Seoul Apartment Prices Rise for 82 Consecutive Weeks as Demand Concentrates on Homes Under 1.5 Billion Won

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Although apartment transactions in Seoul are declining, home prices have continued to rise for 82 weeks straight. This is because, despite reduced purchasing power due to lending regulations, many people are stepping into the housing market driven by demand for relatively lower-priced apartments and the unbearable strain of the jeonse and monthly rent crunches.

Reporter Lee Seong-hoon has the details.

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This is an apartment complex in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul.

Consisting of around 2,800 households, the local atmosphere indicates that recent transactions have noticeably decreased.

[Kim Kyung-sook / Real Estate Agent in Nowon-gu, Seoul: Transactions surged when the grace period for heavy capital gains taxes was coming to an end. Now, there are not many properties available at those elevated prices.]

The total transaction volume for apartments across Seoul surged to around 8,900 cases in May—coinciding with the end of the capital gains tax grace period—before dropping to the 5,000 range in June and July, and falling to around 2,600 cases as of current report filings last month.

Even though trading activity has contracted significantly, Seoul apartment prices have continued an upward trend for 82 consecutive weeks.

Last week, Seoul apartment prices rose by 0.22%, with outer districts such as Seongbuk-gu, Jungnang-gu, and Nowon-gu seeing larger increases.

This contrasts with Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, where prices have been on a downward trend for four consecutive weeks.

Looking at the proportion of transactions by price bracket, the share of homes priced at or below 900 million won increased from 47% in January of this year to 54% last month, whereas the share of transactions exceeding 1.5 billion won decreased from 21% to 19%azione.

Demand for mid-to-low-priced apartments remains robust, and due to a shortage of listings, transactions are being sealed even at higher prices.

Amid instability in the leasing market caused by a shortage of jeonse properties, demand to switch from renting to buying is also flowing into mid-to-low-priced apartments.

[Ham Young-jin / Head of Woori Bank Real Estate Research Lab: While interest rates are rising and loans are being regulated, housing demand cannot be said to be lower than in the past. Because the leasing market is unstable, prices do not easily drop despite low transaction volumes, and a scenario where prices edge upward could continue.]

The finalized details of the tax law revision submitted to the National Assembly, along with whether and when additional interest rate hikes will occur, are expected to be major variables shaping future transaction trends.

(Video Editing: Choi Hye-ran, VJ: Jeong Han-uk)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.