began in 2011.

Last year's 44.5% was an all-time high, but this year is projected to be the first time it exceeds half.

[Anchor] Now, this must be a map coloring in the neighborhoods where monthly rent is more common than jeonse.

[Reporter] That's right. The number of autonomous districts where monthly rent outnumbers jeonse increased from 4 to 13 over the past year.

Gangnam, Mapo, and Yongsan were also newly included.

The four districts from a year ago were Geumcheon, Jongno, Jung-gu, and Guro.

In Gangnam District, which was newly added, jeonse transactions were slightly higher a year ago, but this year monthly rent surged to around 8,400 cases, surpassing the 7,100 jeonse cases, flipping the monthly rent proportion to 54%.

The place that changed the most steeply is Jungnang District.

With monthly rent transactions nearly doubling over the past year, the proportion of monthly rent jumped from 45% to 65%.

In Jongno District, roughly two out of three transactions were monthly rent.

Conversely, Yangcheon District has the lowest monthly rent proportion in Seoul at 42%, meaning jeonse is still more common.

The problem is the price of monthly rent.

Last month, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Seoul was 1.66 million won, up 220,000 won from around this time last year.

That means nearly 20 million won goes out for monthly rent in a year.

When monthly rents are lined up in ascending order, the median value right in the middle also jumped from 1.2 million won to 1.4 million won.

The proportion of monthly rent is rising, and monthly rent prices are going up, meaning the burden is growing twofold.

[Anchor] Lastly, it seems Busan is drawing attention as a global travel destination.

[Reporter] Searches for Busan flights and accommodations increased by 50% over the past year.

It was selected as one of the top 10 places in the world, and the only one in South Korea.

It stands shoulder-to-shoulder with places like Sedona in the US and Hyogo in Japan.

Taking in Busan's sea as Korea's representative, exploring vibrant markets, and experiencing the city's dynamic atmosphere were cited as Busan's charms.

The way people travel is also changing.

A global travel platform asked 26,000 travelers worldwide, and the keyword for next year is "bite-sized travel."

Originally called "trip snacking," it means enjoying short trips frequently like opening a bag of snacks.

Checking into a hotel right after getting off work on Friday and heading home by the afternoon of the next day means you don't even have to use up annual leave.

Ninety-five out of 100 Korean travelers are planning such one-night trips.

Why just one night?

Celebrating a birthday or anniversary ranked first, followed by taking a breather between long vacations, and enjoying a hotel pool or spa.

Still, what matters in the end is price.

Accommodation preferences have also become more unique.

It is the chillingly named "gothic sensibility travel."

This involves staying overnight in a dark and romantic hotel resembling a medieval gothic castle.

Sounds a bit scary, right?

Yet 8 out of 10 Korean travelers said they are interested.

"Adult-child vacations" have also emerged.

"Adult-child" is a compound word combining adults and children.

It means adults going to amusement parks together.

Half of the people surveyed said they would consider going.

The most common reason cited was wanting to escape daily responsibilities and stress.

Work stress is blown away by screaming on a rollercoaster.

It might be a good idea to consider a one-night bite-sized trip to Busan for the weekends this fall and winter.


※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.