Apartment prices in Seoul are rising in Seongbuk District's Jeongneung-dong and Gangbuk District's Mia-dong along the foothills of Bukhansan Mountain. Even in areas where prices were relatively low due to steep slopes and limited access to the city center, 59 square meters of exclusive space has surpassed 800 million won. This appears to be the result of first-time buyers and newlyweds, who have found it harder to purchase high-priced apartments due to loan regulations, moving to the remaining mid- to low-priced large complexes in Seoul, quickly exhausting cheaper listings.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system on the 5th, 59.77 square meters of exclusive space at Jeongneung e-Pyunhansesang Phase 1 in Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk District, Seoul changed hands for 810 million won on the 25th of last month. In the same complex, 85 square meters of exclusive space also saw transactions at 890 million won and 900 million won on the 17th of last month. Jeongneung e-Pyunhansesang Phase 1 is a 21-year-old apartment complex that welcomed residents in June 2006. Nearby Jeongneung Phase 2 e-Pyunhansesang, an 18-year-old complex that welcomed residents in June 2009, also set a record high this year as 59.37 square meters of exclusive space sold for 900 million won.
Jeongneung-dong was developed along the foothills of Bukhansan Mountain, with many steep areas. Because of perceptions that walking and driving are inconvenient and that icy roads are a major risk in winter, it has traded at lower prices than similarly aged complexes on flat ground. However, as apartment prices rise across Seoul, end-user demand is flowing in, prioritizing price competitiveness over locational drawbacks.
Rising transactions have continued in other older complexes in Jeongneung-dong. For Jeongneung Prugio I-One, which welcomed residents in 2005, 84 square meters of exclusive space transacted for 750 million won on the 25th of last month. For Jeongneung Hillstate Phase 3, which welcomed residents in 2008, 114 square meters of exclusive space sold for 1.05 billion won on the 6th of last month, and for Jungang Heightsville Phase 2, which welcomed residents in 2005, 122 square meters of exclusive space sold for 1.045 billion won on the 4th of last month. In medium to large units of complexes 18 to 21 years since move-in, transactions in the 1 billion won range have emerged.
As 84 square meters of exclusive space in newly built and quasi-new complexes in nearby Gireum New Town has risen to around 1.8 billion won, buying interest is spreading to Jeongneung-dong, where prices are relatively lower. In Mia-dong, as prices for newly built 84 square meters of exclusive space have climbed into the 1.0 billion to 1.1 billion won range, large older complexes with small to mid-sized units are gaining attention as substitutes.
SK Bukhansan City in Mia-dong, Gangbuk District, is also a large, older complex of 3,830 households that welcomed residents in May 2004. Of all households, 1,195 are composed of 59 square meters of exclusive space. Built on sloping terrain along the foothills of Bukhansan Mountain, the complex has many inclines in and around it and significant elevation differences between buildings, but with Samgaksan Elementary School inside the complex, nearby Samgaksan Middle School, Solsaem Station on the Ui-Sinseol Line, and a Bukhansan Mountain walking trail, as well as relatively low prices coming to the fore, buying interest from parents and end users has continued.
For SK Bukhansan City, 59.98 square meters of exclusive space on the 13th floor traded for 850 million won on the 22nd of last month. The area had fallen to 500 million won in Aug. 2023, and in about three years it rose by 350 million won, or 70%. The same area mostly transacted in the 600 million won range from the second half of last year to early this year. After May this year, transactions in the 700 million won range gathered pace, and last month, after listings in the 770 million to 780 million won range were absorbed one after another, prices rose to the mid-800 million won range.
In the market, the rise in the northeastern part of Seoul is being seen as a process of narrowing the price gap with high-priced areas, or "lining up the heights." As financial institutions manage total lending and loan limits shrink, demand that has found it difficult to trade up to apartments in Gangnam or along the Han River is moving to dwellings priced in the 600 million to 900 million won range, where the loan burden is relatively smaller. Analysts also noted that some rental demand has shifted to purchases due to rising jeonse prices and a shortage of monthly and jeonse rental listings.
An employee at a real estate agency in Jeongneung-dong said, "There aren't many listings to begin with, so even if interest rates rise, homeowners are not lowering their asking prices and are instead raising them," adding, "Except for urgent sales, it will likely become difficult to buy 59 square meters of exclusive space below 800 million won going forward."