Seoul Apartment Prices Rise While Metropolitan Supply Plummets by 82%

HUG Releases Private Apartment Sale Price Trends for Late May
Seoul Private Apartment Sale Prices Up 18% Over the Past Year
45.68 Million Won Per 3.3 Square Meters... Recovering Last November's Peak

Photo by Jin Hyung Kang

The average sale price of private apartments in Seoul has risen again, showing an 18% increase over the past year.

According to the "Private Apartment Sale Price Trends as of the End of May" released by the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) on June 16, the sale price of private apartments in Seoul reached 45,683,000 won per 3.3 square meters (based on supply area, equivalent to one pyeong), up 185,000 won (0.40%) from the previous month. At the end of May last year, the price per 3.3 square meters was 38,698,000 won, marking a rise of 6,985,000 won over the year. When converted to an exclusive area of 84 square meters, this amounts to approximately 1,162,530,000 won.

HUG calculates the average sale price based on private housing projects supplied during the 12 months immediately preceding the statistical release date.

The sale price in Seoul reached its peak in November last year at 47,207,000 won, then dropped by nearly 3,000,000 won to 44,089,000 won in December. After a slight increase to 44,132,000 won in January this year, prices have been trending upward. In both February and March, the price was recorded at 44,284,000 won.

In contrast, the average sale prices in the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide have slightly declined. The average sale price in the metropolitan area was 28,790,000 won, down 0.49% from the previous month (28,932,000 won). Incheon remained unchanged from the previous month at 18,853,000 won, while Gyeonggi Province fell by 2.72% to 21,835,000 won from 22,446,000 won the previous month.

The nationwide average sale price also decreased by 0.08% from the previous month (19,025,000 won) to 19,012,000 won.

Average Sale Price per Square Meter of Private Apartments by Region. Provided by Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation

The situation in regional areas was mixed. The five major metropolitan cities and Sejong recorded 18,836,000 won, up 1.22%, while other regions (Gangwon, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, and Jeju) saw a decrease of 0.96% to 15,474,000 won.

Last month, the total number of newly supplied private apartment units nationwide was 3,257, a sharp drop of 78.6% compared to the previous month (15,210 units), and a decrease of 10,455 units from the same month last year (13,712 units). This was mainly due to a reduction of 9,896 units (81.7%) in the Seoul metropolitan area alone.

In the metropolitan area last month, 2,223 units were newly supplied, a decrease of 9,896 units from the previous month. Of these, Seoul accounted for 707 units, 449 fewer than the previous month.