In March, the number of transactions for apartments in Seoul exceeded 10,000. This is attributed to factors such as the temporary lifting of restrictions in the land transaction permission zone.
According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza on the 18th, the reported number of apartment transactions in March reached 10,006, surpassing 10,000.
This figure marks the highest level in 4 years and 8 months since recording 11,154 transactions in July 2020. It also surpasses last July's 9,226 transactions, which saw a surge in volume after the implementation of the second phase of the debt service ratio (DSR) was postponed by two months.
The Seoul apartment market has seen a significant decrease in transaction volume since the interest rate hikes began in the second half of 2021. In the second half of 2022, when two 'big steps' were implemented, the monthly transaction volume fell below 1,000, resulting in a transaction cliff.
Even after that, the continuation of high interest rates and the aftermath of lease fraud led to ongoing transaction stagnation, with the volume remaining in the 3,000 range after the lending restrictions tightened in September last year. The number of transactions for apartments in Seoul began to rise again in February when the land transaction permission zone was lifted in Gangnam, starting with 6,562 transactions, and in March exceeded 10,000.
After the Seoul city government expanded the land transaction permission zone to include three districts in Gangnam and Yongsan starting March 24, the number of apartment transactions in April, as of the 18th, has reported a count of 4,941, about half of March's volume. However, considering that the deadline for transaction reporting in April is until the end of this month, it is expected that the April transaction volume will also be maintained around the 6,000 range, similar to February.
The transaction volume in Gangnam's three districts and Yongsan, designated as land transaction permission zones, significantly decreased to around 100 transactions in April. However, in the outer areas of Seoul, such as Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk, Geumcheon, Gwanak, and Guro, the transaction volume in April is nearing or exceeding the volume from February.
Meanwhile, the proportion of rising transactions for Seoul apartments has decreased following the expansion of the land transaction permission zone. An analysis by Real Estate R114 of the transaction report data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed that 56% of transactions sold after the expansion on the 24th of last month were higher than the transaction prices during the period of the land transaction permission zone's lifting (from February 13 to March 23). Compared to the rising transaction proportion of 60% at the beginning of the year during the permission zone lifting period, rises have decreased while falls have increased.