Nationwide Apartment Auction Listings Hit 12-Year, 7-Month High; Seoul's "Auction Boom" Persists

Nationwide Apartment Auction Listings Hit a 12-Year-and-Seven-Month High
Nationwide Auction Success Rate and Winning Bid-to-Appraisal Ratio Both Decline
Seoul's Winning Bid-to-Appraisal Ratio Rises Despite Auction Listing Buildup

The number of apartment auctions held nationwide reached its highest level in 12 years and seven months. As auction listings piled up, particularly in provincial areas suffering from a real estate downturn, both the auction success rate and the winning bid-to-appraisal ratio fell. In contrast, in Seoul, demand for winning bids has concentrated on mid- and lower-priced apartments, keeping the market in an auction boom, with the winning bid-to-appraisal ratio above 100% despite the increase in listings.

According to GG Auction, a company specializing in real estate auction data, 3,851 apartment auctions were held nationwide last month, up about 13% from 3,405 the previous month. This was the highest level in 12 years and seven months, since March 2014, when 4,063 auctions were held.

By region, Jeonnam-Gwangju saw the largest increase, with 430 auctions, up 119 from the previous month. The number also rose by 110 in Daegu, and increased substantially in North Gyeongsang Province (71), North Jeolla Province (61), Seoul (60), and Incheon (58).

As the number of auctions increased, the nationwide apartment auction success rate fell 1.5 percentage points from 35.4% the previous month to 33.9%. The auction success rate typically declines when the supply of newly listed properties increases in a given period and demand becomes concentrated on only certain preferred properties. It is an indicator that tends to fall as the number of auctions rises.

The winning bid-to-appraisal ratio, which can indicate price trends in the auction market, also declined. It fell 0.7 percentage points from 85.9% the previous month to 85.2%. A ratio below 100% means that the winning bid for an auctioned property was lower than its initial appraised value.

In Seoul, by contrast, the winning bid-to-appraisal ratio has remained firm even as the number of auctions has increased. Last month, 261 apartment auctions were held in Seoul, up 29.8% from 201 the previous month. The auction success rate also plunged 13.5 percentage points to 21.8% from 35.3% the previous month, its lowest level in three years and six months, since April 2023, when it stood at 19.0%. Meanwhile, the winning bid-to-appraisal ratio rose 5.4 percentage points from 94.7% the previous month to 100.1%, returning to the 100% mark for the first time in three months.

The increase in the winning bid-to-appraisal ratio is believed to have been driven by concentrated demand for winning bids on mid- and lower-priced apartment complexes valued at 1.5 billion won or less. In fact, apartments appraised at 2.5 billion won or more had an auction success rate of just 13.6% and a winning bid-to-appraisal ratio of 97.1%. By contrast, apartments priced at 1.5 billion won or less recorded an auction success rate of 21.4% and a winning bid-to-appraisal ratio of 103.6%. By district, excluding Gwangjin-gu and Gangdong-gu, where only one property was auctioned in each, Gwanak-gu had the highest winning bid-to-appraisal ratio at 111.7%, followed by Seongbuk-gu at 108.0%.

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