Seoul Home Prices Up in 22 Districts in March, Jeonse Rents Reach Record Highs

According to data from the March National Housing Price Trends survey released by Korea Real Estate Board, Seoul's composite housing sales price index rose 0.39% month-on-month in March. This figure represents a reduced pace of increase compared to January (0.91%) and February (0.66%). Last month, housing sales prices in Seoul generally increased in 22 autonomous districts, excluding the Gangnam 3 districts, while jeonse rents saw their largest surge in three months, reaching high levels.

By district, the Gangnam 3 areas — Gangnam-gu (-0.39%), Songpa-gu (-0.09%), and Seocho-gu (-0.05%) — showed a downward trend. The remaining 22 districts, excluding the Gangnam 3, all saw increases, with Gwangjin-gu (0.91%) recording the highest rate of rise.

However, the preliminary estimate for Seoul's apartment actual transaction price index for contracts signed in March showed a 0.59% decrease from the previous month. This marks the first downturn since April of last year, with the Southeast district (including Gangdong-gu) (-2.96%) and the Central district (-0.45%) experiencing the steepest declines.