Seoul Apartment Transactions Exceed 4,000 Units for Three Consecutive Months

Although below the long-term average trading volume,
it is the highest monthly trading volume since August 2021

More than half of the jeonse prices for Seoul's 'standard apartment size' lease contracts this year have exceeded 600 million won. On the 5th, a real estate office in Seoul displayed jeonse and sale price lists. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

From March to May, the monthly apartment sales volume in Seoul has been expected to surpass 4,000 transactions for three consecutive months, gradually clearing the backlog of urgent sale listings in the market.

According to the 'First Week of June Metropolitan Area Apartment Market Report' released by Real Estate R114 on the 7th, although the volume has not yet reached the long-term average monthly transaction level in Seoul (approximately 5,000 to 6,000 transactions), it is the highest monthly volume since August 2021. Nevertheless, considering the transaction freeze over the past 1 to 2 years, it is expected that it will take considerable time to absorb the accumulated listings.

The overall apartment sale prices in Seoul remained flat (0.00%). Both redevelopment and general apartments showed no significant price changes, and the new towns as well as Gyeonggi and Incheon also remained flat (0.00%). The market is in a phase of a tight tug-of-war between rises and falls for several months.

Among individual districts in Seoul, Mapo (0.03%) and Songpa (0.01%) saw price increases, while Jungnang (-0.02%) and Yeongdeungpo (-0.01%) experienced declines. The other districts remained flat (0.00%). All individual areas in the new towns recorded flat prices (0.00%). In Gyeonggi and Incheon, Incheon rose by 0.02%, whereas Uijeongbu fell by 0.01%. Other regions showed no price changes.

The metropolitan area jeonse (long-term lease) market has shown steady increases since July last year, but this week appears to be taking a brief pause at a flat level (0.00%). Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and the new towns all recorded flat prices (0.00%).

Within Seoul, individual districts such as Gwanak (0.08%), Seodaemun (0.05%), Yeongdeungpo (0.02%), Yangcheon (0.01%), and Nowon (0.01%) saw increases, while Songpa declined by 0.01%. In the new towns, Bundang rose by 0.01%, with the other new towns remaining flat (0.00%).

In Gyeonggi and Incheon, individual districts such as Ansan (0.05%), Siheung (0.04%), and Gwangmyeong (0.01%) experienced increases.

A Real Estate R114 official stated, "While the jeonse and monthly rent markets, which precede sale prices, continue to rise steadily, new construction sale prices are also showing a trend of increase." He added, "Based on cumulative data from January to May this year, the average sale price per 3.3㎡ in Seoul is 55.63 million KRW, a significant rise compared to the 34.76 to 35.08 million KRW recorded between 2022 and 2023."

He continued, "Moreover, the competition rate for Seoul housing subscriptions this year is 85 to 1, raising the hurdle for winning a subscription compared to the past," and said, "From the perspective of actual buyers preparing to purchase a home, the decision whether to wait a little longer each time their lease contract expires has become more intense."