A clear regional divide is emerging in Korea's apartment market, driven by building age. In the Greater Seoul area, buyers are gravitating toward older complexes with redevelopment potential, while in the provinces, demand is tilting toward newer units.
Korea Real Estate Board data released Wednesday, covering its age-based transaction price index from May 2025 to May 2026, show that complexes completed within five years rose 3.24% nationwide over the past year. By contrast, complexes between 15 and 20 years old gained just 2.21%, confirming that newer buildings generally posted stronger price growth.
However, the pattern diverged sharply between the Greater Seoul area and the provinces. In the metropolitan area, complexes more than 20 years old surged 6.59%, far outpacing units completed within five years, which rose 3.64%. Analysts attribute the outperformance of older stock to a combination of deregulation, expectations surrounding redevelopment projects, and a shortage of new supply. As one indicator, data from Real Estate R114 show that Seoul apartments scheduled for move-in in 2027 total 13,019 units (excluding rentals), a 24.35% drop from this year's 17,210 units.
In the provinces, the trend runs in the opposite direction — the newer the complex, the larger the price gain. Over the past year, complexes more than 20 years old in provincial areas fell 0.83%, while those completed within five years rose 2.81%. The gap was consistent across both the five major metropolitan cities — where units under five years old rose 2.72% and those over 20 years old fell 1.38% — and the eight provincial regions, where the figures were a 2.96% gain and a 0.37% decline, respectively.
Among major provincial cities and provinces, North Jeolla Province posted the highest price gains for complexes completed within five years at 6.30%, followed by North Chungcheong Province at 5.44%, Ulsan at 4.49%, Daegu at 4.02% and Busan at 3.86%. Unlike Seoul, where older complexes have been buoyed by redevelopment expectations, provincial buyers appear to place greater weight on residential satisfaction.
Newer complexes tend to incorporate more flexible floor plans, better use of space, and smart-home technology, making them comparatively more livable. Analysts also note that differences in amenities — such as community facilities and above-ground park designs — have partly influenced how buyers assess asset value.
"Against a backdrop of rising pre-sale prices and concerns about shrinking supply, the scarcity value of relatively recently built complexes is coming to the fore," a Real Today official said. "Unlike the Greater Seoul area, where older complexes have been strong due to variables such as reconstruction and other redevelopment projects, in the provinces the depreciation of older apartments and their weaker product appeal have been major factors."
lucky@heraldcorp.com
