Analysis of Supply, Demand, and Price Trends for Monthly Rent in Metropolitan Apartments

In the metropolitan apartment market facing the Han River, the pace of supply is slow, while the pace of monthly rent prices is running fast. Executive Summary As of 2026, the metropolitan apartment monthly rent market is not simply in a price adjustment phase, but is passing through a structural turning point where the paradigm of the lease market itself is changing. Looking at the core figures first, the proportion of monthly rent in nationwide housing leases recorded an all-time high of 66.8% as of January 2026. This is a sharp surge of 21.2 percentage points in just four years from 45.6% in 2022. Metropolitan apartment monthly rent prices rose 8.0% in December 2025 compared to the same month of the previous year, and monthly rent transaction volume itself increased by 42.5% year-on-year. On the other hand, jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) transactions decreased by 3.6% over the same p…