At the start of the new year, Seoul home prices turned downward. The downturn is seen as the result of subdued transactions due to the year-end and New Year off-season.
According to Real Estate R114 on the 9th, in the first week of January, Seoul apartment sale prices fell 0.07%. Both Seoul and the greater Seoul area declined 0.07%, and Gyeonggi and Incheon showed a -0.08% change. Outside the capital region, the five major metropolitan cities fell -0.03%, and other provinces were down -0.02%, indicating weakness. Sparse real estate transactions due to seasonal factors appear to have led to a decline in market prices.
Of the 17 provinces and metropolitan cities nationwide, nine saw declines, outnumbering the seven that rose. By region, North Jeolla fell 0.17%, the largest drop, followed by North Chungcheong (0.16%), Ulsan (0.14%), Gyeonggi (0.12%), and South Gyeongsang (0.10%).
Nationwide jeonse prices rose 0.13%. Following last year's government lending curbs, a sharp drop in jeonse listings is affecting market prices. By area, the greater Seoul area and Gyeonggi and Incheon each rose 0.14% and 0.12%. By region, Seoul (0.16%), Gyeonggi (0.14%), Gwangju (0.12%), North Jeolla (0.12%), Busan (0.11%), and Daejeon (0.10%) posted gains.
According to Real Estate R114's artificial intelligence (AI) price survey, as of late December last year, the market capitalization of Seoul apartment sales was about 1,832 trillion won, a record high. The apartment sale market capitalization is the sum of the average prices of about 1.7 million existing Seoul apartments that can be sold, excluding rentals.
By type, the market capitalization of general apartments is about 1,468 trillion won, and that of redevelopment apartments is about 363 trillion won. Among districts, Gangnam District had the most at about 331 trillion won, followed by Songpa District (about 236 trillion won), Seocho District (222 trillion won), Yangcheon District (97 trillion won), Gangdong District (86 trillion won), and Seongdong District (82 trillion won).
A Real Estate R114 official said, "This year as well, demand is concentrating on newly built apartments in Seoul," and noted, "New-build premiums will be reflected in prices as soon as residents move in."