Last Year Seoul Apartment Prices Near Previous Peak at 99.4%... Preference for New Apartments Drives Increase

While Apartment Prices Rise in Seoul and the Metropolitan Area, Regional Markets Continue to Decline

Last year, apartment prices in Seoul rebounded, approaching 99% of the peak average sale price recorded in 2021.

According to Real Today, a real estate research firm, the average sale price of apartments in Seoul last year was 38,613,000 KRW per 3.3㎡, which is 99.4% of the 2021 level (38,855,000 KRW).

Seoul housing prices declined consecutively in 2022 (37,382,000 KRW) and 2023 (36,135,000 KRW) after peaking in 2021, but last year they rose by 6.9% compared to the previous year, recovering to near the previous high.

Seoul apartment prices have shown a steady upward trend since March last year. According to apartment price trend data from the Korea Real Estate Board, Seoul apartment prices increased for 40 consecutive weeks from the fourth week of March to the fourth week of December last year. However, in the last week of December, prices remained flat (0.00%) compared to the previous week, showing no change.

Apartment sale prices in the metropolitan area also rose by 4.5% year-on-year, recording an average of 23,199,000 KRW per 3.3㎡ last year. This is 92.2% of the 2021 level (25,154,000 KRW).

When crossing the Banpo Bridge in Seoul, you can see new apartments, old apartments, and apartments under construction all at once in the Sinbanpo area. The new apartments on the left are Acro Riverview Sinbanpo, the low old apartments on the right are Sinbanpo 2nd Complex, and the apartments under construction in the back are the Maple Xi construction site. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

On the other hand, apartment prices in regions outside Seoul and the metropolitan area continue to decline. Regional apartment sale prices fell from 10,301,000 KRW per 3.3㎡ in 2021 to 9,598,000 KRW in 2022, a 6.8% decrease. In 2023 (9,451,000 KRW), prices dropped by 2.6% compared to the previous year, and last year (9,326,000 KRW) saw a 0.3% decline.

Including these, the nationwide average apartment sale price last year was 16,195,000 KRW per 3.3㎡, which corresponds to 91.7% of the 2021 level (17,652,000 KRW).

The rise in Seoul apartment prices is analyzed to be due to a stronger preference for newly built apartments less than five years old. As of December last year, the price increase rate for apartments under five years old in Seoul reached 7.8% compared to January of the same year.

Under the same conditions, the nationwide apartment price increase rate was only 1.6%, while the metropolitan area saw a 3.39% rise, highlighting the temperature difference between the regions and Seoul.