With the completion scheduled for next month, an apartment in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, faced a surge in unsold units, prompting the developer to mobilize credit card companies to send group text messages to promote the sale. They offered a one-year Costco membership to those who visited the model home for consultation. They are promoting with phrases such as "the last unregulated area among the four districts of Gangnam," "maximum beneficiary of the Jamsil land transaction permission area release," and "opportunity for Seoul Han River city view apartment sales."
This late-sale apartment, with the highest sale price nearing 2 billion won, is set to be completed in mid-next month and is scheduled for occupancy in April. It is close to Cheonho Station on Seoul Subway Line 5 and offers partial views of the Han River, but its prices are higher than nearby large apartment complexes.
According to the real estate industry on the 28th, "Granz River Park," being developed in Seongnae-dong, Gangdong-gu (site area 6,411.5㎡), sent promotional text messages to Samsung Card customers on the 27th. The complex will consist of a total of 407 apartments spanning from the basement 7th to the 42nd floor, of which 327 units will be available for general sale. They held two rounds of unranked applications and voluntary supply last month and on the 24th-25th, but currently, 21 units remain unsold.
Looking at the sale price, the lower floors, from the 7th to the 9th, of the 84㎡ unit type are priced at 1.725 billion won, while the royal floors, from the 15th to the 29th, are priced at 1.949 billion won. The developer is DH Property One, and the construction company is DL E&C. DH Property One is the developer of the luxury residential complex "Wonna Cheongdam," which is being built on the former site of SM Entertainment in Cheongdam-dong. This location introduced the "Sky Garage" feature, allowing cars to be parked in the living room, and where BIGBANG's G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-Yong) purchased the 13th floor.
Samsung Card, responsible for the promotional efforts, stated in the text message that "first-come, first-served contracts are being processed for households that do not qualify for interim payments," adding that it's an "opportunity to buy a city view apartment in Seoul with sizes of 59㎡/84㎡ for a 20 million won first payment." They also included details such as "no mandatory residence, connection to subway Lines 2 and 5 at super station access, the last unregulated area among the four districts of Gangnam, no restrictions on subscription savings accounts, and maximum beneficiary of the Jamsil land transaction permission area release." They emphasized the rooftop garden that provides a panoramic view of the Han River. Additionally, they announced an event where early visitors to the model home could receive a one-year Costco membership and Starbucks Americano gift card on a first-come, first-served basis.
The reason this complex has sent group messages to credit card customers for promotion is due to the unsold inventory. Of the 327 units, 21 remain unsold, resulting in an unsold rate of 6.4%. An official noted, "The completion is scheduled for mid-March, with occupancy expected in April; however, the sales performance has not been good, leading to much concern."
This complex continued the upscale strategy previously employed by the developer in Cheongdam-dong in Seongnae-dong as well. Promoting itself as Gangdong-gu's first high-end apartment, it features luxury amenities such as a rooftop garden. Additionally, by opting for late sales, they set prices higher than those for pre-sales. Late sales refer to selling after construction has exceeded 60% completion, which allows them to set higher prices than pre-sales due to exclusion from the housing city guarantee corporation (HUG).
As a result, during the sale, the prices were 300 million to 400 million won higher than the surrounding apartment prices (1.4 billion to 1.5 billion won), and the sale prices remain higher than nearby complexes. On the 15th, an 84.97㎡ unit in the nearby "Raemian Gangdong Palace," comprising 999 units across three buildings, changed hands for 1.405 billion won—a price 544 million won lower than the royal floor sale price of Granz River Park.
Meanwhile, Gangdong-gu has the highest number of unsold units after completion among Seoul's 25 autonomous districts. Of the total 633 unsold units after completion (as of the end of December 2024), 279 units are located here.