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Seoul apartment prices see 19-year high in 2025

Published: 01 Jan. 2026, 18:14 Updated: 01 Jan. 2026, 19:24

Apartments are seen from Mount Namsan in central Seoul on Nov. 24, 2025. [NEWS1]

Seoul apartment prices jumped in 2025 at their fastest pace in 19 years despite the implementation of large-scale government measures meant to cool the market, according to recent data.

Instead, the “one-home concentration” phenomenon — demand funneling into a single high-quality property — intensified, keeping prices on an upward trajectory.

The rise outpaced even the sharp increases seen under the Moon Jae-in administration, when prices jumped 8.03 percent in 2018 and 8.02 percent in 2021, a period widely described as one of “runaway home prices.”

Seoul apartment sale prices posted a cumulative increase of 8.71 percent in 2025, according to weekly apartment price trend data for the fifth week of December released Thursday by the Korea Real Estate Board. This marks the steepest annual rise in 19 years since prices soared 23.46 percent in 2006 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

The gain reflects 47 consecutive weeks of price increases since the first week of February.

Prices rose in all 25 districts of Seoul, with particularly strong gains along the Han River corridor. Songpa District, southern Seoul, recorded the largest increase at 20.92 percent, followed by Seongdong District at 19.12 percent, Mapo District at 14.26 percent, Seocho District at 14.11 percent, Gangnam District at 13.59 percent and Yongsan District at 13.21 percent.

“The overall rise in Seoul apartment prices was driven by localized transactions focused on select complexes with development expectations and strong residential conditions,” said the Korea Real Estate Board.

Apartment complexes in Seoul are seen from an observation deck in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]

Buying fever also spread beyond Seoul into parts of the greater capital region often dubbed “quasi-Gangnam.” Apartment prices in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, surged 20.46 percent, surpassing all Seoul districts except Songpa District. Bundang in Seongnam rose 19.1 percent, while Suji in Yongin gained 9.06 percent, both exceeding Seoul’s average. These areas are traditionally considered high-tier neighborhoods due to their proximity to Gangnam and other core districts.

Nationwide, however, the market showed growing polarization. Excluding the capital region, apartment prices in the rest of the country fell 1.13 percent. Prices declined in 11 of the country’s 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, excluding Seoul, Gyeonggi, Ulsan, Sejong, North Chungcheong and North Jeolla.

Among the five major regional cities — Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, Busan and Ulsan — only Ulsan saw prices rise, gaining 2.1 percent. Daegu posted the steepest drop nationwide, with prices falling 3.81 percent.

The government rolled out a series of tough regulatory measures last year, beginning with the June 27 measures, which capped mortgage loans in the capital region at 600 million won ($415,300) in the second half of 2025. This was followed by the Oct. 15 measures, which designated all of Seoul and 12 areas in Gyeonggi as regulated zones, speculative overheating districts and land transaction permit zones.

Critics say the regulations, which focused on suppressing demand without accompanying supply measures, instead intensified the concentration of demand into premium single home purchases.

Apartments are seen from Mount Namsam in central Seoul on Aug. 8, 2024. [NEWS1]

“Loan restrictions and land transaction permit requirements sharply reduced transaction volumes, but as listings dried up, even one or two deals were enough to push prices higher, resulting in a stair-step rise,” said Park Won-gap, senior real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank. “While this raises concerns about price distortion, preference for high-priced single homes is likely to continue this year in the absence of meaningful supply measures.”

Real estate research institutes also forecast continued price growth centered on the capital region this year. The Korea Housing Institute projected a 4.2 percent rise in capital region home prices. The Construction Economy Research Institute of Korea forecast a 2.0 percent increase. The Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy projected a rise of between 2 and 3 percent.

“Given supply shortages and persistent buyer anxiety, polarization driven by capital region concentration is likely to continue,” said Lee Eun-hyung, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy.

Still, skepticism remains over the reliability of the Korea Real Estate Board’s data. During the Moon administration, the board faced allegations of underreporting actual market trends, leading to audit disputes and claims of data manipulation. As a result, analysts caution against directly comparing the roughly 8 percent increases recorded during that period with current figures.

Private-sector data tell a markedly different story. KB Kookmin Bank estimated Seoul apartment prices rose 13.56 percent in 2018 and 16.4 percent in 2021, nearly double the official figures.

Apartment complexes in Seoul are seen from a mountain fortress in Gwangju, Gyeonggi on Oct. 15, 2025. [YONHAP]

Such discrepancies appear unique to the Moon administration period. During the four years of the Park Geun-hye administration from February 2013 to March 2017, Seoul apartment prices rose 12.35 percent according to the Korea Real Estate Board and 10.06 percent by KB, showing little gap.

Similarly, during the three years of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration from May 2022 to May 2025, the board’s figure of a 3.49 percent decline closely aligned with KB’s 4.91 percent drop.

In other words, the divergence between official and private data was pronounced only during the Moon years. Allegations of statistical manipulation from that period have led to indictments, and the case is currently under trial at the first instance court.

“Seoul home prices indeed rose this year, but many people would find it hard to intuitively accept that they rose more than during the Moon administration,” said a real estate expert who requested anonymity. “That’s why these statistics need to be interpreted with caution.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]