Apartment prices in one of Pyongyang’s 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’s informal housing market.
“Homes 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’s dropped off a lot,” said the source, a Daily NK contact in Pyongyang familiar with the apartment market in the Songsin-Songhwa district, also known as Songhwa Street.
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.
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.
Transaction volume has also dropped sharply. “Home sales were decent until last year, but they’ve fallen a lot now,” the source said. “Even people who broker home sales professionally say doing one deal a month counts as a busy month.”
The source pointed to a lack of liquidity as the biggest reason. “Big money only moves, and homes only get bought and sold, when business is doing well, and right now business isn’t what it used to be,” the source said. “New homes keep coming onto the market, and it seems like people who really need a home and can afford one have mostly already bought.”
Songsin-Songhwa district has been considered one of Pyongyang’s 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.
Even new construction shows a wide price gap
What’s notable is that not all new apartments in Pyongyang are valued the same. Daily NK’s 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.
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’s past prices with Songsin-Songhwa district’s prices this August, however, since the two were surveyed at different times and the properties differ in size, layout and floor.
Still, it appears clear that Pyongyang residents weigh a home’s 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.
That gap is even starker in Jung district, Pyongyang’s traditional center. During Daily NK’s 2023 reporting, riverside apartments in Gyongru neighborhood, Jung district, were asking $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.
In the end, Pyongyang’s housing market has developed a pecking order 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.
Living conditions and finishes shape value too
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.
Heat is supplied in winter, but indoor temperatures reportedly average only about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, or 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. “When people first moved in, things were fine, but now the electricity and elevators often don’t work properly,” the source said. “They say heat comes, too, but not enough to actually make the rooms warm.”
Interior finishes and amenities also vary even among newly built apartments, according to the source. “Not all newly built homes are the same,” the source said. “People 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 and Songsin-Songhwa district.”
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’s grace, while some who have not yet received one hold out hope that their turn will eventually come, the source said.
But for low income workers focused on getting through each day, new apartments worth tens of thousands of dollars are simply out of reach. “Workers who struggle just to get by don’t think highly of buying and selling homes for money,” the source said. “People 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.”
“How could people who can barely afford a few kilograms of rice with a month’s wages ever come up with that kind of money for a home?” the source added. “A 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.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
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August 27, 2026 at 05:50AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)