Newmark Releases its 2026 Seoul Office Market Outlook, Highlighting Strengthening Fundamentals
Seoul Office Market Enters Structural Reallocation Phase After Record KRW 22.9 Trillion Recovery
NEW YORK and SEOUL, Korea, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) ("Newmark"), a leading commercial real estate advisor and service provider to global corporations, institutional investors, and owners and occupiers, today released its 2026 Seoul Office Market Outlook for Capital Markets and Leasing, highlighting a robust occupier market alongside a rapidly recovering capital markets environment.
Newmark Group, Inc.
Executive Commentary
"Seoul's office market remains fundamentally resilient across both occupier and capital markets," said John Pritchard, Managing Director and Country Head of Newmark Korea. "We are seeing a strategic reallocation of demand, as corporates and investors focus on higher-quality, more efficient assets. Tenant demand is increasingly concentrating in prime and newly developed offices, while aging stock faces growing competitive pressure."
Judy Jang, Executive Director, Head of Research– Korea, added, "Following the record KRW 22.9 trillion transaction year in 2025, capital is returning to the market as confidence in pricing and income stability improves. Looking ahead, asset-level differentiation will be the defining factor for performance, with market polarization becoming a foundational feature of the Seoul office landscape."
Occupier Market: Structural Reallocation, Not Demand Exit
Corporate relocations across Seoul in 2025 reflect a fundamental shift in workplace strategy rather than cost-driven exits. Major occupiers are consolidating, upgrading and repositioning their office footprints to support hybrid work, collaboration and talent attraction.
Tenant decision-making is increasingly driven by building quality, ESG performance, accessibility and workplace experience. As a result, demand continues to concentrate in prime and newly delivered offices, while aging and non-renovated stock faces growing competitive pressure. This mirrors trends observed across global gateway cities such as London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.
Capital Markets: Recovery Turns Fundamental
Seoul's office investment market staged a strong recovery in 2025, supported by stabilizing interest rates, improving financing conditions and the return of institutional capital. Core and prime assets in Central Business District (CBD), Gangnam Business District (GBD) and Yeouido Business District (YBD) demonstrated strong downside protection, supported by stable leasing fundamentals and long-term investor conviction.
Beyond the traditional core, investor interest is expanding into function-driven office clusters such as Seongsu–Seoul Forest, Magok, Pangyo–Bundang and Sangam DMC, reflecting a broader reallocation of office demand.
Supply & Development Cycle
Rising construction costs and permitting delays have pushed Seoul's next major supply wave into 2028–2029, extending the current period of limited new completions.
Near-term deliveries in 2026, including G1 Seoul, Rene Square and Eul Tower, will test short-term absorption, but pre-leasing momentum suggests that demand for prime assets remains intact. The delayed development pipeline is expected to support rental stability in prime assets while creating a medium-term inflection point for the market cycle.
Submarket Outlook
CBD: Short-term vacancy volatility driven by large corporate relocations, with asset repositioning accelerating and the major supply cycle delayed to 2028–2029.
GBD: Low vacancy due to a limited development pipeline, supported by strong headquarters-driven leasing and owner-occupier demand.
YBD: Resilient financial sector demand, portfolio restructuring and redevelopment-driven tenant reshuffling, with future supply largely owner-occupied.
Why Seoul Matters to Global Capital
- Asia's fourth-largest economy
- Global hub for technology, finance, content, biotech and advanced manufacturing
- One of Asia's most liquid office investment markets
- Deep domestic institutional capital base
- Growing cross-border investor participation
About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries ("Newmark"), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Newmark's comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform's global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2025, Newmark generated revenues of over $3.1 billion. As of September 30, 2025, Newmark and its business partners together operated from approximately 170 offices with over 8,500 professionals across four continents. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.
Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about Newmark
Statements in this document regarding Newmark that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity, and outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, Newmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Newmark's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.