Apartment prices in Seoul's lower-priced outer districts and in Gyeonggi Province areas bordering the capital have climbed sharply, closing in on Seoul's average. The gains vary widely by area, however, suggesting that relative prices are being reset by location rather than simply converging.
Real estate platform Zigbang said on the 14th that it compared median transaction prices per square meter of floor space for apartments in the greater Seoul area from January through August, drawing on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's public database of actual transaction prices. The gap with Seoul's average narrowed most clearly in the capital's non-Gangnam districts and in major Gyeonggi cities.
The median transaction price for Seoul apartments held at 12.68 million won per square meter over the period, according to Zigbang, while districts in the city's northeast and northwest — including Seongbuk, Dongdaemun and Gangseo — closed the gap fastest. Seongbuk rose to 12.6 million won per square meter from 11.46 million won, lifting its ratio to the Seoul average to 0.99 from 0.90. Dongdaemun, at 13 million won from 12.18 million won, and Gangseo, at 13.36 million won from 12.39 million won, reached 1.03 and 1.05 times the Seoul average, respectively, overtaking the citywide figure. Jungnang rose to 11.63 million won from 9.36 million won and Nowon to 11.17 million won from 10.04 million won, reaching 0.92 and 0.88 times the average.
In districts where prices were already high, the gap with the rest of Seoul widened further. Gangnam rose to 34.09 million won per square meter from 30.56 million won, moving to 2.69 times the citywide figure from 2.41. Seocho climbed to 24.71 million won from 21.28 million won, or 1.95 times from 1.68, and Songpa to 25.21 million won from 22.09 million won, or 1.99 times. Seongdong also rose, to 1.93 times from 1.69.
In Gyeonggi Province, areas adjacent to Seoul either narrowed the gap or moved past the capital's level. In Gwangmyeong, the median price per square meter jumped to 12.97 million won in August from 11.1 million won in January, lifting the ratio to 1.02 from 0.88 and overtaking the Seoul average. Suji district in Yongin rose to 11.1 million won from 9.54 million won, or 0.88 times from 0.75. Hanam, already among the more expensive markets, rose to 14.48 million won from 12.95 million won, widening its ratio to 1.14 from 1.02, while Bundang district in Seongnam rose to 21.68 million won from 20.51 million won, or 1.71 times from 1.62.
Market watchers see the trend less as a straightforward convergence toward the Seoul average than as a realignment of relative prices driven by location and buyer profiles. Kim Eun-sun, head of Zigbang's big data lab, said prices across the greater Seoul area are diverging by area as past gains, current price levels and shifts in demand tied to market conditions come together. "It is a process in which relative price positions, measured against Seoul, are being reset," Kim said.
