Nationwide officetel sale prices narrowed their declines, but the rental market saw both jeonse and monthly rents rise together, increasing tenants' housing expense burdens. In particular, the pace of monthly rent increases in Seoul grew even steeper.
According to the "Q2 2026 officetel price trend survey results" released by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB) on the 15th, nationwide officetel sale prices fell 0.30% in the second quarter from the previous quarter. In contrast, jeonse prices rebounded, turning up 0.09%, and monthly rents also climbed 0.71%, widening their gain.
The Korea Real Estate Board (REB) has been conducting the survey since 2018 on nine provinces and metropolitan cities nationwide, including the Seoul metropolitan area, the five major metropolitan cities, and Sejong, reflecting the rising number of single-person households and demand for officetels as substitutes for apartments.
In the sales market, the nationwide average decline narrowed to -0.30% from -0.41% in the previous quarter. However, Seoul rose 0.24%, with gains widening as buyers moved into central station areas with well-developed transit and nearly new complexes with good living conditions. Gyeonggi (-0.50%) and Incheon (-0.53%) also narrowed their declines from before as pent-up demand revived around complexes close to work. But nonmetropolitan areas fell 0.71% as an oversupply of new apartments and a buildup of listings overlapped, deepening the slump.
The lease market was strong. Nationwide officetel jeonse prices ended a decline of -0.09% in the previous quarter and turned up 0.09% this quarter. As apartment jeonse listings grew scarce, tenants shifted their focus to the Seoul metropolitan area (0.17%), including Seoul (0.40%). Gyeonggi also reversed from a decline last quarter to a 0.07% increase. Nonmetropolitan areas (-0.22%) also narrowed the drop in jeonse prices.
The monthly rent market was even stronger. Nationwide officetel monthly rents rose 0.71%, widening the increase from 0.66% in the previous quarter. In particular, Seoul, where tenants' preference for monthly rent continues, jumped 0.90% as solid underlying demand centered on station areas near universities and major business districts provided support. Gyeonggi climbed 0.76% as demand concentrated in areas with excellent regional transit networks. By contrast, Incheon (0.52%) and nonmetropolitan areas (0.43%) saw their gains slow slightly due to the seasonal off-peak period and weakness in older complexes.
As of June this year, the nationwide average officetel sale price stood at 220.85 million won. Seoul's average sale price was 281.10 million won, the highest in the country, followed by Gyeonggi (224 million won) and Busan (164.41 million won). The nationwide average monthly rent deposit was 16.57 million won, and the average monthly rent was 811,000 won. In particular, the average monthly rent in Seoul reached 949,000 won, indicating tenants' real housing costs are nearing the 1 million won level.
Rental investment indicators compiled from actual transaction data for officetels also remained strong. The nationwide average rental yield for officetels was 5.81%. By region, Daejeon posted the highest yield at 8.11%, while Seoul was the lowest at 5.08%. The jeonse-to-monthly rent conversion rate, applied when switching jeonse to monthly rent, averaged 6.62% nationwide, with Sejong the highest at 9.05% and Seoul the lowest at 6.06%. The ratio of jeonse prices to sale prices (jeonse rate) averaged 86.04% nationwide, with Daegu (88.05%) and Gyeonggi (87.97%) standing out.