Real estate service sentiment stays weak in Korea

May 08, 2026, 10:06 am

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A real estate brokerage office is seen in Seoul’s Songpa District. /Yonhap

South Korea’s real estate service industry continued to face weak business sentiment in the first quarter of 2026, although companies expect a slight improvement in the second quarter, according to new government data released Thursday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the results of its “2026 First-Quarter Real Estate Service Industry Business Survey,” marking the first official release since the survey was designated as a national approved statistic last November.

The survey of 3,000 real estate service businesses nationwide showed that the Business Survey Index (BSI) for the sector stood at 62.7 in the first quarter. The outlook for the second quarter edged up slightly to 63.2.

The BSI measures corporate sentiment regarding business conditions, with readings above 100 indicating that more respondents expect conditions to improve than worsen.

By sector, property management recorded the highest BSI at 90.7, followed by information and technology service providers at 84.6, leasing businesses at 84.0, and appraisal services at 80.2.

In contrast, transaction-related sectors continued to struggle. Advisory services posted a BSI of 29.3, licensed brokerage services 34.3, and property development 45.8, all well below the neutral 50 mark.

Overall industry sentiment also remained weak. The industry-wide BSI came in at 60.3 in the first quarter, while the second-quarter outlook slipped slightly to 60.2.

Among industry categories, information and technology service providers recorded the highest industry BSI at 90.7, followed by property management at 87.8 and leasing services at 82.5. Advisory services, brokerage services and development businesses remained at the bottom of the rankings.

Businesses cited “uncertain economic conditions” as the biggest management challenge, selected by 47.9% of respondents. Other major concerns included government regulations at 16.3%, rising labor costs at 5.7%, intensifying competition at 4.9%, and funding shortages at 4.3%.

In the brokerage sector, 39.3% identified government regulations as the biggest burden. Appraisal firms pointed to intensifying competition, while property management companies cited rising labor costs more frequently than other sectors.

Jung Woo-jin, director general for land policy at the ministry, said the survey was meaningful as the first nationally approved BSI statistic for the real estate service industry, adding that the government plans to continue providing reliable data to support policymaking and industry operations.

#real estate services #BSI #business sentiment #Ministry of Land #Infrastructure and Transport