As additional regulations on the dwellings market are expected through a revamp of holding taxes, the slowdown in the rise of Seoul apartment prices is continuing. In particular, apartment prices in Seoul's core areas, including the three Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa) and Yongsan District, was shown to have declined for the third straight week.
According to the weekly apartment price trends for the second week of March (as of Mar. 9) released by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB) on the 12th, the average sale price of apartments in Seoul rose 0.08% from the previous week. The pace of increase narrowed by 0.01 percentage point, marking the sixth straight week of a slowdown since the first week of February.
The board said, "With price adjustments occurring due to the appearance of falling listings in some complexes, and rising transactions in complexes pushing redevelopment and those with good residential conditions, the mixed trend continued, and overall Seoul rose."
The three Gangnam districts (Seocho, Gangnam, and Songpa) and Yongsan District showed weakness for the third week. Songpa District (-0.09%→-0.17) widened its decline and fell the most. It was followed by Gangnam District (-0.07%→-0.13%), Seocho District (-0.01%→-0.07%), and Yongsan District (-0.05%→0.03%).
This is seen as the result of listings seeking to avoid tax burdens continuing to appear at lower prices than before, as the imposition of heavier transfer taxes on owners of multiple homes has been finalized and the possibility of regulations on ultra-high-priced and nonresidential single-home owners through a revamp of holding taxes continues to be discussed.
Gangdong District (-0.01%), grouped with the three Gangnam districts as the southeastern zone, turned to a decline for the first time in 56 weeks since the first week of February last year. Dongjak District (0.00%) shifted to flat, and the upward trend also eased in Seongdong District (0.18%→0.06%) and Mapo District (0.13%→0.07%), key areas of the Han River belt in northern Seoul.
By contrast, areas where mid- to low-priced listings remain plentiful—such as Jung District (0.27%), Seongbuk District (0.27%), Seodaemun District (0.26%), and Gangseo District (0.25%)—showed relatively higher increases.
Gyeonggi Province (0.10%) saw its weekly rate of increase expand by 0.03 percentage point from the prior week. Regulated areas were strong, including Yeongtong District in Suwon (0.45%), Hanam (0.43%), and Dongan District in Anyang (0.42%), while Bundang District in Seongnam (0.26%), whose gains had narrowed last week, expanded its rise again by 0.10 percentage point. Among nonregulated areas, Guri (0.39%) and Dongtan District in Hwaseong (0.32%) were among those with higher increases.
Incheon rose 0.01% from the prior week, and the greater Seoul area overall rose 0.08%. Outside the greater Seoul area (0.01%), the five major metropolitan cities (0.00%) turned flat, and Sejong fell 0.01%. The eight provinces rose 0.02%. The nationwide apartment sale price growth rate was 0.04%, the same as the previous week.
Nationwide apartment jeonse prices rose 0.09%. In Seoul (0.12%), the rate of increase expanded by 0.04 percentage point from the prior week. With steady rental demand centered on highly preferred stationside and large-scale complexes, jeonse prices continued to rise, pushing overall gains. Districts with higher increases included Gwangjin (0.25%), Seongbuk (0.24%), Yangcheon (0.18%), Nowon (0.16%), and Eunpyeong (0.16%).
Gyeonggi Province (0.13%) also saw the jeonse price increase widen by 0.04 percentage point from the previous week, and Incheon (0.08%) by 0.01 percentage point. The overall increase rate for the greater Seoul area was found at 0.12%.
Outside the greater Seoul area, jeonse prices rose 0.07%. The five major metropolitan cities (0.08%), Sejong (0.13%), and the eight provinces (0.05%) all rose.