SEOUL: Foreigners owned more than 108,000 homes in South Korea at the end of 2025, with Chinese nationals accounting for more than half of all foreign-owned properties, government data released on Friday (May 29) showed.
According to statistics released by the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, foreign nationals owned 108,231 homes in South Korea as of Dec 31, 2025, up 8 per cent from 100,216 in the previous year.
Foreign-owned homes accounted for 0.55 per cent of the country’s 19.65 million housing units.
Chinese nationals owned the largest share at 61,000 homes, or 56.7 per cent of all foreign-owned properties.
They were followed by Americans with about 23,000 homes, Canadians with 6,500, Taiwanese with 3,400, and Vietnamese and Australians with about 2,000 each.
When measured against the number of long-term foreign residents in South Korea, the ministry’s data showed that Americans recorded the highest homeownership rate at 27.4 per cent, followed by Canadians at 24.3 per cent, Australians at 22.2 per cent, Taiwanese at 17.8 per cent and Chinese nationals at 7.5 per cent.
Gyeonggi Province had the largest concentration of foreign-owned homes with 42,386 units, representing 39.2 per cent of the total.
The capital Seoul followed with 24,541 homes and Incheon with 11,279.
Foreign ownership was particularly concentrated in areas near industrial complexes, including Bucheon, Ansan, Suwon, Siheung and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, as well as Bupyeong in Incheon.
Despite the increase in overall ownership, foreign housing transactions declined following the government’s designation of Seoul and key metropolitan areas as land transaction permit zones for foreigners in August 2025.
According to ministry data cited by local reports, foreign housing transactions in Seoul fell sharply after the measure took effect, with declines also recorded in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
Transactions by Chinese and American buyers likewise decreased during the period.
The ministry said it would continue monitoring foreign ownership and transaction data to identify suspicious activity and prevent speculative purchases.
Separately, foreigners owned 270.2 million square metres of land in South Korea as of the end of 2025, accounting for 0.27 per cent of the country’s territory.
The officially assessed value of foreign-owned land reached 34.1 trillion won (US$23 billion), up 2 per cent from a year earlier. - The Korea Herald/ANN
