[Report] "Transactions Have Become More Active Than Late Last Year" Gangnam's Top Apartment Awakens Again

Helio City, January 1.5 Billion → March 1.9 Billion

"Since the beginning of this year, transactions have increased quite a bit, and prices have been steadily recovering. This complex is highly watched by buyers, and many units were offered at low prices earlier this year, which has attracted strong buying interest." (Representative of A Real Estate Agency, Garak-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul)

The exterior view of Helio City Apartment in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, visited on the afternoon of the 25th.
Photo by Ryu Taemin

On the afternoon of the 25th, Helio City Apartments in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, were visited. This large complex with 9,510 households had real estate offices bustling with visitors. The representative of a local A real estate agency received several purchase inquiry calls during the interview and said, "While transactions are not overwhelming, compared to the frozen market at the end of last year, activity has become quite lively," adding, "Both transaction volume and prices are steadily trending upward."

Compared to last year when transactions were completely frozen, there has been a significant increase in purchase inquiries. A representative from nearby B real estate agency said, "Since prices hit a low point at the end of last year and early this year, it seems that the demand group who usually planned to move to Helio City has gathered," adding, "It is a large-scale complex and with positive factors like the Wirye-Sinsa Line, its popularity is high."

Recovery of 'Flagship Apartments' in Gangnam Area... Approaching Stability

The recovery in transaction volume and prices is not limited to this complex. The price decline of so-called ‘flagship apartments’ located in the Gangnam area has noticeably slowed. According to the monthly housing trend report released by KB Kookmin Bank on this day, the ‘KB Leading Apartment 50’ index fell by 0.04% compared to the previous month. This is a 0.41 percentage point decrease from the previous month’s -0.45%, indicating that it is practically on the verge of entering a stable range. This index recorded the largest drop ever last November with a 3.14% decline but has seen a sharp slowdown in the rate of decline for five consecutive months since then.

The KB Leading Apartment index selects the top 50 apartment complexes nationwide by market capitalization and shows the rate of change in market capitalization. It is highly sensitive to price fluctuations and is mainly used as a leading indicator to forecast the housing market. Major Gangnam complexes such as Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex, Acro River Park, and Eunma Apartments are included.

The reduced rate of decline in this index is analyzed to be due to the consecutive freezes in the base interest rate. While the price decline accelerated in the second half of last year due to the interest rate hike trend, the real estate market has been recovering recently as the base interest rate has remained steady. Song Seung-hyun, CEO of Urban and Economy, explained, "Last year, the high interest rate trend caused significant price declines in flagship apartments, but the atmosphere of the recent base rate freeze continues," adding, "However, it should be noted that the price change rate still remains in negative territory."

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Real Transaction Price Disclosure System, the 84.99㎡ (exclusive area) unit in Helio City fell from 2.3 billion KRW in May last year to 1.53 billion KRW in January. However, with increasing buying interest, it recovered to 1.87 billion KRW on March 27.

Base Interest Rate Freeze and Relaxation of Reconstruction Regulations... Active Sales Transactions

The volume of sales transactions in the Gangnam area, where leading apartments are concentrated, is also showing signs of revival. According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza, apartment transactions in March reached 2,935 cases, the highest since August 2021 (4,065 cases). By district, Songpa-gu (222 cases) ranked second after Eunpyeong-gu, and Gangdong-gu (178 cases), Gangnam-gu (172 cases), and Seocho-gu (115 cases) all recorded triple-digit figures. According to statistics from the real estate big data company Apartment Real Transaction Price (Asil) on this day, the complex with the highest number of transactions this year (excluding rental apartment purchases) was Helio City with 115 cases. Most of the top ranks were occupied by apartments included in the Leading 50 index, such as I-Park Rio (70 cases), Godeok Gracium (65 cases), and Trizium (48 cases).

The easing of layered reconstruction regulations is also analyzed to have had an impact. According to Real Estate R114, the price change rate for reconstruction apartments in Seoul recorded -0.13% this month, about half the decline compared to the previous month (-0.20%).

In fact, the actual transaction prices of major reconstruction complexes are also recovering. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Real Transaction Price Information System, the 117.5㎡ unit of the ‘Olympic Trio’ in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, traded at 2.12 billion KRW in June last year, then declined to 1.7 billion KRW in February. However, it has recently shown signs of recovery, rising to 1.833 billion KRW on the 5th of this month, an increase of 133 million KRW.

The 76.79㎡ unit of Eunma Apartments in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, known as a ‘reconstruction big fish,’ fell from 2.54 billion KRW in May last year to 1.795 billion KRW in January, but has since recovered to 2.07 billion KRW as of the 14th.

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