Seoul Apartment Buying Sentiment Declines for 2 Consecutive Weeks... Only Gangnam Shows Slight Stability

View of apartments from Lotte World Tower Seoul Sky in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The buying sentiment for apartments in Seoul has shown a decline for two consecutive weeks. However, only the Gangnam area saw an increase in buying demand, presenting a contrasting trend.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 21st, the Seoul apartment sales demand-supply index for this week (as of the 16th) stood at 90.8, down 0.2 points from last week’s 91.0. This marks a decline for two consecutive weeks following a 0.1-point drop last week.

The Seoul apartment sales demand-supply index had risen for seven consecutive weeks after the presidential election due to expectations of regulatory easing such as reconstruction tax policies by the new government, but recently it has shown mixed trends of both declines and rises. Three weeks ago, it rose by 0.6 points showing signs of recovery, but it has slightly declined again over the past two weeks. Generally, when the sales demand-supply index is below the baseline (100), it indicates that there are more sellers than buyers in the market.

By region, the downtown area including Yongsan and Jongno-gu, where the presidential office relocated, recorded 91.1, while the northwest area including Eunpyeong, Seodaemun, and Mapo-gu maintained the same level as last week at 86.7. The northeast area including Seongdong, Gwangjin, Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk-gu (86.1) and the southwest area including Yangcheon, Gangseo, and Gwanak-gu (92.4) saw a decline in the index compared to last week.

Gyeonggi-do, which saw its upward trend stall last week (91.6 → 92.4), showed signs of recovery again due to expectations for reconstruction in the first-generation new towns. Incheon’s buying demand decreased from 93.8 last week to 92.9 this week.