In January this year, private statistics showed that apartment prices in Seoul fell the most since the foreign exchange crisis.
According to the monthly housing price trend from KB Real Estate on the 30th, the selling price of apartments in Seoul in January decreased by 2.09% compared to December last year. This is the first time since the financial crisis in May 1998 (-3.72%) that the rate of decline in apartment prices in Seoul has exceeded 2%.
By area, Gangdong-gu saw the biggest drop, down 4.40 percent from December last year. It was followed by Seodaemun-gu (-3.35%), Seongbuk-gu (-2.65%), Dobong-gu (-2.62%), and Nowon-gu (-2.49%).
The price drop in the top 50 apartment complexes continued through market capitalization across the country. The ‘KB Leading Apartment 50’ index calculated by KB Kookmin Bank in January this year was 90.1, down 2.17% from December last year. The index is known as an indicator that shows the market atmosphere well, as it includes large-scale large complexes in the metropolitan area, such as Apgujeong Hyundai, Jamsil Jugong, and Maporaemian Prugio. However, since November last year (-3.14%), the price drop in the top 50 complexes by market capitalization has decreased for two consecutive months.
This month, the house sale price forecast index in Seoul rose from 51 last month to 65 this month, but the hope of lower house prices still existed. The index surveyed 6,000 brokerages across the country on the prospect of house prices, and if it is below the reference point of 100, it means more people are predicting that house prices will fall in three months’ time.
The sale price of houses (including apartments, townhouses, multi-family houses, and single-family houses) nationwide decreased by 1.31% from last month (-1.03%), continuing the 1% decrease for the third month consecutively. The rental price of apartments in Seoul decreased by 3.98% since last month (-3.29%), and the decline increased.
Correspondent Lee Buk-bok bless@donga.com
