The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country declined at the sharpest pace in six years in February amid a housing supply shortage, data showed Wednesday.

The number of people who changed their residences fell 9.6 percent on-year to 706,000 in February, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the biggest on-year decline for any February since a 12.5 percent fall in 2015.

It also marked the second straight month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh consecutive month in December 2020 amid soaring home prices.

The fall was mainly attributable to fewer newly built apartments and the base effect last year, according to the statistics agency.

The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 100 people -- reached 17.9 percent last month, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

Last month, the government unveiled a plan to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years in a bid to help stabilize rising housing prices.

The country has rolled out a series of comprehensive measures to stem rising home prices, including tax hikes and loan regulations. But the measures have resulted in only a short-term letup in housing price increases. (Yonhap)