Will the Top 3 Seoul Housing Prices Structure Change? Yongsan-Songpa Gap Smallest in 113 Months

As the price gap between Yongsan-gu and Songpa-gu in Seoul rapidly narrows, the dominance of the Gangnam 3 districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa), which had maintained the top three positions in Seoul's housing prices, is showing signs of disruption. While housing prices in Yongsan-gu have surged quickly due to positive factors such as the relocation of the presidential office, Songpa-gu has struggled as demand shifted to Gangnam and Seocho following the real estate market downturn.

Apartments in downtown Seoul as seen from Namsan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to Real Estate R114 on the 26th, the district with the highest average apartment sale price per 3.3㎡ in Seoul last month was Seocho-gu at 73.35 million KRW. This was followed by ▲Gangnam-gu (69.88 million KRW) ▲Songpa-gu (52.88 million KRW) ▲Yongsan-gu (52.32 million KRW) ▲Seongdong-gu (43.64 million KRW).

Notably, the difference between Yongsan-gu and Songpa-gu was recorded at 560,000 KRW, the smallest in 113 months since December 2013 (490,000 KRW). In November 2021, the price gap between Yongsan-gu and Songpa-gu had widened to 7.88 million KRW, but since then, Yongsan-gu's housing prices have risen rapidly, narrowing the gap for 18 consecutive months.

From November 2021 to May this year, Songpa-gu's housing prices fell by 6.17 million KRW per 3.3㎡, from 59.05 million KRW to 52.88 million KRW, marking the second-largest decline in Seoul. In contrast, during the same period, Yongsan-gu's prices rose by 1.15 million KRW, from 51.17 million KRW to 52.32 million KRW, showing the largest increase in Seoul.

Industry experts attribute the rise in Yongsan-gu's housing prices to development projects such as the International Business District and the Metropolitan Area Express Train (GTX)-B line. Additionally, the presence of major companies like Hyundai Motor Company on the Yongsan International Business District site, including the building of HYBE, the agency of BTS, is also cited as a factor driving up housing prices.

Kwon Il, head of the research team at Real Estate Info, stated, "Yongsan-gu showed relatively strong performance despite the nationwide real estate downturn, fueled by expectations from the presidential office relocation last year and the re-promotion of the International Business District development project following Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration." He added, "On the other hand, Songpa-gu has experienced fluctuations due to the large-scale move-in at Helio City and difficulties in the reconstruction of Jamsil Jugong Complex 5. Moreover, after the real estate market downturn, there has been a stronger tendency within the Gangnam 3 districts to prefer higher-tier areas like Seocho and Gangnam, making Songpa-gu relatively more challenged."

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