In spite of the governmental efforts to tame property prices, apartment prices in the capital are growing at a record rate.
The Korea Appraisal Board said Thursday that apartment prices in Seoul rose 0.47 percent in the first week of September, the fastest since KAB began monitoring prices in May 2012.
Last week the government designated four more districts north of the Han River as speculative zones while announcing plans to build 300,000 new apartments in the metropolitan area. But so far those efforts have failed to tame red-hot property prices.
Instead, attempts to quell speculative increases north of the Han River prompted apartment prices to soar in the affluent Gangnam area south of the river, where they jumped 0.66 percent.
Prices also continued to grow in Dongjak (0.6 percent), Dongdaemun (0.33 percent) and Jung (0.34 percent) districts after they were designated speculative zones subject to stringent taxation, as well as in areas near Seoul.
Park Won-gap at KB Kookmin Bank said, "People are getting anxious about not having their own home in this heated market, so they're rushing to buy one, but we expect prices to drop somewhat next week when the government announces additional measures since prices have risen too much over a short period of time."
Meanwhile, prices of apartments in the provinces continued to decline.
