"Falling at a Surprising Rate"... What Is Really Happening to Seoul Housing Prices?

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung stated that real estate transaction prices in major areas are dropping at a surprising rate. While he appears to have been referring to the Gangnam area and acknowledged that there are exceptions, the public response suggests most people find this hard to feel in reality.

Reporter Kim Hye-min has the details.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung made this remark during a Cabinet meeting:

[President Lee Jae-myung: Actual transaction prices in major areas are also continuing to fall. And they are dropping at a surprising rate.]

Indeed, as of the fourth week of October, apartment sales prices in Gangnam-gu fell 0.38% from a week earlier, while Seocho-gu saw a 0.35% decline.

This marks a downward trend for 12 consecutive weeks.

In particular, early last month, a 183-square-meter unit at the Sinhyundai apartment complex in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, was traded for 9.3 billion won, a plunge of 3.5 billion won compared to December of last year.

If the "major areas" mentioned by the president are understood as the Gangnam district, the assessment aligns with reality, but looking at Seoul as a whole paints a different picture.

Looking at overall apartment sales prices across Seoul, also as of the fourth week of October,

prices rose 0.09%, setting an all-time record of continuous growth for 90 consecutive weeks.

Leading the rise were small- and medium-sized apartments in Gangbuk areas such as Seongbuk-gu, Seodaemun-gu, and Jongno-gu.

While it is positive that housing prices in Gangnam—once considered invincible—are being curbed, the areas where demand from ordinary working-class citizens is concentrated are actually seeing prices rise.

However, the pace of increase for Seoul apartment prices overall has slowed for two consecutive weeks.

President Lee also addressed apartment listings and transaction volumes.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Aren't apartment listings in the Seoul area rapidly increasing right now? And transaction volume is dropping very rapidly.]

Indeed, apartment sales listings in Seoul have neared the highest levels of the year, while transactions dropped 42% compared to a year ago.

President Lee added that measures are already being devised, including large-scale government purchases of properties for public rental housing in the event housing prices plunge significantly.

(Video by Ha Ryung | Video Editing by Jeong Seong-hoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.