Gangnam, Yongin Housing Prices Soar

Apartment prices in the Gangnam area keep going up, while those in Gangbuk remain relatively low.

In particular, apartment prices in the Gangnam area of Seoul and Yongin of Gyeonggi Province have soared, suggesting that the comprehensive real estate policies targeted at those areas are not effective.

According to a Korea Realty Information Association report yesterday, apartment prices in 11 districts in the Gangnam area, including Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong, rose 20.5 percent on average from early February last year to early this month, while those in other 14 districts in the Gangbuk area, including Jongno, Mapo and Nowon, went up 4.2 percent. The growth rate of apartment prices in Gangnam is 4.8 times that of Gangbuk.

There are districts which have seen their apartment prices soar more than 25 percent, including Songpa (30.6 percent), Gangnam (25.8 percent) and Seocho (28.6 percent). Meanwhile, prices in Jungnang district dropped 0.5 percent, while those in the Nowon and Gangbuk districts grew just by 1.2 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. Last year’s survey showed that apartment prices in Gangbuk went up 1.5 percent and those in Gangnam declined 3.2 percent.

Also in Gyeonggi Province, prices in 20 cities and counties south of the Han River, including Gwacheon and Yongin, rose 14.7 percent over the same period, while 11 cities and counties north of the river, such as Paju and Dongducheon, posted a mere 4.7 percent hike.

Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com