Nationwide Commercial and Office Building Transactions Decline for Four Consecutive Months in July

Nationwide Commercial Building Transactions Down 3.4%
10 to 30 Billion Won Transactions Rise, Total Transaction Value Increases
Transaction Volume Down in 11 and Transaction Amount Down in 8 of 16 Regions

As the nationwide volume of commercial and office building transactions has declined for four consecutive months, the only segment to see an increase compared to the previous month was the 10 billion to 30 billion won range. High-value building transactions were concentrated in Seoul, indicating significant differences by region and price tier.

A price list of officetel properties is posted at a real estate agency in the officetel-dense area of Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Real Estate Planet, an AI-based real estate specialist company, the number of commercial and office building transactions across the country in July was 1,025, a decrease of 3.4% from the previous month. This is the second lowest monthly figure for the year so far, after February (913 transactions), and marks a four-month consecutive downward trend.

In contrast, during the same period, the total transaction amount rose 0.5% for the second consecutive month, from 4.0324 trillion won to 4.0545 trillion won. However, compared to the same period last year (1,180 transactions, 4.2106 trillion won), the transaction volume dropped by 13.1% and the transaction amount decreased by 3.7%.

10 to 30 Billion Won Building Transactions Up 76.0% Month-on-Month

By price range, only the 10 billion to 30 billion won segment saw an increase in transactions compared to the previous month. The number of transactions in this segment reached 44, a 76% increase month-on-month.

On the other hand, transactions for buildings valued at over 30 billion won declined by 40%, from 20 to 12. The 5 billion to 10 billion (-14.3%), under 1 billion (-5.7%), and 1 billion to 5 billion (-0.3%) segments also experienced a drop in transaction numbers.

By region, transactions for buildings under 1 billion won were highest in Gyeonggi Province (122), followed by North Gyeongsang Province (63), South Jeolla and Gwangju (55), South Chungcheong Province (47), and Seoul (45). In the 1 billion to 5 billion won segment, the largest number of transactions was in Seoul (106), followed by Gyeonggi Province (72), Busan (18), Daegu (17), and Incheon (16). Transactions above 5 billion won were concentrated in Seoul: 52.1% of 5 to 10 billion won transactions and 79.5% of 10 to 30 billion won transactions occurred in Seoul. For transactions over 30 billion won, Seoul accounted for 75%, while the remaining three were in Gyeonggi Province (2) and Ulsan (1).

Building Transactions Decreased in Most Areas Nationwide... Zero Transactions in Sejong

A review of the sales status in 16 cities and provinces nationwide shows transaction volume decreased in 11 regions compared to the previous month. No transactions were recorded in Sejong in July. Jeju (-51.7%), Gangwon (-44.4%), South Gyeongsang (-26.1%), and North Jeolla (-17.5%) also experienced declines. Four regions saw an increase compared to the previous month: Incheon rose from 38 to 61 transactions (up 60.5%), marking the largest jump, followed by Ulsan (55.6%), South Chungcheong Province (14.3%), and Seoul (13.4%). Daegu recorded 39 transactions, unchanged from the previous month.

Transaction amounts declined in eight provinces. The biggest declines were in Sejong (-100%), which saw no transactions in July, followed by Gangwon (-81%), North Jeolla (-63.7%), Jeju (-39.1%), and Busan (-23.6%). Conversely, Ulsan’s total transaction amount surged from 15.3 billion won to 183.3 billion won, a 1,100.3% increase, while Daegu (109.2%), Incheon (98.6%), Daejeon (30.7%), and South Jeolla and Gwangju (28.6%) also posted gains.

Jung-gu, Seoul Leads Transaction Volume by District

For July, the area with the highest number of transactions by city district was Jung-gu, Seoul, with 40 transactions. Next were Jongno-gu, Seoul (28), Gimpo-si and Paju-si in Gyeonggi Province (16 each), Yongsan-gu, Seoul (15), as well as Mapo-gu, Seoul and Andong-si in North Gyeongsang Province (14 each).

By transaction amount, Gangnam-gu, Seoul led with 654.7 billion won, followed by Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul (545.9 billion won), Mapo-gu, Seoul (477.1 billion won), Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province (395.5 billion won), and Jung-gu, Seoul (200.5 billion won).

In terms of the top 10 single transaction values, seven were in Seoul, two in Gyeonggi Province, and one in Ulsan. The ‘Gangnam 358 Tower’ in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul was sold for 445 billion won, marking the month’s highest transaction, followed by ‘Homeplus Yeongdeungpo’ in Mullae-dong 3-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu (350 billion won), ‘LC Tower’ in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu (265 billion won), ‘A-One Tower Dangsan’ in Dangsan-dong 4-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu (163 billion won), and ‘K Square’ in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu (150 billion won). The ‘GB1 Building’ (306.6 billion won) and ‘CHA Medical Group Pangyo Integrated Research Institute’ (40.3 billion won) in Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, as well as ‘Homeplus Ulsan Namgu Branch’ (147 billion won) in Yaum-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, were also included in the top 10.

Jeong Sumin, CEO of Real Estate Planet, stated, "While the nationwide commercial and office building sales market in July showed transaction volume declining for the fourth month in a row, the transaction amount increased for the second consecutive month, presenting different trends by transaction size. As transactions in the 10 to 30 billion won range have surged and deals over 5 billion won are concentrated in Seoul, selective deals are occurring depending on location and asset type, such as offices in major business districts and large retail stores, as trading activity differentiates according to these factors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.