In Nodogang (Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk districts), a representative working-class residential area on the outskirts of Seoul, the era of 3 million won monthly rent has arrived. High-priced monthly rent contracts, once seen only in core areas such as the three Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa) or Mayongseong (Mapo, Yongsan, Seongdong), are spreading to new apartment complexes on the outskirts. Analysts say the "shift from jeonse to monthly rent" in Seoul's rental market is becoming more pronounced as the fallout from jeonse fraud coincides with a preference for new construction.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction disclosure system on the 4th, on Apr. 9, a newly signed lease for the eighth floor of an 84-square-meter unit at Hanwha Forena Mia in Mia-dong, Gangbuk District was made with a 50 million won deposit and 3.1 million won in monthly rent. Earlier in March, a 28th-floor unit of the same size in the same complex signed a lease with a 50 million won deposit and 3 million won in monthly rent.
A 3 million won monthly rent contract also appeared in Nowon District. In March, a 25th-floor, 84-square-meter unit at Nowon Lotte Castle Signature in Sanggye-dong was a transaction with a 150 million won deposit and 3 million won in monthly rent. Both complexes are new apartments that welcomed residents in 2025 and 2023, respectively.
This trend is because the shift to monthly rent in the Seoul rental market is advancing rapidly. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's April dwellings statistics, the share of monthly rent transactions in Seoul from January to April this year was tallied at 70.0%. That is up 6.4 percentage points from the same period last year (63.6%).
In pure volume, monthly rent has already far outpaced jeonse. In April, the number of monthly rent transactions in Seoul was 47,404, up 11.3% from a year earlier, while jeonse transactions fell 18.5% to 22,021. The share of monthly rent in non-apartments reached 81.1%, and even in apartments, the monthly rent share was 51.7%, surpassing jeonse transactions.
The preference for monthly rent is especially notable in new apartments. From January to April this year, the monthly rent share for near-new complexes completed within five years was 66.7%. That was followed by 55.8% for 6–10 years, 51.7% for 11–20 years, 40.2% for 21–30 years, and 39.3% for over 30 years. In the case of new complexes in Seoul that have welcomed residents in the past two years (2024–2025), monthly rent accounted for 70.6% of all rental transactions.
Monthly rent prices are also climbing steeply. According to the Korea Real Estate Board (REB), through April this year the cumulative increase in monthly apartment rents in Seoul was 2.39%, more than four times the 0.57% recorded in the same period last year. The monthly rent supply-demand index also hit 109.7 in April, the highest since October 2021. On an index with 100 as the baseline, a higher number means tenant demand exceeds supply.
Experts see a high likelihood that the strength in monthly rents will continue for the time being. A person in the real estate industry said, "After jeonse fraud, demand for apartment rentals considered relatively safe has increased, but there is not enough new supply to support it," adding, "The newer the apartment, the more the market favors landlords, and more homeowners prefer monthly rent, which is more profitable than jeonse."