View of downtown Seoul from Namsan in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of homes in South Korea owned by foreign nationals surpassed 100,000 for the first time in 2024, with Chinese buyers accounting for more than half, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
As of December 2024, foreigners owned 100,216 residential properties across the country, marking a 5.4% increase from six months earlier. Chinese nationals held 56.2% of these homes — or 56,301 units — up by more than 3,500 from the previous half-year.
The surge accounted for 68% of all newly purchased foreign-owned homes during that period.
American citizens followed with 22,031 properties (22%), and Canadians owned 6,315 units (6.3%). Of all foreign-held residences, 91% were apartment-style homes, while about 8,700 were single-family houses.
Approximately 72.7% of foreign-owned homes were concentrated in the greater Seoul area, with Gyeonggi Province (39.1%) leading, followed by Seoul (23.7%) and Incheon (10%).
Bucheon, Ansan, Suwon, and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province recorded the highest concentrations of foreign ownership by city or county.
This photo taken March 18, 2025, shows apartment complexes in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Most foreign homeowners in Korea (93.4%) owned only one property, while 5.3% owned two. A smaller number owned three or more, with 461 individuals holding five or more homes.
The report also showed a modest rise in foreign ownership of land. As of the end of 2024, foreign nationals owned 267.9 million square meters of land—0.27% of the national territory—an increase of 1.2% year-over-year. The assessed value of this land rose 1.4% to 33.49 trillion won.
By nationality, Americans held the largest share of foreign-owned land at 53.5%, followed by Chinese (7.9%), Europeans (7.1%), and Japanese (6.1%). Land ownership by both American and Chinese nationals grew by 1.5% and 2.0%, respectively, over the past year.
Regionally, Gyeonggi Province accounted for the largest share of foreign-owned land (18.5%), followed by South Jeolla (14.7%) and North Gyeongsang (13.6%).
The majority of landowners were overseas Koreans (55.6%), while 33.7% were foreign corporations and 10.5% were non-Korean individuals.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
