The Knowledge Industry Complex transaction volume in the third quarter hit the lowest level in five years.
According to a nationwide Knowledge Industry Complex sales market trend report for the third quarter released on the 9th by artificial intelligence (AI)-based commercial real estate integrated service corporations RealtyPlanet, the Knowledge Industry Complex recorded 520 transactions and 208.9 billion won in transaction value, down 36.1% and 40.2%, respectively, from the previous quarter. This is the weakest transaction performance since data collection began in 2021.
However, the nationwide average price per exclusive area for Knowledge Industry Complexes rose. The third-quarter average price per exclusive area was 16.29 million won, up 3.8% from the previous quarter (15.69 million won). This is the highest amount since the third quarter of 2024 (18.79 million won).
In the third quarter, 88.1% of the Knowledge Industry Complex transaction volume and 90.1% of the transaction value occurred in the greater Seoul area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi). During the same period, a total of 458 Knowledge Industry Complex transactions worth 188.3 billion won were completed in the greater Seoul area, down 36.8% and 41.7%, respectively, from the previous quarter (725 transactions, 323.1 billion won).
In Seoul, the declines in Knowledge Industry Complex transaction volume and transaction value were relatively smaller than in other regions. In the third quarter, Seoul's Knowledge Industry Complex transaction volume fell 5.3% from 150 to 142. However, the transaction value dropped 12.8% from 111.1 billion won to 96.9 billion won, failing to maintain the 100 billion won level that had held since the first quarter of last year.
The average price per exclusive area for Seoul Knowledge Industry Complexes was 25.15 million won, up 6.0% from the previous quarter (23.73 million won).
In non-capital regions, the market also fell, with transaction volume down 30.3% to 62 and transaction value down 20.8% to 20.6 billion won from the previous quarter.
The third-quarter average price per exclusive area rose in both the capital and non-capital regions. Capital-area Knowledge Industry Complexes increased from 16.19 million won to 16.79 million won, and non-capital Knowledge Industry Complexes rose from 11.65 million won to 12.61 million won, up 3.7% and 8.2%, respectively, from the previous quarter.
RealtyPlanet CEO Jeong Su-min said, "In the third quarter, the Knowledge Industry Complex market saw both transaction volume and transaction value decline from the previous quarter as supply pressures accumulated and demand weakened," adding, "To restore demand, both easing the burden on end users and recovery in business conditions by industry are needed, but with current conditions difficult to improve, a clear rebound in the short term will be hard to expect."