Mid-Price Apartments Disappear in Seoul... Transactions of Apartments Under 600 Million Won Hit Record Low

Seoul Apartments Under 600 Million KRW Account for 25.6%
Over 1.5 Billion KRW Apartments Reach Record High 17.5%

Mid- to low-priced apartments under 600 million KRW are disappearing in Seoul. It was found that the proportion of apartment transactions under 600 million KRW in Seoul from January to August this year recorded an all-time low. This is believed to be because the share of transactions for apartments under 600 million KRW slightly increased due to last year's price decline, but as apartment prices began to recover this year, the supply of mid- to low-priced apartments under 600 million KRW has decreased.

View of the Noryangjin redevelopment site in Seoul from the 63 Building observatory. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 20th, Economic Man Lab, a real estate information provider, reviewed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system and found that out of 25,305 apartment sales transactions in Seoul from January to August this year, 6,476 transactions were for apartments priced under 600 million KRW. The proportion of transactions under 600 million KRW accounted for 25.6% of all transactions, the lowest figure since the Ministry began compiling related statistics in 2006 (based on January to August data).

The share of transactions under 600 million KRW fell from 67.4% in 2017, when it first dropped below 70%, to 61.1% in 2018, 46.6% in 2019, 42.3% in 2020, and 28.0% in 2021. It slightly rose to 38.3% last year before hitting an all-time low this year.

The district with the highest proportion of apartment transactions under 600 million KRW was Dobong-gu. From January to August this year, out of 800 apartment sales transactions in Dobong-gu, 626 were under 600 million KRW, accounting for 78.3% of the total.

Following were Gangbuk-gu at 64.4%, Jungnang-gu at 61.8%, Nowon-gu at 58.7%, Geumcheon-gu at 57.1%, Guro-gu at 44.6%, Eunpyeong-gu at 42.3%, Gangseo-gu at 32.8%, Gwanak-gu at 31.3%, and Seongbuk-gu at 25.1%.

On the other hand, Seongdong-gu had the lowest proportion of apartment transactions under 600 million KRW, with only 21 out of 1,092 transactions from January to August this year, accounting for 1.9%.

The proportion of apartment transactions exceeding 1.5 billion KRW recorded an all-time high. From January to August this year, 4,428 apartment transactions in Seoul were priced over 1.5 billion KRW, accounting for 17.5% of the total. The share of transactions over 1.5 billion KRW was 11.1% in 2019, 8.0% in 2020, 15.9% in 2021, and 17.4% in 2022.

The district with the highest proportion of apartment transactions over 1.5 billion KRW was Seocho-gu, where three out of four apartments sold were priced above 1.5 billion KRW. From January to August this year, out of 1,120 apartment sales transactions in Seocho-gu, 841 were over 1.5 billion KRW, accounting for 75.1%. This was followed by Gangnam-gu at 70.6%, Yongsan-gu at 63.4%, and Songpa-gu at 51.7%, all exceeding 50%.

Hwang Hansol, a research analyst at Economic Man Lab, said, "Although the proportion of apartments under 600 million KRW slightly increased due to last year's price decline, it is decreasing again this year. As mid- to low-priced apartments disappear in Seoul, more people are expected to choose to buy homes in Gyeonggi and Incheon."