New home permits in South Korea jumped nearly 35 percent in March from a year ago despite the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Thursday.

Construction permits issued for new homes stood at 45,354 units last month, down 34.8 percent from a year ago, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Construction permits spiked 44.9 percent from a year ago to 6,691 in the South Korean capital of Seoul in March.

New home permits issued in the capital area, which includes the adjacent province of Gyeonggi, shot up 34.2 percent on-year to 22,067. Those in the rest of the country also surged 35.3 percent to 23,387.

By type, construction permits for new apartments swelled 40.7 percent on-year to 34,677 units, and those for other types of housing, such as row and detached houses, expanded 18.6 percent to 10,677.

Meanwhile, the number of groundbreakings for new homes rocketed 63.1 percent on-year to 58,737 units last month, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)