Apartment prices in Sejong City soar as presidential palace relocation plan comes into effect...Weekly increase more than five-fold (South Korea)

While apartment prices in the Seoul metropolitan area remain on hold, prices in the central city of Sejong are soaring.
According to the latest price trend (as of the 21st), apartment sales prices in Sejong City rose 0.23% from the previous week, more than five times the increase from the previous week (0.04%). Meanwhile, Seoul only increased 0.08%.
The Real Estate Agency analyzed that purchases were led by areas with relatively good living conditions, such as Goeun-dong and Daejeon-dong, which pushed up prices across Sejong City.
The background to this is the idea of relocating the presidential office in the upcoming presidential election next month. Candidates from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea have proposed relocating the National Assembly building and the presidential office.
The government has been proactive in encouraging the relocation of the city to Sejong, and expectations are running high. In Seoul, the three districts of Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa are being added to the list of areas that are subject to the land transaction permit system.
The price increases were notable in Mapo, Seongdong, and Gangdong districts, which were not included in the index. In the Gangbuk region, Seongdong district saw a 0.17% increase, mainly around the Geumho-dong and Seongsu-dong stations. Mapo district saw a 0.17% increase in prices, mainly around the Ahyeon-dong stations.
In Yongsan-gu, Ichon-dong and Hangangno-dong rose by 0.13%, while Gwangjin-gu's Gwangjang-dong and Jayang-dong rose by 0.09%. In Jung-gu, transactions in Sindang-dong and Malimong were brisk, with prices rising by 0.0
In the Gangnam area, prices in Seocho-gu rose 0.18% in Banpo-dong and Jamwon-dong, while Songpa-gu also saw an increase of 0.18% in the main housing complexes of Jamsil-dong and Sincheon-dong.
The price of redeveloped properties in Daechi-dong rose 0.13%, while the price of Mok-dong and Sinjeong-dong in Yangcheon-gu rose 0.12%. The price of Gangdong-gu also rose 0.11% mainly in newly built properties due to the redesignation of the land transaction permit system.
A person related to the Real Estate Agency pointed out that "the desire to buy is still strong for popular properties such as redeveloped properties and properties near train stations, which has led to successful deals." On the other hand, "there is a strong wait-and-see mood for other properties."
"However, Seoul as a whole continues to see a gradual rise," he said. Meanwhile, apartment prices nationwide continued to fall by 0.01% from the previous week, marking the fifth consecutive week of declines.
Although there were increases in Bundang-gu, Seoul, and Suji-gu, Yongin, the overall figure fell by 0.01% due to declines in Anseong and Pyeongtaek. The five major metropolitan cities fell by 0.06%. Incheon was down.
It turned flat from 0.01%.