As the rise in Seoul apartment prices spreads to the outskirts, a 32-year-old existing apartment in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo District, near Magok changed hands for 1.15 billion won. With even 1990s apartments, not new builds or prime station-area homes, setting new record highs, demand is shifting from the earlier-rising Magok and Balsan to the relatively cheaper Deungchon-dong.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system on the 30th, an 84.96㎡ unit at the Jinro-Miju Apartment complex in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo District, was traded for 1.15 billion won on the 11th of last month. It is the highest price on record for that layout. After a 13th-floor unit of the same layout sold for 1.095 billion won in April, the transaction price climbed to the mid-1.1 billion won range in three months.
Jinro-Miju Apartment is a complex of eight buildings and 488 households completed in 1994. It consists of a single 84.96㎡ dwelling type. It is not a prime station-area complex, taking about 10 to 15 minutes on foot to Balsan Station on Subway Line 5.
If you simply average the reported transaction prices by year at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the average transaction price for this complex rose from about 790 million won in 2023 to 819 million won in 2024 and 895 million won last year. This year's average has surpassed 1 billion won. The record high of 1.15 billion won last month is about 360 million won higher than the 2023 average.
Other existing apartments in Deungchon-dong are also setting new record asking prices. A 58㎡ unit at Deungchon Jugong Complex 5, completed in 1995, traded for 1.125 billion won last month. An 85㎡ unit at Deungchon-dong IPark, which opened in 2004, sold for 1.37 billion won on the 20th of this month. A 90㎡ unit at Deungchon Daerim, completed in 1995, also changed hands for 1.433 billion won this month.
Analysts say end-user demand is moving from Magok, where prices rose first, to existing apartments in Deungchon-dong. An 84㎡-class unit at Magok M Valley Complex 9 traded for 1.73 billion won last month. That is about 600 million won more than a unit of the same size at Jinro-Miju Apartment.
Some of the gains appear to reflect expectations for the redevelopment of the Gayang and Deungchon housing sites. In March, the Seoul city government issued a public notice for residents to review the draft for reorganizing the district unit plan for the Gayang and Deungchon housing site development districts. It is a process to redesign land use and maintenance directions for sites created in the 1990s. However, reorganizing a district unit plan does not mean that reconstruction of individual complexes is confirmed.
An employee at a licensed real estate agency in Deungchon-dong said, "Some customers look at apartments in Magok or Balsan but move over to Deungchon-dong because of price burdens," and added, "Even for older complexes, many people check them for owner-occupation while also asking about the potential for maintenance."
According to the Korea Real Estate Board (REB), Seoul apartment sale prices in the fourth week of August rose 0.29% from the previous week. While Gangnam District and Seocho District fell 0.11% and 0.05%, respectively, Gangseo District rose 0.50%. Jungnang District was up 0.56%, Seongbuk and Gangbuk districts each rose 0.55%, and Dobong and Nowon districts each gained 0.54%, highlighting the strength in Seoul's outskirts.
Nam Hyuk-woo of Woori Bank's Real Estate Research Institute said, "The price strength in the outskirts of Seoul is continuing," and noted, "The rotational buying pattern in which mid- to low-priced areas lead Seoul's price gains is expected to persist for the time being."