Gangnam apartment prices fall for second week as fire-sale deals slow Seoul’s gains

[Financial News] Apartment prices in Seoul’s Gangnam area have fallen for the second consecutive week. In key locations across Seoul, sale prices, which turned downward last week for the first time in two years, saw their declines deepen this week. Analysts attribute this to fire-sale listings coming onto the market and being traded after the government moved to tighten rules, including heavier taxes on multiple-home owners.
According to the weekly apartment price survey for the first week of March (as of the 2nd), released on the 5th by the Korea Real Estate Board (KREB), apartment sale prices in Seoul rose 0.09% from the previous week. The gain narrowed from a 0.11% increase a week earlier. KREB noted that this slowdown was driven by completed transactions at lower prices in major areas such as the Gangnam 3 Districts and Yongsan District.
By district, Songpa District posted the steepest decline. Prices there fell 0.09% from the previous week. After turning negative last week for the first time in 47 weeks since the fourth week of March 2025, when it slipped 0.03%, Songpa saw its drop widen further this week. The fall was driven by lower-priced transactions in large apartment complexes around Sincheon-dong and Jamsil-dong.
Gangnam District saw prices fall 0.07%. The district had already turned negative last week for the first time in about two years since the second week of March 2024, when it dipped 0.01%, and the decline deepened this week. Yongsan District also dropped 0.05%, extending and widening the downward trend that began with a 0.01% fall in the first week of March 2024. In contrast, Seocho District slipped 0.01%, with the decline easing slightly from a 0.02% drop the previous week.
Of Seoul’s 25 districts, 18 either saw steeper declines or smaller gains, while two districts were flat. The remaining five districts posted a slightly larger increase than the week before.
Nam Hyuk-woo of the Woori Bank Real Estate Research Institute said, "The more expensive the apartments in the Gangnam area, and the more they are tied to redevelopment projects, the larger the price corrections, with overall adjustments in the range of about 8% to 15%." He added, "By contrast, in outer districts such as Nowon District and Eunpyeong District, asking prices are often higher than the most recent transaction prices, or there is hardly any price adjustment at all."
In Gyeonggi Province, apartment sale prices rose 0.09% from the previous week.
By area, Suji District, Yongin recorded the highest increase nationwide, climbing 0.44%, although the gain slowed from 0.61% the previous week. Hanam (0.33%), Dongtan, Hwaseong (0.28%), and Dongan District, Anyang (0.23%) also continued to see prices rise.
In contrast, Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province, which had posted strong gains last year following the Gangnam 3 Districts, fell 0.05%, marking its third straight week of declines.
Nationwide, apartment sale prices rose 0.04%, while the Seoul Capital Area saw a 0.07% increase. The pace of gains slowed by 0.01 percentage point and 0.02 percentage point, respectively, compared with the previous week.
Jeonse rental prices rose 0.07% nationwide, 0.08% in Seoul, and 0.09% in the Seoul Capital Area.
going@fnnews.com Choi Ga-young Reporter