Seoul Apartments with Sharp Drop in Transactions... Ranked 3rd in Volume for the First Time in 11 Years

Gyeonggi Province Leads in Transaction Volume, Down by 70,000 Compared to Last Year... Gyeongnam Increases by 9,500

Transaction Volume Highest in Suwon City > Cheongju City > Changwon City

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] This year, apartment transaction volume in Seoul has decreased by about 43% compared to one year ago. This is believed to be due to overlapping factors such as loan regulations, interest rate hikes, and strengthened property taxes, which have dampened buyers' sentiment for Seoul apartments.

On the 15th, Real House, a specialized sales analysis company, analyzed apartment sales transaction volumes by region from the Korea Real Estate Board. As of October this year, the apartment sales volume in Seoul was 45,812 cases, down about 43% from the same period last year. As apartment transactions in Seoul decreased, the ranking of metropolitan autonomous districts in transaction volume also dropped one step to third place. This is the first time since the real estate slump in 2010, 11 years ago, that Seoul's transaction volume ranking has fallen from second place.

Up to October this year, the region with the highest transaction volume was Gyeonggi Province, recording 165,150 cases. Gyeongnam recorded 50,525 cases, which is 4,713 more than Seoul, ranking second.

Among 206 basic local governments at the city, county, and district level, Suwon City had the highest transaction volume with 19,319 cases, followed by Cheongju City with 15,966 cases, and Changwon City with 14,204 cases.

Cheongju City had a high proportion of non-local buyers. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the nationwide average transaction ratio by non-locals (outside the jurisdictional city/county/district) in October was 51%, whereas Cheongju City had a high non-local investment ratio of 68%.

Although Gyeonggi Province ranks first nationwide in transaction volume, it decreased by 69,756 cases compared to last year. On the other hand, Gyeongnam's transaction volume increased by 9,513 cases during the same period, the largest increase nationwide. Gyeongnam's transaction volume was in the order of Changwon with 14,204 cases, Gimhae with 10,328 cases, and Yangsan with 7,896 cases.

Lee Nam-su, branch manager at Shinhan Bank, said, "When prices rise, chasing purchases follow the rising prices, increasing transaction volume, but in the opposite case, adjustments often occur. Seoul, where apartment prices have risen significantly over the past 2-3 years, seems to be entering the early stage of a correction phase, while Gyeongnam, where prices have risen less, appears to be entering a price-matching phase."

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