In 2025, Korea will enter the full-fledged 'era of foreigners flocking in'. The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea this year is expected to approach 20 million, and the number of foreigners staying in Korea has exceeded 2.65 million. As the influx of foreigners for various purposes, such as residence, employment, study abroad, and investment, beyond tourism, increases, the urban structure and the overall consumer market are rapidly changing.
This trend is also inducing unprecedented changes in the real estate market. As tourism and accommodation demand surges, the construction of new hotels, residences, and other accommodations is becoming more active, and cases of purchasing existing houses or commercial buildings and remodeling or operating them as short-term accommodations such as Airbnb and motels are also increasing significantly. Real estate agencies in areas with high demand from foreigners are strengthening customized services for foreigners by deploying multilingual consulting staff and interpreters. It seems that the ‘tourism specialty’ is clearly reflected in the real estate market as a whole.
Tourists come, foreigners stay
As of January-February 2025, the number of foreign tourists was approximately 1.13 million (as of February), an increase of 10.5% compared to the same month of the previous year. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, if this recovery continues, the number of foreign tourists per year is expected to reach 20 million. As the number of foreign tourists has almost recovered to the pre-pandemic level, foreign consumption and accommodation demand are both rapidly increasing.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of the end of 2024, the number of foreign residents will be 2,650,783, which is 5.2% of the total population. Of these, long-term foreign residents will account for 2.04 million, or 77%, and permanent residents will also exceed 200,000. The transition from a single-ethnicity country to a global settlement country is becoming a reality.
As the two axes of demand, short-term accommodation and long-term settlement, grow simultaneously, the influence of foreigners on our country's real estate market is also clearly expanding.
The real estate industry is quickly adapting to change
In areas with high tourism demand due to the increase in foreigners, the number of houses, short-term rental officetels, and residences for foreigners that can be registered on Airbnb is continuously increasing. Recently, there has been an active movement to remodel old houses into short-term accommodations or rebrand existing motels into tourist-specific accommodations.
This trend is going beyond short-term profit-oriented investment to diversify real estate products and change asset management methods. The brokerage industry is responding to market changes by expanding its scope to include finding accommodation-type housing, brokering commercial facilities, and consulting on investment-type asset management.
Foreign rental demand evolves into 'settled' type
Meanwhile, the influx of foreigners seeking long-term residence is steadily increasing. The areas where they mainly gather are Seoul and the metropolitan area, where foreign companies, international schools, and embassies are concentrated. In particular, foreign customers prefer long-term leases, and since the proportion of corporate contracts is high, they are evaluated as trustworthy tenants by landlords in terms of contract stability and credit. An official from the global real estate franchise Remax Korea said, “We are actively expanding our global referral network operation service in preparation for the increasing interest of foreigners in the Korean real estate market due to the popularity of tourism, shopping, medical care, education, and cultural content.”
“Foreigners are no longer guests, they are customers.”
20 million tourists, 2.65 million foreign residents. These figures go beyond simple inflow statistics and symbolize the globalization of Korean society and fundamental changes in the demand structure of the real estate market. With political uncertainty easing and the global popularity of Korean Wave content continuing, the globalization of the Korean real estate market is becoming a structural trend. Foreign demand is not a one-time event, but a sustainable major demand group.
In particular, the real estate industry needs to establish a customized response strategy for foreign customers, as they have a high proportion of corporations, high net worth individuals, and global investors, and thus have a significant impact on the market. Simplifying the contract process, eliminating language barriers, and providing systematic investment consulting and aftercare services will be the key to competitiveness.
Nowadays, services for foreigners are no longer a ‘differentiation strategy’ but a basic condition for market entry.
Only companies that proactively respond to this trend will be able to secure not only short-term profits but also mid- to long-term brand value.
