'Aripak' Falls 520 Million... Even Gangnam 3 Districts, Once Hot for 'Smart One-Home' Trend, See Decline in Transactions

Frequent Decline Transactions in Key Areas like Banpo, Daechi, Jamsil
Aripak 84㎡ Drops from 4.5 Billion to 3.98 Billion in One Month
Rapid Price Surge and Accumulated Fatigue Freeze Buying Demand

Apartment buildings in the Seoul area (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] “Since purchase inquiries have completely stopped, we haven’t been able to close a single deal for over three months. The existing listings aren’t selling, so they just keep piling up.” (Representative of A Real Estate Agency in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul)

Following the outskirts of Seoul, the housing price surge in the Gangnam 3 districts?Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa?once the epicenter of price increases, is also slowing down. As fatigue from the continuous rapid rise in housing prices accumulates, there are forecasts that even transactions of the ‘smart one house’ are shrinking. In major areas such as Banpo, Daechi, and Jamsil, where the upward trend was led, there are increasing cases of price drops in transactions, leading to cautious analyses that the housing price decline may accelerate.

According to the weekly apartment price trend for the first week of this month (as of the 3rd) announced by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 12th, the apartment price increase rate in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was recorded at 0.03%. This is a 0.02 percentage point decrease from the previous week (0.04%). Gangnam-gu (0.05%) and Seocho-gu (0.07%) also saw their increases shrink by 0.02 and 0.01 percentage points respectively, approaching a stable trend.

Purchase Demand Freezes, Listings Accumulate, and Price-Drop Transactions Increase

In these areas, transactions where the actual sale price dropped by several hundred million won compared to the previous deal have been observed. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Real Transaction Price Disclosure System, Acro River Park 84.95㎡ (exclusive area) in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu?known as the most expensive apartment per pyeong in Korea?was sold for 3.98 billion won on December 26 last year, dropping 520 million won from the previous highest price of 4.5 billion won (November 15). The Hanbo Mido Mansion 128㎡ in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, which is undergoing Seoul’s ‘Rapid Integrated Planning,’ reached a record high of 4.14 billion won in November last year but changed hands for 3.82 billion won in December, falling over 300 million won within a month.

Major reconstruction complexes are also seeing their upward momentum falter. Asia Athlete Village 151㎡ in Jamsil-dong, which recorded the highest price in Songpa-gu, hit a peak of 4.2 billion won in November last year but dropped 350 million won within a month, selling for 3.85 billion won on December 9. The Olympic Athlete Village 1st Complex 100.8㎡ in Bangi-dong, known as a ‘big catch’ in Seoul’s reconstruction market, was traded for 2.375 billion won on November 20 last year, down 275 million won from the previous highest price of 2.65 billion won.

The reason for the series of price-drop transactions is the increased price burden. A representative from B Real Estate in Jamsil-dong said, “The real estate market has frozen, and since prices have risen so much, buyers are feeling the burden. Although the number of sellers putting their properties on the market has increased, transactions are practically not happening unless it’s a quick sale.” The head of C Real Estate in Daechi-dong explained, “Housing prices in the Gangnam area are also stagnating. The upcoming presidential election this year has deepened the wait-and-see attitude, which has also had an impact.”

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