The number of abandoned houses is rapidly growing across South Korea. The increasing number of abandoned houses is directly linked to a wide range of problems in communities, such as apprehension about crimes. This study aimed to analyze the variables that affect housing abandonment empirically. First, we analyzed the status of housing abandonment in various regions based on the addresses of the abandoned houses. Second, we identified the spatial characteristics of abandoned houses through spatial autocorrelation analysis. Third, we selected variables based on the literature review and analyzed the factors affecting housing abandonment through spatial regression analysis. Lastly, we aimed to explore the correlation between regional characteristics and the occurrence of housing abandonment, and to derive the factors influencing housing abandonment. This study found that abandoned houses were more likely to occur mainly in areas with environmentally vulnerable features. In this study, neighborhood environmental factors that promoted the occurrence of abandoned houses were derived by considering the neighborhood-level unit of analysis.

The problem of vacant houses is important to identify its causes and then solve it. This study aims to determine the factors affecting the occurrence of vacant houses and examines their influence. The results highlight that the residential environment, population, social, physical environment, and geographic factors are statistically significant for the residential areas’ vacant house occurrence, but physical environmental was not significant for the commercial area vacant house occurrence; however, the individual building factor was significant. In residential areas, if the housing itself becomes obsolete or the area is outdated, people often depart from the area, leaving behind empty houses. In the commercial area, it is possible to decrease the number of vacant houses by converting old houses into shops in line with revitalizing a commercial district; a decrease in the number of businesses can be interpreted as a decline in commercial districts and an increase in vacant houses.