Jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) listings for apartments in Seoul are rapidly drying up, even as the number of apartments for sale has surged past 80,000 units — the highest in nine months — ahead of the expiration of the capital gains tax moratorium for multi-home owners.
Districts such as Gangbuk-gu, Jungnang-gu, and Geumcheon-gu now have fewer than 70 jeonse listings each, raising concerns that a "jeonse cliff" is becoming reality.
According to data from Asil, a real estate big data platform, Seoul apartment jeonse listings stood at approximately 17,000 as of Sunday, down more than 10,000 from a year earlier. The figure also represents a 26.3% decline from the 23,060 listings recorded at the start of the year, when concerns about jeonse shortages were already mounting. The count has effectively been hitting new lows on a daily basis.
Outer districts of Seoul have been hit hardest. Jeonse listings in Gangbuk-gu, Jungnang-gu, Nowon-gu, Geumcheon-gu, and Guro-gu have been cut roughly in half, dropping 55% to 68% compared with early this year.
The decline appears driven by multi-home owners — who had served as de facto private rental suppliers in these areas — selling off their properties, reducing the pool of available rental units. Analysts note that in the districts where the jeonse cliff is most pronounced, limited new housing supply and a broader shift toward monthly rent have also contributed to the shortage.
Meanwhile, the government's property tax and lending regulations are rapidly cooling consumer expectations for home price increases. The Bank of Korea's March housing price outlook index, released Sunday, plunged 12 points from the previous month to 96, falling below the 100 threshold for the first time in 13 months since February 2025. A reading below 100 indicates that more consumers expect home prices to decline over the next year.
▲ Endangered Jeonse: Regulations pull from one side, supply shortages push from the other