Selling Regional Apartments and Buying a 'Smart Single Property' in Seoul... "Limited Decline in Housing Prices"

Last Month, 4,954 Cases of Non-Residents Purchasing Houses in Seoul
Nearly Doubled in One Month... Investment in Seoul
Seoul Buyers' Sentiment Remains Strong... "House Price Decline Is Limited"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] As government regulations on multi-homeowners tighten, more outsiders are selling their provincial homes and trying to secure a 'smart single home' in Seoul. The buying trend is affecting not only high-priced homes in areas like Gangnam but also mid-priced apartments in outer districts such as Nowon and Dobong-gu. Experts analyze this buying trend as a factor preventing the decline of Seoul housing prices.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 30th, the number of Seoul home purchases by residents from outside Seoul nearly doubled from 2,557 in April to 4,954 last month. While Seoul housing prices continue to rise, the government's ongoing tightening of regulations on multi-homeowners is interpreted as causing a surge in investment from provincial asset holders moving to the capital.

In Yongsan-gu, where development projects such as the Yongsan Station railway maintenance depot site and Yongsan History and Culture Park are concentrated, the proportion of purchases by outsiders reached 31.5% last month. This means that one out of every three properties sold in Yongsan-gu was bought by residents from outside Seoul. Even though the total number of housing transactions sharply decreased from 1,059 in May to 598 in just one month, transactions by outsiders increased from 129 to 190.

A representative of real estate agency A near the Yongsan maintenance depot said, "Since the development news came out, all available properties have been taken. Many people come up from the provinces to look for investment opportunities, but some areas are restricted by land transaction permits, and owners are reluctant to sell due to the positive developments, so it is not easy to find properties."

Outsiders' home purchases in relatively mid-priced complexes such as Nowon and Dobong-gu are also increasing significantly. In Nowon, the proportion of purchases by outsiders has risen over the past three months from 19.7% to 20.2% and then to 23.2%. Dobong-gu (97 to 182 cases), Guro-gu (265 to 409 cases), Yeongdeungpo-gu (110 to 241 cases), and Songpa-gu (136 to 329 cases) also saw large increases.

People who find it difficult to buy high-priced homes in Gangnam or Mapo and Yongsan-gu appear to be investing in Seoul apartments, hoping for capital gains based on the belief that prices will rise. This 'smart single home' craze is expected to play a role in defending Seoul housing prices by becoming the buyers who purchase some Seoul homes from multi-homeowners burdened by holding taxes and starting to sell.

Lee Eunhyung, senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Construction Policy, said, "Since the government is strengthening regulations judging that multi-homeowners have disrupted the market, it is a natural step that the smart single home phenomenon will intensify. Because of this, despite the government increasing holding tax burdens on multi-homeowners, Seoul housing prices are not expected to fall sharply in the near term."

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