Annual gain largest since November 2021; northeast Seoul leads monthly rise

Northeast up 1.54% on month; southeast down 0.29%

September sales at 2,923 units; monthly rent share rises to 54.6%

Apartment complexes in Seoul are seen from Namsan on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Apartment complexes in Seoul are seen from Namsan on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Actual transaction prices for Seoul apartments rose more than 15 percent over the past year, extending their upward trend, even as sales volumes contracted sharply below 3,000 units. Price gains were more pronounced in outer districts such as the northeast than in the Gangnam area.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that actual apartment sale prices in Seoul rose 0.72 percent in August from the previous month, based on its analysis of the Korea Real Estate Board's condominium actual transaction price index. Compared with the same month last year, prices were up 15.50 percent — the highest year-on-year gain since November 2021, when prices rose 17.92 percent.

By subregion, northern and outer areas posted the strongest gains. The northeast led all five zones with a monthly rise of 1.54 percent, while the city center climbed 1.06 percent. The northwest and southwest rose 0.40 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively. The southeast — which includes Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong — fell 0.29 percent.

The outward spread of price gains becomes even clearer when looking at the cumulative rise since January. Seoul apartment prices were up 8.3 percent in August compared with January. The northeast posted the largest gain among the five zones at 11.5 percent over that period, followed by the southwest at 8.4 percent. The northwest rose 7.1 percent, the city center 5.0 percent and the southeast 3.8 percent.

Prices rose across all unit sizes. Mid-to-large units with an exclusive use area of more than 85 square meters and up to 135 square meters posted the highest monthly gain at 1.32 percent. Small units of more than 40 square meters up to 60 square meters rose 0.87 percent, while mid-small units of more than 60 square meters up to 85 square meters gained 0.70 percent. On a year-on-year basis, small units surged 19.88 percent.

While prices climbed, transaction volumes fell sharply. As of Friday's tally, September sales of Seoul apartments came to 2,923 units, down 18.3 percent from 3,578 units in August. After peaking at 8,987 units in May, transactions dropped to 5,319 in June before edging back up to 5,859 in July, then fell again in August and September.

However, September contracts can still be reported to authorities through the end of this month, meaning the final transaction count could rise above the current figure.

Share of transactions at 1.5 billion won or below by Seoul district in September. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Share of transactions at 1.5 billion won or below by Seoul district in September. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Apartments priced at 1.5 billion won ($1.13 million) or below continued to account for the vast majority of transactions. Such units made up 78.1 percent of all September sales, down slightly from 79.5 percent in August. Nowon-gu recorded the highest number of transactions among all districts at 332 units, of which 99.7 percent were priced at 1.5 billion won or below. In Dobong-gu, Gangbuk-gu and Geumcheon-gu, every transaction fell within that price range.

Jeonse prices also continued to rise. Actual jeonse transaction prices for Seoul apartments climbed 0.30 percent in August from the previous month, marking 16 consecutive months of gains. Year on year, they were up 11.31 percent.

By subregion, the southwest posted the highest monthly jeonse gain at 1.30 percent, while the northwest rose 0.17 percent. The city center fell 0.35 percent, the northeast dropped 0.10 percent and the southeast declined 0.08 percent. By unit size, large units with an exclusive use area exceeding 135 square meters rose 2.41 percent, while mid-to-large units of more than 85 square meters up to 135 square meters gained 1.50 percent.

The rental market saw both a drop in overall transactions and a growing share of monthly rent contracts. September jeonse transactions in Seoul fell 17.9 percent from the previous month to 6,454 units, while monthly rent transactions declined 6.4 percent to 7,750 units. Combined jeonse and monthly rent transactions totaled 14,204 units, down 12.0 percent from August.

Monthly rent contracts accounted for 54.6 percent of all rental transactions. After jeonse and monthly rent volumes tracked closely in July and August, monthly rent's share climbed back above 50 percent in September.

Among jeonse contracts, renewals made up 56.7 percent, down slightly from 57.9 percent the previous month but well above the 43.4 percent recorded in the same month last year. Of those renewals, 52.1 percent involved the use of the contract renewal right, up from 49.8 percent in August.


quq@heraldcorp.com