"Next Week Is the Super Week"...Time Is Running Out for Both Buyers and Sellers

[Financial News] "Recently, transactions have been picking up speed. We expect next weekend to be the peak," said a real estate agent in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam District.
"As quick-sale units are being cleared, sellers are either cutting prices to close deals or pulling their listings and putting sales on hold. Sellers are starting to move," said a real estate agent in Jamwon-dong, Seocho District.
With the deadline approaching for the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes, the property market is heating up, especially in the Gangnam 3 Districts and along the Han River Belt. About one to two weeks ahead of early to mid-April, effectively the 'deadline' under the Land Transaction Permit System, more sellers are coming off the sidelines.
According to the Asil real estate big data platform on the 29th, apartment listings in Gangnam District, Seoul, stood at 11,272 units as of that day, up 7.8% (819 units) from ten days earlier. In Apgujeong-dong, listings at Apgujeong Hyundai Apartment Complex 4 increased from 20 to 30, a 50.0% rise (10 units), while Hyundai Apartments 6th and 7th Complexes saw listings climb from 151 to 185, up 22.5% (34 units).
Over the same period, apartment listings in Seocho District also rose from 9,184 to 9,616, an increase of 4.7% (432 units). Listings at Jamwon Hyundai Apartment Complex in Jamwon-dong went from 26 to 39, up 50.0% (13 units), while Acro River View increased from 108 to 132, a 22.2% rise (24 units).
Although supply continues to grow, people on the ground say transaction volumes are also inching up, mainly for quick-sale properties. A real estate agent in Seocho District said, "Sellers who must close before the deadline are lowering their asking prices a bit more or conceding to buyers' price requests," adding, "Well-priced quick-sale units can be gone in a single day."
In particular, as actual transaction data for early March is released, buyers' price expectations are coming down. Quick-sale deals from February and March are now being officially reported, prompting more buyers to hope for even lower prices. Within the industry, the prevailing view is that, given the Land Transaction Permit System period, March deals effectively represent quick-sale transactions.
According to the Actual Transaction Price Disclosure System of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a 172-square-meter unit at Daelim Acrovill in Gangnam District changed hands for 2.96 billion won on the 10th. That is down about 810 million won, or 21.5%, from the previous transaction price of 3.77 billion won. In Songpa District, a 119-square-meter unit at Jamsil Els was sold for 3.8 billion won, 800 million won (17.4%) lower than the previous deal at 4.6 billion won.
Industry watchers expect the period from this week through early April to be a watershed moment that will determine the short-term direction of the market. Some note that, even though this is a buyer's market, buyers may no longer be able to simply sit on the sidelines and wait.
A real estate agent in Banpo-dong said, "As the deadline approaches, buyers are getting just as anxious as sellers," and added, "If the ideal quick-sale unit does not appear, they will have no choice but to buy at the next price level up."
Another nearby agent said, "Both sellers and buyers are now at a point where they must make a choice," adding, "Because no one can predict the market after May 9, the game of chicken between the two sides will only intensify."
act@fnnews.com Choi Ah-young Reporter