Apartment deals in Seoul's affluent Gangnam area are closing at prices hundreds of millions of won below earlier transactions, as a tax overhaul targeting expensive homes drives a rise in distressed listings.
The KB Leading Apartment 50 index, which tracks price changes at the 50 apartment complexes with the largest combined market value, fell 0.22% from the previous month, turning lower for the first time in four months, according to KB Real Estate's September national housing price survey released on the 29th. Apartment prices in Gangnam District also turned lower, falling 0.30%.
Weekly data from the Korea Real Estate Board showed Gangnam District declining for six straight weeks and Seocho District for six straight weeks, while Songpa District extended its losses to a third week.
Recorded sale prices show the extent of the adjustment. A 25th-floor unit of 84 square meters at Raemian Firstage in Seocho District's Banpo-dong sold for 4.9 billion won on the 7th. That is 550 million won below the 5.45 billion won paid for a unit on the same floor in June, a decline over three months.
At Dogok Rexle in Gangnam District's Dogok-dong, an 18th-floor unit of the same size sold for 3.78 billion won on Sept. 1, and two weeks later a 16th-floor unit of the same size was contracted at 3.57 billion won, down 210 million won. At the Jugong No. 5 complex in Songpa District's Jamsil-dong, the asking price for a 76-square-meter unit fell from 3.9 billion won on the 3rd to 3.75 billion won on the 12th. Raemian Chelitus in Yongsan traded at a peak of 5.59 billion won in July, but units are now listed in the 4.7 billion won range.
Behind the shift are a heavier tax burden and a surge in listings. After the government unveiled its 2026 tax revision raising levies on the ownership and sale of expensive homes, the number of homes put up for sale in the three Gangnam-area districts climbed quickly. As of mid-September, listings of apartments for sale over the prior month rose 19.0% in Seocho District, 18.6% in Songpa District and 16.7% in Gangnam District, placing all three among the five districts with the steepest increases.
Buyers have moved to the sidelines in anticipation of further declines, leaving a market where only discounted units change hands. The average transaction price for apartments in Gangnam District fell to 2.77514 billion won from 3.03915 billion won, a drop of 260 million won, while the average in Seocho District declined by more than 500 million won over the same period.
Transaction volumes themselves have plunged. Apartment sales in Yongsan and Mapo districts totaled 151 in August, down 31.7% from 221 the previous month, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system. In Yongsan District, deals above 3 billion won fell 61.1% to seven from 18, with declines steeper at higher price points.
With listings rising and buyers holding back, the market itself is freezing up. Seoul's index of expected sale prices stood at 116.4, a third consecutive monthly decline, while the reading for the 11 districts south of the Han River was 108.9, down 2.4 points in a month.
