Seoul Apartment Prices Fall for the First Time in 5 Weeks... "Taeyoung Construction Workout Application, Decline in Purchase Demand"

January First Week Transaction Price Change Rate -0.01%
Jeonse Price Stable
Gyeonggi and Incheon Transaction Stable, Jeonse Rising

Seoul apartment prices, which had been stagnant, fell for the first time in five weeks. Market uncertainty following Taeyoung Construction's workout application is believed to have dampened sales demand.

According to real estate research firm Real Estate R114 on the 6th, the price change rate for apartments in Seoul and the metropolitan area during the first week of this month was -0.01%. This figure marks a decline after four consecutive weeks of flat trends starting from the first week of last month (0.00%). Reconstruction apartments fell by 0.01%, while general apartments showed no price change.

By district, Yeongdeungpo-gu saw the largest decline at -0.05%, followed by Gangseo-gu (-0.04%), Seongbuk-gu (-0.03%), Guro-gu (-0.02%), and Nowon-gu (-0.01%). The remaining 20 districts remained flat (0.00%).

Gyeonggi and Incheon showed a flat trend. Among new towns, Pyeongchon fell by 0.04%, while others showed no price movement. Icheon-si declined by 0.02%, and Incheon, Goyang, Guri, and Gunpo-si each fell by 0.01%. Ansan-si rose by 0.02%.

Real Estate R114 explained, "The winter off-season and early-year holidays have led to a lack of market momentum, causing a contraction in sales demand." They added, "The overall market uncertainty increased as Taeyoung Construction, ranked 16th in construction capability evaluation, applied for a workout amid rising concerns over real estate project financing (PF) insolvency."

During the same period, the Seoul jeonse (long-term lease) market remained flat (0.00%). Yeongdeungpo-gu and Eunpyeong-gu fell by -0.07% and -0.02%, respectively, while Seongbuk-gu (0.03%) and Songpa-gu (0.01%) saw increases. Other districts showed no change. Gyeonggi and Incheon (0.02%) experienced revived demand in some areas. Suwon-si (0.03%), Ansan-si (0.02%), Icheon-si (0.02%), Hwaseong-si (0.02%), and Guri-si (0.01%) showed rising jeonse prices. Conversely, new towns (-0.01%) such as Pyeongchon (-0.04%) and Ilsan (-0.04%) showed weakness.

View of Yeouido Sambu Apartment from the 63 Building Observatory. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@