Seoul Metropolitan Area Apartments Average Annual Increase of 5.4%... Interest in 'Uijeongbu Lotte Castle Narivek City'

- Annual increase up to 29.2% with unstoppable gains in a rising market
- Meanwhile, declines are minimal... only 1-3% annual decrease

[Interior view at the time of opening of Uijeongbu Lotte Castle Narivek City model house]

Housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area have shown a pattern over the past 25 years where a year of decline is followed by two years of increase. In particular, the annual increase rate has sometimes reached as high as 30%, while the decline rate has been relatively minor. Within this trend, housing prices in the metropolitan area stand out more strongly during bull markets and are increasingly seen as trending upward in the long term. Accordingly, brand-name apartments currently entering the pre-sale phase are heating up with contract enthusiasm.

According to an analysis by Real Estate Info of KB Real Estate data, since related statistics were first published in 1999, housing prices in the metropolitan area have risen for 18 years and fallen for 6 years up to last year.

When prices rose, they rose significantly, but when they fell, the decline was slight. Among the 18 periods of increase, there were 6 years with double-digit growth rates. The year with the highest price increase was 2002, recording a remarkable 29.2% rise compared to the end of the previous year. This is interpreted as a result of the government's deregulation and economic recovery after the foreign exchange crisis coinciding to cause a sharp surge in housing prices.

On the other hand, in most cases when prices fell, the decline was limited to 1-3% compared to the end of the previous year, with the largest drop recorded last year at -8.0%. This year also saw a decline in housing prices in the first half, but prices turned upward in the second half, rising by 0.41% from January to September.

Additionally, if someone bought a house in January 2020 and held it until September this year, the average price would have increased by 1.24 times.

A real estate expert explained, “Although there may be temporary adjustments in the domestic real estate market, the long-term trend has consistently shown an upward trajectory,” adding, “Real estate is considered a highly valuable asset in the long term because the amounts involved are large and compound interest effects accumulate.” He further noted, “Currently, permits, groundbreaking, and move-in volumes are all showing a downward trend, which suggests several factors that could potentially drive apartment price increases in the future.”

There are also signs of buyers moving quickly to secure contracts in places currently on pre-sale. ‘Uijeongbu Lotte Castle Narivek City,’ supplied by Lotte Construction in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, is attracting continued interest from customers ahead of the winner contract period. This apartment is scheduled for winner contracts over three days from Tuesday, October 22 to Thursday, October 24.

In particular, Uijeongbu Lotte Castle Narivek City draws attention with financial benefits that significantly reduce contract burdens. These include a fixed contract deposit system (first payment of 10 million KRW), interest support on a 5% contract deposit loan (interest-free), and a fixed 3% interest rate on interim payments.

A real estate expert explained, “Securing prime complexes within the metropolitan area is advantageous for long-term asset growth, and under current market conditions, quick contracts are highly likely.” He added, “With the Bank of Korea’s base rate cuts and increasing demand for newly built apartments coinciding, now is the perfect time to purchase a home.”

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