The share of apartment transactions sold at higher prices than previous deals declined nationwide and in the Seoul metropolitan area in November compared to the previous month, while Seoul proper saw an increase, data showed.
According to an analysis of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport transaction data released by Zigbang on Wednesday, price-gaining transactions accounted for 45.3% of all apartment sales nationwide in November, down slightly from 46.6% in October. Flat transactions represented 14.1%, while price-declining transactions made up 40.7%.
The Seoul metropolitan area also saw its share of price-gaining transactions shrink to 45.4% in November from 47.6% the previous month. During the same period, flat transactions rose from 16.1% to 16.9%, and price-declining transactions increased from 36.3% to 37.8%, indicating weakening buyer momentum.
However, Seoul was the only area in the metropolitan region to see an expansion, with price-gaining transactions rising to 54.1% from 52.2%. Although overall transaction volume declined as buyer sentiment contracted following the October 15 real estate measures, continued price gains in districts including Yeongdeungpo, Mapo and Dongjak drove the increase in Seoul's share.
The share of price-gaining transactions in the three Gangnam districts—Seocho, Gangnam and Songpa—fell 3.4 percentage points to 60.7% in November from 64.1% in October.
"This can be seen as partly reflecting a wait-and-see approach among buyers following the regulations, but the fact that more than 60% of all transactions were price gains suggests that the high-end apartment market in the Gangnam area still maintains pricing power," said Kim Eun-sun, head of the big data lab at Zigbang.
