Listings Keep Piling Up... Seoul Apartment Buying Sentiment Declines for 5 Consecutive Weeks

Apartment buying sentiment in Seoul has been declining for five consecutive weeks. Amid a transaction freeze caused by interest rate hikes and theories of peak housing prices, the backlog of listings is also intensifying.

According to a survey by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 10th, this week's Seoul apartment sales supply-demand index recorded 89.4, the lowest since April this year.

If the sales supply-demand index is below the baseline (100), it means there are more people wanting to sell houses than those wanting to buy in the housing market.

Although it showed an upward trend after the March presidential election, it has been declining for five consecutive weeks since the temporary exclusion of multi-homeowners from the capital gains tax surcharge was implemented on the 10th of last month.

As tax-saving listings from multi-homeowners increase, buyers are holding back due to concerns over interest rate hikes and falling house prices, resulting in more sellers than buyers in the market. This week, the Korea Real Estate Board reported that Seoul apartment prices fell by 0.01%, marking a decline for two consecutive weeks.

Looking at the sales supply-demand index by region, the downtown area including Yongsan and Jongno districts recorded 89.4, falling below 90. The northwest area including Eunpyeong, Seodaemun, and Mapo districts (83.3) and the northeast area including Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk districts (85.4) also decreased compared to last week.

The southeast area, which includes the Gangnam 4 districts, had the highest index among Seoul's five major regions at 94.9, but it declined from last week's 95.1. Only the southwest area, including Yangcheon and Yeongdeungpo districts, slightly increased to 92.0 from 91.9 last week.

According to the real estate big data platform Asil, as of the 9th, Seoul apartment listings totaled 62,818, a 25% increase compared to the presidential election day three months ago (March 9, 51,031 listings). The number of Seoul apartment listings exceeding 60,000 is the first time in about 1 year and 10 months since August 2020.

Seoul apartment prices have declined for two consecutive weeks. According to the 'Weekly Apartment Price Trends for the First Week of June' released by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 9th, Seoul apartment prices fell by 0.01% for the second week in a row. Apartment prices in Gangnam district also remained flat, halting their rise for the first time in 12 weeks since the first week of February.

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