According to data from Real Estate R114, the average sale price of apartments nationwide in January was 16.28 million won per 3.3㎡ (pyeong). This is the lowest price in 22 months since March 2003, when it was 16.19 million won.

The average sale price of apartments nationwide has been over 20 million won for the past six months, from July to December 2022. However, it suddenly dropped by more than 4 million won last month.

Industry officials say that the recent drop in sale prices is a temporary phenomenon due to the lack of supply in areas with high sale prices, such as Seoul. In fact, there were no new apartments for sale in Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Ulsan, and Jeju last month.

Out of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, only 7 regions had new apartments for sale last month: Gyeonggi, Daegu, Busan, Sejong, North Jeolla, South Chungcheong, and North Chungcheong. Among them, Gyeonggi Province had the highest sale price at 24.96 million won per 3.3㎡. Daegu (22.72 million won), Busan (19.21 million won), and Sejong (17.99 million won) also had higher sale prices than the national average.

On the other hand, North Jeolla (14.87 million won), South Chungcheong (13.74 million won), and North Chungcheong (13.07 million won) had lower sale prices than the national average.

An industry official said, "The low sale price in January was a temporary phenomenon caused by many businesses postponing their sales schedule to February or later due to the Lunar New Year holiday. The increase in sale prices due to the rise in construction costs is inevitable this year due to the mandatory Zero Energy Building Certification and the strengthening of noise between floors regulations, which will be implemented from June, and the mandatory installation of facilities to respond to electric vehicle fires."

In summary, the recent drop in the average sale price of apartments nationwide is a temporary phenomenon due to the lack of supply in areas with high sale prices. The increase in sale prices is expected to continue this year due to the rise in construction costs.

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