Seoul Apartment Prices Fall Again... Record Largest Drop for 5 Consecutive Times

A red light is on at a traffic signal near an apartment in downtown Seoul. (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Taemin] Seoul apartment sale and jeonse prices have continued to record the largest decline for the fifth consecutive time. As the Bank of Korea has implemented successive base rate hikes, demand has sharply decreased, deepening the downward trend in housing prices.

According to the 'Weekly Apartment Price Trend for the First Week of December' released by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 8th, Seoul apartment prices fell by 0.59% compared to the previous week (-0.56%). This marks the 28th consecutive week of decline and breaks the record for the largest drop for five consecutive weeks since the Real Estate Board began price surveys in May 2012.

Looking at the regions, the decline was particularly notable in the 'Nodogang' (Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk districts) area. Apartment prices in Dobong-gu fell by 0.88%, the largest drop in Seoul, followed by Nowon-gu at 0.85% and Gangbuk-gu at 0.75%.

In the Gangnam area, the decline widened compared to the previous week in Gangnam-gu (-0.39%), Seocho-gu (-0.26%), and Songpa-gu (-0.67%). Gangdong-gu also fell by 0.60%, resulting in a 0.48% decline across the entire southeastern region.

The Real Estate Board analyzed, “Due to concerns over further housing price declines and the burden of interest rate hikes, inquiries from buyers remain sluggish. Intermittent urgent sales transactions are influencing downward adjustments of existing listing prices, leading to an expanded rate of decline compared to last week.”

The metropolitan area (-0.74%) and provinces (-0.45%), which had hoped for a turnaround due to deregulation benefits, continue to see expanding declines. Apartment prices in Gyeonggi-do fell by 0.78% this week, and Incheon by 0.98%, both showing larger drops than last week.

Similarly, Sejong City, which was deregulated, saw its decline widen significantly from -0.77% last week to -1.02% this week, continuing the largest drop on record.

The jeonse market also remains in a stagnant phase.

Jeonse prices nationwide (-0.73%), in the metropolitan area (-1.00%), and in Seoul (-0.96%) all recorded the largest declines ever. Provinces fell by 0.47%, the five major metropolitan cities by -0.65%, and Sejong City by -0.81%.

In the metropolitan area, Incheon (-1.11%) and Gyeonggi (-1.00%) both exceeded a 1.0% decline, continuing the downward trend.

The Real Estate Board explained, “The ongoing decline in jeonse transaction prices is affecting further reductions in listing prices, and some sellers abandoning sales are moving their properties into the jeonse market, intensifying the accumulation of jeonse listings. The atmosphere is one of an expanding rate of decline compared to last week.”

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