Seoul Apartment Sales Plummet Again This Month... Transaction Cliff Deepens

October Transaction Volume Down by 400 Compared to Previous Month

The volume of apartment sales transactions in Seoul in October dropped by nearly 400 cases compared to the previous month, marking the lowest level this year once again. Although the ruling party is considering easing capital gains tax for multi-homeowners, concerns are rising that the transaction freeze will continue until the end of the year due to overlapping factors such as loan regulations, interest rate hikes, and a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the relaxation of the capital gains tax exemption criteria for single-homeowners starting January next year.

According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza on the 1st, the number of apartment transactions in Seoul last October was provisionally tallied at 2,308 cases. This is 394 fewer than the 2,702 cases in September. It is also the lowest figure in two years and seven months since March 2019, when there were 2,282 cases.

The contraction in transactions is expected to continue. As of this day, the number of reported sales last month is 646 cases, which is only about one-third of October's volume. Considering that the reporting deadline is the end of this month, the prevailing view is that the transaction volume will fall short of October's level.

The head of A Real Estate Agency (licensed) in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu said, "Currently, there are no buyers expressing an intention to purchase a house immediately," adding, "Even if prices are lowered, many seem to prefer to wait and see how the market develops next year."

Experts observe that the sharp rise in housing prices over a short period, the increase in market loan interest rates, and the presidential election are causing a sharp decline in transaction volume. Additionally, as the government plans to relax the capital gains tax exemption criteria for single-homeowners from KRW 900 million to KRW 1.2 billion starting January next year, homeowners may delay selling, potentially causing further short-term contraction in the transaction market.

With transactions not taking place, listings are accumulating. According to Asil, a real estate big data company, the number of apartment listings in Seoul increased by 6.7% (2,870 cases) from 42,471 on November 1 to 45,341 on this day.

Kwon Il, head of the research team at Real Estate Info, said, "Some multi-homeowners burdened by comprehensive real estate tax are putting their properties on the market, which may cause a slight increase in listings, but it is questionable whether there will be buyers for these," adding, "The fatigue from rising housing prices has reached its peak, loans are not being issued, and with the base interest rate rising, the interest burden has also increased."

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