An analysis found that to buy a Seoul apartment in the top 1%, you would need close to at least 4.65 billion won.
On the 20th, real estate platform ZIGBANG CO. analyzed nationwide apartment sale actual transaction data and released an analysis of the price levels and transaction characteristics of the top 1% market by region. This analysis calculated the top 1% transaction price of apartment sale actual transaction prices by province and city for transactions since 2020.
The analysis showed that, in the first half of this year, the entry threshold for the top 1% transaction price in Seoul was tallied at 4.64998 billion won (average 6.3059 billion won). Gyeonggi was 1.85 billion won (average 2.23468 billion won), Daegu was 1.58 billion won (average 1.90475 billion won), and Busan was 1.525 billion won (average 2.1896 billion won).
Sejong was 1.28 billion won, Daejeon and Incheon were in the 1.1 billion-won range, and Gwangju in South Jeolla, North Chungcheong, and South Gyeongsang recorded in the 700 million–900 million won range. South Chungcheong and North Jeolla were in the 700 million-won range, and Gangwon and North Gyeongsang were tallied in the 500 million–600 million won range, showing differences in price levels for the top 1% market by region.
The top 1% transaction price entry threshold is the baseline to be included in the top 1% by price among apartments transacted in the region. The actual average price of top 1% transactions was set higher than the entry threshold, exceeding 6.3 billion won in Seoul and topping 2.2 billion won in Gyeonggi. Busan was in the high 2.1 billion-won range, and Daegu was around 1.9 billion won.
Looking at recent trends, the top 1% market also appears somewhat stabilized compared with last year's peak. Seoul's top 1% transaction price entry threshold reached its highest level at 4.98 billion won in the first half of 2025, then edged down to 4.64998 billion won in the first half of this year. The average top 1% transaction price also eased from 6.88334 billion won in the first half of last year to 6.3059 billion won in the first half of this year. Gyeonggi's entry threshold also saw a slight adjustment, from 2.01 billion won in the first half of last year to 1.85 billion won in the first half of this year. However, while both regions are lower than last year's peak levels, they still maintain high price bands and are forming the very top-tier market.
In the greater Seoul area, in addition to existing high-priced complexes, transactions of newly built luxury residential complexes continued, showing that a variety of complexes are forming the top 1% market. In Seoul, high-priced transactions continued mainly for complexes along the Han River, reconstruction projects, and newly built luxury complexes, while in Gyeonggi, top-tier transactions continued in areas with excellent access to Seoul or self-sufficient functions such as Gwacheon, Seongnam Bundang, Pangyo, Gwanggyo, and Dongtan. Although price levels were lower than in Seoul, high-priced transactions occurred in various areas, expanding the scope of the top 1% market in the greater Seoul area.
In contrast, outside the greater Seoul area, while relatively high price bands formed mainly in Busan and Daegu, rather than various complexes forming the market as in the capital region, the top 1% transactions tended to center on landmark complexes representing each region. Differences in regional market size and conditions for supplying high-priced dwellings appear to have influenced these transaction patterns.