Dongtan apartments rise 1.46% this week

Giheung also expands gains to 0.39%; Guri up 0.30%

An aerial view of Dongtan 2 New Town in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. [Herald DB]
An aerial view of Dongtan 2 New Town in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. [Herald DB]

Apartment prices in Dongtan, designated a regulated zone and land transaction permit zone, have risen 13% so far this year — the highest cumulative gain among all cities and districts in the Greater Seoul area. Dongtan and Anyang's Dongan-gu are the only two areas in the metropolitan area to have posted cumulative increases exceeding 10%, with Dongtan ranking first.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly apartment price survey for the fifth week of June 2026 (based on June 29), Dongtan apartments rose 1.46% this week. The pace of gains has eased from a peak of 2.22% in the third week of June to 1.65% in the fourth week and 1.46% in the fifth, though the rate remains above 1 percent.

Since Hwaseong's administrative reorganization on Feb. 1, Dongtan's cumulative price increase has reached 13%, the highest of any city or district nationwide. Byeongjeom-gu in neighboring Hwaseong, buoyed by Dongtan's rally, saw its weekly gain widen to 0.16 percent from 0.14 percent the previous week.

Yongin's Giheung-gu (up 0.39 percent) and Guri (up 0.30 percent), both designated regulated zones and land transaction permit zones alongside Dongtan, also posted strong gains. Nam Hyeok-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank, said price trends across southern Gyeonggi Province residential areas — which began moving on expectations of a semiconductor industry boom — are now showing mixed signals. "Dongtan has seen its rate of increase narrow for a second consecutive week due to the burden of short-term price gains and the impact of its regulated-zone designation," he said, "but demand has shifted toward the relatively more affordable Giheung-gu, widening that area's gains."

Suwon's Yeongtong-gu (up 0.41 percent) and Yongin's Suji-gu (up 0.29 percent), both popular for their access to corporate shuttle bus stops near transit hubs, also recorded strong gains. Other existing regulated zones — including Anyang's Dongan-gu (0.39 percent), Seongnam's Bundang-gu (0.41 percent), Gwangmyeong (0.38 percent) and Hanam (0.29 percent) — also saw significant price increases.

In Seoul, apartment prices rose across all districts from the previous week, with the city posting an overall gain of 0.27 percent. Mid- to lower-priced districts led the gains: Dobong-gu (0.37 percent), Dongdaemun-gu and Seongbuk-gu (0.36 percent each), Guro-gu (0.35 percent), Nowon-gu (0.33 percent) and Jungnang-gu (0.32 percent). Songpa-gu (0.32 percent) and Gangdong-gu (0.28 percent) widened their gains from the previous week, while Gangnam-gu (0.21 percent) and Seocho-gu (0.19 percent) saw their pace of increase slow.

Nam said the three Gangnam districts are broadly moving within a narrow range, edging up and down slightly. "Many areas have recovered to the asking prices seen before the wave of distressed multi-home listings in March and April," he said, "but buyers remain on the sidelines amid policy uncertainty ahead of a possible benchmark interest rate hike and the July tax reform package."

He added that price momentum originating from Dongtan has fed into upgrade-buying activity, with transactions occurring intermittently in some areas such as Songpa-gu and Gangdong-gu.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Tuesday that, following deliberation by the Residential Policy Review Committee on June 29, it would designate three areas — Hwaseong's Dongtan-gu, Yongin's Giheung-gu and Guri — as speculative overheating districts and adjustment target areas effective July 1. Gyeonggi Province also plans to designate the same three areas as land transaction permit zones from July 5 through Dec. 31, 2027, pending approval by the provincial urban planning committee.

Nam said the additional designations are expected to cool prices in those areas. "Loan limits have been tightened and buying with a sitting tenant is no longer possible, so these areas are likely to see price growth slow going forward," he said.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com