Chinese buyers have snapped up more than half of foreign-owned homes in South Korea
- Official data revealed on Wednesday shows that foreign nationals own 83,512 homes in South Korea – more than 54 per cent of which are Chinese-owned
- This marks the first time that statistics on homes owned by foreigners have been officially announced by the South Korean government
Data revealed on Wednesday by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry shows foreign nationals owned 83,512 homes in South Korea as of the end of last year, accounting for 0.4 per cent of all residential property in the country.
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By category, 91 per cent of the homes owned by foreigners are in multi-complex housing, such as flats, while the other 9 per cent are single-family detached houses.
By region, 73 per cent of the homes held by foreigners are located in metropolitan areas, including Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.
While 93.5 per cent of the foreign homeowners hold only one residence, another 5 per cent have two residences. The remaining 1.5 per cent hold more than three.
With regard to land, foreigners hold 264 million square metres in South Korea, which is about 0.26 per cent of the country’s entire land area. The figure shows an increase of 1.8 per cent, compared to the previous year.
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Americans hold the largest amount of land, at 53.4 per cent, followed by Chinese at 7.8 per cent.
By region, 18.4 per cent of the land owned by foreigners is located in Gyeonggi province, followed by 14.8 per cent located in South Jeolla province and 14 per cent in North Gyeongsang province.
The land ministry said it aims to continue monitoring foreigners’ housing and land transactions to prevent speculative moves.
