Seoul Housing Prices Recover... Gwanggyo and Dongtan Remain Stubbornly Declining

Seoul apartment sales volume has turned to an upward trend after 8 months. According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza, the number of sales transactions in Seoul in March was 937, a 16.4% increase compared to the previous month (805 transactions). This marks a rebound after seven consecutive months of decline from August last year (4,064 transactions) to February this year (805 transactions). It appears that the market, which had been frozen due to expectations of regulatory easing, is beginning to breathe again. A view of apartments from Namsan on the 11th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

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[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] Although Seoul housing prices have recently returned to a recovery trend, the atmosphere in the second phase of the metropolitan area new towns appears to be quite different. The fatigue from last year's rapid rise in housing prices has accumulated, and demand has concentrated on reconstruction and redevelopment projects that have recently gained momentum, causing the buying trend in this area to slow down.

According to the weekly apartment price trend announced by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 26th, apartment sale prices in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, where Dongtan New Town is located, recorded a negative rate for 19 consecutive weeks, falling by 1.50%. In Hwaseong, the rise rate was high at 0.82% until the second week of September last year (as of the 13th), but the rate of increase slowed down afterward, turning to a decline in December.

Yeongtong-gu, Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, where Gwanggyo New Town is located, also continued to decline for 18 consecutive weeks. During this period, the apartment sale price change rate in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon was -0.86%. Sujeong-gu, Seongnam City, where Wirye is located, also turned to a decline last week, recording -0.01%.

This contrasts with the recent halt in the decline of apartment prices in Seoul, which have maintained a flat trend for three consecutive weeks. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, as of the 18th, the apartment sale price change rate in Seoul recorded 0.00%, maintaining a flat trend for three consecutive weeks. In particular, the Gangnam area, full of expectations for deregulation such as Gangnam-gu (0.03%) and Seocho-gu (0.03%), continues to rise day by day.

The apartment price per pyeong in the second phase new towns is also declining. According to Real Estate R114 REPS, the average apartment price per 3.3㎡ in Dongtan steadily rose last year, reaching 25.5 million won in January this year, but as of the 15th of this month, it fell to 25.33 million won. In the case of Gwanggyo New Town, during the same period, it dropped from 38.33 million won to 38.12 million won, continuing the downward trend.

Declining transactions are also occurring in various places. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system on this day, an 84㎡ (exclusive area) apartment in ‘Dongtan Station Hanwha Dream Green Prestige’ in Cheonggye-dong, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, was sold for 1.167 billion won on the 2nd, which is 283 million won lower than the previous highest price of 1.45 billion won. An 84.8㎡ apartment in ‘Gwanggyo Central Town Complex 60’ in Iui-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, was also traded for 1.1365 billion won on the 12th of last month, dropping 263.5 million won from the previous highest price of 1.4 billion won.

Song Seung-hyun, CEO of City and Economy, explained, “In new town areas such as Dongtan and Gwanggyo, housing prices rose significantly last year along with Seoul, accumulating price fatigue among buyers. Recently, demand has concentrated mainly on redevelopment projects with high expectations, so the popularity is not as strong as before.”

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