investment growth
KRW invested (H1 2025)
vacancy rate
construction cost increase
INTENSITY
Increasing complexity for high-rise delivery in Seoul
The tall-tower market in Seoul is entering a new phase of complexity and acceleration, driven by intensifying urban densification, redevelopment incentives, and climate-resilient design requirements.
There are rising expectations for premium residential on the Han river due to removal of height restrictions and demand for Grade-A commercial space.
With high-rise developments central to Seoul’s urban strategy, from Yeouido and Jamsil to Yongsan and Gangnam, it is critical to properly understand construction costs, delivery risks, and supply-chain constraints.
In South Korea, buildings over 50 floors or 200 metres are defined as supertall and are subject to significantly stricter regulations, compared to buildings below that height.
Delivery risks are escalating construction price inflation. Increased structural engineering requirements, façade complexity, and stricter life-cycle regulations (fire, seismic, sustainability) are adding inflationary pressure and driving significant cost volatility.
Clients will be most likely to succeed if they build faster, mitigate risk earlier, and control complexity with more precision across design and delivery – establishing more commercial certainty earlier in the process.
TRENDS SHAPING THE HIGH-RISE MARKET
SEOUL
Projects shaping the skyline
STABILISATION
Cost escalation persistent but stabilising
High-rise construction costs in Seoul are expected to increase between 4.5–6.5 percent through 2026, down from the 8–10 percent seen during 2022–2024. This is driven as much by regulations and ‘product’ development as it is by market conditions, particularly structural strategies for tall buildings, façade designs and fire-life safety requirements.
Analysis of recent tall-tower projects in Korea also shows a height-related cost premium of 8–15 percent when moving from a 180–200m tower to a 250–300m tower. This cost gap continues to widen due to more complex structural systems (outriggers, mega-columns, dampers) higher-performance façades, premium vertical transportation systems, podium and basement complexity and tighter site logistics and access.
8-15%
Height premium for towers >250m in Seoul
ESCALATION
Rising shell and core construction costs
The cost of shell and core construction for towers in Seoul has risen sharply in recent years – increasing by 30 percent between 2020 and 2025. General material price inflation across the economy has been a factor, but the rise has also been driven by a desire for high-quality specifications, regulatory changes and the shift toward sustainable, low-carbon construction. In particular, facades have become a key cost driver over recent years, as designs have become more complex and demanding.
BENCHMARK
Seoul’s 2025 key cost ranges by sector
*Costs exclude finishes, demolition, external works and utilities.
MOMENTUM
Future outlook
Despite the cost and complexity of ever taller and better-quality towers, the Seoul high-rise market has strong momentum driven by housing regeneration needs, corporate flight to quality, global investor interest in Korean real estate, reduction in height restrictions for residential developments on the Han River, and in redevelopment zones in Yongsan, Yeouido, Jamsil, and Gangnam.
More large scale premium mixed-use tall towers
Seoul’s next wave of projects will blend residential, hotel, office, retail, and cultural space. The high land prices across the city are increasingly incentivising mixed-use development to make projects financially viable. Upcoming projects include the Yongsan redevelopment, a 100-storey landmark, and the Seongsu S683 project, containing two 79-floor a mixed-use towers.
Opportunities in residential redevelopments
The residential market remains buoyant, with thirteen sites pursuing high-rise apartment blocks of more than 50 floors. Apgujeong Districts 2-5 are all also undergoing reconstruction up to 70 floors. In Yeouido, Pilot (65 floors), Cotton (60 floors), Jinju (58 floors), and Hanyang (56 floors) are also planning reconstruction. In Jamsil, Jugong Complex 5 is being extended to 70 floors, while Rose 1, 2, and 3 are also considering building up to 69 floors.
Sustainability shaping cost and design
The shift to net-zero carbon and a focus on life-cycle performance is due to drive more embodied carbon efficient and energy efficient designs, such as the use of triple-glazed or ventilated façades, high-efficiency chillers and heat pumps, low-carbon concrete, and on-site renewable power generation.
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