Credit: Public domain.
The government may try, but the beast shall not be tamed. Despite the Lee Jae-myung 이재명 administration’s drastic efforts to curb the sizzling-hot real estate market, the collective price of high-rise condos in Seoul 서울 - the most desirable form of housing in the city - has set a new record. (See previous coverage, “Stringent New Restrictions on Real Estate.”)
According to a November 9 report by Real Estate R114 부동산 R114, the estimated total value of all high-rise condos in Seoul is approximately 1.8 quadrillion won (USD 1.2t), an increase of 11.0% year over year. That figure, which does not include the value of single homes or low-rise condos (called “villas 빌라” in South Korea), equates to approximately 55.4% of the entire market capitalization of KOSPI, South Korea’s main stock exchange.
The condos in the wealthy “Three Gangnam Districts 강남3구” - Gangnam 강남, Seocho 서초 and Songpa 송파 - collectively accounted for 43.1% of the total value of Seoul’s high-rise condos.
