No. of new apartment subscribers with high scores up for 6 months

[Photo by Yonhap]

The number of first-round apartment subscribers surged by more than 80,000 in just one month in August, suggesting a fierce competition among home buyers in South Korea amid a fall in supply.

According to data from the real estate information database R114 on Thursday, the number of subscribers with the highest merit stood at 173,401 nationwide in August, up by 81,072 from July.

The number of first-round applicants have been on a rise for six straight months since March.

Total housing supply, however, fell by 1,524 units over the same period, leading to an intensified competition. The average competition ratio more than doubled to 20.77 to 1 in August from 9.35 to 1 in July.

The number of first-round subscribers increased by 52,989 in Seoul and 14,271 in Gyeonggi Province, accounting for 82 percent of the entire growth.

The number of subscribers in other regions fell.

In Busan, the figure declined by 20,947, Gangwon 9,058, North Jeolla Province 8,534, South Gyeongsang Province 2,529, and North Chungcheong Province 1,974.