Seoul land-transaction permit applications rebound for first time in 5 months, led by Gangnam and Yongsan

Seoul apartment land-transaction permit applications totaled 3,678 in September

Applications in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu rose 51.5% from the previous month

Southwest Seoul up 2.45% in price; three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu down 0.32%

Apartment listings posted at a real estate agency in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The number of land-transaction permit applications for Seoul apartments edged up in September for the first time in five months, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The rebound broke a four-month streak of declines that had run since April, with the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu posting the sharpest increase.

The city said 3,678 new land-transaction permit applications were filed for Seoul apartments in September, up 24.1% from 2,963 in August — though still only 41.3% of the 8,896 applications recorded in April.

Applications rose across all four of the city's designated zones in September.

Seoul land-transaction permit applications in September. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Applications in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu jumped 51.5%, rising from 355 in August to 538 in September. The southwest Seoul zone and the Han River belt also saw increases of 30.4% and 29.2%, respectively. The northern Seoul zone recorded the highest share of total applications at 1,646, accounting for 44.8% of the citywide total, though its month-on-month growth rate of 13% was relatively modest. Northern Seoul's share had climbed for four consecutive months from 40.7% in April to 49.2% in August, but fell 4.4 percentage points from the previous month in September.

Applications for owner-occupancy requirement exemptions tied to properties with existing tenants — known as "tenanted listings" — totaled 198 in September, or 5.4% of all land-transaction permit applications. That share was up 0.8 percentage points from 4.6% the previous month, while the number of applications rose by 62, or 45.6%, from 136 in August. By zone, the seven Han River belt districts accounted for 69 applications, the 10 northern Seoul districts for 68, the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu for 40, and the four southwest Seoul districts for 21.

The city said cumulative exemption applications from June through September totaled 812, with the monthly share holding at around 5%, but noted that the share of owner-occupancy requirement exemption requests tied to tenanted listings had risen in the Han River belt and in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu. In September, the Han River belt's share climbed from 5.6% to 8.9%, while the figure for the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu rose from 5.4% to 7.4%.

Monthly price change for Seoul apartments in September. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The overall price of Seoul land-transaction permit applications filed in September rose 1.43% from August. Prices in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu dipped 0.32% from the previous month, and the seven Han River belt districts gained just 0.19%, signaling a slowdown in price momentum. By contrast, the 10 northern Seoul districts and the four southwest Seoul districts rose 2.07% and 2.45%, respectively.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it was difficult to conclude that the September uptick in applications reflected a broad recovery in the housing market. "The rebound in September applications may partly reflect the easing of some provisions in the comprehensive real estate tax burden expansion plan announced in August, but it is hard to say definitively that the tax reform is the cause," a city official said. "We need to monitor future trends, including the National Assembly review process."

hope@heraldcorp.com