This Year’s Official Price of Apartment Complexes Rises 1.52%... Songpa-gu Increases by 10%

Realization Rate 69% Applied Same as Last Year
Seoul Rises 3.25%... Surpassing Songpa and Yangcheon Districts

Last year, the official prices of apartment complexes, which had fallen by more than 18% due to the adjustment of the realization rate, rose again this year. While the national average increased by 1.52%, among the provinces and cities, Sejong (6.45%) showed the highest increase, and among the districts of Seoul, Songpa-gu (10.09%) had the highest rise. Accordingly, the number of taxpayers subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax (종부세) based on one household one house also increased to 1.75% of the total, up from 1.56% the previous year.

Apartment Complex Official Prices Rise Again

2024 Apartment Officially Announced Price Status / Image provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 19th that it will open the '2024 Apartment Complex Official Price Proposal' for owners to review and collect opinions until the 8th of next month.

According to the Ministry, the nationwide average change rate of apartment complex official prices this year is 1.52%, marking an increase after two years. This is the sixth lowest level since the system was introduced and the third smallest absolute value. The realization rate applied was 69%, the same as last year, and the rise in official prices means that market prices have increased accordingly. Previously, the government had lowered the official price realization rate to the 2020 level last year, considering the prolonged transaction freeze caused by interest rate hikes and housing price declines triggered since 2022.

By region, the prices rose most in Sejong (6.45%), Seoul (3.25%), Daejeon (2.62%), Gyeonggi (2.22%), and Incheon (1.93%). Among these, Sejong experienced a base effect this year after two consecutive years of price declines. Conversely, Daegu (-4.15%), Gwangju (-3.17%), Busan (-2.89%), Jeonbuk (-2.64%), and Jeonnam (-2.27%) saw decreases in official prices.

The median official price this year was 168 million KRW, down 1 million KRW from last year's 169 million KRW. By region, Seoul was 364 million KRW, Sejong 271 million KRW, and Gyeonggi 221 million KRW.

Songpa-gu, Sensitive to Market Prices and Investment... Large Fluctuations in Change Rate

View of Jamsil Jugong Complex 5, Songpa-gu, Seoul / Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Seoul's official prices rose by an average of over 3% this year, with Songpa-gu recording the highest increase at 10.09%. Yangcheon-gu (7.19%), Yeongdeungpo-gu (5.09%), Dongdaemun-gu (4.52%), Gangdong-gu (4.49%), Mapo-gu (4.38%), Gangnam-gu (3.48%), and Gwangjin-gu (3.32%) also exceeded the average.

Industry insiders explained that the large fluctuation in Songpa-gu's official prices is due to its relative sensitivity to market prices and investment. Compared to Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, which have many apartments priced between 3 to 4 billion KRW among the Gangnam 3 districts, Songpa-gu has a lower psychological entry barrier, leading to faster turnover at price inflection points. In fact, according to a survey by the Korea Real Estate Board, Songpa-gu had the highest apartment sale price change rate in Seoul's 25 districts last year at 3.54%. During the same period, the cumulative increase rates for Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu were 0.51% and 0.71%, respectively. This is the exact opposite of last year's official price change rate of -23.20%, which reflected the housing price decline and showed the largest drop in Seoul.

A representative from the Real Estate Board said, "Songpa-gu is the area where buyers and investors first enter and exit, so the price fluctuations due to changes in the real estate market are steep," adding, "In the northern part of Seoul, Mapo-gu and Seongdong-gu (Seongsu-dong) show similar patterns."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to finalize and announce the apartment complex official prices on the 30th of next month after collecting owners' opinions and deliberation by the Central Real Estate Price Public Announcement Committee. Afterward, objections will be accepted and reviewed for 30 days, with final adjustments and announcements scheduled for June 27.

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