Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) saw a rush of applications from people without homes for the recently closed subscription of the "public and residential environment rental dwellings." Some locations recorded subscription competition ratios of more than 2,000 to 1. Monthly rents are less than half those of nearby apartment complexes, and some units have exclusive areas of 59 square meters or more, which appears to have drawn demand to rent at low prices.
Public and residential environment rental dwellings are dwellings supplied to the general public from the remaining units after being specially supplied to tenants displaced during urban planning projects and residential environment improvement projects. Selection is based on the number of payments and the amount paid into subscription savings accounts, and only people without homes who live in Seoul can apply.
According to the redevelopment industry on the 23rd, SH on the 22nd released results of applications for 33 complexes and 360 households in Seoul, which closed from the 13th to the 16th. Among the public and residential environment rental dwellings whose applications closed, the highest competition was for a 59-square-meter exclusive unit at "Dangsan SH VILLE" in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, with 2,269 people vying for one unit. Completed in 2005, this complex is a transit-oriented site near Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station and Yeongdeungpo Market Station on the Seoul subway.
The move-in terms are a security deposit of 35.22 million won and a monthly rent of 389,100 won. At "Yeongdeungpo Kyungnam Honorsville," the complex across the main road, a 59.9-square-meter exclusive unit renewed its lease on Aug. 30 at a 150 million won deposit and 1.05 million won monthly rent. The Dangsan SH VILLE deposit is about one-quarter of Honorsville's, and the monthly rent is 37%.
The recruitment for seven 84-square-meter exclusive units in the same complex also drew 11,947 applicants, logging a 1,706-to-1 competition ratio. Move-in is possible with a 51 million won deposit and a 652,900 won monthly rent. At the adjacent "Dangsan Dongbu Centreville," a 82.19-square-meter exclusive unit renewed its lease on Apr. 21 at a 200 million won deposit and 1.67 million won monthly rent.
In Gangnam District, "Suseo Complex 1 SHville" in Irwon-dong proved popular. It recruited seven 39-square-meter exclusive units at a monthly rent of 131,300 won, drawing 2,421 applicants for a 345.9-to-1 competition ratio. Gangnam District has the highest monthly rents among Seoul's autonomous districts. According to real estate information platform Dabang, even the average monthly rent for one-room units in row houses and multiplex houses of 33 square meters or less in Gangnam District was 980,000 won as of September.
Also, "Guryeo Complex 3" in Garak-dong, Songpa District (59 square meters exclusive) recorded a 230.8-to-1 competition ratio, and "Sangam World Cup Complex 1" in Sangam-dong, Mapo District (49 square meters exclusive) showed a 176.2-to-1 competition ratio.
An SH official said, "Applicants flocked mainly to floor plans in complexes with relatively large exclusive areas and good locations in terms of transportation." Shim Hyeong-seok, head of the Udabang Real Estate Research Institute (professor at IAU in the United States), said, "Starting next year for about three years, the number of move-ins for Seoul apartments is expected to fall below 10,000 households, so the popularity of low-priced apartments supplied by SH, where there is no worry about losing deposits, is likely to remain high."