Gyeonggi apartment prices post 0.18% gain, overtaking Seoul as fastest-rising
Gyeonggi apartment prices outpaced Seoul in the first week of October. According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 10th, Gyeonggi apartment sale prices rose 0.18% week-on-week, widening their gains, while Seoul rose 0.12% and Incheon posted just 0.02% over the same period. The figures signal growing momentum in Gyeonggi within the metropolitan apartment market. As regional disparities become more pronounced across the capital region, buying interest in Gyeonggi is shifting toward mid- and lower-priced areas around the existing centers of the rally.
The epicenter of the rally was near the semiconductor industrial complexes. As prices rose first in Dongtan, Hwaseong, and Giheung, Yongin, neighboring unregulated areas followed suit. Korea Real Estate Board statistics show that Osan apartment prices posted weekly gains above 0.1% since September, accelerating to 0.19% last week. Byeongjeom district in Hwaseong has continued to climb at a weekly pace of 0.2% to 0.4% since July, posting a cumulative gain of 4.43% over roughly three months, surpassing Dongtan's 4.27% rise over the same period.
A similar pattern is evident in other areas. Bucheon's cumulative gain stood at 1.81% through July, with an additional 2.11% over the following three months. Gunpo's gains over the past three months reached 4.36%, exceeding its rise from the start of the year through July. Gwonseon district in Suwon recorded a cumulative gain of 5.31% since July.
Differences in regulatory conditions underpin the spread. After the government designated Dongtan, Giheung in Yongin, Guri, and other areas as regulated zones and speculation-prone districts in July, some demand shifted to nearby areas with relatively lower prices and lighter regulatory burdens. The factors supporting demand are also complex. Genuine end-user demand is moving to Gyeonggi, driven by soaring jeonse (lump-sum lease) costs in Seoul and a shortage of listings, while semiconductor-related employment and income at companies like Samsung Electronics continue to underpin housing demand in southern Gyeonggi.
Market sentiment has not yet strengthened across the board in the metropolitan area. According to the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the metropolitan real estate consumer sentiment index fell 0.7 points to 119.0 in August, while the housing market sentiment index dropped 1.1 points to 122.3. Interest rates remain a variable. The institute estimates that a 0.25 percentage point rise in rates would lower nationwide apartment sale prices by 1.2% six months later.
