Sejong City's housing prices are fluctuating due to rumors of the presidential office and National Assembly transfer, but the commercial market remains bleak. The retail spaces in Sejong City, which have the highest vacancy rate in the country, are seeing low transaction volume, and even in the auction market targeting low-priced purchases, interest is waning. There are forecasts that, unless there is a dramatic population influx in the context of oversupply in retail spaces, a rebound in demand for retail spaces will be difficult.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system on the 14th, the number of sales transactions for commercial real estate in Sejong City totaled 95 cases from January to April this year. The number of retail space sales transactions this year was ▲19 cases in January, ▲27 in February, ▲23 in March, and ▲26 in April. This level is slightly below last year's total of 99 cases from January to April.
The auction market is also feeling the chill for retail spaces in Sejong City. According to GGAuction, a specialist in auction and public sales, the successful bid rate for retail spaces in Sejong City last month was 18.3%. This means that only 1 in 5 retail spaces auctioned in Sejong City found a new owner. The successful bid rate is the ratio of the number of properties with successful bidders to the total number of bid items.
The successful bid rate for retail spaces in Sejong City rose by 10.9 percentage points from the previous month (7.4%). However, considering that the successful bid rates in January and February were 16% and 19%, respectively, this increase cannot be interpreted as a recovery in buyer sentiment for retail spaces.
Last month, the successful bid rate for retail spaces in Sejong City was 36.6%, the lowest in the country. The successful bid rate refers to the ratio of the price at which a property was successfully bid compared to the appraised price.
In contrast to the struggles of retail spaces in Sejong City, the popularity of residential facilities like apartments is rising. Following the presidential election and the transfer of the presidential office and National Assembly, Sejong City is experiencing a rebound in housing prices that had long been in a slump, along with expectations of becoming the administrative capital.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board's report on national weekly apartment price trends for the first week of May (as of May 5), apartment sale prices in Sejong City increased by 0.40% compared to the previous week. This is the highest increase among 17 cities and provinces nationwide, surpassing that of Seoul (0.08%), which includes the three districts of Gangnam.
Sales transactions for apartments in Sejong City also surged. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system, apartment sales transactions in Sejong City remained around 300 cases in January and February, but increased to 787 cases in March and reached 1,293 cases in April.
The popularity of residential facilities in Sejong City is also high in the auction market. Last month, the successful bid rate for residential facilities (apartments, villas, single-family homes) in Sejong City recorded 47.7%, ranking first among cities and provinces nationwide. Notably, the successful bid rate for apartments was 82.3%, consistently exceeding 80% since February.
The widening gap in investment demand between apartments and retail spaces in Sejong City is attributed to the oversupply issue of retail spaces. Sejong City has the highest vacancy rate for retail spaces in the country. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's '2025 Q1 Commercial Real Estate Rental Trend Survey,' the vacancy rate for medium and large retail spaces in Sejong City is 25.2%, significantly higher than the national average of 13.2%. However, even at the city level, efforts have been made to address the vacancy issue through the establishment of business districts, but it seems that more time is needed to resolve this long-standing problem.
Experts state that Sejong's retail spaces are in an oversupply situation, and as consumer spending patterns are also changing, it will be difficult for demand to increase.
Park Won-gap, the chief real estate expert at KB Kookmin Bank, noted, "In the case of Sejong City, retail spaces are in an oversupply situation," adding, "As consumption patterns shift from offline to online, this trend will be more pronounced in Sejong City, where a large number of younger people reside." He further stated, "The demand for apartments and retail spaces should be viewed from entirely different perspectives," and predicted low chances for a rebound in retail spaces due to rising housing prices in Sejong City.
Kim Hyo-sun, the chief real estate officer at NH Nonghyup Bank, explained, "Since the new city was established, retail spaces have yet to find a foothold in Sejong City," and noted that there are factors weakening the business district, such as the slower-than-expected increase in Sejong City's population, making it unlikely that demand for retail spaces will increase or prices will rise in the short term.
There are also forecasts that the apartment market in Sejong City may see a 'temporary spike' depending on the policy direction after the elections. Seo Jin-hyung, a professor of real estate law at Kwangwoon University, stated, "The scale of the transfer of the presidential office or National Assembly to Sejong City will determine the direction of prices," suggesting that if the transfer scale is large due to political decisions, the price trend will continue to rise, but if not, there is a possibility that a downward trend will appear.
Kim also stated, "Since Sejong is the only area outside of Seoul with clear recent development opportunities, prices are rising as they have fallen for some time," but added, "However, if there is no quick implementation regarding the transfer of the presidential office and National Assembly after the election, the market may again stagnate, indicating that policy factors can significantly affect the market."