Seoul apartment rents jump over 1%, highest in 11 years; average home price tops 1 billion won

Seoul's apartment rental market experienced a significant surge in May, with prices climbing over 1%, reaching the highest monthly increase since April 2015. This rapid escalation has pushed the average price for a home in the South Korean capital to exceed 1 billion won for the first time on record.

According to the monthly housing price trend report released by Korea Real Estate Board on the 15th, Seoul's apartment rental prices rose by 1.15% in May compared to the previous month. This marks the largest jump in 11 years and one month, following a 1.25% increase in April 2015.

The most affected districts included Songpa-gu, which saw a 2.13% rise, followed by Seongbuk-gu (1.81%), Seongdong-gu (1.61%), Gwangjin-gu (1.54%), Nowon-gu (1.5%), Gangbuk-gu (1.42%), and Dobong-gu (1.39%). This sharp increase is attributed to a significant decrease in the supply of rental apartments available in Seoul.

The monthly rent price index also saw a notable increase, rising by 0.95% from the previous month's 0.74%. This represents the highest rate of increase since Korea Real Estate Board began publishing monthly rent statistics in June 2015. The average home price in Seoul now stands at 1,001,010,000 won, with apartments accounting for a substantial portion of this value.