Buying Demand Spreads Beyond Gangnam... Transaction Values Soar in Gangdong and Nowon [Real Estate A to Z]

Second-choice destinations fit buyers' budgets amid rising home prices and tighter regulations
Nowon leads with a 38% loan share; Gangdong stands at 22%

The fact that Songpa-gu has surpassed Gangnam-gu for the first time in property transaction value indicates that buying demand is spreading across Seoul. Buyers who find it difficult to enter Songpa-gu have turned to newly built apartment complexes in neighboring Gangdong-gu, while more buyers have opted for Nowon-gu, where mid- to lower-priced listings are concentrated, instead of Mapo, Yongsan and Seongdong districts (known collectively as “Mayongseong”). As rising home prices coincide with tighter lending rules, buyers are shifting their funds to second-best options that fit their financial circumstances.

Apartment complexes in downtown Seoul, viewed from Namsan. Yonhap News Agency

According to data on funding plans submitted from 2021 through the end of August 2026, which People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jong-yang obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Nowon-gu and Gangdong-gu ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, with KRW 3.8926 trillion and KRW 3.7897 trillion, following Songpa-gu (KRW 7.0788 trillion), Gangnam-gu (KRW 6.0878 trillion) and Seocho-gu (KRW 4.9188 trillion).

In 2021 and 2022, when all of Seoul was subject to the requirement to submit funding plans, Gangdong-gu ranked 12th in both years. Nowon-gu ranked eighth in 2021 and 18th in 2022.

The sharp rise of the two districts outside Gangnam is unusual. From 2023 to 2025, some parts of Seoul were no longer designated as regulated areas, changing the scope of the funding-plan submission requirement; those years were therefore excluded from a straightforward comparison of rankings.

In Gangdong-gu, which borders Songpa-gu, transactions were concentrated in a price bracket one level below Songpa-gu. From January through August this year, Gangdong-gu recorded 716 transactions for apartments priced at KRW 1.5 billion to KRW 2 billion, more than Songpa-gu’s 582. By contrast, Gangdong-gu recorded 71 transactions for homes priced at KRW 2.5 billion or more, compared with 983 in Songpa-gu.

Even among apartments with about 84 square meters of exclusive floor area, the price gap exceeds KRW 1 billion. In August, an 84.97-sqm unit at Jamsil Els sold for KRW 3.41 billion, while a unit of the same size at Godeok Arteon sold for KRW 2.335 billion.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Real Estate Transaction Price Disclosure System, 2,412 apartments were sold in Gangdong-gu from January through August this year, down 28% from 3,352 in the same period last year.

The value of transactions rose despite the decline in volume because apartment prices increased. The median transaction price for apartments with about 84 square meters of exclusive floor area across Gangdong-gu, including older buildings, was KRW 1.5 billion. However, newly built large complexes in Godeok-dong and Dunchon-dong saw a succession of transactions in the KRW 2 billion to KRW 3 billion range.

Sales priced at KRW 1.5 billion or more increased to 979 units this year from 914 in the same period last year. Sales priced at KRW 2 billion or more rose 2.4-fold, from 111 to 263, while those priced at KRW 2.5 billion or more increased from six to 71.

Transactions exceeding KRW 3 billion also emerged in the 80-sqm range. Last year, the highest-priced sale of an apartment in Gangdong-gu with at least 80 but less than 90 square meters of exclusive floor area was a 84.24-sqm unit on the sixth floor of Godeok Gracium in Godeok-dong, which sold for KRW 2.6 billion. From January through August this year, eight units in the 80-sqm range at Olympic Park Foreon in Dunchon-dong alone sold for more than KRW 3 billion. In June, a 84.99-sqm unit on the 30th floor sold for KRW 3.2 billion, and in August, a unit of the same size changed hands for KRW 3.195 billion.

From January through August this year, 100 units in Gangdong-gu’s 80-sqm range, excluding Olympic Park Foreon, sold for at least KRW 2 billion, equivalent to 75.8% of the 132 units sold over the whole of last year.

All 35 units in the 80-sqm range at Godeok Arteon in Sangil-dong that sold this year fetched more than KRW 2 billion. The median transaction price for units of this size also rose by more than KRW 400 million, from KRW 1.85 billion over the whole of last year to KRW 2.265 billion this year.

The share of sales priced at KRW 2 billion or more also increased at Raemian Hillstate Godeok in Godeok-dong. Last year, 23 of the 124 transactions (18.5%) for units in the 80-sqm range were priced at KRW 2 billion or more. This year, 20 of 32 transactions (62.5%) exceeded KRW 2 billion.

The share of Gangdong-gu homebuyers’ funds sourced from financial institution loans (21.8%) is far higher than in Songpa-gu (13.8%). Once a home’s market value exceeds KRW 2.5 billion, the mortgage loan cap falls to KRW 200 million, but buyers can borrow up to KRW 400 million for homes priced above KRW 1.5 billion and up to KRW 2.5 billion. For actual homebuyers with limited cash on hand, Gangdong-gu, where they have more room to use loans, has become a realistic second choice.

The availability of ample newly built large complexes as alternatives also played a role. The addition of Olympic Park Foreon, with 12,032 units, to existing large complexes such as Godeok Gracium, with 4,932 units, has created a vast new residential area. The planned extension of Subway Line 9, Phase 4, scheduled for completion in 2028, is also seen as narrowing the gap in access to Gangnam and boosting buyer sentiment.

Nowon-gu, which has climbed to fourth place in Seoul, is considered the top alternative for actual homebuyers who have given up on moving up to higher-priced neighborhoods closer to the city center. From January through August this year, financial institution loans accounted for KRW 1.4851 trillion of home purchase funds in Nowon-gu, the highest amount among Seoul’s 25 districts. That represented 38.2% of all purchase funds.

The relatively active use of loans by actual homebuyers is thought to reflect the large number of lower-priced apartment complexes, particularly in Sanggye-dong and Junggye-dong.

The relatively large supply of apartments priced at KRW 900 million or less in Nowon-gu that qualify for the Newborn Special Loan is also seen as lowering the financial barrier for actual homebuyers.

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