Seoul Apartment Price Gains Narrow for First Time in 3 Weeks... "Catch-Up" Trend Spreads in Southern Gyeonggi [Real Estate A to Z]

Korea Real Estate Board: Weekly Apartment Price Trends for the Third Week of October

Growth in apartment sale prices in Seoul slowed for the first time in three weeks. In Gyeonggi Province, overall growth also eased, but southern areas such as Hwaseong and Anyang continued to post strong gains.

A view of apartment complexes in downtown Seoul from Namsan. Photo by Yoon Dongju.

According to weekly apartment price trends for the third week of October (as of October 19), released by the Korea Real Estate Board on October 22, apartment sale prices in Seoul rose 0.13% from the previous week. The gain narrowed by 0.03 percentage points from a week earlier, slowing for the first time in three weeks. However, prices continued to rise for the 89th consecutive week, a streak that began in the first week of February last year.

Sale prices in Seoul's three Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa) continued to fall amid policy uncertainty related to tax measures. Prices in Seocho-gu fell 0.32%, a bigger decline than the 0.27% drop the previous week. Prices fell mainly in large apartment complexes in Seocho-dong and Jamwon-dong.

Gangnam-gu prices fell 0.31%, led by Apgujeong-dong and Yeoksam-dong, marking an 11th consecutive week of declines. Songpa-gu also fell 0.13%, extending its weakness to seven consecutive weeks. However, the declines in the two districts narrowed by 0.04 and 0.08 percentage points, respectively, from the previous week.

Prices continued to rise in Seoul's mid- and lower-priced areas. Sale prices increased in Seongbuk-gu (0.41% to 0.36%), Seodaemun-gu (0.40% to 0.36%), Jung-gu (0.16% to 0.35%), Dobong-gu (0.39% to 0.33%) and Jungnang-gu (0.42% to 0.31%). Gains also continued in Gangseo-gu (0.30% to 0.27%), Gwanak-gu (0.34% to 0.27%) and Geumcheon-gu (0.36% to 0.26%).

The Korea Real Estate Board said, "While transactions at adjusted lower prices were recorded in some areas, prices rose mainly in large apartment complexes with good living conditions and sustained demand, as well as in areas near transit stations and in the small- and medium-sized apartment segment, leading to an overall increase across Seoul."

Rate of Change in the Apartment Sales Price Index by City and Province. Korea Real Estate Board

In Gyeonggi Province (0.26% to 0.21%), overall growth slowed, but the southern region remained strong.

High growth rates were recorded in Byeongjeom-gu, Hwaseong (0.56% to 0.65%); Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong (0.66% to 0.57%); and Dongan-gu, Anyang (0.53% to 0.56%).

In Suwon (0.47% to 0.40%), home to Samsung Electronics' headquarters and major business sites, employee housing loans provided by the company supported workers' purchasing power.

As prices rose in central areas, some owner-occupier buyers facing financial pressure turned to nearby areas where prices had risen less, narrowing the price gap in a catch-up trend. Prices rose in tandem in Gunpo (0.72% to 0.53%) and Uiwang (0.60% to 0.47%), both outside regulated areas.

Incheon maintained the same 0.02% growth rate as the previous week.

Prices across the Seoul metropolitan area rose 0.16%, with growth slowing by 0.04 percentage points from 0.20% the previous week. Non-metropolitan areas recorded the same 0.01% growth rate as the previous week.

Nationwide sale prices rose by an average of 0.08%, slowing by 0.02 percentage points from 0.10% the previous week.

Change in the Apartment Jeonse Price Index by Province. Korea Real Estate Board.

In the jeonse market, conditions varied by area depending on new housing supply and rental demand. Seoul jeonse prices rose (0.18% to 0.16%), but in Seocho-gu (-0.19% to -0.10%), where a large volume of new apartments was completed, listings accumulated and prices fell for the 10th consecutive week.

By contrast, prices in Gangnam-gu turned higher for the first time in eight weeks (-0.12% to 0.12%).

Continued jeonse demand in outlying areas supported Seoul prices, including in Seongbuk-gu (0.39% to 0.36%), Nowon-gu (0.38% to 0.31%), Dobong-gu (0.22% to 0.28%), Jungnang-gu (0.37% to 0.27%), Geumcheon-gu (0.28% to 0.27%), Seodaemun-gu (0.27% to 0.24%) and Gwanak-gu (0.19% to 0.21%).

Growth in jeonse prices in Gyeonggi Province slowed from 0.19% to 0.18%. Gains were strong in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong (0.40% to 0.57%); Sujeong-gu, Seongnam (0.23% to 0.50%); and Yeongtong-gu, Suwon (0.44% to 0.39%).

Growth in Incheon (0.14% to 0.13%) and across the Seoul metropolitan area (0.18% to 0.17%) eased slightly from the previous week. In non-metropolitan areas, jeonse price growth edged up from 0.04% last week to 0.05% this week.

Prices rose by 0.06% in the four metropolitan cities, 0.27% in Sejong City, 0.02% in the South Jeolla-Gwangju area and 0.03% across the seven provinces.

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