The Subscription Market Also Intensifies 'Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff'... Woonjeong and Godeok 'Fierce' vs Dongtan 'Fading'

Apartment complex in Seoul area (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] As the fever of apartment subscriptions that swept the market last year gradually cools down, polarization is intensifying even within the metropolitan area. In particular, there is a growing atmosphere where the advantage of subscription?being able to purchase at prices lower than market value?is disappearing in some regions due to the sharp decline in apartment prices.

According to Korea Real Estate Agency's Subscription Home on the 17th, in the first-priority subscription held on the 15th for Dietre Rivi?re in Godeok International New City, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, 4,449 applicants competed for 132 units, recording a competition rate of 33.7 to 1. The 84㎡ (exclusive area) Type A, with 13 units available, saw 975 applicants, showing the highest competition rate of 75 to 1.

The first-priority subscription for Daekwang Rojeviang Moa Elga in Godeok International New City, Pyeongtaek, also attracted a crowd of about 5,000 people on the same day. A total of 4,725 applicants applied for 798 units in the first-priority subscription. Especially, the popular 84㎡ Type A attracted 4,227 subscription accounts.

The high subscription competition rate is also seen in Unjeong New City, Paju, Gyeonggi Province. On the 25th of last month, Paju Unjeong Gyeongnam Honorsville The One held its first-priority subscription, with 4,386 applicants competing for 260 units, resulting in a competition rate of 16.8 to 1. On the same day, Paju Unjeong Gyeongnam Honorsville River's first-priority subscription saw 1,936 applicants for 171 units, a competition rate of 11.3 to 1.

Despite the overall sluggish subscription market, the relative popularity of these complexes is interpreted as an effect of the lifting of regulatory area designations. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on September 21 that five metropolitan cities, including Paju, Pyeongtaek, and Yangju, would be removed from the adjusted target areas. Although the competition rates are not as high as last year when housing prices surged sharply, experts analyze that if these areas had not been removed from the adjusted target areas, the competition rates would have been even lower.

On the other hand, in various parts of the metropolitan area, there are still subscription shortfalls depending on location and area, leading to interpretations that the "sorting of good and bad" is becoming more pronounced. In fact, on the 15th, the first-priority subscription for three Dongtan Parkrix complexes (A51-1BL, A51-2BL, A52) in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, saw subscription shortfalls in the highly demanded 84㎡ units. For 84㎡ Type B in A51-1BL, only 67 applicants applied for 129 units, about half the number needed. Similarly, 84㎡ Type B in A51-2BL had 77 applicants for 143 units, also resulting in a shortfall. The 84㎡ Type B in A52 had 111 applicants for 199 units.

This is interpreted as a result of the rapid decline in the Dongtan area's sales market, causing a reversal phenomenon where the sale price exceeds the pre-sale price. In fact, for Parkrix, the maximum pre-sale price for the 84㎡ unit is 529.6 million KRW, which is over 80 million KRW higher than the pre-sale price of 448.4 million KRW for Hoban Summit Dongtan 84㎡ in Dongtan 2 New City A62 block supplied at the end of last year. Adding the balcony extension cost of 5.42 million KRW brings the total to over 535 million KRW. This is not much different from the actual transaction price of 538 million KRW for the nearby Hoban Verdiem Central Fore 84㎡. Considering that the asking price for the 84㎡ unit at Hoban Verdiem Central Fore has dropped to at least 530 million KRW currently, purchasing through sales is actually more advantageous.

Park Ji-min, head of the Monthly Subscription Research Institute, explained, "Due to concerns about further declines in Dongtan apartment sale prices, there is a flood of urgent sale properties priced below market value. The pre-sale prices of these subscription complexes are higher than the surrounding market prices, and since their locations are in the outskirts within Dongtan, from the demand side, it is more advantageous to purchase urgent sale properties in nearby complexes rather than subscribing."

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