'Unsold Unit Fear' Causes 71% of Pre-sale Volumes to be Postponed by Top 10 Construction Companies

As the risk of unsold units increases, major construction companies are postponing their sales schedules one after another. It was found that the sales performance of the top 10 construction companies from the beginning of this year until April decreased by more than 70% compared to the plan at the end of last year. The sales schedules, which were concentrated at the beginning of the year, have been postponed one after another due to the combined effects of rising construction costs, interest rate hikes, and unsold unit risks.

According to Real Estate R114 on the 15th, among 342 private apartment complexes planned for sale nationwide this year, totaling 278,958 households, 125 complexes with 146,382 households were accounted for by the top 10 construction companies in terms of construction capability evaluation. This means that the top 10 companies are responsible for more than half of the total supply this year. However, as the sales schedules planned at the beginning of the year were postponed one after another depending on market sentiment and the timing of regulatory easing, the sales performance until April this year was only 15,949 households, a 71% decrease compared to the 54,687 households planned at the end of last year.

In particular, there was a noticeable trend of reducing sales in regions with high unsold unit risks. As of the 10th, looking at the sales performance of private apartments by the top 10 construction companies from January to April this year by region, the metropolitan area recorded 10,302 households, and the provinces 5,647 households. Compared to the planned quantities surveyed in December last year, the metropolitan area saw a 61% decrease (26,747 households → 10,302 households), and the provinces an 80% decrease (27,940 households → 5,647 households).

Although housing supply has contracted due to the spread of unsold unit risks, the number of unsold units nationwide slightly decreased in March as housing demand increased following the easing of real estate regulations. The number of unsold units decreased from 75,438 households in February to 72,104 households in March. However, since subscription demand is concentrated only in some promising areas and complexes, the polarization phenomenon is intensifying, and it is analyzed that it will take time to reduce the unsold units.

Yeokyunghee, Senior Researcher at Real Estate R114, predicted, “Selective subscription, considering not only the sale price but also brand and scale, is prominent, and as the supply of apartments by major construction companies decreases, the number of demanders who prefer to wait rather than actively participate in subscriptions may increase, so it is unlikely that the overall subscription market sentiment will improve easily.”

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