Apartment prices in southern Gyeonggi Province are climbing steadily on the back of a semiconductor boom. Prices remain strong in residential areas serving chip plants, including Suwon and Hwaseong, which fall directly within reach of Samsung Electronics' in-house housing loans and plans for large special bonuses. At the same time, non-homeowner end users feeling the strain of higher prices are shifting to nearby unregulated areas such as Gunpo, Uiwang and Byeongjeom, widening the ripple effect. Hwaseong's Dongtan District, in particular, has posted a cumulative gain of more than 20% since separate statistics began in February this year, sending prices soaring.
Apartment sale prices in Gyeonggi Province rose 0.26% from the previous week, according to weekly apartment price data for the second week of October, as of the 12th, released by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 15th. The increase widened by 0.08 percentage points from the prior week's 0.18% and far outpaced Seoul's 0.16% gain.
Gains were steepest in areas near Samsung Electronics plants. Suwon's Yeongtong District rose 0.69%, widening from 0.62% a week earlier, while Hwaseong's Dongtan District doubled its pace to 0.66% from 0.33%. Dongtan's cumulative increase this year reached 20.14%. Prices have risen more than 20% since separate statistics began following an administrative district reorganization in February. Yeongtong has gained 16.19% so far this year.
The increases are spreading to neighboring areas. As prices in Suwon and Dongtan rise quickly, non-homeowner end users who feel the strain are turning to relatively cheaper unregulated areas such as Gunpo and Hwaseong's Byeongjeom. These areas are drawing attention as alternatives for buyers in their 20s and 30s with limited funds, because mortgage lending is easier to use than in regulated areas and because some complexes show only a small gap between jeonse (a lump-sum deposit lease) and sale prices.
Record prices are also piling up in the actual transaction market. An 84-square-meter unit at the Sejong complex in Sanbon-dong, Gunpo, traded at 848 million won on the 23rd of last month, 48 million won above the previous high of 800 million won, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's transaction price disclosure system. An 84-square-meter unit at Byeongjeom Station SK View in Byeongjeom-dong, Hwaseong, traded at 550 million won on the 16th of last month, exceeding the previous high by 40 million won. An 84-square-meter unit at Woomilin Cent Foret Complex 1 in Annyeong-dong also set a record at 517 million won on the 3rd of this month.
Samsung Electronics began offering employees who do not own a home up to 500 million won in home purchase funds at an annual rate of 1.5% last month, and these areas fall within a price range where buying with such in-house loans is possible. Apartment listings for sale in Gunpo fell 7.1% over the past month to 2,285 from 2,459, the steepest decline in Gyeonggi Province, according to real estate data platform Asil. Listings in Hwaseong's Byeongjeom District fell 5.0% to 1,385 from 1,457.
Buyers who already own homes are moving to popular residential areas in southern Gyeonggi such as Bundang and Yongin's Suji. As prices rise in Suwon and Dongtan, they are selling their homes and trading up to areas with stronger residential appeal. Seongnam's Bundang District rose 0.79% this week, the largest gain in Gyeonggi Province. The increase widened by 0.23 percentage points from the prior week's 0.56%, and its cumulative gain this year reached 16.01%. Yongin's Suji District also accelerated to 0.34% from 0.18%. In first-generation new towns such as Bundang and Pyeongchon, expectations tied to redevelopment projects are stimulating buying demand.
Southern Gyeonggi's strength is also evident in the jeonse market. Jeonse prices rose 0.44% in Suwon's Yeongtong District, 0.40% in Hwaseong's Dongtan District and 0.38% in Yongin's Giheung District. Dongtan Station Lotte Castle, a 940-unit complex regarded as Dongtan's flagship, currently has only three jeonse listings. The asking jeonse price for a 65-square-meter unit reaches 700 million won. Gwanggyo Jungheung S-Class in Gwanggyo New Town has just 12 jeonse listings out of 2,231 units.
Seoul apartment prices also accelerated for a second straight week. Prices rose 0.16% this week, widening from 0.12% a week earlier, marking an 88th consecutive week of gains. Yongsan District rebounded for the first time in three weeks with a 0.03% rise after two weeks of declines. Gains were pronounced in northern districts, including Jungnang at 0.42%, Seongbuk at 0.41% and Seodaemun at 0.40%. The three Gangnam-area districts continued to fall, with Gangnam down 0.35%, Seocho down 0.27% and Songpa down 0.21%. Nam Hyuk-woo, a researcher at Woori Bank, said the inflow of liquidity that began in Suwon could strengthen downward price rigidity in major Seoul metropolitan areas over the medium to long term.