"Discounted Listings Have Sold, and Asking Prices Have Risen"... Sejong Home Prices Stir Ahead of Second Relocation of Public Institutions

Second Relocation of Public Institutions to Bring 3,000 People Next Year

Sejong Home Prices, After Declining, See Asking Prices Stir

Will Buying Demand Sustain the Rise? Some See “Limits to Home Price Gains”

"With plans to relocate public institutions coming out one after another, landlords are raising their asking prices a little, and they are not adjusting prices as readily as before. Newly built homes are expensive and mostly on the outskirts, so some prime, well-located apartment buildings are seeing record-high sale prices." (Real estate agent in Naseong-dong, Sejong)

With the second relocation of central government agencies to Sejong becoming more likely, the city’s property market, which had been frozen, is beginning to stir again. In some apartment complexes close to the Government Complex Sejong and with good living conditions, sales have recently continued, and asking prices have risen by nearly KRW 100 million from previous transaction prices. Buying activity has yet to pick up significantly, but local agents say home prices could rise, as about 3,000 civil servants are set to move to the city next year alone.

According to real estate agencies in major apartment districts, including Naseong-dong, Saerom-dong and Dajeong-dong in Sejong, asking prices have recently shown a clear upward trend. An agent in Saerom-dong said, "For landlords, the relocation of public institutions is good news, so they have no choice but to raise prices. About 3,000 civil servants and their families will move here next year, which is a substantial number for Sejong, with a population of 390,000."

At Naritjae Complex 3 in Naseong-dong, an 84.17-square-meter unit (exclusive area; same below) sold for between KRW 1.045 billion and KRW 1.19 billion last month, while high-floor units are currently asking around KRW 1.25 billion. An agent at a nearby real estate agency said, "KRW 1.2 billion used to be the price range for larger units in this complex, at 98.82 square meters, so prices have risen a lot. Units in the neighboring complex with lake views used to be in the mid-KRW 1.1 billion range, but some recently sold for the mid-KRW 1.2 billion range."

Statistics show that apartment prices in Sejong remain in a slump. In 2020, amid discussion of relocating the administrative capital, the city recorded the nation's steepest rise in home prices. But prices fell sharply from the following year as interest rates rose and buying activity weakened, and they are still declining. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment prices in Sejong fell 0.05% last week. They are down 0.93% cumulatively this year, lagging even the average increase of 0.26% in provincial areas.

However, after the relocation of government agencies to Sejong was announced last month, and detailed relocation plans were released recently, landlords have increasingly begun to expect home prices to rebound. An agent at Agency A said, "There have been many transactions over the past two weeks. Most of the buyers were civil servants or young people. It seems they believe it will become harder to enter the Naseong-dong market once the ministerial relocations are finalized soon and the move begins next year."

Asking prices at Sejong’s mid- and lower-priced apartment complexes are following a similar trend. A 75.55-square-meter unit at Gaon Maeul Complex 3 in Dajeong-dong fell to KRW 530 million in August, but prices are now in the KRW 600 million to KRW 620 million range. An agent at Agency B near the complex said, "Many listings offered at discounted prices were snapped up after the public institution relocation plan was announced a month ago. News reports that home prices in Sejong are falling reflect a distortion caused by the lag in reporting actual transactions."

In particular, data released in February 2026 by the Korea Real Estate Board and Real Estate R114 show that no apartment complexes with 30 or more households are scheduled for occupancy in Sejong next year. If relocations of 27 institutions, including the Financial Services Commission, begin next year, home prices could face short-term instability. Sejong Mayor Cho Sang-ho recently urged the relevant agencies, including the Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency, to quickly draw up specific supply plans for the remaining portion of the 200,000 homes originally planned for Sejong.

However, many say it is difficult to be certain that buying activity will consistently support the higher asking prices. Buying sentiment has weakened considerably amid rising interest rates, and Sejong also has capacity to supply homes through new development sites in the future, so concerns about home price instability are not as acute as in Seoul. An agent at Agency C in Saerom-dong said, "Unlike before, we are getting almost no inquiries from investors outside the area."

Some analysts also say that not many civil servants will immediately sell their apartments in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province and move permanently to Sejong for investment purposes. As a result, the supply of new apartments and demand for homes to rent on a deposit or monthly basis are expected to determine future sale prices. Lee Eun-hyung, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, said, "Some complexes near government offices or private academies could be affected," but added, "Even with liquidity at current levels, places where home prices are not rising will have limited scope to see prices increase on the relocation of public institutions alone."

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