Seoul apartment buying sentiment has once again exceeded the baseline of 100. With not many listings on the market, more people are looking to buy apartments.
According to a survey by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB) on the 12th, this week's Seoul apartment sales supply-demand index recorded 100.2. It broke through the baseline of 100 for the first time in seven weeks since the third week of Jul. (100.1). A sales supply-demand index higher than the baseline of 100 means there are more people looking to buy homes than to sell.
The Seoul apartment sales supply-demand index recorded 104.2 in the survey for the fourth week of Jun. (as of Jun. 23) and then fell after the Jun. 27 lending curbs. In the survey for the fourth week of Jul. (as of Jul. 21), it came in at 99.3, below the baseline.
However, this week the index again surpassed the baseline as price gains widened in non-regulated areas along the Han River belt such as Seongdong (0.20→0.27%), Gwangjin (0.14→0.20%), and Mapo District (0.12→0.17%), as well as in popular areas including Gangnam (0.09→0.15%), Seocho and Yongsan districts (0.13→0.14%), and Jung District (0.11→0.16%).
Seoul apartment prices surveyed by the Korea Real Estate Board rose 0.09% this week, higher than last week's 0.08%, widening the increase for the first time in five weeks.
By region, with the supply-demand index rising in all five zones from last week, the urban core that includes Jongno, Jung, and Yongsan districts was highest at 104.3. The southwest that includes Yangcheon, Yeongdeungpo, and Dongjak districts followed at 102.7. The southeast that includes the three Gangnam districts and Gangdong District was 102.0, and the northwest that includes Mapo, Seodaemun, and Eunpyeong districts recorded 101.4.
In the northeast, despite an increase in record-high transaction of riverside apartments in Seongdong and Gwangjin districts, the recovery in buying sentiment for mid- to low-priced apartment areas such as Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk districts was relatively slower, making it the only one among the five zones to record 99.5.