In March this year, the winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio for Seoul apartments fell below the 100% mark for the first time in six months. In particular, the ratio for high-priced apartments over 2.5 billion won dropped more than 18 percentage points as concerns grew over higher property taxes.
On Apr. 8, GGAuction, a data company specializing in court auctions, released the "March 2026 auction trends report," which said the March winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio for Seoul apartments was 99.3%, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous month (101.7%).
The number of Seoul apartment auctions held was 161, up about 66% from the prior month (97). The success rate was 43.5%, down 1.9 percentage points from February (45.4%). The average number of bidders was 7.6, down 0.5 from February (8.1).
Nationwide, 3,167 apartment auctions were held, up about 41% from February (2,248). The success rate fell 2.4 percentage points to 34.9%.
The winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio also slipped 0.6 percentage points to 87.3%, and the average number of bidders decreased by 0.7 to 6.9 from the previous month (7.6).
High-priced apartments with appraised values over 2.5 billion won saw a sharp drop in the winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio. The ratio plunged 18.9 percentage points month over month to 92.2% in March this year. After falling from 125.6% in January this year to 111.1% in February, the downward trend has continued. Concerns that property tax burdens could increase going forward are seen as influencing the decline in the ratio for apartments over 2.5 billion won.
In Gyeonggi Province, 749 apartment auctions were held, up about 35% from the previous month (555). However, the success rate (38.6%) and the winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio (87.8%) fell 3.2 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, from the previous month. In Incheon, the ratio rose 0.7 percentage points from the previous month (79.6%) to 80.3%, returning to the 80% range for the first time in four months.
Regional markets outside the capital area showed divergent trends. Among the five major metropolitan cities, Busan's winning-bid-to-appraisal ratio fell 5.3 percentage points from the previous month (87.8%) to 82.5%. Daejeon and Ulsan also declined.
Daegu (85.2%) and Gwangju (80.4%), by contrast, edged up. Among the eight provincial regions, South Chungcheong plunged 9.3 percentage points from the previous month to 74.9%, the steepest drop nationwide. Gangwon rose 4.5 percentage points to 87.9%, marking a record high in the one year and four months since Nov. 2024.