In the Hot Subscription Fever... First Complete Sell-Out of Private Apartments in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Q3 Private Apartment Initial Sales Rate 100%
First Time Since 2014 Statistics Compilation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] Amid the heated apartment subscription craze, private apartments in the Seoul metropolitan area have sold out completely for the first time. The soaring house prices since last year have heightened anxiety about 'owning a home,' which is believed to have increased subscription competition rates and contract rates.

According to the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG)'s data on initial sales rates of private apartments, the average initial sales rate for the third quarter (July to September) in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon was recorded at 100%. This is the first time since HUG began compiling related statistics in October 2014. The initial sales rate refers to the ratio of contracted households to the total number of units in a project within 3 to 6 months after the sales start date.

The industry also considers the 100% initial sales rate unusual. Even in complexes with high subscription competition rates, many cases involve failure to obtain loans or disqualification from winning the subscription, and many give up because they are dissatisfied with the assigned building or unit number, making it rare for the official contract rate to reach 100%.

Although there was some analysis that the occurrence of unsold units in small-scale 'solo apartments' recently supplied in Seoul might signal a decline in housing prices, it has now been officially confirmed through statistics that all contracts are completed in the early sales stage.

In provincial areas, Daejeon, Ulsan, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam recorded a 100% initial sales rate in the third quarter. However, the nationwide initial sales rate for the third quarter was 97.9%, slightly lower than the highest figure of 98.3% recorded in the second quarter since statistics began.

The nationwide initial sales rate has exceeded 90% for eight consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2019 (October to December). As subscription enthusiasm continues nationwide, in the third quarter, regions other than the five major metropolitan cities and Sejong City surpassed the initial sales rates of the five major metropolitan cities and Sejong. The initial sales rate in other provincial areas has exceeded 90% for four consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of last year, reaching an all-time high in the third quarter.

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