Apartments in Seoul have increased in price for 24 consecutive weeks, but the rate of increase has decreased for the third week in a row.

According to the weekly apartment price trend data for the first week of September released by the Korea Real Estate Board on Thursday, prices of apartments in the capital rose by zero-point-21 percent compared to a week earlier.

However, gains have slowed from last week's zero-point-26 percent increase, showing a cooling trend for the third straight week.

The prices of apartments in Seoul began increasing in the fourth week of March and recorded the highest rate of increase in five years and eleven months in the second week of August, when they rose by zero-point-32 percent.

The Korea Real Estate Board explained that while increased prices are evident in high-demand areas like Seoul, the number of transactions has waned due to buyers taking a wait-and-see attitude on lending policies.