Seoul Apartment Prices Continue to Decline... Stable Trends in Jongno and Mapo Districts

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] Apartment prices in Seoul continued their downward trend. However, the Gangnam 3 districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa) shifted to a rising or stable trend, and autonomous districts such as Jung, Mapo, and Jongno, which had shown high rates of decline, also turned stable, reducing the overall decline. Jeonse prices in Seoul and the metropolitan area showed a similar rate of decline as the previous week.

According to the weekly apartment price trend for the third week of March announced by the Korea Real Estate Agency on the 31st, as of the 28th, apartment sale prices in Seoul fell by 0.01%. This maintained the decline rate from the previous week (-0.01%).

In Seoul, 18 out of 25 autonomous districts recorded declines. The decline rates in Gangbuk-gu (-0.05% → -0.03%) and Jung-gu (-0.04% → -0.02%), which had shown high declines the previous week, narrowed. The Gangnam 3 districts, which had shifted to a rising or stable trend the previous week, maintained their rates of change. Gangnam-gu (0.01%) and Seocho-gu (0.01%) continued their upward trend, driven by increased buying demand mainly in new constructions along the Han River and in Banpo-dong, as well as expectations of regulatory easing centered on reconstruction projects, leading to record-high prices.

Incheon (-0.02% → -0.02%) continued its decline. Seo-gu (0.02%) turned to an upward trend with buying demand in some undervalued mid-to-low price areas such as Majon and Dangha-dong. Yeonsu-gu (-0.07%) mainly in Songdo New Town, Gyeyang-gu (-0.04%) mainly in Hyoseong and Gyesan-dong, and Bupyeong-gu (-0.03%) mainly in Samsan and Bugae-dong, continued their downward trend due to inventory accumulation.

Gyeonggi-do (-0.03% → -0.02%) saw a slight decrease in the rate of decline. Icheon-si (0.25%) continued its high rate of increase. On the other hand, Suji-gu in Yongin (-0.12%) declined due to inventory accumulation and other factors, and Yeongtong-gu in Suwon (-0.08%) declined mainly in new constructions in Yeongtong and Mangpo-dong.

Sejong saw apartment prices fall by 0.14%, a smaller decline compared to the previous week (-0.19%).

A real estate agency in a densely populated apartment complex in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The apartment jeonse market maintained a decline rate of -0.04% in the metropolitan area last week. Seoul's decline rate narrowed from -0.03% the previous week to -0.02% this week. Although inventory accumulated in most areas, jeonse inquiries slightly increased due to spring moving season demand and expanded bank loan limits, slightly reducing the rate of decline.

South of the Han River, Gangnam-gu (-0.01%) and Seocho-gu (-0.01%) saw a reduction in the decline rate as jeonse inquiries increased mainly in reconstruction and relatively mid-to-low price areas, while Songpa-gu (-0.01%) declined due to inventory accumulation mainly in older buildings in Jangji and Munjeong-dong.

In other metropolitan areas, Incheon recorded -0.11%, a larger decline than the previous week (-0.13%). Seo-gu (-0.21%) declined mainly in Cheongna and Geomdan New Towns, and Yeonsu-gu (-0.38%) declined due to inventory accumulation and falling transactions mainly in large complexes in Songdo New Town.

Gyeonggi-do showed the same decline rate of -0.03% as the previous week (-0.03%). Icheon-si (0.25%) and Pyeongtaek-si (0.10%) rose mainly in areas near industrial complexes with good proximity to workplaces or favorable living conditions. Conversely, Anyang Dongan-gu (-0.31%) declined mainly in Bisan and Pyeongchon-dong due to factors such as new supply, and Gwangmyeong-si (-0.15%) declined mainly in Cheolsan-dong.

Sejong continued its downward trend with jeonse prices falling 0.32% last week, following the previous week's decline of -0.32%.

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