"If We Can't Buy an Apartment, Let's At Least Get an Officetel" Panic Buying Surges Amid Soaring Seoul Home Prices

According to The Financial News, the sudden heat in the officetel auction market, which had been unpopular for more than a decade, is largely due to a growing number of people who missed the surge in apartment prices. As lease listings in Seoul disappear quickly, end users are feeling a sense of panic and adopting a mindset of "let's at least secure an officetel for now." Data also show that sale prices for Seoul officetels have been steadily climbing.
On March 15, data from the Korea Real Estate Board (KREB) showed that the Seoul officetel sale price index stood at 100.34 in March this year, up slightly from 99.71 a year earlier. The officetel sale price index is a relative indicator that sets December 2023 equal to 100. A reading above 100 means prices have risen compared with that point in time, while a reading below 100 indicates a decline.
What stands out is that the index has been on an upward trend since July last year. After hovering between 99.69 and 99.71 early last year, it climbed to 99.74 in July, then 99.82 in September, broke through 100 in November, and reached 100.21 in January and 100.28 in February this year.
The main driver of the price increase is mid- to large-sized officetels of around 85m2 that can be used as residences. Typically, an 85m2 officetel is considered suitable for a household of three to four people. For officetels of this size, there has not been a single monthly decline in the index since March 2025. Over the past year, the index has risen from 100.45 to 104.32, an increase of 3.9%.
The average sale price has quietly surpassed 300 million won. According to KB Real Estate, the average sale price of Seoul officetels was 299.43 million won in May last year, but rose to 300.19 million won in June, 307.7 million won in January this year, and 308.13 million won in March, continuing its steady climb.
Analysts say the growing popularity of officetels in both the auction and sales markets stems from a combination of soaring apartment prices in Seoul and the disappearance of jeonse and monthly rental options. In fact, the weekly apartment sale price index compiled by KB Real Estate was 103.4 on December 1 last year and had risen to 108.5 by April 6 this year. Since December last year, when the statistics began to be compiled, the average sale price of apartments in Seoul surpassed 1.5 billion won for the first time, and has climbed even further this year.
The supply of jeonse and monthly rental listings continues to shrink, especially in Seoul. As of this day, there were 15,515 jeonse listings in Seoul, down 32.7% from 23,060 at the beginning of the year. Over the same period, monthly rental listings fell 29.6%, from 21,364 to 15,049. For example, at the SK Bukhansan City Apartment Complex in Gangbuk District in Seoul, which houses 3,830 households, there are currently only three jeonse listings and four monthly rental listings available.
An industry official said, "If you go to auction sites, you can easily see people who need a place to live but cannot afford to buy an apartment intensely examining properties," adding, "This is a phenomenon created by the overlap of apartment loan regulations and end users' needs, and the shift in demand toward officetels is likely to continue for some time."
kjh0109@fnnews.com Reporter Kwon Jun-ho Reporter