‘Nabryang Cheongyak Market’... Entire Complex Faces Unsold Units

Seongnam Jungwon-gu 'Ian Moran Central Park' Records Zero Contracts Despite Second-Round Recruitment
Seodaemun-gu 'DMC Raemian' Returns to Prices from 2 Years Ago... Only Urgent Sales Transactions

A view of an apartment in downtown Seoul / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Tae-min Ryu, Seo-yul Hwang] As the enthusiasm in the metropolitan area subscription market rapidly cools down, unsold units are emerging one after another. There have even been cases where entire complexes failed to secure contracts, and the non-priority subscription market, known as ‘Jupjup,’ is also being shunned by buyers. With the housing market entering a downward trend and combined with loan regulations and interest rate hikes, financing has become burdensome, leading to intensified selective subscription or ‘sorting the wheat from the chaff.’

Second-priority Winners Also Give Up Contracts... Entire Complex Unsold

According to the Korea Real Estate Agency’s subscription homepage on the 2nd, the apartment complex ‘Ian Moran Central Park’ being developed in Hadaewon-dong, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, conducted its initial subscription for a total of 74 households last May, but all units failed to secure contracts. During the first-priority subscription, some housing types failed to close, barely filling the number of applicants in the second-priority recruitment. However, all subscription winners later gave up their contracts, resulting in the entire complex remaining unsold.

The complex held a non-priority subscription for all 74 units on the 27th of last month, but only 27 applicants applied, causing undersubscription in 13 out of 15 housing types. It is interpreted that the high sale price compared to surrounding market prices led to buyers’ rejection. The sale price for a 60㎡ (exclusive area) unit in this complex reaches up to 887.62 million KRW.

Non-priority subscription refers to accepting new subscription applications for remaining units that occur due to non-contracts or disqualifications after the resident recruitment. Anyone aged 19 or older residing in the relevant area can apply without restrictions such as holding a subscription savings account or being a non-homeowner.

Unsold units are also emerging in various parts of the metropolitan area. In Songdo, Incheon, where unsold units have surged again since last year, ‘The First City Songdo’ launched sales for 144 units in June, but 129 units remained undersubscribed. Subsequently, a non-priority subscription was held on the 1st, but only 15 people applied.

Sales Market Also Slows... Foot Traffic Stops Even at ‘Prices from Two Years Ago’

Not only sales but also the sales market is slowing down, with cases where actual transaction prices have reverted to those from two years ago. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real transaction price disclosure system on this day, ‘DMC Raemian e-Pyeonhansesang (exclusive area 84.95㎡)’ in Bukgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, was transacted at 1.2 billion KRW in June. This is the same price as the actual transaction price in December 2020, two years ago.

In Nowon-gu, ‘Sanggye Jugong Complex 9 (79.07㎡)’ was traded at 839 million KRW last month, which is similar to the recent transaction price of 840 million KRW in December 2020. This complex was traded at 940 million KRW as recently as October last year. The head of a real estate agency in Seodaemun-gu, identified as A, said, “There are almost no purchase inquiries, and only occasional calls looking for urgent sales. In a situation where transactions are almost nonexistent, only one or two urgent sales are being made.”

Asking prices are also adjusting. ‘Raemian Namgajwa 2nd Complex’ (84.806㎡) in Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, was traded at 1.15 billion KRW in May, the same as the actual transaction price in December 2020. The lowest asking price on Naver Real Estate for this complex has dropped to 1.13 billion KRW. A representative from real estate agency B in Seodaemun-gu said, “You can think of the asking price as having dropped by about 100 million KRW. Sometimes sellers who set high asking prices lower them when told that they need to reduce the price to sell, and in such cases, they comply.”

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