Monthly rents for officetels — studio units used as either a home or an office — are climbing at an accelerating pace across South Korea, while sale prices have stalled or fallen. In Seoul, rents rose more than 1% in a single quarter, but sale prices gained only for mid-sized and larger units and fell for small ones, widening the gap within the market.
Officetel monthly rents nationwide rose 0.86% from the previous quarter, according to a third-quarter 2026 officetel price survey released by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB) on the 15th. That was 0.15 percentage points higher than the 0.71% gain in the preceding quarter.
The steady climb in rents stands out. Nationwide officetel rent growth has widened for five consecutive quarters, starting with a 0.30% rise in the third quarter of last year, followed by 0.52% in the fourth quarter, 0.66% in the first quarter of this year, 0.71% in the second quarter and 0.86% in the third. Seoul's rent growth was particularly strong at 1.02%, crossing the 1% mark after gains of 0.75% in the first quarter and 0.90% in the second. Gyeonggi Province and Incheon also saw stronger growth, rising 0.92% and 0.73% respectively. Rents outside the capital region accelerated as well, from 0.43% to 0.57%.
The REB said rents in Seoul rose because a shortage of jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) and monthly-rent listings, combined with growing demand to live near work, increased officetel demand among one- and two-person households, with demand shifting from apartments adding to the pressure. Outside the capital region, demand for monthly rentals has risen steadily on concerns about recovering jeonse deposits.
Mid-sized and Larger Units Gain While Small Ones Lag
Despite rising rents, the sales market remains weak. Officetel sale prices nationwide fell 0.33% in the third quarter, a steeper decline than the 0.30% drop in the previous quarter. In the greater Seoul area, the rate of decline also widened, from 0.19% to 0.26%.
Seoul prices rose 0.07%, holding onto gains, but growth slowed sharply from 0.24% in the second quarter. While rents rose more than 1%, sale prices effectively went nowhere. The REB said demand shifting from apartments continues to focus on officetels near subway stations and relatively new buildings, but distressed listings prompted by regulations on multiple-home owners limited price gains.
The divergence by unit size is a notable shift. Nationwide, sale prices for officetels of 40 square meters or less in exclusive floor area fell 0.48%, while units larger than 60 square meters and up to 85 square meters rose 0.06% and those above 85 square meters gained 0.38%. The pattern was especially pronounced in Seoul, where sale prices for small officetels of 40 square meters or less fell 0.06%, while units larger than 60 and up to 85 square meters rose 1.07% and those above 85 square meters jumped 1.57%. Buying demand appears to be concentrating on mid-sized and larger residential officetels that can substitute for apartments, leaving smaller units relatively overlooked.
Meanwhile, weak sale prices combined with rising rents are pushing rental yields higher. As of September, the nationwide officetel yield stood at 5.90%, up 0.09 percentage points from 5.81% in June. Seoul's yield rose from 5.08% to 5.15% over the same period. The ratio of jeonse prices to sale prices for officetels nationwide also rose, from 86.04% in June to 86.46% in September.