Seoul Apartment Buying Sentiment Hits 6-Month Low... Transaction Freeze Deepens

Apartment Sales Supply-Demand Index Declines for 8 Consecutive Weeks

More Sellers than Buyers in Seoul's Northwestern Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Due to strengthened loan regulations and fatigue from the recent sharp rise in housing prices, the buying sentiment for apartments in Seoul has declined for eight consecutive weeks since last September. In the northwestern area of Seoul, including Mapo and Eunpyeong districts, the index fell below 100, indicating that there are more people willing to sell than buy for the first time in six months.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 6th, the apartment sales supply-demand index in Seoul this week (as of the 1st) recorded 100.7, down 0.2 points from last week. This is the lowest figure in 29 weeks since the second week of April this year (100.3). The sales supply-demand index has been declining for eight consecutive weeks since the first week of September (107.2).

The sales supply-demand index is calculated by the Korea Real Estate Board by analyzing surveys from member brokerage offices and the number of online listings, quantifying the balance between demand and supply. Based on the baseline of 100, the closer the index is to '0', the more supply exceeds demand, and the closer it is to '200', the more demand exceeds supply.

In Seoul's northwestern area, there are now more people wanting to sell than buy. The sales supply-demand index in the northwest dropped to 99.8, falling below 100 for the first time since the fourth week of April (98.9). The downtown area, including Jongno and Yongsan districts (100.7), and the southwestern area, including Yeongdeungpo, Yangcheon, Guro, and Dongjak districts (100.6), also saw declines in their sales supply-demand indices compared to last week. The fatigue from the sharp rise in housing prices combined with government loan regulations is causing a contraction in housing demand.

On the other hand, the sales supply-demand index in the southeastern area (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, Gangdong districts) rose by 0.1 points from last week (100.4) to 100.5. The northeastern area, which includes 'Nodogang' (Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk districts), also increased by 0.2 points to 101.3 compared to the previous week.

As buying demand shrinks, the transaction freeze for apartments centered around Seoul and the metropolitan area is intensifying. According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza, the number of apartment transactions in Seoul in September was 2,693, the lowest this year.

The jeonse (long-term lease) index also declined. The Seoul apartment jeonse supply-demand index dropped 1.2 points from last week (102.4) to 101.2, the lowest since November 11 last year when it recorded 100.4. The southeastern area (Gangnam 4 districts) also fell below 100 to 99.6. Falling below 100 means that the supply of jeonse properties exceeds demand.

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