In the past month, the proportion of longtime homeowners selling their properties in Seoul reached its highest level since June 2020. This spike in sales is attributed to the sharp increase in house prices last year coupled with the government's signal of potential adjustments to the long-term holding tax benefits. Analysts suggest that these factors have encouraged homeowners who have held properties for over a decade to realize their profits by selling now.

Based on an analysis of real estate transaction data from February, it was found that 10,316 collective housing units, including apartments and multi-family housing, were sold, with 35.8% of these sales coming from owners who had held their properties for more than ten years. Notably, this percentage marks the highest since the pandemic-induced surge in housing prices due to ultra-low interest rates in June 2020. The characteristics of the current market indicate that older homeowners with single properties are the predominant sellers, spurred by concerns over potential changes to tax benefits and worries related to property holdings.

The analysis indicates that those selling homes they have owned for more than ten years predominantly purchased them during a period of stagnation in the housing market from 2011 to 2016, during the global financial crisis. Current house price data from KB Real Estate Data Hub shows that the average sale price of apartments in Seoul has more than doubled compared to ten years ago, suggesting that long-term owners have seen significant appreciation in their property values. Among the districts with the highest number of long-term sellers, Songpa-gu and Gangnam-gu lead the trend, where a recent influx of urgent sales has contributed to a downward trend in property prices over consecutive weeks.