In Seoul, listings for new apartment subscription rights are increasingly showing 'mafi' (minus premium). The real estate industry reports that transactions involving Seoul apartments are gradually cooling, especially for newly constructed complexes where the perception of high subscription prices has spread.
According to the real estate industry on the 6th, Hanwha Engineering & Construction is offering a subscription right for an 80 square meter unit on the 9th floor of the 'Hanwha Foreena Mia' apartment being built in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu, for 1,032.51 million won. This listing includes paid options such as five system air conditioners and balcony extensions, but it has a mafis of about 60 million won attached.
Other listings for different unit sizes at Hanwha Foreena Mia are offered at their original subscription prices with 'mupi' (no premium) up to about 50 million won of mafis conditions.
According to opinions gathered from real estate agents in Mia-dong, the relatively high subscription price of Hanwha Foreena Mia compared to nearby newly subscribed apartments has played a major role in the attached mafis.
An official from a local real estate agency in Mia-dong noted, 'Last year's subscription price for the 'North Seoul Xi Polaris,' which completed construction in August and concluded move-ins, was about 970 million won.' They added, 'Hanwha Foreena Mia, located one subway station away from North Seoul Xi Polaris on the Ui-Sinseol Line, has a similar unit size priced at over 1.08 billion won, making its subscription price relatively expensive by about 100 million won.'
Another official from a nearby real estate agency stated, 'Hanwha Foreena Mia is a mixed-use complex, so it has a lower exclusive use rate compared to general apartments.' They explained, 'Even though it's a new project in a station area, the high subscription price and the mixed-use nature are reasons why listings with mafis are emerging.'
They added, 'Even if you want to buy a rare new project in Seoul, existing homes are not selling, and loan regulations have tightfisted money flow.' They noted that 'prospective buyers in urgent need of securing funds are hastily putting mafis on subscription rights.'
'Sangdo Prugio Clavenue' in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu, also saw listings with mafis ranging from no premium to 70 million won flooding the local real estate market. A subscription right for a 84 square meter unit in this complex was listed for 1.317 billion won, which includes about 70 million won of mafis conditions added to the original subscription price.
As this complex is being offered under a post-payment method, prospective buyers lacking financial capacity ahead of the balance payment this half of the year are in a hurry to dispose of their properties, even if it results in losses, thus attaching mafis to their listings.
Park Ji-min, head of the Woryong Subscription Research Institute, analyzed, 'Both complexes with mafis attached are nearing completion, and the perception of relatively high subscription prices compared to their locations is causing a temporary influx of listings for sale, hence the emergence of listings with mafis.' They noted, 'As fears grow that apartment prices will struggle to rise above subscription prices, listings with mafis are coming out competitively, but once the move-ins are completed, there's a high likelihood that they will return to their original prices.'