Seoul Villa Sales Surpass Apartment Sales for 13 Consecutive Months

The view of a villa neighborhood from a building in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where villa transaction volumes are increasing on the 11th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] The phenomenon of villa (multi-family and row houses) sales volume surpassing apartment sales in Seoul has continued for 13 consecutive months. Despite perceptions that villas have lower liquidity and prices do not rise well, this trend is analyzed to be due to demand shifting to villas caused by loan regulations and the rapid rise in apartment prices.

According to the Seoul Real Estate Plaza on the 3rd, last month villa sales reached 1,449 cases, about 2.7 times the apartment sales (537 cases). Considering the 30-day reporting deadline for transactions, the number of transactions may fluctuate, but the trend of villa sales exceeding apartment sales is expected to continue.

Typically, apartment transaction volumes in Seoul are higher than those of villas. However, since last year, due to rapid price increases, loan regulations, and strengthened taxes, the threshold for apartment sales in Seoul has risen, and more buyers have turned their attention to villas, which are cheaper and less regulated than apartments. According to KB Real Estate, the average apartment sale price in Seoul last month was 1,256.69 million KRW, while the average villa price was 345.59 million KRW.

The influx of buyers into villas due to price differences and regulations is also reflected in statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board. According to the Real Estate Board, in November last year (based on the reporting date), 58.5% of all housing sales in Seoul were villas. This is the highest monthly figure since statistics began to be compiled in 2006. By district, Yangcheon-gu had the highest proportion at 78.3%, followed by Songpa-gu (77.2%) and Gangseo-gu (74.5%). In these areas, 7 out of 10 people who purchased a home bought a villa. As apartment demand shifted to villas, the phenomenon of villa sales volume surpassing apartment sales volume has continued for 13 consecutive months.

However, this phenomenon is not due to a boom in the villa market. Both villa and apartment markets are experiencing a transaction cliff. Seoul villa transaction volume has been declining for 8 consecutive months since May last year (6,024 cases).

The decline in Seoul apartment sales volume is even steeper. Seoul apartment sales have been decreasing for 6 consecutive months since July last year (4,703 cases). However, since the decline in villa transaction volume is slower than that of apartments, the trend of villa sales volume exceeding apartment sales is expected to continue for the time being.

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