Foreign homeownership in Korea surges 30% over 3 years, approaching 100,000 mark

Foreign nationals owned nearly 100,000 multiunit homes in Korea in the second half of 2025, up 30.3 percent from three years earlier, according to government data submitted to Rep. Kim Mi-ae. Chinese holdings drove most of the increase, while Vietnamese ownership grew the fastest. The rise has intensified scrutiny of foreign real estate deals and prompted tighter purchase controls in key Greater Seoul areas.

Foreign nationals owned 99,215 multiunit residential properties in the second half of 2025.

That total was up 30.3 percent, or 23,068 units, from 76,147 in the second half of 2022.

Chinese nationals held 59,082 units, up from 43,058, and accounted for 69.5 percent of the overall increase.

Vietnamese nationals saw holdings rise from 842 to 1,786 properties, a 112 percent increase.

Between 2022 and 2025, officials flagged 2,368 foreign-buyer transactions for suspected irregularities and referred them to government agencies.

Published Oct 2, 2026 5:38 pm KST

Chinese buyers drive bulk of growth as oversight gaps draw scrutiny

Apartment complexes and residential buildings stretch across Seoul. According to government data, foreign nationals owned nearly 100,000 multiunit homes in Korea last year, marking a 30 percent increase over the past three years. Yonhap

Foreign nationals owned nearly 100,000 homes in multiunit housing, or "gongdong jutaek" — a category spanning high-rise apartments to low-rise "dasedae" multifamily homes — in Korea last year, with ownership rising roughly 30 percent over three years and Vietnamese holdings more than doubling, according to government data submitted to a lawmaker.

The data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Real Estate Board, provided to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), showed that foreign nationals owned 99,215 multiunit residential properties in the second half of 2025. That marks a 30.3 percent increase, or 23,068 units, from 76,147 in the second half of 2022.

Chinese nationals accounted for the bulk of the growth.

Their holdings climbed 37.2 percent from 43,058 to 59,082 units over the period, representing 69.5 percent of the overall national increase.

Vietnamese nationals posted the fastest growth rate, with their holdings surging 112 percent from 842 to 1,786 properties. American nationals remained the second-largest foreign group, with holdings rising from 16,810 to 19,435 units.

Holdings by Canadian, Japanese and Australian nationals also expanded by more than 10 percent over the same three-year period.

The rise comes as authorities step up scrutiny of real estate transactions involving foreign buyers for potential violations of Korean law.

Between 2022 and 2025, officials flagged 2,368 transactions involving foreign buyers for suspected irregularities and referred them to relevant government agencies, including the National Tax Service, the Financial Services Commission, the National Police Agency and local authorities.

Of the 2,179 cases that involved foreign buyers acquiring homes rather than selling them to Korean citizens, 1,184 — or 54.3 percent — involved Chinese nationals, while 33 involved Vietnamese buyers.

However, the data does not disclose how many of those referred cases ultimately resulted in penalties or other enforcement actions. Neither the Korea Real Estate Board nor the land ministry separately tracks final outcomes such as administrative fines, back taxes, or criminal convictions.

This monitoring gap has raised questions about whether current regulatory oversight can effectively track cases beyond initial referrals, particularly as foreign homeownership continues to expand.

In response, the government has tightened controls on foreign real estate purchases, including designating key areas of Greater Seoul as restricted zones where foreign buyers must obtain local government approval before purchasing property.

Kim, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, urged authorities to look beyond initial referrals and refine real estate statistics to break down foreign ownership by visa status, number of properties owned and price brackets.

"Foreign ownership of residential properties continues to rise, and suspected irregular transactions are repeatedly referred to relevant authorities, but concerns remain over the lack of a system for comprehensively tracking what happens after those referrals," Kim said.

"The government’s oversight of foreign real estate transactions must not stop at flagging suspected violations,” she added. “It must ensure these cases are followed through with thorough investigations and concrete enforcement."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

根据提交给金美爱议员的政府数据，到2025年下半年，外国公民在韩国拥有的多户住宅数量接近10万套，比三年前增长了30.3%。其中，中国公民的持股量增长最为显著，而越南公民的持股量增长速度最快。这一增长促使韩国加强了对外国房地产交易的审查，并促使政府在首尔都市圈的关键区域收紧购房管制。

2025年下半年，外国公民拥有99215套多单元住宅物业。

2022 年下半年，总销量为 76,147 台，增长了 30.3%，即 23,068 台。

中国公民持有59082套，比上一年的43058套有所增加，占总增幅的69.5%。

越南国民拥有的房产数量从 842 套增加到 1786 套，增幅达 112%。

2022 年至 2025 年间，官员们对 2368 笔涉嫌违规的外国买家交易进行了标记，并将这些交易移交给了政府机构。

发布于2026年10月2日下午5:38（韩国标准时间）

中国买家推动了大部分增长，监管漏洞引发关注

首尔遍布公寓楼和住宅楼。据政府数据显示，去年外国公民在韩国拥有近10万套多户住宅，比过去三年增长了30%。韩联社

根据提交给议员的政府数据，去年外国公民在韩国拥有近 10 万套多户住宅（即“公屋”），涵盖高层公寓到低层“多户住宅”等各种类型，三年内拥有量增长了约 30%，其中越南公民的持有量增长了一倍多。

国土交通部和韩国房地产委员会向主要反对党国民力量党议员金美爱提供的数据显示，到2025年下半年，外国公民拥有99215套多单元住宅。这比2022年下半年的76147套增加了30.3%，即23068套。

中国公民占增长的大部分。

在此期间，他们的持股量从 43,058 股增长到 59,082 股，增幅达 37.2%，占全国整体增幅的 69.5%。

越南公民的房产持有量增长速度最快，从842套激增112%至1786套。美国公民仍然是第二大外国群体，其房产持有量从16810套增至19435套。

在同一三年期间，加拿大、日本和澳大利亚国民的持股量也增长了 10% 以上。

随着当局加强对涉及外国买家的房地产交易的审查，以防违反韩国法律，这一数字也随之上升。

2022 年至 2025 年间，官员们对 2368 笔涉及外国买家的交易进行了标记，怀疑存在违规行为，并将这些交易移交给了相关政府机构，包括国家税务局、金融服务委员会、国家警察厅和地方当局。

在涉及外国买家购买房屋而不是将房屋出售给韩国公民的 2179 起案件中，1184 起（占 54.3%）涉及中国国民，33 起涉及越南买家。

然而，这些数据并未披露有多少转介案件最终导致了处罚或其他执法行动。韩国房地产委员会和国土安全部均未单独追踪行政罚款、补缴税款或刑事定罪等最终结果。

这种监管漏洞引发了人们的质疑：目前的监管措施能否有效追踪案件的后续发展，尤其是在外国房屋所有权持续扩大的情况下。

对此，政府加强了对外国人购买房地产的管制，包括将首尔大都会区的部分重点区域划为限制区，外国买家必须获得当地政府的批准才能购买房产。

金是国会国土交通运输委员会的成员，他敦促有关部门不要只关注初步的转介，而要完善房地产统计数据，按签证状态、拥有的房产数量和价格区间细分外国所有权。

金表示：“外国人拥有住宅物业的比例持续上升，疑似违规交易也屡次被移交有关部门，但人们仍然担心缺乏一个能够全面追踪这些移交之后情况的系统。”

她补充说：“政府对境外房地产交易的监管不应止步于发现可疑违规行为，而必须确保对这些案件进行彻底调查并采取切实有效的执法措施。”

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。