Lotto Subscription in Gwacheon, 'Perfect Score for 4-Person Family' Also at Risk

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] As three apartment complexes in Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town in Gyeonggi Province concluded their simultaneous sales with a 'high-score winner's feast,' score inflation for popular regional apartment complexes was confirmed. Experts express concerns that in an era with 27 million subscription savings account holders, the disappointment of those who fail to win amid the overheated subscription market could shake the existing market. They also evaluate that the benefits for winners, which have deteriorated into a 'life-changing lottery if you just win' due to expected price gains worth hundreds of millions of won, need to be revised.

According to the Korea Real Estate Agency's Subscription Home on the 12th, the lowest winning score (cutoff) for the Gwacheon Prugio Ortus (S1 Block, 192 units for general sale) announced that day was 65 points for the local area (residents of Gwacheon for over 2 years) in the 74㎡ A, B, and C (exclusive area) types. Although the highest score was 74 points, lower than the two previously announced complexes, many winners with 74 points appeared in the 74㎡ A Other Gyeonggi (residents of Gyeonggi for over 2 years) and Other Areas (residents of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi for less than 2 years), as well as in the 84㎡ A and B Other Gyeonggi and Other Areas. Even the 84㎡ A Other Gyeonggi and Other Areas had a cutoff of 74 points. Due to this fierce competition among high-score applicants, the average winning score for the entire complex reached 70.14.

Applicants from the local area were relatively fewer, so the cutoff was formed at a minimum of 65 points, but in Other Gyeonggi and Other Areas, the cutoff was 69 points. A score of 69 requires a 'perfect score subscription account for a family of four' with three dependents, full points for the period of non-homeownership, and subscription savings account duration. Some housing types saw applicants with a perfect score for a family of four still fail to win. This complex consists entirely of units under 85㎡, and winners were selected 100% by score.

Gwacheon Prugio Ortus attracted 102,693 applicants in the first priority subscription on the 3rd, recording an average competition rate of 534.9 to 1. The simultaneously sold Gwacheon Prugio Eoullim Lavieno (S4 Block, 458 units) also had 190,409 applicants, with an average competition rate of 415.7 to 1, and Gwacheon Lescento Desiang (S5 Block, 394 units) had 185,288 applicants, recording 470.3 to 1.

In Gwacheon Prugio Eoullim Lavieno, which announced winners on the 10th, there was even a perfect score (84 points) subscription account. An 84-point score requires six or more dependents (35 points), over 15 years of non-homeownership (32 points), and over 15 years of subscription savings account duration (17 points). The highest score in Gwacheon Lescento Desiang, announced the day before, was also close to perfect at 80 points (84㎡ A Other Areas). The cutoff was also as high as 65 points (99㎡ B local area).

A total of 478,390 applicants submitted first priority subscriptions for the three complexes simultaneously sold in Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town. These complexes were subject to the price ceiling system, with average prices set at 23.73 to 24.03 million won per 3.3㎡. Based on an 84㎡ unit, the expected price gain compared to surrounding market prices could reach up to 1 billion won, attracting many prospective applicants.

Experts predict that amid rising apartment prices in Seoul, the metropolitan area, and local regions, the overheated subscription phenomenon will continue for price-ceiling apartments guaranteeing price gains worth hundreds of millions of won. They pointed out that if many applicants who faced the high winning score barrier turn to purchasing existing homes, it could further fuel house price increases.

Since the beginning of this year until the 5th of this month, the average competition rate for first priority apartment subscriptions in Seoul reached 71.0 to 1, more than double last year's rate of 31.6 to 1. An industry insider said, "Since the full implementation of the price ceiling system, the intensified subscription fever, the 'lottery gains' that only benefit some subscribers, and the relative deprivation of those who fail, which eventually leads them to turn to the existing housing market, must be improved."

Therefore, voices calling for the reintroduction of a 'bond bidding system' to recover part of the price gains are growing to resolve this overheated subscription phenomenon. An industry insider argued, "The current price ceiling system only benefits a few winning subscribers sharing the profits companies gain, with no other effects. At least a mechanism to recover unearned income should be established."

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