More than half of apartment deals in Seoul made at higher prices in August

[Photo by Park Hyung-gi]

More than half of the apartment transactions in Seoul were made at higher prices in August, raising expectations for a gradual recovery in South Korea’s real estate market.

According to an analysis conducted by ZigBang Co., an app-based home-finding platform, on data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday, 52.9 percent of the apartments traded in Seoul in August were sold at prices that were more than 1 percent higher than the previous transaction prices.

The figure marks the highest proportion of transactions with higher prices since October 2021.

The share of transactions in which prices fell by more than 1 percent from the previous transactions stood at 30.77 percent, the lowest since October 2021.

The analysis compared the price differences between repeated transactions of homes in the same apartment complex with the same floor area.

Transactions that were canceled or involved the first sale of a home in a particular housing type or transactions that occurred more than a year after the previous transaction were not included in the calculations.

Outside of Seoul, the proportion of apartment transactions with higher prices increased in all regions except for Jeju Island, North Gyeongsang Province, and South Gyeongsang Province.

The proportion of transactions with lower prices fell in all regions except for Jeju, Busan, North Gyeongsang Province, and North Jeolla Province.

Nationwide, the proportion of apartment transactions with higher prices came to 47.71 percent, the highest since November 2021.

The share of transactions with lower prices was 39.39 percent, falling below 40 percent for the first time since November 2021.

“Given the government’s announcement of measures to tighten eligibility requirements for special mortgage loans and 50-year long-term mortgage loans, there is room for demand to be dampened by rising interest rates and tighter lending regulations,” said an official from ZigBang. “It remains to be seen whether the current increase in apartment transactions with higher prices will continue.”