Overseas properties purchased by Koreans decreased last year due to the global financial crisis.
Koreans obtained less than half the amount of properties overseas in 2009 compared to the year before due to the aftermath of the global financial crisis. According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Koreans acquired properties totaling US$223 million in 2009, a decrease of 56.3% from US$510.4 million in 2008. Furthermore, the number of properties they purchased in 2009 stood at 522, a drop of 60.1% from 1,307 in 2008. The amount and number of their newly purchased properties were at the lowest level since 2005. Year by year, Koreans acquired nine overseas properties (US$3.6 million) in 2003, six properties (US$1.4 million) in 2004, and 39 properties (US$22.3 million in 2005). The number of overseas properties stood at 1,315 (US$743.5 million) in 2006 and 2,000 (US$1,174 million) in 2007.
This is attributed to the fact that the real estate market was short of funds due to the negative effects of the global financial crisis. Furthermore, the overseas real estate market suffered a slump, failing to attract investors. According to related statistics, properties for investment purposes decreased more significantly than those purchased for residential purposes.
The amount of residential properties decreased 43.3% to US$66.3 million, with the number of properties also dropping by 34.8% to 187. On the other hand, properties purchased for investment reasons totaled US$156.7 million, a drop of 60.2% from the year before, while in quantity the number dropped 67.2% to 335.
By entities, the number of individuals making purchases dropped more significantly than that of corporations. Acquisitions by individuals totaled US$183.2 million, a drop of 56.9% from US$425.5 million, while the number of purchases slid 63.7% from 1,200 to 436. In addition, the total worth off acquisitions made by corporations reached US$39.7 million, a drop of 53.2%, while the the total number fell 19.6% to 86. However, as the Korean economy began to recover in the second half of last year, more and more people began to purchase overseas properties.