"Please Cancel My Housing Subscription Account"...260,000 Fewer Subscribers in Five Months

Due to the sharp rise in pre-sale prices, expectations for homeownership through apartment lottery subscriptions have diminished, resulting in a decrease of over 260,000 subscribers to housing subscription accounts in the past five months.

According to Cheongyak Home, operated by Korea Real Estate Board, as of the end of March, the number of subscribers to housing subscription accounts (comprehensive housing subscription savings, housing subscription savings, housing subscription installment savings, and housing subscription deposits) stood at 26,051,929. This represents a decrease of 35,575 from a month earlier (26,087,504 at the end of February). Compared to March of last year, when the number stood at over 26.43 million, a total of 380,156 people closed their housing subscription accounts over the past year.

The view of apartments in the Gangnam 3 districts as seen from Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, last March. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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Among those who closed their subscription accounts, 6 out of 10 (61.4%) were residents of the Seoul metropolitan area. The number of subscribers in Seoul was 6,359,013, down by 66,400 from five months prior. In Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the number stood at 8,727,128, a decrease of 93,902 during the same period.

This decline was particularly notable in the metropolitan area. As of the end of March, subscribers in Seoul numbered 6,359,013, down by 66,400 from October of last year (6,425,413). In Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the number dropped from 8,727,128 to 8,633,226 over the same period, a decrease of 93,902. People leaving the metropolitan area accounted for 61.4% of all account closures.

Experts attribute this trend to the impact of recent increases in home prices and construction costs, which have pushed pre-sale prices beyond levels affordable for ordinary households. For example, at the end of last month, the pre-sale price for an 84-square-meter unit at Raemian Ellavine (Banghwa District 6 Reconstruction) in Banghwa-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul was around 1.8 billion won.

The pre-sale price for an 84-square-meter unit at Jangwi Prugio Mark One (Jangwi District 10 Redevelopment) in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, scheduled for sale this month, is also expected to exceed 1.6 billion won. Previously, on March 30, the most affordable 100-square-meter unit at Ichon Le El was priced at 2,592 million won, meaning that, given the home mortgage loan limit of 200 million won, buyers would need to have 2.3 billion won in cash.

On the same day, sales began for Autier Banpo, where the cheapest 44-square-meter unit was priced at 1,384.1 million won, but the 84-square-meter units started from 2,515 million won. In this case as well, buyers would need cash of around 2.3 billion won, making it virtually impossible for those without a home to proceed with the purchase even if they win the subscription unless they have several billion won in available funds.

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