Up 3.29% Through November, Marking Record High for Second Consecutive Year
Median Monthly Rent Reaches 1.22 Million Won Last Month... Accounts for 20% of Income in Seoul
This year, the monthly rent growth rate for apartments in Seoul entered the 3% range for the first time based on government-certified market prices, setting an all-time annual record.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board on December 21, the monthly rent for Seoul apartments rose by 3.29% from January to November this year, surpassing the 3% annual growth rate for the first time since related statistics began in 2015.
The annual growth rate of monthly rent for Seoul apartments broke all-time records for the second consecutive year, following last year's 2.86%.
The monthly rent growth rate for Seoul apartments, which was around 0.1% per month from January to April, rose to the 0.2% range from May to August, then to the 0.3% range in September, and surged to 0.64% in October and 0.63% in November.
This trend is attributed to a sharp decline in jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) listings and the accelerated conversion of jeonse to monthly rent, following the announcement of the October 15th measures, which designated all of Seoul as a regulated area (adjustment target area and speculative overheating district) and a land transaction permission zone, effectively blocking gap investment involving tenants.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board's statistics, the average monthly rent for Seoul apartments last month was 1,476,000 won (with a deposit of 194,790,000 won), while the median monthly rent was 1,220,000 won (with a deposit of 110,000,000 won).
Considering this year's national median income for a four-person household (about 6,100,000 won), Seoul apartment residents are spending about 20% of their income on monthly rent each month.
By district, Songpa-gu recorded the highest apartment monthly rent growth rate at 7.54% from the beginning of the year through last month, followed by Yongsan-gu (6.35%), Gangdong-gu (5.22%), and Yeongdeungpo-gu (5.09%). Guro-gu and Eunpyeong-gu (each 1.93%), Dongdaemun-gu (1.72%), Dobong-gu (1.57%), Geumcheon-gu (1.44%), Gangbuk-gu (1.40%), and Jungnang-gu (1.02%) saw growth rates remain in the 1% range.
From the beginning of the year through last month, there were more than 230 ultra-high-priced monthly rent transactions (over 10,000,000 won) in Seoul.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, the number of ultra-high-priced monthly rent transactions from January to November was 7 in 2018, 11 in 2019, 20 in 2020, 61 in 2021, 166 in 2022, 189 in 2023, 192 last year, and 233 this year, setting a new record for seven consecutive years.
The most expensive monthly rent contract this year was signed on November 14 at Eterno Cheongdam in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for an exclusive area of 231.5564 square meters (13th floor), with a deposit of 4 billion won and a monthly rent of 40 million won.
In the provinces, the monthly rent growth rate for apartments in Ulsan Metropolitan City was 3.21%, more than double last year's annual growth rate of 1.49%.
This is attributed to a surge in relocation demand to Ulsan, which has many large shipyards, amid the continued boom in the shipbuilding industry this year, including the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation MASGA project. However, this figure is lower than the sharp increases seen in Ulsan apartment monthly rents in 2020 (6.76%), 2021 (7.92%), and 2022 (5.42%).
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