Buyer demand across South Korea’s housing market has accelerated sharply over the past six months, significantly outpacing growth in seller activity, according to new analysis from eXp Korea.
The firm examined Google Trends data, comparing search volumes between July 2025 and January 2026 with the previous six-month period.
Search interest in “real estate agencies” – seen as a proxy for potential seller activity – rose by 31.5%, suggesting more homeowners are exploring bringing properties to market.
However, buyer-side activity has risen at a far faster rate. Searches related to “property purchases” surged by 349.6% over the same period, while searches for “property listings” increased by 272.8%.
MORE COMPETITION
The data indicates that demand from prospective buyers is expanding much more rapidly than supply from new sellers.
As competition for available homes intensifies, conditions are increasingly tilting in favour of vendors able to attract committed purchasers.
Thomas Kim, Chief executive of eXp Korea, reckons search behaviour can act as an early indicator of market direction.
He says: “While much of the attention in the property market tends to focus on key indicators such as house prices or transaction volumes, early indicators like search behaviour often provide the clearest insight into shifting market sentiment.”
IMPROVING CONDITIONS
And he adds: “Our latest research shows a significant increase in homebuyer activity over the past six months, far outpacing the growth in seller searches and signalling strengthening demand across the market.
“For estate agents and homeowners alike, these leading insights are extremely valuable. They suggest that conditions are improving for sellers and that the likelihood of attracting motivated buyers is increasing.”
