Connection Failures and 2-Hour Waits... The Ongoing Office-tel Subscription Frenzy

'Shingil AK Prugio' Paralyzed Immediately After Opening
Connection Delays Continue in the Afternoon... Waiting Time 1-2 Hours

The subscription website for the officetel 'Singil AK Prugio,' which began accepting applications on the 3rd, is experiencing access delays.

The frenzy for officetel subscriptions, an alternative to apartments, continues due to the strong apartment prices and loan regulations.

On the 3rd, the subscription website for Daewoo Construction's officetel 'Singil AK Prugio' experienced heavy traffic throughout the morning, causing access issues. Even by 2 PM, there was a wait time of over an hour to connect. Although the sale price reaches about 980 million KRW, it appears that both genuine homebuyers and investors rushed in simultaneously. Industry experts expect competition rates in the tens of thousands to one.

The day before, approximately 124,500 applicants flocked to an officetel located in a prime station area near the Government Gwacheon Complex. According to the Korea Real Estate Agency's subscription site, the 'Hillstate Gwacheon Government Complex Station' officetel in Byeolyang-dong, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, recorded an average competition rate of 1,398 to 1, with 124,427 applicants for 89 units.

This officetel, built on the former Samsung SDS site with one building spanning from 8 basement floors to 29 above-ground floors, is situated in a prime station area right in front of the Government Gwacheon Complex Station. The sale prices ranged from a minimum of 1.542 billion KRW to a maximum of 2.2 billion KRW.

Despite controversies over the high sale prices, the popularity of these officetels stems from the fact that they are not subject to resale restriction regulations. Both complexes supply fewer than 100 units, thus avoiding resale restrictions. Winning a subscription means one can transfer ownership with a premium.

Officetels also have a significantly lower subscription threshold compared to apartments. Since officetels are governed by the Building Act rather than the Housing Act, no subscription savings account is required, and winners are selected entirely by lottery.

Anyone aged 19 or older residing in South Korea at the time of the recruitment announcement can apply, regardless of their residential area. Usually, a subscription deposit worth several million KRW is required, but Singil AK Prugio did not even require this.

Additionally, home ownership status is not considered in the subscription, and since officetels are not classified as housing, they are not subject to acquisition tax surcharges.

This popularity is analyzed to be driven by genuine demand from people in their 20s and 30s with low subscription scores, investors who find apartment investment difficult due to loan regulations, and some speculative demand.

Meanwhile, according to KB Kookmin Bank, the average sale price of officetels in Seoul last month was 209.76 million KRW, nearly 10% higher than in October last year (264.98 million KRW).

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