Apartment prices for 30-pyeong units in Nowon District, Seoul, are nearing 1.5 billion won, climbing back to their 2021–2022 peaks. Nowon has been known for clusters of mid- to low-priced apartments and was the first neighborhood buyers looked to when purchasing an apartment under 1 billion won. But after the announcement of the Oct. 10 and Oct. 15 real estate measures, buying interest has surged and home prices are rising steeply.
According to the actual transaction price disclosure system of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 7th, an 84 m² exclusive unit at "Forena Nowon" in Sanggye-dong, Nowon District, changed hands for 1.29 billion won on the 22nd of last month, setting a record high. The highest asking price for the same-sized listings on the market is 1.43 billion won, nearing 1.5 billion won.
An 84 m² exclusive unit at "Cheonggu 3rd" in Junggye-dong transacted for 1.42 billion won in March, matching the previous peak (1.42 billion won, Feb. 2021) reached during the Moon Jae-in administration's sharp run-up in home prices. An 84 m² exclusive unit at "Geonyeong 3rd" in Junggye-dong also changed hands last month for 1.33 billion won, rising to 95% of its previous peak (1.398 billion won, Sept. 2021). Junggye-dong is known along with Daechi-dong and Mok-dong as one of the "three major school districts in Seoul," and these complexes are the most preferred even within Nowon, the leading area of "Nodogang (Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk)."
An employee at a real estate brokerage in Junggye-dong said, "Complexes that could be bought in the 1 billion-won range have risen to the 1.3–1.4 billion-won range, and asking prices have all surpassed the 2021 peaks," adding, "What's different from then is that redevelopment and development catalysts are being priced in, leaving more room for prices to rise." A pre-sale right for an 84 m² exclusive unit at "Seoul One I'Park" in Wolgye-dong was transacted for 1,773.85 million won in March, well above 1.5 billion won. Seoul One I'Park is a large complex being built within the 4.5 trillion won Gwangwoon University station area development site (completion in Jul. 2028), and trading of pre-sale and move-in rights is active.
Expectations are strengthening that the upward price trend will continue even after the 9th, when the temporary easing of heavy capital gains taxes for owners of multiple homes ends. Ko Jun-seok, a professor at Yonsei University Sangnam Institute of Management, said, "The reason buying interest concentrated in outer Seoul areas like Nowon was loan regulations," adding, "Since loan regulations will remain unchanged after May 9, the uptrend in home prices is expected to continue. If anything, the likelihood of price increases has risen further due to a decrease in listings from multiple-home owners."