Seoul Apartment Prices Exceed 50 Million Won per Pyeong... Nationwide Housing Price Polarization Hits Record High

KB Live Real Estate January Housing Price Trends

The number of districts in Seoul where the average apartment sale price exceeds 50 million KRW per 3.3㎡ has more than doubled in one year. As of November last year, only Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, and Songpa-gu among the 25 districts in Seoul had average apartment sale prices exceeding 50 million KRW per 3.3㎡, but last month, Yongsan-gu, Seongdong-gu, Mapo-gu, and Gwangjin-gu were added, making a total of seven districts. The photo shows the view of Seoul apartments from 63 Square. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The average sale price per pyeong (3.3㎡) of apartments in Seoul exceeded 50 million KRW as of January this year. The price gap between low-priced and high-priced apartments nationwide has widened to the largest extent ever recorded.

According to the monthly housing price trend time series statistics from KB Kookmin Bank Liv Real Estate on the 24th, the average sale price per square meter of apartments in Seoul this month was 15,159,000 KRW. Converted to pyeong price by multiplying by 3.3㎡, it reached 50,024,700 KRW, surpassing 50 million KRW for the first time. This comes 13 months after entering the 40 million KRW range in December 2019.

The average sale price of apartments in Seoul was recorded at 1,259,690,000 KRW. The average sale price in the Gangnam area (11 districts south of the Han River) was 1,499,280,000 KRW, approaching 1.5 billion KRW. The 1.5 billion KRW mark is the loan prohibition threshold, meaning no loans can be obtained, classifying these as ultra-high-priced homes. The average sale price in the Gangbuk area (14 districts north of the Han River) was 998,190,000 KRW, just shy of 1 billion KRW.

The average jeonse (long-term lease) price for apartments in Seoul was 669,320,000 KRW, a slight increase of 3,180,000 KRW compared to the previous month, but the median jeonse price has declined for four consecutive months. The median jeonse price refers to the price in the middle when apartment prices are arranged in order.

The polarization of apartment prices nationwide has widened to an all-time high. The quintile ratio, which indicates the price gap between low-priced and high-priced apartments nationwide, was recorded at 9.8 this month. This is the highest figure since the related survey began in December 2008. It means that the sale price of the top 20% of apartments nationwide is 9.8 times more expensive than that of the bottom 20%.

The average sale price of the bottom 20% of apartments nationwide was 124,070,000 KRW, down 840,000 KRW from December last year. On the other hand, the top 20% of apartments averaged 1,213,320,000 KRW, rising by 23,570,000 KRW, widening the gap. In Seoul, the quintile ratio was the same at 4.2, but the average sale price of the top 20% of apartments exceeded 2.4 billion KRW for the first time.

The nationwide jeonse price gap also worsened to an all-time high of 7.7. The average jeonse price of the bottom 20% of apartments nationwide was 88,080,000 KRW, down 40,000 KRW from December last year, while the top 20% of apartments rose by 13,640,000 KRW to 677,090,000 KRW.

Meanwhile, the monthly rent index for Seoul apartments was 109.9, the highest since the related statistics began in December 2015. The monthly rent index is calculated for medium-sized apartments with an exclusive area of 95.86㎡ or less.