Apartment market moving in reverse? Listings shrink while prices creep up

In the Seoul apartment market, prices are rising while the number of listings is falling at the same time, heightening concerns about an imbalance between supply and demand. Despite expectations of tax relief, listings are decreasing and the pace of apartment price gains is accelerating, leading many market participants to stay on the sidelines.
According to real estate big data platform Asil on the 8th, the number of apartments for sale in Seoul stood at 77,010 as of that day, down 1.0% from 77,772 a week earlier. Listings fell in 20 of the city’s 25 districts and increased in only five.
Gangbuk District saw the steepest decline, with listings dropping 4.8% from 1,242 to 1,183. Dongjak District followed, falling 4.0% from 2,076 to 1,994, and Dobong-gu also decreased 3.6% from 2,723 to 2,626. This shows a continued contraction in supply, particularly in outlying areas. Jongno District (-3.3%) and Nowon District (-3.2%) also recorded declines.
In the Gangnam area, listings were flat or edged up only slightly. Gangnam District saw listings increase 0.1% from 10,231 to 10,243, while Seocho District was effectively unchanged at 9,646 to 9,650. Some districts, including Yongsan District (+1.1%), Songpa District (+1.7%), and Seodaemun-gu (+2.2%), posted increases, showing a mixed pattern across the city.
The recent shift from rising to shrinking listings is seen as a reflection of growing wait-and-see sentiment in the market. At a meeting of the State Council of South Korea on the 6th, President Lee Jae-myung ordered a review of applying the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains tax to cases where land transaction approval is applied for by May 9. Expectations for tax relief have emerged, but as the additional extension following the president’s instruction has not yet been finalized in law, many sellers are reluctant to put properties on the market.
Prices, meanwhile, continue to climb. According to the Korea Real Estate Board (KREB)’s weekly apartment price trends for the fifth week of March (as of the 30th), Seoul apartment sale prices rose 0.12%, with the rate of increase doubling from 0.06% the previous week.
Actual transaction data also confirm the upward trend. An 84-square-meter unit in the Bang-i Kumho Eoullim Apartment Complex in Bangi-dong, Songpa District, recently changed hands for 1.43 billion won, up 530 million won from the previous transaction price of 900 million won. Record-high deals are being reported not only in Songpa District but also in Gangdong District, Guro District, Jongno District, and Gangseo District. With prices rising and listings falling at the same time, some observers warn that the supply-demand imbalance in the market could deepen.
Ham Young-jin, head of the Real Estate Research Lab at Woori Bank, said, "As the additional extension following the president’s instruction has not yet been finalized in law, it is difficult to expect a sudden surge in listings." He added, "Even after May, many will likely wait and see what happens with the tax reform plan scheduled for July, so a boxed range with neither a sharp rise nor a steep fall in prices is virtually unavoidable."
en1302@fnnews.com Jang In-seo Reporter