Seoul apartment prices rose for an 89th consecutive week in mid-October, even as values in the capital's wealthiest districts kept falling and buyers shifted to cheaper neighborhoods and to commuter towns near South Korea's chip plants.

Prices rose 0.13% in the third week of October, according to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly survey, as reported by The Herald Business on Oct. 22. That was slower than the 0.16% gain a week earlier, which itself had picked up from 0.12%, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The run of gains began in February 2025, before President Lee Jae Myung took office, and most of it has come under his administration, JoongAng Daily noted.

A Two-Speed Capital

The momentum has moved to more affordable areas. Seongbuk and Seodaemun led Seoul with weekly gains of 0.36% each, and Seongbuk is up 16.10% so far this year, according to The Herald Business. Outlying districts including Dobong, Jungnang and Nowon also rose, though more slowly than the week before.

The three priciest southern districts kept losing ground. Gangnam fell 0.31%, Seocho 0.32% and Songpa 0.13% in the third week of October. JoongAng Daily said Gangnam and Seocho had declined for 10 consecutive weeks through the second week of October, which it attributed to uncertainty over tax reform and higher interest rates.

Weekly growth in Seoul had slowed for five straight weeks from late August, easing from 0.29% to 0.09% after tax changes raised property holding costs, before picking up again in October, the paper reported.

Nam Hyuk-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank, said deals were slowing as higher rates made borrowing harder, but that asking prices remained “stubbornly high” because of a severe shortage of homes for sale and for rent, JoongAng Daily reported.

Chip Money Moves South

Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, is absorbing buyers who have been priced out of the capital. Gyeonggi prices rose 0.21% in the third week of October, after 0.26% the previous week.

Byeongjeom in Hwaseong rose 0.65%, the fastest weekly pace in the country, The Herald Business reported, noting the area sits outside the government's regulated zones and still allows so-called gap investing. Dongtan, Gunpo and Bundang also gained more than 0.5%.

The Herald Business attributed Gyeonggi's momentum to cash from the semiconductor boom finding its way into homes near major employers. JoongAng Daily tied demand in the chip belt to bonuses paid by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Bundang's 0.79% gain in the second week of October followed the announcement of a second round of priority redevelopment zones, the paper said.

Nam said apartments priced around 600 million won (KRW) were showing strong momentum, as a shortage of rental homes pushes lower-income households toward unregulated areas and more tenants choose to buy, according to The Herald Business.

Curbs Have Not Cooled the Market

The government's main tool is still the package announced on Oct. 15, 2025. It designated all of Seoul and 12 areas of Gyeonggi as regulated zones, lowered mortgage lending limits, and required buyers in land transaction permit zones to live in the homes they purchase.

JoongAng Daily said the measures have not cooled the market and may have worsened a rental shortage, because housing supply remains limited. Jeonse prices, the lump-sum deposit leases widely used in Korea, rose 0.18% in Seoul in the second week of October, up from 0.16%.

Nam also told the paper that policy-backed loans have made financing easier for some buyers, adding to demand outside the regulated areas.

For lenders, developers and investors, the weekly data point to a market that has adapted to the rules rather than retreated. Demand has shifted away from the top-end districts most exposed to tax changes and toward outlying Seoul and the chip-industry towns of Gyeonggi, where some areas face lighter regulation and chipmakers' bonuses have added to buying power.

The board's weekly releases will show whether the slower pace in the third week of October marks the start of a cooling trend or another pause like the one in September.