Seoul Figures Q2 2024

OFFICE
Grade A office vacancy increased to 1.8% in Q2 2024. The average rent-free period for Seoul Grade A offices remained under one month due to reduced tenant incentives, pushing up effective rents by 2.5% q-o-q to KRW 35,166 sq. m., bringing the increase in rents in the first half of the year to 6.8%.

RETAIL
Statistics Korea data show domestic retail sales in the year to May 2024 grew 0.5% y-o-y, well behind the growth of 3.3% y-o-y reported in the same period of last year. The decline is due to consumers gravitating towards cheaper products.

LOGISTICS
Net absorption in H1 2024 was 936,198 sq. m., slightly below the average half-yearly volume over the past five years. Average vacancy rose 2.6%p to 21.3% (h-o-h) in H1 2024 while average rents for dry facilities stood at KRW 34,875 per pyeong as of the end of June, up 0.8% h-o-h.

INVESTMENT
Commercial real estate investment volume totalled KRW 3.8 trillion in Q2 2024, a decline of 12% q-o-q. Offices logged a sharp decline in investment volume owing to the absence of deals for Grade A properties, while hotel and logistics sectors saw an increase thanks to large sized deals. Investment volume for H1 2024 reached KRW 8 trillion, an increase of 3% from H1 2023.