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Seoul home purchases by foreigners drop by half following restrictions

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 14:05 Updated: 12 Feb. 2026, 14:40

Apartment buildings in Nowon District, northern Seoul, on Jan. 29. [NEWS1]

Home purchases among foreigners in Seoul have more than halved following the government's designation of the entire city as a real estate transaction permit zone for foreigner nationals, government data showed Thursday.

The Land Ministry said it analyzed housing transactions data in the greater Seoul area during the September to December period, following the permit requirement rule imposed on foreigners in late August.

The measure requires foreign nationals to obtain prior approval to purchase homes in designated areas for one year through Aug. 25.

According to the data, foreign home transactions across the capital region fell 35 percent to 1,481 deals from 2,279 deals in the previous year.

Seoul posted the steepest decline, marking a 51 percent on-year drop to 243 deals from 496, followed by Gyeonggi and Incheon, which recorded 30 percent and 33 percent declines, respectively.

In particular, foreign property deals in Seoul's affluent Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Yongsan districts combined tumbled 65 percent, the ministry said.

By nationality, purchases by Chinese nationals declined 32 percent on-year to 1,053 units, while those by U.S. nationals dropped 45 percent to 208.

Yonhap