Seoul's apartment auction sale-to-appraisal ratio fell 4 percentage points from a month earlier to below the 100% line, as unsold listings continued to pile up in the nationwide apartment auction market.
A total of 3,614 apartments went to auction nationwide last month, according to the August 2026 auction trends report released on the 7th by GG Auction, a firm specializing in court and public auction data. The figure edged down from the previous month but stayed above 3,000 for a sixth consecutive month, keeping listings at elevated levels. It marks a roughly 26% jump from 2,874 in the same period a year earlier.
The share of properties that found buyers came to 35.4%, down 1.9 percentage points from 37.3% the previous month. The sale-to-appraisal ratio also slid 0.7 percentage point to 84.7% from 85.4%, extending its decline to a third straight month. The average number of bidders per property was unchanged at 5.3, reflecting subdued interest.
Seoul's apartment auction market showed broad-based cooling as well. The sale rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 37.1% from 38.3% a month earlier, staying in the 30% range for a third month. The sale-to-appraisal ratio came in at 97.0%, down 4.0 percentage points from 101.0%. Some large-size units and standalone buildings sold at 60% to 80% of their appraised value, dragging down the average.
Bidding above appraised value, by contrast, clustered around mid- and low-priced complexes with good living conditions and around properties set to benefit from redevelopment projects. Jungnang-gu at 115.2% and Nowon-gu at 102.8%, districts dense with mid- and low-priced apartments, ranked at the top for sale-to-appraisal ratios. The average number of bidders came to 6.1, down 1.1 from 7.2 the previous month.
In Gyeonggi Province, the sale rate tumbled 11.4 percentage points to 37.7% from 49.1% a month earlier, the lowest level this year. Sharp drops in northern Gyeonggi areas including Uijeongbu, Paju and Ilsanseo-gu in Goyang weighed on the figure.
The sale-to-appraisal ratio, however, rose 3.0 percentage points to 89.8% from 86.8%, the highest in two years since August 2024. Sought-after locations led the overall gain, including Hanam at 112.1%, Dongtan-gu in Hwaseong at 109.8%, Suji-gu in Yongin at 109.5% and Bundang-gu in Seongnam at 106.8%. The average number of bidders was 5.9, similar to the previous month.
In Incheon, repeated failed auctions of small low-rise apartments in Bupyeong-gu and Michuhol-gu pushed the sale rate down 7.4 percentage points to 32.7% from 40.1%. The sale-to-appraisal ratio also fell 1.3 percentage points to 79.1% from 80.4%, while the average number of bidders rose 0.9 to 6.0 from 5.1.
The four largest metropolitan cities outside Seoul were mixed. Ulsan's apartment sale-to-appraisal ratio surged 5.7 percentage points to 84.4% from 78.7%, the biggest gain in the country. Busan rose 1.3 percentage points to 80.1%, rebounding for the first time in three months. Daegu, meanwhile, fell 1.9 percentage points to 79.5%, dropping back below the 80% line for the first time in nine months, and Daejeon slipped 1.0 percentage point to 83.2%.
Among provinces, North Gyeongsang rose 2.8 percentage points to 78.3% and Jeju gained 2.1 percentage points to 82.5%, while South Gyeongsang dropped 3.8 percentage points to 75.8%, its lowest in seven months. Gangwon at 80.2%, North Chungcheong at 81.4%, North Jeolla at 74.7% and South Chungcheong at 80.1% also declined from the previous month. Gwangju posted the steepest fall, tumbling 8.5 percentage points to 74.3% from 82.8%.
