According to data released on Tuesday, the number of South Koreans who relocated to different residences in the country decreased by the most in nine years last year, due to fewer housing transactions.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of persons who changed their dwellings decreased by 6.7% year on year to 7.21 million in 2021. According to media reports, it was the steepest year-over-year drop since 2012, when population mobility fell 7.6%. The reduction was mostly due to the base effect, since people's mobility rose in 2020 as a result of higher house transactions induced by rising home prices.

The drop was also due to demographic changes, such as a decrease in the number of persons in their 20s and 30s due to low birthrates and rapid ageing. Housing concerns accounted for 37.6% of the causes for cross-city or interstate travel last year, followed by family members at 23% and occupations at 22%.

In 2021, the population mobility rate (the number of individuals moving per 100 people) was 14.1%, down one percentage point from the last year. The number of such persons declined 13.7% year over year to 619,000 in December, owing to low house purchases. 

It was the 12th month in a row that the number has dropped. To combat soaring housing prices, the government enacted plenty of policies, including tax rises and loan regulations. However, the restrictions mostly resulted in a temporary drop in home prices. Due to the central bank's rate rises and tougher lending rules, housing prices have begun to stabilise in recent months.

The Bank of Korea increased the main interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25 percent on January 14. It was the third rate hike since the BOK raised rates for the first time in the epidemic period in August of last year.

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