Multi-homeowners Rush to Sell as Gwacheon Apartment Prices Fall for First Time in 88 Weeks

[Financial News] Apartment prices in Gwacheon, often called a "quasi-Gangnam" area, have turned negative for the first time in 88 weeks. As the pace of increases slowed, transactions declined and listings rose, causing the price trend to reverse. With Gwacheon now in decline, some analysts cautiously suggest that higher-end markets more broadly could also be heading for a correction.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board (KREB) on the 23rd, apartment sale prices in Gwacheon fell 0.03% in the third week of February (as of the 16th) compared with the previous week. Gwacheon had been on an upward trajectory since it turned positive in the first week of June 2024 (up 0.17%), but has now shifted back into decline after 88 weeks.
The upward momentum had already been weakening. The weekly gain, which had expanded to 0.30% in the third week of January, gradually narrowed to 0.25%, then 0.19%, and 0.14%, before finally turning negative. In cumulative terms, prices rose 0.43% in 2025 and 1.3% in 2026, but the short-term trend has clearly reversed.
This contrasts with key areas in southern Gyeonggi that continued to rise over the same period, including Anyang (0.21%), Seongnam (0.21%), and Yongin (0.30%). Among major high-end locations in southern Gyeonggi, Gwacheon was the only area to record a decline.
Transactions have plunged. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Actual Transaction Price Disclosure System, there were only nine apartment sale transactions in Gwacheon over the past month (January 24 to February 23). That is similar to the seven deals in the previous month, but represents a 92.7% drop compared with 124 transactions during the same period a year earlier. The market remains in a transaction freeze.
In contrast, the number of properties for sale is rising quickly. Real estate platform Asil reports that, as of this day, there were 467 apartment sale listings in Gwacheon, up 36.9% in a month. Over the same period, the number of jeonse (long-term lease) listings fell from 197 to 143, and monthly rental listings decreased from 150 to 136. In the short term, sale listings are expanding while jeonse and monthly rental supply is shrinking.
Experts view this as the result of a combination of factors, including concerns about peak prices, regulatory changes, and the lending environment. Yang Ji-young, a senior advisor at Shinhan Premier Pathfinder, said, "As the end of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains tax for multi-homeowners approaches, we are seeing more of them move to sell." Yang added, "If listings increase but transactions fail to keep up, prices could face further downward adjustment." Yang also noted, "The decline in jeonse and monthly rental supply can be interpreted as tenants shifting to home purchases."
Ham Young-jin, head of Woori Bank's Real Estate Research Lab, stated, "Weakness in the jeonse market combined with heavier debt burdens is dampening price momentum." He predicted, "If listings start to pile up in top-tier areas such as Gangnam, with Gwacheon leading the way, there is a real possibility that the correction trend will continue."
en1302@fnnews.com Jang In-seo Reporter