Seoul Apartment Land-Transaction Permit Applications Rise for Second Straight Month... Three Gangnam Districts (Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa) and Yongsan District Up 20.6%

[Financial News] The number of applications for land-transaction permits for Seoul apartments rose for a second consecutive month. The rate of increase was highest in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan District, but prices continued to fall. By contrast, regional differences emerged, with price gains widening in the Han River Belt.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 13th, there were 3,947 new applications for land-transaction permits for Seoul apartments in October, up 298 (8.2%) from the previous month’s 3,649. After peaking at 8,886 in April, the number declined for four consecutive months through August, before returning to an upward trend in September. However, October’s total remained at 44.4% of the April peak.
Applications increased in all four regions of Seoul. The three Gangnam districts and Yongsan District saw the highest rate of increase, rising 20.6% from 530 to 639. The seven districts in the Han River Belt recorded a 9.7% increase, from 784 to 860, while the four districts in the southwestern region rose 9.5%, from 708 to 775.
The Gangbuk region had the most applications, but its share of the total declined for the second consecutive month. Applications in the region’s 10 districts rose 2.8%, from 1,627 to 1,673. Its share, however, fell for two straight months, from 49.2% in August to 44.6% in September and 42.4% in October. Over the same period, the share for the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan District increased from 11.9% to 14.5% and then 16.2%.
There were 195 applications last month for a grace period on the owner-occupancy requirement for homes with tenants, up two from 193 the previous month. Their share of all land-transaction permit applications fell by 0.4 percentage points, from 5.3% to 4.9%.
Application prices for land-transaction permits varied by region. In October, prices stated in applications for land-transaction permits for apartments across Seoul rose 0.50% from the previous month. However, compared with September’s 1.51% increase, the gain narrowed by 1.01 percentage points.
By region, the decline in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan District widened, with prices falling 0.92% in October after a 0.41% drop in September. In the seven Han River Belt districts—including Gwangjin, Seongdong, Mapo, Dongjak, Yangcheon, Yeongdeungpo and Gangdong—price gains widened from 0.39% in September to 1.04% in October. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it believes higher-priced transactions, influenced by the locations of some apartment complexes and a preference for newly built homes, contributed to the increase.
Prices in outlying areas continued to rise, but the gains moderated. The rate of increase in the Gangbuk region fell from 2.17% in September to 0.52% in October, while that in the southwestern region eased from 2.44% to 0.89%.
For apartments with 59 square meters of exclusive floor area, the average price stated in applications in the southwestern region rose from 830 million won in August to 900 million won in September and 910 million won in October. In the Gangbuk region, it also increased over the same period, from 810 million won to 870 million won and then 900 million won. However, price gains slowed in both regions in October.
Since the entire Seoul area was designated a land-transaction-permit zone on October 20 last year, a cumulative 63,447 applications had been recorded by the end of October this year. Of these, 62,014 (97.7%) had been processed.

[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter