Instead of Apartments, Villas... Villa Sales Over 600 Million KRW in Seoul and Gyeonggi Double in 4 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] This year, the number of multi-family and row houses (villas) sold for over 600 million KRW in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province has approximately doubled compared to 2017. It is interpreted that demand has concentrated on multi-family and row houses, which are relatively more affordable than apartments.

On the 13th, Station3, which operates the real estate platform Dabang, analyzed villas sold for over 600 million KRW in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province based on actual transaction data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. From the beginning of this year until September 10, the number of transactions was 3,048, accounting for 3.5% of the total. Considering that the number of transactions during the same period in 2017 was 1,519 (2%), it has more than doubled in four years.

A sale price of 600 million KRW is the highest threshold for the government mortgage product called Bogeumjari Loan and is considered a standard for judging affordable housing. However, since villas are priced lower than apartments, a villa sold for 600 million KRW is considered ‘high-priced.’ The average sale price of villas in Seoul is 346.69 million KRW.

In particular, villas sold for over 600 million KRW have significantly increased in Gyeonggi Province. As of September 10, 2017, the number of villa transactions over 600 million KRW was only 310 (0.8%), but this year it rose to 915, about three times higher. The proportion of these transactions in the total also increased by 1.3 percentage points to 2.1% compared to four years ago.

Another notable point is that villas priced over 600 million KRW, which were concentrated in specific areas such as Bundang-gu in Seongnam, Giheung-gu in Yongin, Yeongtong-gu in Suwon, Gwacheon, and Hanam in 2017, have expanded to areas like Guri, Hwaseong, Gimpo, Gwangmyeong, Uiwang, and Pyeongtaek this year.

In Seoul, among 43,715 villa transactions during the same period, 2,133 were over 600 million KRW, accounting for 4.9% of the total. Compared to the same period in 2017, the number of transactions increased by 76.4%, and the share of total transactions rose by 1.8 percentage points.

A Dabang official said, "The increase in ‘high-priced villa’ transactions appears to be due to rising housing prices in Seoul and the metropolitan area, driven by expectations for redevelopment projects, the Great Train Express (GTX), and new town developments."

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