Seoul has 10,887 homes for general sale, 2.7 times last year’s figure

[Financial News] The number of new apartments in Seoul that homebuyers can apply for has topped 10,000 units this year, rising to 2.7 times last year’s figure. Projects delayed by tighter lending rules were carried over into this year, while a succession of complexes drew hundreds of applicants per unit, fueling market enthusiasm. However, the share of total supply—including units allocated to association members—that goes to general applicants remains in the 30% range, prompting concerns that supply is insufficient.
According to real estate platform Zigbang on the 18th, a tally of private- and public-sector housing sale plans as of the end of September found that 10,887 apartments will be offered for general sale in Seoul this year. That is up 173.6% from 3,979 units last year. It is also 51.7% higher than the average annual supply of 7,176 units over the five years from 2021 to 2025.
Major complexes led the strong sales. At Acro Seocho, which was offered for sale this past April, an average of 1,099.1 applicants competed for each unit. That is the highest competition ratio among privately sold complexes in Seoul since 2015. Hautier Banpo (710.2 to 1), Ichon Le-El (135.0 to 1) and Dongjak Central Dongmun The East (114.8 to 1) also recorded triple-digit competition ratios and completed sales with no units left unsold.
The next to take the baton will be DH Banpo 124 (formerly DH Classest), scheduled to open for sale in November. It will replace sections 1, 2 and 4 of Banpo Jugong Complex 1. The large-scale complex, with 5,007 units in total, is being built in Seoul’s Seocho District.
The number of homes offered for general sale in Seoul has fluctuated sharply in recent years. Supply stood at just 2,902 units in 2021, climbed to 10,120 in 2024, then plunged 60.7% to 3,979 last year in a single year. The market is believed to have frozen after the June 27 Real Estate Measures and Oct. 15 real estate measures sharply tightened access to property loans, compounded by inflation and construction-cost pressures.
In fact, the measures announced on June 27 last year capped mortgage loans for home purchases in the capital region and regulated areas at 600 million won, regardless of income. On Oct. 15 that year, all 25 of Seoul’s districts and 12 areas in Gyeonggi Province were designated at once as adjustment target areas, overheated speculation districts and land transaction permit zones. Loan caps were further lowered to 400 million won for homes with market prices above 1.5 billion won and up to 2.5 billion won, and to 200 million won for homes priced above 2.5 billion won. Against this backdrop, supply this year has returned to the 10,000-unit range for the first time in two years, at about 3.8 times the 2021 level.
However, the market outlook is not entirely optimistic. General-sale units accounted for 36.0% of total housing for sale in Seoul this year, including public housing and units allocated to association members, up just 4.1 percentage points from 31.9% last year. The figure is 30.3 percentage points below the national average of 66.3%, which is 1.8 times Seoul’s rate. This reflects the fact that much of Seoul’s new supply comes from reconstruction and redevelopment projects, where existing association members receive their allocations first and only the remaining units are offered to general applicants.
On next year’s housing sale market, Kim Eun-seon, head of Zigbang’s Big Data Lab, forecast, “Demand for new apartments is strong, and if sales keep being delayed, factors such as rising sale prices will come into play. That could give construction companies room to draw up their project plans somewhat more aggressively.”

[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter