Gangnam 3 District Home Prices Fall While Suwon Yeongtong Rises
As Seoul apartment prices rise overall, regional divergence has become pronounced: the three upscale Gangnam districts have instead declined, while southern Gyeonggi, including Suwon Yeongtong, has gained ground. According to Korea Real Estate Board data for the second week of September (as of the 14th), Seoul apartment sale prices rose 0.16% from the previous week, though the pace of increase slowed from the prior week's 0.20%. Over the same week, the Seoul metropolitan area rose 0.15%, Gyeonggi Province 0.18%, and the nation 0.08%.
According to the board's tally released on the 18th, Gangnam District fell 0.36% over the week, the steepest drop among Seoul's 25 districts, while Seocho declined 0.26% and Songpa 0.12%. Nam Hyuk-woo of Woori Bank's Real Estate Research Institute analyzed that the tax overhaul and heavier borrowing burdens are exerting pressure to sell high-priced homes.
With borrowing capacity shrinking, genuine demand is shifting toward relatively affordable areas. Nam noted that as mid-priced districts such as Seongbuk and Seodaemun continue to climb, demand is migrating to outlying areas like Jungnang and Dobong. He also explained that in areas short on jeonse and monthly rental listings, some tenants are opting to buy instead. Jungnang posted Seoul's largest gain at 0.51%, followed by Dobong at 0.47%, Seodaemun at 0.47%, Seongbuk at 0.43%, Gwanak at 0.37%, Dongdaemun at 0.36%, Gangseo at 0.31%, and Geumcheon at 0.28%.
Southern Gyeonggi also showed upward momentum. Suwon's Yeongtong District rose 0.61%, with Gwonseon up 0.42% and Paldal up 0.39%, while Anyang's Dongan District climbed 0.45%, Yongin's Giheung District 0.42%, and Hwaseong's Dongtan District 0.31%. Nam attributed the gains in Suwon to Samsung Electronics' employee loans being fully rolled out, channeling buying funds into the city, and said demand for new apartments around Gwanggyo New Town and the Yeongtong and Maegyo station areas has spread purchases by first-time homebuyers and newlywed couples across Suwon. He added that steady demand from semiconductor industry workers continues in Giheung and Dongtan as well.
Jeonse price increases also continued. According to Real Estate R114, national apartment jeonse prices rose 0.12% in the third week of September, with Seoul up 0.17% and the metropolitan area up 0.15%, while prices climbed in 13 of the country's 17 provinces and major cities. The same survey recorded Seoul apartment sale prices up 0.03%, the nation up 0.04%, and the metropolitan area up 0.05%.
The government announced the previous day that it would extend, until the end of 2027, the application deadline for the actual-residency grace period for first-time homebuyers who purchased homes in land transaction permission zones. The grace reasons will now include renewing a two-year jeonse contract, and those who meet the requirements may postpone moving in for up to three years and three months starting from the rule's enforcement date on the first of next month. The measure is a remedy for growing instability in the jeonse and rental market since all of Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi were designated as land transaction permission zones.
