Yongsan Boom Hits Real Estate Auctions Amid News of Railroad Maintenance Depot Development

Neighborhood house in Cheongpa-dong 1-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (Photo by Gigi Auction)

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The auction of a three-story small building in Cheongpa-dong 1-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, attracted about 40 bidders, becoming a hot topic.

According to Gigi Auction on the 13th, 42 people participated in the first auction bid held at the Seoul Western District Court the previous day for a neighborhood house in Cheongpa-dong 1-ga, Yongsan-gu. This house, located in a Type 3 general residential area, is a small three-story building with a land area of 95.9㎡ and a building area of 273.4㎡. The winning bid was 1.46 billion KRW, which was 62% higher than the appraised value of 914,319,500 KRW. It was understood that the building is used as commercial stores on the lower floors and as a residence on the upper floors.

The reason why so many bidders gathered for this building is analyzed by the auction industry as the "Yongsan effect." After the government and Seoul City announced plans to build 8,000 housing units, equivalent to a mini new town, on the Yongsan Station railroad maintenance yard site, many investors flocked to take advantage of the halo effect on the nearby real estate market.

Apartments in the Yongsan area are also active in auctions. The previous day, a 124㎡ (exclusive area) unit in Yongsan I-Pyeonhansesang in Singye-dong, Yongsan-gu, was sold at 1.6755 billion KRW, 15.5 million KRW higher than the appraised value of 1.66 billion KRW. On the same day, a 128㎡ unit in World Meridian, Ichon-dong, also found a new owner at 1.31311 billion KRW, higher than the minimum price of 1.312 billion KRW. Oh Myung-won, a researcher at Gigi Auction, said, "It seems to reflect expectations for the resumption of Yongsan development," adding, "Since this is not originally an area with many court auction properties, it is expected that investors and demanders will focus their interest here in the future."

Meanwhile, the Yongsan Station railroad maintenance yard site was scheduled to be developed into the Yongsan International Business District with a project cost of 31 trillion KRW in connection with Seoul City's 'Hangang Renaissance' project in 2006, but the project was stalled due to the global financial crisis. In 2018, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon mentioned the 'Yeouido-Yongsan Development Master Plan,' but the announcement was indefinitely postponed due to concerns about overheating in the real estate market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.