Seoul apartment bid-to-appraisal ratio falls to 94.7%, lowest in 19 months

Bundang, Yeongtong areas exceed appraisal values; analysts watch for dip below 80%

A view of the Trimaje apartment complex and Seoul Forest in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. [Herald Business DB]
A view of the Trimaje apartment complex and Seoul Forest in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. [Herald Business DB]

As the pace of Seoul apartment price gains slows, a similar trend is emerging in the auction market. Seoul's apartment bid-to-appraisal ratio has fallen to its lowest level in 19 months, while properties in key southern Gyeonggi Province areas — including Seongnam's Bundang, Suwon's Yeongtong and Yongin's Suji — continue to sell above their appraised values. The divergence between Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province visible in the regular sales market is now reflected in the auction market as well.

According to GG Auction's September 2026 auction trend report released Thursday, Seoul's apartment bid-to-appraisal ratio last month stood at 94.7 percent, down 2.3 percentage points from the previous month's 97.0 percent — the lowest reading since February 2025's 91.8 percent. The award rate also slipped 1.8 percentage points over the same period, from 37.1 percent to 35.3 percent. The average number of bidders, however, edged up slightly from 5.2 to 5.4.

Ultra-high-end properties were the main drag on Seoul's overall bid-to-appraisal ratio. GG Auction said large luxury apartments — including Trimaje in Seongsu-dong and Sambu Apartments in Yeouido — sold at around 70 percent of their appraised values, pulling down the citywide average.

The Trimaje unit in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, with an exclusive use area of 152 square meters, was first listed for auction in June at an appraised value of 7.39 billion won ($5.52 million), but failed to attract a buyer in two rounds before selling last month for 5.87 billion won. The bid-to-appraisal ratio came to 79.48 percent. The same unit last changed hands on Sept. 22 last year for 7.05 billion won, meaning the winning bidder acquired the property for about 1.18 billion won less than the most recent transaction price.

A similar case emerged in Yeouido. A 147-square-meter unit at Sambu Apartments in Yeongdeungpo-gu's Yeouido-dong, listed through the Seoul Southern District Court's auction division, started with an appraised value of 5 billion won but failed to sell twice before finding a new owner on Wednesday for about 4 billion won. Given that the lowest recorded transaction price for the same unit type this year has been around 4.5 billion won, the winning bid came in roughly 500 million won below recent market prices.

In contrast, major residential areas in Gyeonggi Province continued to see properties sell above their appraised values. Last month, the bid-to-appraisal ratio for apartments in Anyang's Dongan-gu reached 115.7 percent, while Suwon's Yeongtong-gu came in at 114.0 percent, Gwangmyeong at 113.1 percent, Yongin's Suji-gu at 111.9 percent and Seongnam's Bundang-gu at 109.7 percent — all exceeding 100 percent. GG Auction said robust auction activity continued to be concentrated in these regulated zones.

The upward trend was even more pronounced in individual sales. An 84-square-meter unit at Botdeulmaul 2 complex in Seongnam's Bundang-gu was listed at an appraised value of 1.36 billion won and sold for 1.83 billion won, a bid-to-appraisal ratio of 135 percent. An 85-square-meter unit at Yeongtong Raemian Mark One in Suwon's Yeongtong-gu sold for 860.04 million won, above its appraised value of 781 million won, for a ratio of 110 percent. A 157-square-meter unit at Suji Central I'Park in Yongin's Suji-gu climbed from an appraised value of 987 million won to a final sale price of 1.18 billion won, reaching a bid-to-appraisal ratio of 120 percent.

The same pattern is visible in the regular sales market. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly apartment price index for the first week of October, the rate of change in apartment sale price indexes as of Monday showed Suwon's Yeongtong-gu up 0.62 percent, Seongnam's Bundang-gu up 0.56 percent and Anyang's Dongan-gu up 0.41 percent. While Seoul's price gains have lost some momentum, buying demand in preferred southern Gyeonggi Province areas shows little sign of cooling.

Gyeonggi Province as a whole, however, did not share in the strength. The overall bid-to-appraisal ratio for Gyeonggi apartments in September fell 1.0 percentage point to 88.8 percent from 89.8 percent the previous month, weighed down by weaker results in outlying areas such as Pyeongtaek, Gimpo and Goyang. The average number of bidders rose from 5.9 to 6.2.

Attention is now turning to whether the auction heat in southern Gyeonggi Province's core areas will spread to the metropolitan fringe. As the price gap between Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province widens, demand for relatively lower-priced options could shift toward areas such as Pyeongtaek, Gimpo and Goyang. Conversely, if the drop in bid-to-appraisal ratios seen in Seoul's ultra-luxury segment spreads as a broader price correction signal across the greater Seoul area, the elevated ratios in southern Gyeonggi Province may prove difficult to sustain.

Ham Young-jin, head of Woori Bank's real estate research lab, said the number of Seoul apartment auctions has risen while the award rate and bid-to-appraisal ratio have fallen at the same time, but cautioned that it is not yet time to conclude this is a clear signal of a turn toward falling home prices.

He added that Seoul's apartment bid-to-appraisal ratio has been moving at 90 percent or above until recently, with the last time it dipped to the high 80s being at the end of 2024, and said that if the ratio falls back into the 80s, it will be necessary to watch more carefully for signs of a shift in market conditions.


quq@heraldcorp.com