Last Month's Seoul High-End Apartment Transactions Show a Temporary Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The volume of high-priced apartment transactions in Seoul saw a temporary increase last month. Analysts attribute this to a temporary surge in listings due to the impending expiration of the temporary exemption from capital gains tax surcharges for multi-homeowners and the burden of property holding taxes.

According to Zigbang on the 15th, the number of apartment transactions in Seoul last month was 4,062, a 34.5% increase compared to 3,020 in the previous month. Despite the real estate transaction reporting deadline (30 days) still remaining, the transaction volume has already surpassed that of April.

In particular, transaction volumes surged in apartments priced over 1.5 billion KRW in the three Gangnam districts?Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa?and the so-called Ma-Yong-Seong areas?Mapo, Yongsan, and Seongdong. When breaking down the increase in May apartment transactions by price range compared to the previous month, apartments over 1.5 billion KRW saw the largest increase at 75.82%. This was followed by 9 billion KRW to 1.5 billion KRW at 63.3%, 6 billion KRW to 9 billion KRW at 37.61%, 3 billion KRW to 6 billion KRW at 21.65%, and under 3 billion KRW at 19.55%. The higher the price, the more pronounced the increase in transaction volume.

Specifically, the increase in apartment transactions in the three Gangnam districts from April to May was 36.47% for apartments under 900 million KRW, 41.46% for those between 900 million KRW and 1.5 billion KRW, and 67.98% for those over 1.5 billion KRW. In Ma-Yong-Seong, the increases were 26.92% for under 900 million KRW, 90.63% for 900 million KRW to 1.5 billion KRW, and 178.95% for over 1.5 billion KRW. A Zigbang official explained, "The increase in apartment transactions in May is due to a rise in demand from buyers aiming to complete transactions before June 1, the tax base date, to benefit from the temporary exemption of capital gains tax surcharges for multi-homeowners who have held properties for over 10 years in regulated areas until June 30, and due to the holding tax burden caused by the official price realization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.