Seoul apartment price inversions surge 2.6-fold as 84-square-meter demand concentrates

  • Seoul apartment price inversions increased across same-complex 84-square-meter and larger units.
  • 386 inversion transactions occurred from January through July, versus 147 during last year’s period.
  • Suspected gap investment reached 6,680 Seoul transactions from November 2024 through October 2025.

Seoul recorded 386 cases from January to July this year in which 84-square-meter apartments sold for more than units of at least 85 square meters in the same complex, up 2.6 times from 147 cases a year earlier. The number of affected complexes nearly doubled to 162 from 84. The inversion has been concentrated outside Gangnam, led by Gwanak-gu with 52 cases and Seongbuk-gu with 51. End-user demand for 84-square-meter units, often considered the national standard, has strengthened as lending restrictions and the Land Transaction Permit System reduced jeonse (large-deposit rental) and monthly-rental supply. Tax reform has also raised concerns about property sales and conversions to owner-occupancy. Separately, suspected gap investment (buying with rental deposits and loans) in Seoul reached 6,680 transactions from November 2024 to October 2025, up 54.6% from the previous 12 months. Buyers in their 30s accounted for 3,095 cases, or 46.3% of the total, and recorded the fastest growth. Democratic Party lawmakers called for stronger monitoring, while the party indicated that real-estate tax provisions could still change during National Assembly review.

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