South Korean regional real estate market trends

Real estate trends in South Korea continue to show significant regional disparities regarding housing supply, demand, and pricing. In Seoul, apartment sales prices have risen for 87 consecutive weeks, driven by demand in mid-to-low price ranges. Despite this, the market shows a cooling trend in high-end districts like Gangnam and Yongsan. The average sales price for a standard 84㎡ apartment in Seoul has surpassed 2 billion won, representing a 23% increase from the previous year due to rising construction costs.

Regional markets exhibit growing instability. Gyeongsan has been re-designated as an unsold housing management area by the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) due to a buildup of new apartments. In Gyeonggi Province, a structural imbalance persists; while existing apartment prices are rising in southern hubs like Suwon and Yongin, the new sales market faces challenges including high unsold inventory and low subscription rates.

Auction trends reflect this divergence, with high success rates in preferred Gyeonggi areas like Anyang and Gwangmyeong, while Seoul’s auction success rate has hit a 19-month low due to weakness in the luxury segment. Furthermore, public housing stability is under scrutiny, as data reveals over 46,000 Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) rental units have remained vacant for more than six months, with particularly high vacancy rates in Happy Housing and Deundeun Jeonse housing within the Gyeonggi region.