In Seoul's apartment lease market, the share of monthly rent transactions has surpassed jeonse, indicating a faster shift to monthly rent.
According to data analyzed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 22nd based on Korea Real Estate Board (REB) tabulations, the share of monthly rent in last month's apartment lease transactions was 54.1%. Compared with around 50% each for jeonse and monthly rent since December last year, the share of monthly rent rose sharply.
Last month, the number of jeonse transactions for Seoul apartments was 7,477, down 12.5% from the previous month. In contrast, monthly rent transactions totaled 8,819, up 3.3% from the previous month.
Among last month's jeonse transactions, the share of renewal contracts was 53.8%, up from the previous month (52.5%) and the same month a year earlier (41.2%). The rate of exercising the right to request contract renewal was 55%.
Seoul apartment prices surged 1.33% in May, the biggest jump in three months. Compared with May last year, Seoul apartment prices soared 13.47% in one year.
By region, the city center area with Jongno, Jung and Yongsan districts posted the highest price growth at 2.52%, followed by the southwest (1.53%), northeast (1.51%) and northwest (1.27%). The southeast, which includes Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong—where high-end apartments are concentrated—had the lowest increase at 0.58%.
By dwelling size, small (exclusive area 40–60㎡) apartments rose 1.79%, the steepest gain. Medium-large (85–135㎡) climbed 1.76%, followed by extra-small (40㎡ or less) at 1.25%, small-medium (60–85㎡) at 1.15%, and large (over 135㎡) at 0.94%.
In May, the actual jeonse transaction prices for Seoul apartments rose 1.04% from the previous month. By region, the northeast recorded the highest increase at 2.25%. By dwelling size, small units posted the highest rise at 1.43%.
As of the 15th of this month, among last month's apartment transactions, those at 1.5 billion won or less accounted for 77.9%, up 5.0 percentage points from the previous month (72.9%).
The Seoul Metropolitan Government analyzed that ahead of the end of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes for owners of multiple dwellings, transactions of high-priced dwellings increased, so in April–May the share of transactions at 1.5 billion won or less fell compared with the start of the year, but in June, as end-user transactions centered on mid- to low-priced dwellings increased, the share at 1.5 billion won or less rose.