Seoul office and residential, large units are strengthening, small and medium units remain sluggish.

Seoul officetel sales prices continued to rise in April 2026, but the driving force behind the increase was not the overall market, rather it was concentrated in large and medium-large areas with residential demand.

According to data released on April 13 by KB Real Estate, the purchase and sale price increase rate for Seoul office buildings in April was 0.13%. Although this is a slowdown from the 0.16% increase in March, Seoul has maintained an upward trend for 15 consecutive months from February 2025 to April 2026. On the surface, the market appears to be maintaining its upward momentum, but in reality, the divergence across different area sizes has become quite pronounced.

Especially, large office buildings with a dedicated area over 85 square meters rose by 0.70%, and medium-large office buildings with a dedicated area between 60 and 85 square meters increased by 0.39%, showing relatively strong upward momentum. Conversely, medium office buildings with a dedicated area between 40 and 60 square meters declined by 0.07%, small office buildings between 30 and 40 square meters fell by 0.11%, and super-small office buildings under 30 square meters decreased by 0.05%. Medium and small office buildings turned downward this month, and super-small office buildings have been declining for five consecutive months. Typically, large office buildings tend to have stronger residential attributes, making them more attractive as substitutes for apartments, while small office buildings are more influenced by leasing investment demand. This trend also reflects the characteristics mentioned above.

Regionally, the capital area and the national average increased by 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively, but outside Seoul, the capital region’s growth momentum was weaker. Gyeonggi Province declined by 0.01%, Incheon fell by 0.39%, and the five major metropolitan cities (Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju, Ulsan) also decreased by 0.05%. The nationwide average sales price was 264.23 million KRW, the capital region was 274.43 million KRW, and the five major metropolitan cities averaged 196.05 million KRW. Seoul’s average was the highest at 308.49 million KRW, Gyeonggi Province at 265.05 million KRW, and Incheon at 165.39 million KRW. The diverging price trends between Seoul and other regions are a notable feature of this report.

The full rental market and rental yield also show regional disparities. The average full rental price for office buildings nationwide in April was 205.21 million KRW, the capital region was 215.16 million KRW, and the five major metropolitan cities averaged 137.32 million KRW. Seoul’s average was 236.49 million KRW, Gyeonggi Province 212.05 million KRW, and Incheon 134.93 million KRW. The nationwide rental yield was 5.49%, the capital region 5.33%, and the five major metropolitan cities 6.53%. Seoul’s rental yield was 4.90%, Gyeonggi Province 5.53%, and Incheon 6.41%. Generally, higher-priced sales tend to have lower rental yields in Seoul, while regions with relatively lower price burdens, such as Incheon, tend to have higher yields. This structural pattern continues.

In summary, the recent office building market can be characterized as a “strong self-occupancy trend centered on Seoul” alongside a “weakness in non-Seoul areas and small-sized properties.” Due to differences in interest rate levels, housing substitution demand, and regional rental market conditions, even similar types of office buildings show clear divergence in price trends. Moving forward, medium-large self-occupancy office buildings in Seoul are likely to remain relatively resilient, while the recovery pace of investment-oriented small products and markets outside Seoul may continue to be slow.