August Seoul Office Price Per Pyeong Hits KRW 51.12 Million, Highest in 4 Years [Real Estate AtoZ]

Gap in Large-Scale Transactions: Shift Toward Small and Medium-Sized Assets
Office Building Permits Increase, Expanding the Supply Pipeline

In August 2026, the average transaction price per pyeong for Seoul office properties reached 51.12 million KRW, marking the highest level in approximately four years. While the total transaction value decreased by 70% compared to the previous month due to a lack of large-scale building deals worth hundreds of billions of won, the sale of properties with high unit prices in areas such as Hongdae and Myeong-dong pushed the average transaction price higher.

Exterior view of the mixed-use office building 'Corner 136' near Hongdae Ipgu Station in Seoul. This building was traded at 62.75 million KRW per pyeong, the highest ever in the Hongdae area. Kakao Map

According to commercial real estate information provider Realytics on October 1, the average transaction price per pyeong of Seoul offices in August 2026 was calculated at 51.12 million KRW. This is a 78.3% increase from the previous month. It marks the highest level in three years and eleven months, since September 2022 (88.5 million KRW).

The main transactions were 'Corner 136' near Hongdae Ipgu Station and 'Shinhan Xpace' in Myeong-dong. The total sale value for these two buildings reached 380 billion KRW, accounting for 52.9% of Seoul's total transaction volume in August.

Corner 136 was sold for 252 billion KRW, translating to approximately 62.75 million KRW per pyeong. This building, completed in 2024, is leased by organizations such as the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development. Realytics assessed this as the highest unit price transaction ever recorded in the Hongdae area.

Shinhan Xpace, located near Myeong-dong Station, was traded at 128 billion KRW, with the unit price reaching as high as 100.96 million KRW per pyeong. The sale amount itself was about 10% lower than its initial appraised value of 142.2 billion KRW.

The average transaction price per pyeong is calculated by dividing the total transaction value by the total area transacted. This figure can fluctuate monthly depending on which properties are sold. In cases where high-priced properties are traded, as occurred this month, the average can rise—even though it does not indicate that prices throughout the entire Seoul office market have increased by a similar margin.

Average transaction area and unit price per pyeong of Seoul office. Realytics

There were a total of seven Seoul office transactions in August 2026, amounting to 718 billion KRW. Both the number of transactions and the total value declined from July, during which there were twelve deals totaling 2.4015 trillion KRW. The transaction area also dropped to 14,045 pyeong, representing an 83.2% decrease from the previous month.

In July, 'Semicolon Mullae' was traded at 614.8 billion KRW and 'Gangnam 358 Tower' at 445 billion KRW. The main August transactions involving Corner 136 and Shinhan Xpace were smaller in terms of transaction value, resulting in a significant month-on-month decrease in overall transaction value compared to July, which featured several large-scale deals worth hundreds of billions of KRW.

Of August's transactions, six deals exceeded 30 billion KRW, totaling 697 billion KRW, which accounted for 97.1% of all transactions. By region, areas outside the city center, Gangnam, and Yeouido saw 450 billion KRW worth of deals—representing 62.7% of Seoul’s total office transaction value.

The cumulative transaction value for January through August 2026 was 7.9864 trillion KRW, up 44.3% compared to the same period last year. Although the transaction value in August was lower than in the previous month, this year’s cumulative performance continues to outpace last year’s figures.

The floor area of building permits—a leading indicator of office building supply—increased. In August 2026, building permits for office space in Seoul amounted to 541,986 square meters, up 111.8% from the previous month. In contrast, the completed construction area was 54,439 square meters, reflecting a 76.0% decrease compared to the previous month.

Realytics stated, "In August 2026, the Seoul office market saw a drop in transaction volume due to the absence of large-scale deals, but selective transactions and high unit prices for small and medium-sized assets continued to prevail."

"Looking ahead to the second half of the year, with the possibility of higher interest rates, transactions are likely to increasingly focus on large assets with stable tenancies and strong cash flows. As a number of large office buildings await potential deals, whether these transactions go through will play a decisive role in shaping the market trend," the firm added.

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