Number of people changing residences falls to lowest in 48 years

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country last month fell to the lowest level in nearly 50 years, data showed Wednesday. Around 511,000 people changed residences in August, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the smallest figure for any August since 1976, when the figure came to 471,000. The population mobility rate, which means the percentage of those relocating per 100 people, inched down 0.6 percentage point on-year to 11.8 percent in August. The decrease came as the number of new homes fell by around 10,000 from 56,000 in July and August, officials said. The agency also pointed to population aging as a reason for the country to have largely seen a decrease in the number of people changing residences. By region, Seoul saw a net outflow of 3,848 people in August, while Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital, and the northwestern port city of Incheon posted net inflows of 6,234 and 1,785, respect ively. In 2023, the number of people who changed residences fell to the lowest level in about 50 years amid demographic changes and a housing market slump. Source: Yonhap News Agency