Seoul apartment prices accelerated for a second straight week and extended their gains to an 88th consecutive week, while home prices in the semiconductor belt south of the capital surged, deepening instability in the greater Seoul housing market. Prices jumped in Suwon and Hwaseong, where Samsung Electronics (005930) operates plants, as well as in Seongnam's Bundang district, which has drawn buyers trading up to pricier neighborhoods. A spillover effect is also spreading to Gunpo, Uiwang and other areas outside designated regulation zones.
Apartment prices in Gyeonggi Province rose 0.26% in the second week of October, as of the 12th, up from 0.18% a week earlier, the Korea Real Estate Board said on the 15th. Seongnam's Bundang district climbed to 0.79% from 0.56%, and Gunpo surged to 0.72% from 0.27%. Suwon's Yeongtong district rose 0.69%, Hwaseong's Dongtan district 0.66%, Gwangmyeong 0.62% and Uiwang 0.60%. Dongtan's cumulative gain this year has reached 20.14%.
Seoul apartment prices rose 0.16%, marking an 88th straight week of gains and a record-long streak. The three Gangnam-area districts continued to decline, but Yongsan district turned higher at 0.03% after three weeks, while Jungnang, Seongbuk and Seodaemun districts held firm with gains in the 0.4% range.
"Price gains that began in Suwon, home to Samsung Electronics' headquarters, have spread to neighboring areas, and owner-occupier buyers who find prices too steep are turning to Gunpo and Uiwang," said Nam Hyuk-woo of the Woori Bank Real Estate Research Institute. "In areas outside regulation zones such as Gunpo in particular, we are seeing people in their 20s and 30s who do not own a home and lack the funds buying units while a tenant's deposit covers part of the price."