This year, the proportion of apartment transactions in the Seoul housing market has recorded the highest level since the 2006 survey.
An analysis of the housing transaction report data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 14th revealed that among the 63,730 transactions reported from January to July 13 this year, apartments accounted for 45,022 cases, or 70.6% of the total.
This means that 7 out of 10 dwellings sold in Seoul this year are apartments, marking the highest proportion since the real transaction survey began in 2006.
In contrast, the proportion of transactions for villas, a type of multiresidential building, stands at 26.2% (16,716 cases), while the proportion for single-family and multi-family dwellings is only 3.1% (1,992 cases), recording the lowest level ever on an annual basis.
The time when the proportion of apartment transactions was the highest until now was in 2013, at 65.6%. Since then, the proportion of apartment transactions has steadily decreased to 53.1% in 2020, after which it fell to 38.1% in 2021, when apartment prices skyrocketed, and then recorded the lowest ever at 26.0% in 2022, following the effects of interest rate hikes.
However, the proportion of transactions for multiresidential buildings surged to 53.3% and 64.7% in July 2020 and during 2021 and 2022, respectively, after the enforcement of the Lease 2 Act, which caused rental prices to soar, surpassing the volume of apartment transactions.
Nevertheless, starting from the end of 2022, as the issue of rental fraud intensified, the proportion of transactions for multiresidential buildings declined to 37.5% in 2023 and 31.4% in 2024, and has fallen below 30% this year.
Single-family and multi-family dwellings also dropped below 5% beginning in 2023 (4.4%) and have decreased to the 3% range this year and last year (3.7%). The proportion of apartment transactions increased gradually to 58.1% in 2023 and is expected to be 64.9% in 2024, surpassing 70% this year.
Due to the aftereffects of rental fraud, the aversion to non-apartment transactions, such as villas and multi-family dwellings, has increased, exacerbating the concentration in the apartment market. In particular, this year, despite the expansion of land transaction permission zones, which restrict transactions to all apartments in the three districts of Gangnam and Yongsan, the demand appears to have strengthened due to falling interest rates and rising house prices.
Yoon Ji-hae, head of the Real Estate Research Lab at R114, noted, "The concentration in the apartment market is increasing not only transaction prices but also rental prices, raising the burden on tenants. We need to seek support measures, including tax benefits, to revitalize the non-apartment market, while also enhancing tenant protection functions."