Seoul Apartment Sales Drop to About 10 Transactions a Day... Worse Trading Freeze Than During Financial Crisis

Last Month's Total Trading Volume Was 1/27
Multifamily, Row Houses, and Detached Houses Also See Trading Disappearance
Amid This, House Prices Continue to Rise

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The number of apartment sales transactions in Seoul this month has barely exceeded 100 so far. If this trend continues, concerns are growing that a transaction freeze similar to the 2008 global financial crisis could be repeated.

According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza on the 9th, the number of reported apartment sales transactions in Seoul this month (based on contract date) is only 102 as of today. Compared to last month's transaction volume (2,808 cases), it has dropped to about one twenty-seventh. Since transaction reports are made within 30 days of the contract date, the actual transaction volume may increase somewhat, but considering that the number of reports is only about 10 cases per day on average, the industry expects it could fall to the lowest level since real transaction data began being compiled.

Seoul apartment transaction volume, which was 4,800 cases in May, decreased to 3,930 in June and then sharply dropped to 2,808 in July. In particular, frontline brokerage firms explain that the number of transaction reports has sharply decreased this month, reaching a transaction freeze level.

Since Seoul began monthly transaction statistics in 2006, the lowest transaction volume was 1,163 cases in November 2008, when the US-originated global financial crisis fully unfolded. The volume has never fallen below 1,000 cases before.

Relatively active non-apartment transactions are also sharply declining. As of today, reported transactions for multi-family/row houses and single-family/multi-household homes are only 119 and 7 cases respectively, showing a distinctly different atmosphere compared to last month's transactions (multi-family/row houses 3,316 cases, single-family/multi-household 383 cases).

The transaction volume in August also shows a clear difference compared to the same period last year. In August last year, the transaction volume reached 4,981 cases. This suggests it is difficult to attribute the decline to simple seasonal factors.

Park Wongap, a real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, said, "The current real estate market shows an abnormal distorted structure where sellers are fewer than buyers," and predicted, "The transaction volume in the second half of the year is expected to decrease further compared to the first half."

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