"If You Can Buy One Apartment in Gangnam-gu, You Can Buy Three Apartments in Gangbuk-gu"

Apartment complex in Seoul area (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Taemin] Apartment prices in Gangnam-gu and Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, have been found to differ by about three times. Although prices have recently stalled due to the impact of interest rate hikes, the gap appears to have widened further as demand in Gangnam is relatively higher compared to Gangbuk.

According to an analysis of KB Real Estate housing price trend data by Economic Man Lab on the 30th, among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul this month, Gangnam-gu recorded the highest average apartment sale price. As of this month, the average apartment sale price per pyeong (3.3㎡) in Gangnam-gu was 90.238 million KRW, up 6.856 million KRW (8.2%) from January (83.382 million KRW). Seocho-gu ranked second with 87.589 million KRW this month, followed by Yongsan-gu (67.566 million KRW) and Songpa-gu (67.004 million KRW) in third and fourth place, respectively.

On the other hand, the average apartment sale price per pyeong in Gangbuk-gu, which has the lowest prices in Seoul, was 31.98 million KRW this month, rising only 0.555 million KRW (1.76%) from January (31.425 million KRW). Dobong-gu (32.049 million KRW), Geumcheon-gu (32.337 million KRW), and Jungnang-gu (32.403 million KRW) followed.

In fact, an 84.43㎡ (exclusive area) unit in Eunma Apartment located in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, was sold for 2.35 billion KRW on the 1st. Considering that an 84.76㎡ unit in ‘SK Bukhansan’ in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu, changed hands for 697.5 million KRW on the 12th, the price of three apartments in Gangbuk-gu equals that of one apartment in Gangnam-gu. The average apartment sale price per pyeong in Seoul was recorded at 50.688 million KRW based on exclusive area. This is an increase of 0.682 million KRW (1.36%) from the average sale price of 50.026 million KRW in January.

Although price adjustments and a transaction freeze phenomenon have appeared across Seoul recently due to consecutive interest rate hikes, industry analysis suggests that the polarization of apartment prices depending on location is widening further. In Gangnam, where living infrastructure is excellent, demand still remains, but in Gangbuk, the ‘young-chul’ demand, which was a major demand group last year, has significantly decreased, causing a big impact.

This is also reflected in statistics. According to KB Real Estate’s housing price trend survey, the average apartment sale price per pyeong in the 11 districts south of the Han River rose 0.918 million KRW (1.6%) from 57.132 million KRW at the beginning of the year to 58.05 million KRW this month, whereas the 14 districts north of the Han River increased only 0.283 million KRW (0.67%) from 42.051 million KRW to 42.334 million KRW during the same period. Hwang Hansol, a research fellow at Economic Man Lab, said, "Although price adjustments and transaction freezes are occurring due to recent interest rate hikes, it seems difficult to narrow the polarization of apartment prices between regions because Gangnam-gu has excellent living infrastructure and abundant demand."

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