80% of Seoul apartment subscriptions shift to smaller units as 'standard' flat prices top W2b

Demand for smaller apartments is growing in Seoul's private housing market as pre-sale prices continue to climb — with the average pre-sale price for a so-called "national standard" unit, referring to apartments with an exclusive use area of 84 square meters, now exceeding 2 billion won ($1.49 million). Eight out of every 10 apartment subscription applications in Seoul are now for units of 60 square meters or smaller.

An analysis released Wednesday by Ham Young-jin, head of Woori Bank's real estate research lab, using Korea Real Estate Board subscription data covering last year and this year through September, found that 79.8 percent — or 116,305 — of Seoul's 145,736 total subscription applications were concentrated in units of 60 square meters or smaller. That share stood at 60.6 percent a year earlier, meaning it has risen 19.2 percentage points in a single year.

The growing share of small-unit subscriptions is widely attributed to the financial burden created by rising pre-sale prices. The pre-sale price for units between 60 and 85 square meters rose 23.9 percent, from 46.48 million won per 3.3 square meters in 2025 to 57.61 million won in 2026.

By contrast, the pre-sale price for units of 60 square meters or smaller edged down 0.4 percent, from 58.39 million won per 3.3 square meters to 58.18 million won, holding roughly flat. While the per-square-meter pre-sale price for small units is higher than for mid-size units, the smaller total floor area means the overall purchase cost remains comparatively lower.

A separate analysis by Realhouse found that the average pre-sale price for an 84-square-meter Seoul apartment last month reached 2 billion won, crossing that threshold. As a result, the subscription share for the traditionally popular standard-size unit plunged from 35.5 percent — 98,088 applications — in 2025 to 11.5 percent, or 16,799 applications, in 2026, a drop of 23.9 percentage points.

A similar trend emerged in Gyeonggi Province, where pre-sale prices are lower than in Seoul. The pre-sale price for units of 60 square meters or smaller in Gyeonggi Province rose 20.6 percent, from 21.21 million won to 25.59 million won per 3.3 square meters, yet the subscription share for that size category expanded from 21.0 percent to 33.6 percent, a gain of 12.6 percentage points. Meanwhile, the share for units between 60 and 85 square meters fell 17.6 percentage points, from 74.3 percent to 56.6 percent.

"As rising benchmark interest rates, construction material costs and building expenses have increased the financial burden, applicants are downgrading their subscriptions from standard-size units to smaller ones," Ham said. "Advances in floor-plan design technology that have improved space efficiency in small apartments, along with the growth of one- and two-person households driven by changing family structures, have also played a role."

Meanwhile, an unusual pattern emerged in the large-unit segment, where subscription demand increased despite surging pre-sale prices. The pre-sale price for Seoul units exceeding 85 square meters jumped 74.2 percent in a single year, from 39.87 million won to 69.46 million won per 3.3 square meters. Even so, the subscription share edged up from 3.9 percent to 8.7 percent, and the number of applications rose from 10,785 to 12,632.

In Incheon, the pre-sale price for units above 85 square meters surged 88.3 percent, from 17.74 million won to 33.4 million won per 3.3 square meters, yet the number of large-unit subscription applications jumped roughly 4.9 times, from 2,422 to 11,810. The share of large units in Incheon's total subscriptions also rose 14.0 percentage points, from 14.6 percent to 28.6 percent.

"In prime locations such as Seoul, where reconstruction and redevelopment projects account for a significant share of supply, the scarcity of large-unit inventory appears to have become a key draw," Ham said. "In Incheon, the premium associated with landmark complexes, combined with an expanded lottery-based allocation system that has attracted pent-up subscription demand, drove these results."