Small Apartments Under 600 Million Won Disappear in Seoul... Transaction Share Hits All-Time Low

Among autonomous districts, Seongdong-gu has the lowest at 1.3%
'Hannam The Hill' exclusive 59㎡ traded for 3.2 billion KRW

Among small apartments traded in Seoul this year, the proportion of sales priced below 600 million KRW recorded an all-time low.

View of downtown apartment complexes from Namsan, Seoul / Photo by Yonhap News

Real estate information provider Economy Man Lab announced on the 3rd that based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, an analysis of 8,180 apartment sales transactions with exclusive area of 59㎡ or less in Seoul from January to May this year showed that transactions under 600 million KRW accounted for 3,024 cases (37.0%). This is the lowest figure since the Ministry of Land started compiling related statistics in 2011 (based on January to May each year).

The proportion of transactions under 600 million KRW for apartments sized 59㎡ or less in Seoul remained in the 90% range from 2006 (based on January to May each year) until 2016, then gradually declined from 2017, falling to 71.5% in 2020. In 2021, it sharply dropped to 51.0%. The following year, 2022, saw a slight increase to 59.3%, but it fell again to 43.2% last year.

Looking at transactions by other price ranges, those priced between 600 million KRW and less than 900 million KRW accounted for 2,421 cases, representing 29.6% of the total. Transactions between 900 million KRW and less than 1.5 billion KRW were 2,256 cases (27.6%), and those above 1.5 billion KRW were 479 cases (5.9%).

By autonomous district, Seongdong-gu (1.3%) had the lowest proportion of small apartment transactions under 600 million KRW. This was followed by Yongsan-gu (4.3%), Songpa-gu (9.6%), Mapo-gu (10.7%), Gangnam-gu (12.1%), Gangdong-gu (12.5%), Dongjak-gu (13.9%), Seocho-gu (15.8%), Yeongdeungpo-gu (18.5%), Gwangjin-gu (21.2%), and Seodaemun-gu (24.5%). On the other hand, Dobong-gu had the highest proportion of small apartment transactions under 600 million KRW at 89.2% among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

Amid an overall rise in apartment prices, in May, a 59.686㎡ unit in 'Hannam The Hill' located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, was traded for 3.2 billion KRW, setting a record high price for small apartments. In March, the same apartment with the same area was traded for 3.17 billion KRW.

Hwang Hansol, a research fellow at Economy Man Lab, said, "With the increase in 1-2 person households, demand for small apartments is rising, and due to rising jeonse prices and pre-sale prices, mid-to-low priced small apartments in Seoul appear to be decreasing."