January Seoul Office Transaction Volume at 2 Deals... Lowest Level in 2 Years

January Office Transaction Amount Down 88.3% from Previous Month
One Deal Each in GBD and YBD; Purchases Made by Corporations
Sharp Increase in Office Transaction Volume and Amount

In January, the Seoul office market transaction volume recorded the lowest level in two years. The number of transactions was 2, a 90.9% decrease compared to the previous month.

A dense area of office buildings in downtown Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

According to the 'January Seoul Office Sales and Leasing Market Trend Report' released by Real Estate Planet on the 13th, the transaction volume last January was 2, the lowest since February 2023. The transaction amount was 91 billion KRW, down 88.3% from the previous month.

Looking at major districts, the only transaction in GBD (Gangnam and Seocho districts) was the ‘Bangbae Building (75 billion KRW)’ located in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. The transaction volume in YBD (Yeongdeungpo and Mapo districts) was 1, with a transaction amount of 16 billion KRW. There were no office transactions in CBD (Jongno and Jung districts) and other areas (ETC).

Both office buildings transacted in January were confirmed to have been purchased by corporations. The sellers were a corporation (75 billion KRW) and an individual (16 billion KRW).

The January transaction volume and amount for Seoul offices (collective) showed a trend opposite to that of the office market. The transaction volume was 87, down 63.6% from 239 in the previous month, but the transaction amount was 43.2 billion KRW, up 8.0% from 40 billion KRW the previous month. Compared to the same month last year (82 transactions, 30.3 billion KRW), the transaction volume increased by 6.1% and the transaction amount by 42.6%.

Transaction volume and amount for offices in CBD and other areas (ETC) increased significantly compared to the previous month, while both decreased in GBD and YBD. CBD office transaction volume rose from 2 to 4, and transaction amount increased from 400 million KRW to 2.8 billion KRW, a 600% increase. In other areas (ETC), 61 offices were sold for a total of 28.5 billion KRW, up 96.8% and 235.3%, respectively, compared to December last year (31 transactions, 8.5 billion KRW).

According to Real Estate Planet’s survey, the average vacancy rate of Seoul office buildings in January was 2.83%, down 0.09 percentage points from 2.92% in the previous month. The net operating cost (NOC), which combines rent and maintenance fees per exclusive area, was 199,492 KRW in January, slightly down from 199,594 KRW the previous month. By district, the costs were △CBD 195,987 KRW △YBD 189,379 KRW △GBD 208,739 KRW.

Jung Soo-min, CEO of Real Estate Planet, said, "The Seoul office building market in January showed a generally weak trend compared to the large-scale transactions worth several hundred billion KRW in November last year and the unusually high transaction volume in December. However, considering that high-quality properties are steadily appearing in major office districts this year and the expectation of investment sentiment recovery due to the base interest rate cut trend, it is necessary to continuously monitor the market trend throughout the year."