Seoul home prices pushed up by northern districts... weekly gain of 0.29%

[Financial News] The weekly rise in apartment sale prices in Seoul climbed to 0.29% in just one week. The gains were led not by the Gangnam area, but by districts such as Jungnang-gu, Seongbuk District and Gangbuk District, where more mid- and lower-priced apartments are concentrated.
According to the weekly apartment price trend released by the Korea Real Estate Board (KREB) on the 27th for the fourth week of August, based on Aug. 24, Seoul apartment sale prices rose 0.29% from the previous week, widening the increase by 0.07 percentage point. By district, Jungnang-gu posted the largest gain at 0.56%, followed by Seongbuk District and Gangbuk District at 0.55% each, Dobong District and Nowon District at 0.54% each, and Seodaemun District at 0.53%. Seongbuk, Gangbuk and Jongno districts, at 0.46%, recorded their highest weekly increase since the first week of May 2012, when weekly statistics began to be published, marking about 14 years and 3 months.
By contrast, Gangnam District fell 0.11%, widening its decline by 0.06 percentage point, while Seocho District also slipped 0.05%. The weakness in the two districts has continued for three weeks. The '2026 tax reform plan' announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 3rd includes raising the fair market value ratio for the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax from 60% to 70% and differentiating the basic deduction to 1.4 billion won for one-home owner-occupiers and 900 million won for one-home non-occupiers. The tax burden cap will also rise from 150% to 200%.
Nam Hyuk-woo, a researcher at Woori Bank Real Estate Research Institute, said, "In Gangnam, fire-sale listings from one-home owners who decided to sell after the tax reform plan was announced continue to appear, so transaction slowdowns and weaker prices are likely to persist for now. However, there is still strong waiting demand, so we will have to see whether this leads to a sharp price drop."
In Gyeonggi Province, the pace of increase rose from 0.15% to 0.23%. Yeongtong District, Suwon led with a 0.75% gain, followed by Gwangmyeong City at 0.69%, Suji District, Yongin-si at 0.66%, and Giheung District at 0.63%. Dongtan District, Hwaseong, where the upward trend had slowed, saw its gain recover from 0.12% to 0.54%. Expectations for the semiconductor industry and signs of liquidity inflows, including Samsung Electronics' employee housing loans, appear to have boosted buying sentiment. Incheon rose only 0.01%, while the Capital Region as a whole gained 0.22% and the national average rose 0.11%.
Jeonse prices rose 0.11% nationwide. In Seoul, the increase widened from 0.19% to 0.22%. Seodaemun District, driven by movement around Bukgajwa-dong and Namgajwa-dong, posted the largest gain at 0.45%, followed by Geumcheon District at 0.44% and Dobong District at 0.37%. Gyeonggi Province rose 0.19%, Incheon gained 0.17%, and non-capital regions increased 0.03%.

[email protected] An Seung-hyun Reporter