"Never Before Has This Happened": 'Living in Seoul on Monthly Rent'... A 'Seismic Shift' Begins at 1.66 Million Won and 51%

Seoul Apartment Monthly Rentals Top 50%
Monthly Rentals Make Up 51% of Seoul Transactions in Jan-Sep, Up 7.3 Percentage Points
Will the Share Top 50% for the First Time on an Annual Basis This Year?
Fewer Jeonse Listings, Shifting Tenant Preferences: The "New Normal"

From January to September this year, monthly rentals accounted for more than 50% of apartment lease transactions in Seoul for the first time. Monthly rental transactions surged as the supply of jeonse listings dwindled and both landlords and tenants increasingly preferred monthly rentals. If this trend continues, monthly rentals are expected to account for more than half of transactions on an annual basis for the first time as well.

A view of apartments in Gangnam from the Sky Observatory at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul / Photo by Yun Dongju doso7@

According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza on October 20, monthly rental transactions for Seoul apartments totaled 87,870 from January to September this year, accounting for about 51% of all jeonse and monthly rental transactions (172,227). In the same period last year, there were 90,312 monthly rental transactions, or about 43.7% of the total. This means the monthly rental share rose by 7.3 percentage points in a year.

Since the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza began compiling statistics in 2011, the annual share of monthly rental transactions has never exceeded half of the total through last year. If monthly rentals account for a greater share than jeonse on an annual basis this year, it will mark the first year in which monthly rentals become the “new normal.” Last year, monthly rentals accounted for a record 44.5% of transactions for the year.

Among Seoul’s 25 autonomous districts, monthly rental transactions outnumbered jeonse transactions in 13. In the same period last year, this was the case in just four districts: Geumcheon-gu, Jongno-gu, Jung-gu and Guro-gu. This year, nine more districts joined them: Gangnam-gu, Gangbuk-gu, Gwanak-gu, Gwangjin-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, Mapo-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Yongsan-gu and Jungnang-gu.

Jongno-gu had the highest share of monthly rentals, at 65.6%, followed by Jungnang-gu (64.9%), Guro-gu (63.1%), Jung-gu (59.6%), Geumcheon-gu (58.7%), Yongsan-gu (56.9%), Dongdaemun-gu (56.7%), Gwanak-gu (56.1%), Mapo-gu (54.1%), Gangnam-gu (54.0%), Gangbuk-gu (53.0%), Gwangjin-gu (52.6%) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (50.2%).

In Jungnang-gu, monthly rentals accounted for just 44.6% of transactions in the same period last year, but the share climbed by 20.3 percentage points to 64.9% this year. By contrast, Yangcheon-gu had the lowest share among the districts, at 42.1%. Jeonse transactions also outnumbered monthly rentals in Seongbuk-gu (44.7%), Dobong-gu (44.7%), Gangseo-gu (45.6%) and Dongjak-gu (46.0%).

The decline in jeonse listings appears to have been a factor, following last year’s October 15 measures, which imposed owner-occupancy requirements on homebuyers in some areas of the Seoul metropolitan region, including Seoul. Tighter regulations on jeonse loans and rising interest rates, as well as continuing cases of lost jeonse deposits, have also led tenants to favor monthly rentals. According to the financial sector, jeonse loans have declined for 13 consecutive months since September last year.

However, concerns have also been raised that the growing share of monthly rentals is increasing the burden on ordinary households. According to the Korea Real Estate Board’s nationwide housing price trends survey, the average monthly rent for Seoul apartments was 1,661,000 won last month, up 218,000 won from 1,443,000 won in the same month last year. The median monthly rent also rose over the same period, from 1.2 million won to 1.4 million won.

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