The average monthly housing rent in Seoul has surpassed W1 million (US$1=W1,317).
Property information service Real Estate 114 compiled 99,895 rental contracts in Seoul signed in the first 11 months of this year and found that the rent was W1.02 million on average, up 13.3 percent compared to 2021 and 4.1 percent from last year.
The biggest reason behind the surge is that people no longer trust jeonse or Korean-style deposit leases amid a spate of reported fraud in recent months.
The proportion of monthly rentals in Seoul that cost less than W1 million fell from 71.7 percent in 2021 to 66 percent this year, while the proportion that cost more than W1 million rose apace from 28.3 percent to 34 percent.
Yongsan district has the highest rent with an average W2.08 million, followed by Seocho (W1.76 million), Seongdong (W1.72 million) and Gangnam (W1.56 million).
Some luxury apartments in Yongsan's Hannam-dong cost tens of millions of won that only TV celebrities and foreign executives can afford.
