In the previous month, the number of new applications for apartment land transaction permits in Seoul under the land transaction permit system hit the lowest monthly level since Seoul designated the entire city as a permit zone in Oct. last year.
Seoul City said on the 14th that the number of new applications for apartment land transaction permits in Seoul in Aug. 2026 totaled 3,012. This is the lowest monthly level since the city designated all of Seoul as a permit zone in Oct. last year.
The number of applications in August fell by 1,606 (34.8%) from the previous month (4,618) and by 5,884 (66.1%) from April (8,896), which had the most applications this year. Permit applications peaked in April and declined for four straight months.
Seoul City said the drop in permit applications was "the result of the end of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes for multiple-home owners, the funding burden from interest rate hikes in July and August, and ongoing lending curbs." It added, "Because the Aug. 3 tax reform package still faces final legislative steps such as National Assembly deliberations, buyers have remained on the sidelines and transactions have contracted."
By area, applications fell across all zones, with both the seven districts in the Han River belt and the four districts in the southwest posting the largest month-over-month declines at 38.6% each. The 10 districts in the northern area saw relatively smaller drops, increasing their share of total applications. The shares by area were 48.8% for the northern area, 20.8% for the Han River belt, 18.6% for the southwest, and 11.7% for the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan. This is interpreted as the impact of steady end-user demand in areas with relatively lower price burdens.
Meanwhile, there were 135 applications in August to defer the owner-occupancy requirement for "dwellings with tenants," accounting for 4.5% of the 3,012 total permit applications. Although this was down 72 (34.8%) from 207 the previous month, the total number of applications also fell by a similar margin, keeping the share of deferral applications at the same 4.5% level as the previous month. Even though eligibility for deferring the owner-occupancy requirement has expanded, the share of deferral applications remained low.
From Aug. 1 to 31, the total application prices for land transaction permits across Seoul rose 0.17% from the previous month. As uncertainty grew over tax reform issues, some areas saw price adjustments while others continued to rise, resulting in a mixed trend by region. The northern area and the Han River belt extended their gains, while the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan, as well as the southwest, declined, showing regional differences.