SEOUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unsold homes rose for the fifth successive month, fueling concerns about the sluggish real estate market, government data showed Friday.

The number of unsold homes nationwide advanced 10.8 percent from a month earlier to 71,997 at the end of April, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The number rebounded in December last year as builders struggling with credit crunch began to bring new homes into the market despite low housing prices.

The number of unsold homes in the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, in which about half of the country's population resides, jumped 22.4 percent from a month earlier to 14,655 at the end of April.

The number in other areas gained 8.2 percent to 57,342 in the cited month.

The number of home transactions stood at 58,215 in April, up 10.2 percent from the previous month.

For the first four months of this year, housing permits totaled 102,482 in number, down 21.1 percent compared to the same period of last year.

The number of housing starts soared 29.6 percent to 89,197 in the four-month period across the country. Enditem

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