Housing Supply Is Sufficient... But Solo and Small Apartments Also Face Subscription Overheating

Apartment buildings in the Songpa-gu area of Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] As the housing supply shortage continues, competition in the subscription market for single-building complexes and small-sized apartments in Seoul is also heating up. In particular, demand is flocking to secure even small apartments, leading small complexes constructed by mid-sized construction companies rather than famous brands to continue closing at the first priority subscription.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's Subscription Home on the 7th, on the 2nd, ‘Sillim Sky Apartment’ in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul recorded an average competition rate of 23 to 1 in the first priority subscription. For the recruitment of one unit with an exclusive area of 56.56㎡, 246 applicants gathered, achieving the highest competition rate.

This complex is a single-building apartment with 12 floors above ground and a total of 43 units. It consists only of small-sized units with exclusive areas ranging from 35 to 56㎡. The sale price ranges from 450 million to 599 million KRW, with the 38㎡ unit priced at 450 million KRW and the 56㎡ unit at 599 million KRW. JW General Construction, a mid-sized construction company, was responsible for construction.

At the end of last month, ‘VT Style’ supplied in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, attracted 1,685 applicants for 47 units in the first priority subscription, recording an average competition rate of 35.8 to 1 and a highest competition rate of 78 to 1. Most of the units in this complex were small-sized, with exclusive areas ranging from 29 to 68㎡. The sale price was reported as 376.11 million KRW for the 29㎡ type and 854.4 million KRW for the 68㎡ type at the highest price.

‘Avenue Cheonggye II’, supplied in Sungin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, offered even smaller units. Among the 63 units for general supply, all but 9 units were small apartments with exclusive areas of 27㎡ or less. Despite their small size, all units were closed at the first priority subscription. In particular, for the 27㎡ units, 778 applications were received from the local area for 9 units, recording a high competition rate of 86.44 to 1.

The overheating competition for single-building and small apartments subscriptions is due to the scarcity of apartments in Seoul compared to demand. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's Subscription Home, the average competition rate for first priority subscriptions for Seoul apartments in the first half of this year was 124.72 to 1. Accordingly, the average cutoff score for winning points also increased, with Seoul’s average winning score cutoff appearing at 63.3 points.

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