Office rents rise in Q3 due to increased demand in the Seoul metropolitan area...The market is down.

The nation's office market showed low vacancy rates and rising rents in the third quarter on the back of increased office demand in the Seoul metropolitan area, but commercial rents fell due to weak consumer sentiment.

According to the results of the third quarter commercial real estate rental trend survey released by the Korea Real Estate Agency, the national office rental price index rose 0.74% compared to the previous quarter.

In particular, Seoul saw a greater increase in rent than other regions at 1.12%, as the demand for entry increased due to the preference for central business districts.

In the third quarter, the average vacancy rate for offices nationwide was 8.6%, while Seoul and Gyeonggi were below average at 5.3% and 4.7%, respectively, but Chungbuk, Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, Incheon, and Jeonnam all had vacancy rates exceeding 20%.

Unlike offices, the rental price index of shopping malls fell 0.07% from last quarter, and the index was all down regardless of the type of small and medium-sized shopping malls and small gatherings.

The vacancy rate was 12.7% for medium and large shopping malls, 10.1% for collective shopping malls, and 6.5% for small shopping malls, respectively.

The real estate agency explained that the overall business district has been depressed due to weak consumer sentiment and a drop in sales at brick-and-mortar stores.

However, the so-called "pop-up store" holy sites such as Yeonmun-gil in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, have seen a sharp rise in rent, resulting in a phenomenon of "poor, poor and poor."