Seoul Apartment Transactions Down 45% in Five Days After Policy Announcement... Last-Minute Surge and Record-High Prices [Real Estate A to Z]

Last-Minute Transactions Surge Before Land Transaction Permission Zones Take Effect
Proportion of Transactions Under 600 Million Won Increases
Record-High Prices Reported During the 'Five-Day Market' After Policy Announcement

In the five days immediately following the announcement of the October 15 measures, the volume of apartment transactions in Seoul dropped by half compared to before the announcement. This decline is attributed to the implementation of strong measures such as the designation of land transaction permit zones. However, the ongoing preference for owning a single, high-quality property is expected to persist, making it unlikely that the decrease in transactions will easily lead to a drop in prices.

Since the government announced the "Housing Market Stabilization Measures" for Seoul and some areas in Gyeonggi Province, concerns have arisen that the availability of jeonse (long-term lease) properties may disappear. On the 16th, a real estate listing board in Mapo, Seoul, showed an X mark on the jeonse listings. 2025.10.16 Photo by Dongju Yoon

According to an analysis of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real transaction price system on October 22, the number of apartment transactions in Seoul between October 15 and 19 was recorded at 693. This represents a 44.8% decrease from the 1,257 transactions recorded between October 10 and 14, prior to the announcement. While the official reporting period for real estate transactions is still ongoing and figures may change, the overall trend indicates a sharp decline in transaction volume after the announcement.

By district, the number of transactions was 53 in Nowon-gu, 52 in Yangcheon-gu, 48 in Seongbuk-gu, and 44 each in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Dongdaemun-gu. Among the three major Gangnam districts, Seocho-gu had no reported transactions, while Songpa-gu recorded 17. In the five days before the regulatory announcement, the highest number of transactions by district were 105 in Nowon-gu, 103 in Gangseo-gu, 91 in Yangcheon-gu, 88 in Dongdaemun-gu, and 84 in Yeongdeungpo-gu. In the five days after the regulations, districts where prices had recently surged-Mapo, Seongdong, and Gangdong-recorded 35, 38, and 40 transactions, respectively.

Under the new regulations, when purchasing apartments priced below 1.5 billion won, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is set at 40% (70% for first-time buyers), reducing the maximum loan amount. Starting the day after the October 15 measures were announced, the maximum loan amount for apartments in the Seoul metropolitan area was reduced to 200 million won for properties priced at 2.5 billion won or more, and to 400 million won for those priced between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion won.

After the government announced the 'Housing Market Stabilization Measures' for Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province, concerns have arisen that the number of listings may decrease and the availability of jeonse (long-term lease) properties may disappear. On October 16, 2025, promotional materials encouraging sales were posted instead of listing information on a real estate signboard in Mapo, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dongju

While loan regulations were in effect, an analysis of transactions by price range from October 16 to 19, before the land transaction permit zones were enforced, shows that apartments priced at 1.5 billion won or less accounted for 77.52% of transactions, down from 82.45% in the five days prior to the announcement. The share of transactions for apartments priced between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion won was 15.5%, similar to before the regulations, while the share for those over 2.5 billion won increased to 6.98%, up from 2.3% before the loan regulations were announced. It appears that investors with sufficient cash reserves rushed to purchase high-priced apartments to avoid the new owner-occupancy requirements imposed by the regulations.

The share of transactions for apartments priced at 600 million won or less increased to 19.38% after the announcement, up from 17.79% before the loan regulations. This increase is attributed to the relatively smaller reduction in loan limits for lower-priced properties, leading to more transactions in this segment.

As last-minute transactions surged immediately after the real estate measures were announced, record-high prices were reported in several areas of Seoul on the day the regulations were made public. For example, an 84-square-meter unit in Mapo Prestige Xi, a flagship complex in Mapo-gu, was sold for 2.95 billion won on October 15, which is 130 million won higher than the previous record. On the same day, an 84-square-meter unit in Prilia Palace in Amsa-dong, Gangdong-gu, was sold for 1.65 billion won, 67 million won above the previous high. In Heukseok-dong, Dongjak-gu, a 59-square-meter unit in Acro Riverheim was sold for 2.55 billion won, and an 84-square-meter unit in Isu Prugio The Pretium in Sadang-dong was sold for 2.055 billion won, both setting new record prices.

Even during the so-called “five-day market” period before the land transaction permit zones were designated, a rush of record-high transactions occurred. On October 17, an 84-square-meter unit in Mokdong Central I-Park Weave Complex 4 was sold for 1.2 billion won, and the next day, a 59-square-meter unit in Complex 1 of the same apartment was sold for 1.08 billion won, both setting new highs. On October 19, a 59-square-meter unit in Gireum New Town Complex 9 in Seongbuk-gu was sold for 1.078 billion won.

Despite the strong measures of designating all of Seoul and major areas of Gyeonggi Province as land transaction permit zones and imposing maximum restrictions on loans for high-priced apartments, the preference for owning a single, high-quality property is expected to continue.

Ham Youngjin, head of the Real Estate Research Lab at Woori Bank, stated, "Although we will have to monitor the progress of next year’s tax reforms, I do not believe the preference for owning a single, high-quality property will fade easily. While some say that demand is shifting to areas like Dongtan and Guri to avoid regulated zones, there are still many buyers with sufficient capital, and the 'learning effect' among buyers is more significant than expected."