The increase in Seoul apartment sale prices slowed for the seventh straight week. Following Gangnam's three districts (Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa) and Yongsan District, Gangdong District, as well as Seongdong and Dongjak districts, turned to a decline.
According to weekly apartment price trends for the third week of March (as of Mar. 16) released on the 19th by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB), the average sale price of apartments in Seoul rose 0.05% from the previous week. The pace of increase narrowed by 0.01 percentage point, marking a slowdown for the seventh week since the first week of February.
The board said, "With an overall wait-and-see mood among market participants continuing, some complexes saw price-adjusted contracts as discounted listings appeared, but demand persisted mainly for complexes with favorable living conditions, lifting overall prices in Seoul."
Gangnam's three districts (Seocho, Gangnam, and Songpa) and Yongsan District showed weakness for the fourth week. Seocho District (-0.07%→-0.15%) and Yongsan District (-0.03%→-0.08%) in particular saw larger declines. Songpa District (-0.17%→-0.16%) saw its decline ease slightly, and Gangnam District (-0.13%→-0.13%) was unchanged.
After Gangdong District joined the shift to declines on the previous week, this week Seongdong District (-0.01%) and Dongjak District (-0.01%) also turned downward. Gangdong District, which fell 0.01% last week, dropped 0.02% this week, widening the decline. Other autonomous districts in Seoul also reduced their gains except for Dobong and Guro. Eunpyeong District (previous week's increase 0.22%) rose 0.15%, Seodaemun District (0.26%) rose 0.19%, and Gangseo District (0.25%) rose 0.14%.
However, jeonse prices increased at a faster pace. Seoul's jeonse prices rose 0.13% this week, up more than the previous week's 0.12%. Jeonse prices in Incheon (0.10%) and Gyeonggi (0.12%) also continued to rise, extending the upward trend across the greater Seoul area.
In Seoul, Gwanak District (0.32%) posted the biggest gain, led by large complexes in Bongcheon and Sillim neighborhoods, while Dobong District (0.31%) and Gwangjin District (0.28%) also recorded high increases. In the provinces, Sejong (0.24%) rose mainly in Bangok and Areum neighborhoods, posting the nation's highest increase, while Ulsan (0.15%) and Busan (0.12%) also trended upward.