Seoul, Oct 3 (IANS) Soaring prices of apartments in Seoul have pushed the total market capitalisation of the city’s apartments up nearly 10 percent since the end of last year, data showed on Friday.

The market value of apartments in the capital city came to around 1,781 trillion won ($1.26 trillion) at the end of September, up 9.3 percent from 1,630 trillion won at the end of 2024, according to a survey by real estate firm Real Estate R114, reports Yonhap news agency.

The growth far outpaced the nationwide apartment market, which increased about 4.3 percent to 4,141 trillion won over the cited period.

The government has introduced measures to curb surging home prices and household debt, including tighter lending regulations announced on June 27 and policies to boost housing supply.

After weeks of slowing, home prices have picked up again since last month, particularly in Seoul’s non-regulated areas.

Outside Seoul, the central administrative city of Sejong saw apartment market capitalisation climb about 5.4 percent to 63.8 trillion won, while Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, posted a modest 1.5 percent rise to around 1,179 trillion won, the data showed.

Meanwhile, South Korean climbed past the 3,500 mark for the first time, as investors welcomed news of business partnerships between OpenAI and top chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The local currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

Trade volume was heavy at 394.92 million shares worth 18.57 trillion won (US$13.25 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 589 to 291 on Thursday.

Foreigners bought a net 3.14 trillion won worth of shares, while retail and institutional investors sold 3.07 trillion won and 69 billion won worth of shares, respectively.

Investor sentiment was buoyed by the news that chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix signed letters of intent Wednesday to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centres.

—IANS

na/