Seoul Apartment Listings Near 80,000, Surging 30% in Three Months

Tighter lending rules and fatigue from the short-term price surge coincide
Transaction freeze... "Breather" seen as more likely
Seoul home price gains show signs of slowing

Listings of apartments in Seoul are nearing 80,000, reaching one of their highest levels of the year. The increase is attributed to a transaction freeze, as tighter lending rules coincide with buyer fatigue after a sharp short-term price surge. Market experts see the market as more likely to be taking a “breather” than turning downward.

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

According to Asil, a real estate big data platform, there were 79,119 apartments listed for sale in Seoul as of October 30. That was a 30.97% increase in just three months from 60,409 listings when the August 3 tax reform plan was announced.

The rise in listings is evident not only in the Gangnam area but also in districts outside Gangnam. Compared with August, listings surged by more than 60% in Seongbuk-gu, 50% in Gangdong-gu, and around 30% to 40% in Dongdaemun-gu and Mapo-gu.

Transaction volumes are on a downward trend. According to data from the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment transactions in Seoul totaled 8,946 in May but fell by half to 4,589 in August.

Ham Youngjin, head of Woori Bank’s Real Estate Research Lab, said, “Tax incentives, including the temporary suspension of the higher capital gains tax rate for multi-home owners and the Good Landlord Program, are prompting owners to put properties on the market. Meanwhile, rising interest rates, buyer fatigue after the short-term price surge, and limits on the total volume of household loans are restricting buyers’ financial capacity.” He described the situation as “a pause in transactions, with listings piling up because homes are not selling.”

As listings have accumulated, the years-long rise in home prices has also begun to slow. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment sale prices in Seoul rose 0.09% week on week in the fourth week of October, as of October 26, marking a 90th consecutive week of gains. However, the increase was smaller than the 0.13% recorded the previous week, indicating a more gradual rise.

By area, declines were particularly pronounced in the 11 Gangnam districts, where prices fell 0.02%. In contrast, the 14 Gangbuk districts, including Seongbuk, Seodaemun and Jung-gu, rose 0.22%, maintaining gains of around 0.3%.

Ham said, “Outlying areas have continued to post relatively strong weekly gains in the 0.3% range since September, so the momentum in these areas would also have to weaken before we could call it a meaningful turning point. We need to watch whether buyers return when household loan limits are reset at the start of the year.”

Kim Deokrye, senior director at the Housing Industry Research Institute, said, “The government’s tax reform has increased the holding costs for homeowners, prompting them to put properties on the market. However, pressure for higher jeonse and monthly rents remains strong, leaving room for rental demand to shift to home purchases.” She added, “New apartment supply in Seoul will be limited next year. In addition, in the Gangnam area, which has recently undergone a price correction, buyers waiting on the sidelines could enter the market if prices fall further to a certain level. As a result, apartment prices are likely to remain firm or edge slightly lower.”

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