Seoul's apartment sales prices rose by 2.50% in June, marking the largest increase in five years. In July, the proportion of transactions for apartments priced under 1.5 billion won exceeded 80%, reflecting a shift in demand towards mid-range housing due to loan regulations.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government reported on August 21, based on an analysis of the apartment sales price index published by the Korea Real Estate Agency and transaction volumes from the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza. Since January, the city has been releasing monthly trends of the apartment sales price index to reduce information gaps before housing contracts and help citizens accurately assess the housing market.
In June, the sales price of Seoul apartments increased by 2.50% compared to the previous month and rose 13.79% year-on-year. This 2.50% increase surpasses the 2.44% rise seen in June 2021 during a period of rapid price hikes, marking the highest level in nearly five years.
Regionally, all areas of Seoul experienced price increases, with the northeastern region recording the highest rise at 2.74%, followed closely by the northwestern region at 2.73%, the southeastern region at 2.52%, and the southwestern region at 2.41%. In terms of size, prices increased across all categories except for large apartments, with medium-sized apartments (over 85 square meters and under 135 square meters) showing the highest increase at 3.05%.
The jeonse (long-term lease) prices also continued to rise. In June, the sales price of jeonse apartments in Seoul increased by 1.28%, marking a 1% rise for four consecutive months. This trend has continued for 11 months since August of last year.
Regionally, the northeastern area saw the highest increase at 1.56%. In terms of size, medium-sized apartments (over 60 square meters and under 85 square meters) rose by 1.48%, showing the largest increase, with price rises observed across all sizes.
In July, the number of sales transactions remained above 5,000, with a renewed focus on mid-range sales. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as of August 18, the number of apartment sales transactions in July was 5,234, a 0.6% decrease from the previous month. However, since the reporting deadline for transactions is within 30 days of the contract date, additional reports for July contracts may be submitted until the end of August.
Notably, the proportion of transactions for apartments priced under 1.5 billion won rose to 81.2%, up 4.9 percentage points from 76.3% the previous month. Earlier in the year, the proportion of transactions for homes under 1.5 billion won was high due to loan regulations, but it decreased in April and May as high-priced home transactions increased ahead of the end of a capital gains tax exemption. As high-priced transactions have since declined, the focus has shifted back to mid-range housing.
By district, Nowon had the highest transaction volume at 632, followed by Jungnang, Gangseo, Guro, Seongbuk, and Eunpyeong. In these areas, the proportion of transactions for apartments priced under 1.5 billion won exceeded 95%.
In the rental market, the proportion of jeonse and monthly rent transactions returned to a 50-50 split. In July, the volume of jeonse transactions was 8,204, a 0.2% decrease from the previous month, while monthly rent transactions fell by 20.2% to 8,082. The surge in monthly rent transactions that exceeded 10,000 in June has subsided, leading to a temporary easing of the increase.
The proportion of jeonse transactions in July was recorded at 50.4%. Among these, the share of renewal contracts rose to 53.8%, up from 52.8% the previous month and 44.8% in the same month last year. Conversely, the proportion of contract renewal requests decreased to 53.5%, down from 55.8% the previous month and 60.1% in the same month last year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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