Seoul's Average Apartment Jeonse Price Hits Record High of 636.62 Million Won
The average jeonse price for Seoul apartments hit a record high of 636.62 million won last month, up about 82.68 million won (14.9%) from two years earlier — meaning tenants renewing their contracts or seeking a new jeonse lease must now come up with an additional 80 million won or more on average. The median jeonse price for Seoul apartments stood at 560 million won last month, up 80 million won (16.7%) from two years ago (480 million won).
By district, Songpa-gu recorded the highest average jeonse price at 941.37 million won, up 24.3% from two years earlier (757.34 million won). A tenant renewing a jeonse contract in Songpa-gu would need to raise their deposit by at least 184 million won compared to two years ago.
The average deposit for monthly rentals in Seoul apartments was 195.65 million won last month, down slightly by 0.3% from two years ago, but average monthly rent rose 24.3% (321,000 won) to 1.64 million won — a steeper increase than jeonse prices in percentage terms. The survey found that many tenants opted for higher monthly rent over larger deposits as loan regulations and a shrinking supply of jeonse and rental properties accelerated the shift to monthly rentals.
Rent increases were concentrated in the Gangnam three districts and the Han River belt. In Songpa-gu, even as average deposits fell by 31.63 million won (9.7%), monthly rent jumped 848,000 won (56.2%), while the median rent soared 910,000 won (69.2%) with no change in deposits. Other districts with sharp increases included Seocho-gu at 37.5% (766,000 won), Yeongdeungpo-gu at 35.5% (404,000 won), Gangdong-gu at 34.1% (372,000 won), Yongsan-gu at 28.9% (632,000 won), Dongjak-gu at 28.4% (340,000 won), Seongdong-gu at 27.4% (544,000 won), and Gwangjin-gu at 26.5% (432,000 won).
With jeonse prices surpassing even the peak seen in the surge immediately following the enactment of the Rental Housing Act, and monthly rents rising even more steeply than jeonse, tenants' housing cost burdens — whether in jeonse or monthly rentals — have grown far heavier than two years ago.
