Median Apartment Price in 11 Gangnam Districts Surpasses 1 Billion Won for the First Time

July Seoul Median Sale Price
Record High of 846.84 Million KRW

Increased by 11 Million KRW in One Month
Largest Rise Since January

Seocho-gu Median at 1.64 Billion KRW, Highest Ever

Seoul Gangnam Apartment Area
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] According to official government statistics, the median price of apartments in Seoul has reached an all-time high. The median price of apartments in the 11 districts south of the Han River in Seoul has surpassed 1 billion KRW.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 4th, as of the 13th of last month, the median transaction price of apartments in Seoul was surveyed at 846.84 million KRW. Compared to 835.42 million KRW in June, it rose by about 11 million KRW in one month. This is the largest increase since January, when it rose by 41.63 million KRW from 839.21 million KRW the previous month.

In particular, the median price in the 11 districts south of the Han River reached 1.00375 billion KRW, exceeding 1 billion KRW for the first time since the statistics were compiled. It rose by 13 million KRW from 990.94 million KRW the previous month.

The median price refers to the "median value" located exactly in the middle when all samples are arranged in order of price. This means that more than half of the sample apartments surveyed by the Real Estate Board are priced higher than this value.

The median apartment price in Seoul first exceeded 700 million KRW in January last year, rising by about 100 million KRW from the previous month to 786.19 million KRW, and then surpassed 800 million KRW for the first time in January this year. However, due to the government's strong real estate policies, the price trend reversed to a decline from March, falling to 834.10 million KRW in May. But last month, it surged again, setting a new all-time high.

The highest median price was recorded in Seocho-gu, at 1.64 billion KRW, ranking first nationwide. Gangnam-gu followed closely at 1.635 billion KRW. In the northern part of Seoul, Gwangjin-gu recorded a median price of 1 billion KRW, becoming the second district after Yongsan-gu (1.285 billion KRW) to exceed 1 billion KRW.

The metropolitan area also showed a strong upward trend. Last month, the median transaction price of apartments in the metropolitan area was 522.05 million KRW, up 6.78 million KRW from the previous month. Gwacheon City ranked 5th nationwide with 1.245 billion KRW. Seongnam-si Sujeong-gu was surveyed at 1.03 billion KRW, ranking 6th.

Previously, according to private statistics from KB Kookmin Bank, the median apartment price across all of Seoul had already exceeded 900 million KRW. It first surpassed 900 million KRW in January at 912.16 million KRW and rose to 918.12 million KRW as of last month. The 11 districts of Gangnam reached 1.15741 billion KRW.

However, the Real Estate Board explained that the median price is subject to fluctuations due to sample composition and weighting adjustments based on inventory changes, and thus it is not appropriate to use it to calculate price change rates within regions.