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Gangnam's reconstruction blocks slip as mid-priced Seoul keeps rising

Seoul's north-eastern districts have outpaced the south-east all year, according to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly price survey. Since early August the gap has widened, and two of Gangnam's best-known reconstruction complexes have recorded contracts below prices agreed in July and early August

Noah BergBy Noah Berg, Rules & Access Correspondent

Published 29 September 2026 at 8:05 pm GMT+8.

Additional reporting by Cheryl Chen

  • Data as of 21 September 2026
  • Official sources
A long cream-coloured 1970s apartment block with rows of enclosed balconies and air-conditioning units, rising behind a line of trees under a pale sky in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul.
Tower 31 of the Hyundai Apartments in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam, completed in 1976, in October 2020. The photograph shows the kind of older Gangnam complex the article describes, not one of the complexes in its table. Photo by ZbnKhl via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and colour-graded from the original; this version is shared under the same licence.

Seoul's apartment market has been running at two speeds for all of 2026. The Korea Real Estate Board (한국부동산원, KREB) groups the city's 25 districts into five zones in its weekly apartment price survey. By the survey week dated 3 August, the north-eastern zone (동북권) had risen 7.80 per cent since the start of the year and the south-eastern zone (동남권) 3.82 per cent, a lead of 3.98 percentage points. Over the seven weekly surveys since then, covering the weeks dated 10 August to 21 September, the north-east rose by a further 2.49 per cent while the south-east fell by 0.49 per cent. By 21 September the north-east was up 10.48 per cent for the year and the south-east 3.31 per cent.

The new element since August is the direction of travel in the south-east. Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu have posted weekly declines, and two reconstruction complexes in Gangnam, Eunma in Daechi-dong and Gaepo Jugong 7 in Gaepo-dong, have recorded contracts more than 300 million won below deals signed in July and early August, according to the government's transaction register.

Two price levels

The two sides of the city start from very different price levels. The Korea Real Estate Board's monthly housing price survey gives a median apartment sale price for August 2026 of ₩2.61 billion in both Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, against ₩649 million in Nowon-gu and ₩583 million in Dobong-gu. Per square metre, Gangnam's median of ₩28.7 million is about 2.8 times Nowon's ₩10.3 million. These are survey valuations of representative homes, which the board says suit comparing areas within the same month. Reported deals show the same gap. Seoul's Real Estate Information Plaza gives an average reported apartment transaction price of ₩3.04 billion in Gangnam-gu for contracts signed in August 2026, and ₩707 million in Nowon-gu, figures the site says can still change as reports arrive. The northeast is also not one market. The board's northeast zone includes Seongdong-gu and Gwangjin-gu on the Han River, with August medians of ₩1.75 billion and ₩1.50 billion, both above Gangdong-gu's ₩1.19 billion.

What the weekly survey shows

The table below sets the year to 3 August beside the seven weeks that followed. The first and last columns are the cumulative 2026 changes KREB prints in its releases for the weeks of 3 August and 21 September. The middle column is derived from those two figures, and compounding KREB's seven weekly changes gives the same result to within 0.01 of a point.

Area (KREB weekly apartment sale price index)2026 to week of 3 AugWeeks of 10 Aug to 21 Sep2026 to week of 21 Sep
Seoul, all districts+6.56%+1.44%+8.09%
North-eastern zone (동북권)+7.80%+2.49%+10.48%
South-eastern zone (동남권)+3.82%-0.49%+3.31%
Gangnam-gu+2.04%-1.71%+0.30%
Seocho-gu+3.06%-1.32%+1.70%
Songpa-gu+5.29%+0.04%+5.33%
Mapo-gu+6.75%+1.43%+8.28%
Yongsan-gu+3.42%+0.47%+3.91%
Seongdong-gu+6.72%+0.84%+7.62%
Nowon-gu+8.12%+2.79%+11.14%
Seongbuk-gu+10.85%+3.26%+14.46%

Across the seven weeks, the north-eastern zone gained about 2.98 percentage points on the south-eastern zone. Because the index changes compound, the year-to-date gap does not simply add up, and by 21 September the difference between the two zones' 2026 changes stood at 7.17 points, against 3.98 points on 3 August.

