Seoul’s average apartment jeonse price, a large lump-sum deposit rental system, reached 636.63 million Korean won last month, rising 5.8 million won, or 0.9%, from the previous month, the Korea Real Estate Board said on the 17th. It was the highest level since statistics began in January 2012, exceeding the previous record of 634.24 million won in January 2022 and prices recorded during the market instability peak in August 2020. Seoul apartment jeonse prices rose 0.17% in the week through the 14th, extending their gains to 84 consecutive weeks from the first week of February last year, when the increase was 0.01%. Regulations requiring actual residency have been identified as a key driver of recent market instability. Since June last year, mortgage borrowers have been required to register their move-in, while October’s expansion of land transaction permit zones, where apartment buyers must be actual residents, covered all of Seoul after previously applying to the Gangnam Three Districts and Yongsan-gu. The government also resumed heavier capital gains tax measures for multiple homeowners in May this year, encouraging them to sell rental properties. Seoul apartment jeonse listings consequently fell 12.4% over the past year. Listings dropped particularly sharply in Dongdaemun-gu, Jungnang-gu and Guro-gu, where declines reached 69.8%, 69.7% and 66.4%, respectively. A government source criticized the impact as disproportionately affecting low-income households.