In the nationwide apartment sales market, the share of low-priced listings has decreased, and transactions of mid- to high-priced dwellings are becoming more active.
On the 15th, ZIGBANG CO. analyzed actual transaction data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and found that the share of apartment transactions under 300 million won signed in May across Korea was tallied at 34.9%. This is a decrease of 3.4 percentage points compared with January (38.3%). In contrast, the share of transactions for mid- to high-priced apartments exceeding 600 million won increased overall, forming a contrast.
However, this trend did not apply uniformly nationwide. In Seoul, transactions of ultra-high-priced apartments over 2 billion won stood out, while in Gyeonggi Province, preferred price ranges diverged depending on location or infrastructure. In Incheon, transactions in the mid- to low-priced range of 300 million to 600 million won formed the central axis, and the local dwellings market maintained its existing transaction pattern with little change.
In Seoul, which drew the most attention, both high-priced transactions of 2 billion won or more and mid- to low-priced transactions in the 300 million to 600 million won range increased at the same time. Meanwhile, the share of sales of apartments priced between 600 million won and less than 2 billion won all shrank. In fact, in May, the share of ultra-high-priced sales exceeding 2 billion won in Seoul was 13.6%, up from 10.4% in January.
By district, the share of ultra-high-priced transactions of 2 billion won or more in Songpa District rose from 36.1% to 54.9%. In key locations such as Gangnam District, Seocho District, and Yongsan District, sales of high-priced dwellings were also active. By contrast, in Gwangjin District and Gwanak District, transactions of apartments priced 300 million to 600 million won surged, and in Dongjak District, demand gathered for practical listings between 300 million and 900 million won.
As the jeonse shortage and instability in the rental market persisted, some weary tenants turned to purchases, and under lending regulations they moved within affordable funding ranges, leading to regional polarization, ZIGBANG CO. analyzed.
Gyeonggi Province also saw the share of transactions of 600 million won or more rise slightly from 40.3% in January to 42.5% in May. However, there were wide regional differences depending on accessibility to Seoul and connections to business districts. In Yongin, backed by large-scale redevelopment projects and the semiconductor industrial belt, the share of transactions of 900 million won or more jumped from 19.0% to 28.3%. In the Bundang and Pangyo areas of Seongnam, demand for proximity between work and home in Pangyo Techno Valley and a preference for the Gangnam area overlapped, expanding the share of high-priced transactions of 2 billion won or more to 11.4%.
In Hanam, home to Misa and Wirye New Towns, transactions of 1.2 billion won or more increased to 29.6%, and in Hwaseong and Suwon, expansion into transactions of mid- to high-priced dwellings of 600 million won or more occurred on the back of a semiconductor boom and solid underlying demand. In Incheon, without major changes, apartments priced 300 million to 600 million won anchored the market.
Meanwhile, the local dwellings market continued a calm tone unlike the greater Seoul area. In major metropolitan cities such as Daejeon, Ulsan, and Gwangju, there was little change in the price bands where transactions concentrate. Daegu and Busan also maintained the existing structure in which transactions under 300 million won and between 300 million and 600 million won account for most of the total. However, in Sejong, while the share of transactions in the 300 million to 600 million won range increased to 53.8%, high-priced transactions of 600 million won or more decreased, showing a downward stabilization.
Among provincial-level regions, Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province stood out. Based on the advantage of proximity between work and home with the SK hynix plant and the Ochang and Osong industrial complexes, Cheongju saw the share under 300 million won decline while transactions in the 300 million to 600 million won range increased to 38.4%, showing a rare upward shift in dwelling transaction price bands among local cities.
A ZIGBANG CO. official said, "This survey confirmed a polarization phenomenon in which the price ranges attracting buyers differ clearly by region," adding, "Going forward, the real estate market will be most influenced by changes in financial conditions such as the household debt management stance, interest rates, and lending regulations, and depending on these changes, the regional transaction landscape could swing again."