Seoul’s redevelopment market in the northern districts is heating up, led by Nowon-gu. The so-called “Nodogang” area — Nowon, Dobong and Gangbuk — has been posting a string of record-high apartment prices, driven by the Seoul city government’s push to allow higher-density development and by demand concentrating in large complexes. We visited two key redevelopment sites in Nowon: Junggye Green and Hagye Jangmi apartments.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 4th, apartment sale prices in Nowon-gu have risen 3.38% so far this year, outpacing Seoul’s overall increase of 2.65%. In the last week of April, Nowon-gu’s weekly gain was 0.18%, higher than Gangbuk-gu (0.14%) and Dobong-gu (0.13%). Weekly increases in March and April held in the 0.18% to 0.32% range, ranking among the highest in Seoul. That contrasts with a sharp slowdown in the southern districts, including Gangnam-gu (-0.02%) and Seocho-gu (0.01%). The shift is attributed to buyers priced out of Gangnam amid lending curbs and peak-price concerns, along with reduced jeonse supply pushing more renters to buy.
At Junggye Green and Hagye Jangmi, redevelopment expectations were visible throughout the complexes. Construction company banners congratulated residents on reaching the consent threshold to form a promotion committee. Both complexes sit about a 30-second walk from Line 7 stations — Junggye Station and Hagye Station — and are also favored by end-users because an elementary school is reachable by crossing a single street.
Junggye Green is a large complex of 25 buildings and 3,481 households, and transactions continued as moves took place. The real estate platform Asil reported three sales and seven jeonse deals last month. A 59-square-meter unit sold in March for 720 million won, a record high, up about 140 million won from 577 million won in July last year.
Hagye Jangmi, a 15-building complex with 1,880 households, also showed a clear price rise. A 59-square-meter unit traded last month for 780 million won, the highest price on record. That was about 175 million won higher than 605 million won in July last year.
Policy changes by the Seoul city government also appear to be supporting Nowon-gu’s rise. Seoul is pursuing a plan that introduces a mixed-use redevelopment model around transit hubs and allows high-density projects of up to 60 stories. Under the plan, Hagye Jangmi is expected to pursue redevelopment up to 59 stories, while Junggye Green is expected to pursue a plan up to 49 stories and 4,360 households. Expectations have also been lifted by the use of a public support system to shorten administrative procedures and speed up projects.
A Seoul city official said the city applied a “high-density, mixed-use development centered on transit hubs” concept while revising district unit plans for parts of Sanggye, Junggye and Hagye neighborhoods in Nowon-gu. The official said some transit-area complexes can now apply a floor area ratio of up to about 400% through measures such as zoning upgrades.
The official added that while Junggye Green is near a station, it differs from complexes that qualify for the high-density mixed-use standard because there are no nearby semi-residential or commercial zones.
Seo Jin-hyeong, a professor in the Department of Real Estate and Law at Kwangwoon University, said Nowon-gu had lagged in redevelopment because existing floor area ratios were already high, limiting additional capacity and weakening project feasibility. He said the latest easing of floor area ratio rules could become a catalyst for revitalizing redevelopment.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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