Seoul Home Prices Rise Despite President Lee Jae-myung’s Property Crackdown
Home prices in Seoul are continuing to climb, underscoring the limits of South Korea’s latest efforts to rein in the housing market even after President Lee Jae-myung declared what officials have described as a renewed “war” on real estate speculation.
Data from Korea Real Estate Board show that overall home prices in the capital rose 0.91% in January from a month earlier, extending gains for a second consecutive month. The increase comes despite a series of regulatory measures aimed at cooling demand in designated speculative and overheated districts.
The persistence of price growth highlights a familiar challenge for policymakers: curbing momentum in a market where demand remains concentrated in high-quality locations. While government interventions have periodically slowed the pace of increases, they have yet to reverse the broader upward trend.
Apartment prices, which often serve as a bellwether for the broader market, posted even stronger gains. Values in Seoul rose 1.07% in January, accelerating from the previous month and signaling that buyer demand remains intact, particularly for large complexes and properties with strong access to transit and schools.
The strength was evident across both sides of the Han River. Districts such as Songpa and Yongsan recorded gains exceeding 1%, driven by demand tied to redevelopment projects and established residential clusters. In northern Seoul, areas like Seongdong also saw sharp increases as buyers targeted neighborhoods with improving infrastructure.
Beyond Seoul, the pattern was similar though more moderate. Home prices in Gyeonggi Province rose 0.36% in January, while Incheon posted a smaller 0.07% gain. Across the greater Seoul metropolitan area, prices climbed 0.51%, reflecting a broad-based upward drift.
The data arrive at a politically sensitive moment. President Lee has framed housing affordability as a central policy priority, vowing stronger enforcement against speculative activity and signaling a willingness to deploy a wider set of regulatory tools. Measures have included tighter controls in designated zones and closer scrutiny of transactions, particularly in high-demand areas.
Yet the market response suggests that structural factors—limited supply in desirable districts, redevelopment expectations and concentrated demand—continue to outweigh policy pressure in the short term.
Rental markets are reinforcing the trend. Nationwide jeonse prices rose 0.27% in January, while monthly rents in Seoul increased 0.45%, pointing to persistent tightness in housing supply. Rising rental costs can, in turn, support purchase demand by pushing households toward ownership.
For policymakers, the risk is that continued price resilience could erode the credibility of intervention efforts, particularly if expectations of future gains remain entrenched. For buyers, the message is more ambiguous: even in the face of escalating regulation, Seoul’s housing market has yet to show clear signs of cooling.
If the current trajectory holds, analysts say, authorities may be forced to consider more aggressive or unconventional measures—raising the stakes in what has become one of the country’s most persistent economic and political battles.
