{"id":133397,"date":"2026-08-27T01:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T01:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/133397\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T01:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T01:06:11","slug":"capital-apartment-prices-drop-north-korea-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/133397\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital apartment prices drop | North Korea News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pyongyang<\/a>Apartment buildings in Pyongyang. (Todd Mecklem, Creative Commons, Flickr)<\/p>\n

Apartment prices in one of Pyongyang\u2019s newer housing districts have fallen from about $70,000 to roughly $60,000, and sales have slowed sharply, as a cash crunch and a steady stream of new construction cool the North Korean capital\u2019s informal housing market.<\/p>\n

\u201cHomes that used to go for $70,000 now sell for as little as $60,000. Until last year there were still people buying and selling, but this year that\u2019s dropped off a lot,\u201d said the source, a Daily NK contact in Pyongyang familiar with the apartment market in the Songsin-Songhwa district, also known as Songhwa Street.<\/p>\n

Pyongyang continues to add large numbers of new apartments, but the informal housing market is showing a different trend than before. Weaker cash flow in the wider economy, combined with the growing supply of new apartments, is pushing down prices for some newly built homes and cooling transactions, according to the source.<\/p>\n

As of August, the cheapest apartments in Songsin-Songhwa district were selling for about $15,000 and the most expensive for around $60,000, the source said. Some units that once sold for around $70,000 now go for about $60,000.<\/p>\n

Transaction volume has also dropped sharply. \u201cHome sales were decent until last year, but they\u2019ve fallen a lot now,\u201d the source said. \u201cEven people who broker home sales professionally say doing one deal a month counts as a busy month.\u201d<\/p>\n

The source pointed to a lack of liquidity<\/a> as the biggest reason. \u201cBig money only moves, and homes only get bought and sold, when business is doing well, and right now business isn\u2019t what it used to be,\u201d the source said. \u201cNew homes keep coming onto the market, and it seems like people who really need a home and can afford one have mostly already bought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Songsin-Songhwa district has been considered one of Pyongyang\u2019s flagship new residential areas since large scale move ins began there in 2022. But as more new housing, including in Hwasong district, has come onto the market since then, it has become harder for a building to command a high price on the strength of simply being newly built.<\/p>\n

Even new construction shows a wide price gap<\/p>\n

What\u2019s notable is that not all new apartments in Pyongyang are valued the same. Daily NK\u2019s past reporting found that some units in the first phase of Hwasong district were listed for $160,000 in 2022. Even then, residents reportedly favored Hwasong district over Songsin-Songhwa district.<\/p>\n

Hwasong district stands apart because it is a priority development area for North Korean authorities. Demand from senior officials and workers in specialized fields, along with the major facilities built there, are seen as factors that add to its value. It is difficult to directly compare Hwasong district\u2019s past prices with Songsin-Songhwa district\u2019s prices this August, however, since the two were surveyed at different times and the properties differ in size, layout and floor.<\/p>\n

Still, it appears clear that Pyongyang residents weigh a home\u2019s location as heavily as its age when judging its value. Songsin-Songhwa district sits in Sadong district, somewhat removed from central Pyongyang, while Hwasong district is an area authorities are actively promoting as a new center of the city. Preference for a home depends not only on everyday conditions like transportation, markets and schools, but also on proximity to major institutions.<\/p>\n

That gap is even starker in Jung district, Pyongyang\u2019s traditional center. During Daily NK\u2019s 2023 reporting, riverside apartments in Gyongru neighborhood, Jung district, were asking <\/a>$350,000 to $600,000. That price reflected market conditions at the time, but it also showed that Jung district itself carries a substantial premium.<\/p>\n

In the end, Pyongyang\u2019s housing market has developed a pecking order<\/a> based on location that cuts across the line between new and old construction, running from Jung district, the traditional seat of power, to Hwasong district, the newly emerging development axis, down to outlying areas like Songsin-Songhwa district, with prices varying accordingly.<\/p>\n

Living conditions and finishes shape value too<\/p>\n

Actual living conditions in Songsin-Songhwa district are also affecting home values. According to the source, electricity, water and elevators worked relatively normally when residents first moved in, but supply has grown less reliable over time. Electricity is now supplied for about four to six hours a day on average, and elevators mostly run only in the morning and evening. When the power goes out, the elevators stop too.<\/p>\n

Heat is supplied in winter, but indoor temperatures reportedly average only about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, or 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. \u201cWhen people first moved in, things were fine, but now the electricity and elevators often don\u2019t work properly,\u201d the source said. \u201cThey say heat comes, too, but not enough to actually make the rooms warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interior finishes and amenities also vary even among newly built apartments, according to the source. \u201cNot all newly built homes are the same,\u201d the source said. \u201cPeople say that even things like the wardrobes and bedding cabinets that come with the apartments are different if you compare Changjon Street, Mirae Scientists Street, Ryomyong Street, Hwasong district<\/a> and Songsin-Songhwa district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinions among people about new apartments are divided. Some who have been assigned new homes by the state see it as a mark of the party\u2019s grace<\/a>, while some who have not yet received one hold out hope that their turn will eventually come, the source said.<\/p>\n

But for low income workers focused on getting through each day, new apartments worth tens of thousands of dollars are simply out of reach. \u201cWorkers who struggle just to get by don\u2019t think highly of buying and selling homes for money,\u201d the source said. \u201cPeople with money say a home that used to cost $70,000 has dropped to $60,000, but for ordinary workers, $60,000 and $70,000 are all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could people who can barely afford a few kilograms of rice with a month\u2019s wages ever come up with that kind of money for a home?\u201d the source added. \u201cA lot of people think that even if they worked for 100 or a thousand years, they could never afford to buy a home like that with their own money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apartment buildings in Pyongyang. (Todd Mecklem, Creative Commons, Flickr) Apartment prices in one of Pyongyang\u2019s newer housing districts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2448,455,119,26928,451,129,10722],"class_list":["post-133397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pyongyang","tag-construction","tag-donju","tag-economy","tag-hwasong","tag-markets","tag-pyongyang","tag-wealthy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}