Seoul's weekly gain widens from 0.12% to 0.16%

Record streak extended again; Han River belt accelerates

Bundang tops greater Seoul rankings on 'home-swapping' demand

Unregulated Gunpo up 0.72%, Hwaseong's Byeongjeom up 0.56%

Apartments in central Seoul as seen from Namsan. [Herald DB]
Apartments in central Seoul as seen from Namsan. [Herald DB]

Seoul apartment prices rose for the 88th consecutive week, extending their all-time record streak. The pace of gains accelerated from the previous week, with Yongsan-gu reversing course to post an increase after a period of declines. Outer districts — including the "Nodo-gang" cluster of Nowon-gu, Dobong-gu and Gangbuk-gu, and the "Geumgwan-gu" cluster of Geumcheon-gu, Gwanak-gu and Guro-gu — continued to climb, while the Han River belt also saw steeper gains. Bundang jumped 0.79% in a single week, topping the rankings among all cities and districts in the greater Seoul area.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly apartment price survey for the second week of October 2026 (based on Monday's data), Seoul apartment prices rose 0.16% this week, widening from 0.12% the previous week. The upward streak has now run unbroken since the first week of February last year.

Jungnang-gu led all Seoul districts with a 0.42% gain, followed by Seongbuk-gu (0.41%), Seodaemun-gu (0.40%), Dobong-gu (0.39%), Nowon-gu (0.37%), Geumcheon-gu (0.36%), Guro-gu and Gwanak-gu (0.34% each), and Eunpyeong-gu (0.25%).

Districts along the Han River belt also picked up speed — Gangdong-gu rose from 0.13% to 0.14%, Dongjak-gu from 0.02% to 0.09%, Mapo-gu from 0.22% to 0.26%, and Seongdong-gu from 0.09% to 0.12%. Yangcheon-gu (0.11% to 0.14%) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (0.14% to 0.20%) also accelerated.

Gangnam-gu deepened its decline, falling 0.35% this week compared with minus 0.34% the previous week, while Songpa-gu's drop widened from 0.19% to 0.21%. Seocho-gu fell 0.27% for the second straight week. Yongsan-gu, which had turned negative in the last week of September and slid for two consecutive weeks, edged up 0.03% this week.

A Korea Real Estate Board official said prices rose across Seoul as a whole, driven by gains in large, popular complexes, small-to-mid-sized units and transit-oriented areas, even as some downward-adjusted listings generated lower-priced transactions.

Gyeonggi Province also accelerated, with apartment prices rising 0.26% this week after a 0.18% gain the previous week. Bundang-gu in Seongnam led all cities and districts in the greater Seoul area with a 0.79% increase. Market observers say a growing number of homeowners who sold apartments near Dongtan Station at high prices — buoyed by liquidity tied to the semiconductor industry — are now relocating to Bundang and similar areas.

Elsewhere in southern Gyeonggi Province, Gunpo posted a 0.72% gain, followed by Suwon's Yeongtong-gu (0.69%), Hwaseong's Dongtan-gu (0.66%), Uiwang (0.60%), Hwaseong's Byeongjeom-gu (0.56%) and Yongin's Giheung-gu (0.52%).

Nam Hyeok-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank, said overheating in southern Gyeonggi Province is triggering a price-alignment effect in neighboring areas. "Uiwang and Gunpo, which lie just northwest of Suwon, have posted particularly strong gains," he said.

Nam added that as Suwon's price surge continues, tenants whose leases are expiring and would-be buyers with limited purchasing power are moving into Uiwang and Gunpo to enter the market. "In Gunpo especially, which is an unregulated zone, there are signs that buyers in their 20s and 30s without homes and with limited funds are purchasing properties with existing tenants in place," he said.

In Incheon, apartment prices rose slightly, with the weekly gain edging up from 0.02% to 0.03%, led by Seohaegu (0.10%), Bupyeong-gu (0.09%) and Michuhol-gu (0.07%).


hwshin@heraldcorp.com