Seoul’s Real Estate Market: Why Apartment Sales Remain Dominant

Seoul’s real estate market remains heavily focused on apartment transactions. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Real Estate Board, as of 2024, over 80% of total housing sales in Seoul are apartments. This figure clearly outpaces transactions for villas (multi-family/row houses) and single-family homes.

There are three main reasons for this strong preference for apartments. First is ease of management. Apartments offer systematic maintenance, security services, and shared management costs, which help preserve asset value over time—whether for long-term residence or rental investment.

Second is liquidity and stable demand. Despite market uncertainties in recent years, apartments continue to attract both end-users and investors. For example, statistics from KB Real Estate show that in 2023, the average sales price for Seoul apartments surpassed 1 billion KRW (~$750,000), yet they still accounted for about 80% of all housing transactions.

Third is information transparency. Thanks to public databases like the Ministry of Land’s Real Transaction Price Disclosure System, buyers and sellers can easily verify transaction histories, which builds trust. In contrast, villas and detached houses often lack sufficient market data and management services, making transactions slower and price growth less predictable.

Experts say this apartment-centered trend is unlikely to change soon. For younger buyers and newlyweds in particular, apartments are still seen as the most secure and profitable type of residential asset in Korea.

South Korea’s strongly capitalistic nature means that people tend to view most forms of property as investment assets. Among these, apartments stand out because they are well-maintained, hold value steadily, and are relatively easy to buy and sell.

In contrast, villas and detached houses are perceived as having low price volatility and limited liquidity, which discourages active investment. I believe this is an entrenched structural issue in Korea’s housing market and will not easily change. As wealth polarization deepens, the trend of concentrating real estate investments in apartments is likely to remain strong.