Frozen Sejong City Apartment Prices... 30 Consecutive Weeks of Decline

Decline Continues Since Fourth Week of July Last Year
Prices Down 4.75% Over 7 Months
Transaction Volume at Half of Boom Period

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Taemin] Apartment prices in Sejong City, which had been soaring to the sky, have fallen for 30 consecutive weeks, approaching the longest decline period on record (37 weeks). It appears that accumulated fatigue from the rapid price surge, loan regulations, and increased supply volumes have influenced this trend.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 21st, the apartment sale price in Sejong City for the second week of February fell by 0.13% compared to the previous week. Since turning to a decline (-0.09%) in the fourth week of July, it has continued a negative change rate for 30 consecutive weeks. Over approximately seven months, Sejong apartment prices have dropped by 4.75%. The longest previous decline period for Sejong apartment prices was about nine months, from the fourth week of December 2018 to the first week of September 2019, with a total decrease of 3.77%. The current decline period is shorter than that time, but the magnitude is 0.98 percentage points larger.

Sejong City recorded the highest nationwide increase rate (44.93%) in 2020, showing a rapid rise in housing prices. However, since the second half of last year, the market has frozen due to fatigue from the rapid price surge and government loan regulations. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system, apartment sales in Sejong last month were only 156 cases. This is less than half of the monthly average (345 cases) during the active trading period in the first half of last year. Although the transaction registration reporting deadline has not yet passed, it is expected that the declining trend in transaction volume itself will not change.

Additionally, the increase in supply volume has also had an impact. According to Real Estate R114, the number of apartment move-ins in Sejong City last year was 7,668 households, an increase of 2,013 households (35.6%) compared to 2020 (5,655 households). The complete abolition of special supply for public officials' apartments since last year also contributed to the increase in general sale volumes.

As the decline continues, buying demand is also weakening. According to statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board's Apartment Price Trend Survey, Sejong City's sales supply-demand index has remained in the 70s to 80s for over two months since falling to 88.1 in the first week of December. When the sales supply-demand index is below the baseline of 100, it indicates a stronger tendency to sell houses.

As buying sentiment worsens, listings are also accumulating. According to the real estate information app Apartment Real Transaction Price, as of the 20th, the number of apartment sale listings in Sejong was 4,563, an increase of 601 listings (15.1%) compared to July 20 last year (3,962 listings), when the decline began.

Declining transactions are also occurring frequently in the market. An 84.9㎡ (exclusive area) apartment in Doram Village 1 Complex, Dodam-dong, Sejong City, was sold for 682 million KRW on the 21st of last month, about 100 million KRW lower than the previous highest price of 780 million KRW in December last year. An 84.9㎡ apartment in Gaon Village 6 Complex, Dajeong-dong, changed hands for 835 million KRW on the 23rd of last month, dropping 150 million KRW from the previous highest price of 985 million KRW (September).

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