Seoul as a whole is still rising, but each week by less. KREB's weekly change for the city was 0.29 per cent for the week of 24 August, then 0.22, 0.20, 0.16 and 0.13 per cent for the four weeks that followed. In the week of 21 September, Gangnam-gu fell 0.42 per cent, Seocho-gu 0.37 per cent and Songpa-gu 0.14 per cent, while Seongbuk-gu and Nowon-gu rose 0.39 and 0.37 per cent.

KREB's own commentary points at reconstruction stock. Its release for the week of 17 August describes Seocho's decline as led by reconstruction-track complexes in Jamwon-dong and Banpo-dong. Its release for the week of 31 August notes falling deals among some reconstruction-track complexes offered at reduced asking prices, alongside continued gains in small and mid-sized units, complexes near stations and large estates. That matters for the split, because Seocho has far more reconstruction stock than Nowon. Seoul's official redevelopment information system lists 61 reconstruction sites in Seocho-gu against 18 in Nowon-gu, counting every stage from projects yet to form a promotion committee to associations being wound up after completion. Nowon's sites are also at an earlier stage, with 11 of its 18 yet to form a reconstruction association, against 6 of Seocho's 61.

What the transaction register shows

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) publishes reported contract prices in its real transaction price system. The records used here were downloaded on 29 September 2026 for contract dates from 29 September 2024 to 28 September 2026. The system warns that its figures are for reference only, that reports can be amended or cancelled after publication, and that official statistics should be compiled on a reporting-date basis. Floors differ between some of the paired deals, which affects price, so each pair is a guide rather than a like-for-like valuation.

Complex (district)Exclusive areaEarlier contractLater contract
Eunma, Daechi-dong (Gangnam)76.79 ㎡3.34 billion won, 1 Aug 2026 (3rd floor)3.02 billion won, 11 Sep 2026 (2nd floor)
Gaepo Jugong 7, Gaepo-dong (Gangnam)83.70 ㎡3.83 billion won, 18 Jul 20263.50 billion won, 22 Sep 2026
Sanggye Jugong 7, Sanggye-dong (Nowon)49.94 ㎡650 million won, 25 Apr 2026780 million won, 17 Sep 2026

The 3.02 billion won Eunma contract gives an overseas reader a sense of scale. At the European Central Bank reference rates for 28 September 2026, which put the euro at 1,545.05 won and at 1.4538 SGD, it works out to about 2.84 million in the Singapore currency. The ECB had not yet published its 29 September rates when the page was read.

Away from Gangnam, some mid-priced complexes recorded the highest price for their unit size in the two years of records checked. A 59.75 ㎡ unit at Mapo I-Park Fore in Sinsu-dong, Mapo, sold for 2.145 billion won on 12 September. An 84.98 ㎡ unit at Lotte Castle Classia in Gireum-dong, Seongbuk, sold for 1.93 billion won on 15 September.

These contracts show where prices moved, and they line up with KREB's zone figures. They do not show why.

The policy backdrop

Several policy changes form the backdrop to these prices, and the data do not single out any one of them as the cause. The Ministry of Economy and Finance published its 2026 tax reform plan on 3 August, proposing to base the comprehensive real estate holding tax (종합부동산세) on home value and on whether the owner lives in the home. The Cabinet approved a revised version on 1 September and sent the bills to the National Assembly, where they remain under review, and the changes would apply from the 2027 tax year if passed. Mortgage limits in regulated areas, which since October 2025 include all of Seoul, cap loans at 200 million won for homes above 2.5 billion won. Apartment purchases across all 25 districts have required a district permit and a two-year residence commitment since 20 October 2025, and a separate permit zone for foreign buyers covers the whole city. The north-east's lead over the south-east predates the tax plan, having reached nearly 4 points by the week of 3 August.

For how these rules apply to an overseas buyer or owner, including the permit zones, the reports required, loan limits and the holding tax as it stands and as proposed, see the guide Buying and holding a Seoul home as a foreigner.

This is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Confirm with a qualified professional in the place.

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Sources

Sources read 29 September 2026.