"In Pungmu-dong, Gimpo, apartment buyers are sensitive to the listing price. Complexes where the exclusive 84㎡ price, including balcony expansion fees, exceeds 800 million won have a lot of unsold units, and some listings are even coming out with negative premiums on the pre-sale rights," said A, a representative at a certified real estate agency in Pungmu-dong, Gimpo, Gyeonggi.
At around 10 a.m. on the 22nd, after about a 13-minute walk from Exit 2 of Pungmu Station on the Gimpo Gold Line in Pungmu-dong, Gimpo, the site for the Pungmu Station Lotte Castle Signature apartment was ringed by long fences preparing for construction.
According to the real estate industry in the Pungmu area of Gimpo, this complex, slated for move-in after completion in Jul. 2028, has not fully cleared its unsold units since a large shortfall in subscriptions in April. First-priority subscriptions fell short with a competition rate of 0.76 to 1.
A said, "Pungmu Station Lotte Castle Signature and Harrington Place Pungmu both failed to sell out in subscriptions and, as I understand it, have not been able to clear unsold units," adding, "Neither complex is subject to the presale price cap system, so many perceive the list prices as high compared to apartment market prices around Pungmu-dong."
A added, "The Pungmu-dong, Gimpo real estate market was excluded from the regulated areas in the real estate measures released on the 15th (the 10·15 measures), but transactions are barely picking up," noting, "Inquiries asking for listing prices have increased a bit compared with before, but they are not leading to a transaction or to higher prices."
In the Gimpo area, unsold dwellings surged from the hundreds to the thousands starting in August. According to the unsold dwellings status disclosed by Gimpo City, as of the end of September this year, Gimpo had 1,873 unsold dwellings. After edging down from 571 at the end of June to 492 at the end of July, the figure jumped 335% to 2,141 at the end of August. At the end of last month, the number of unsold dwellings fell about 12% from the previous month, but it still has not dropped back below four digits.
With a large number of apartments pre-sold in Pungmu-dong remaining unsold, it appears to have driven up Gimpo's overall unsold volume. As of the end of September, by company, 1,635 units (about 87%) of the total 1,873 unsold dwellings were in complexes pre-sold in Pungmu-dong. These include 197 units at Pungmu Station Lotte Castle Signature, 664 units at Pungmu Station Harrington Place Complex 1, 555 units at Pungmu Station Harrington Place Complex 2, and 219 units at Pungmu Station Harrington Place Complex 3.
Starting this month, around Pungmu Station, supply on the scale of more than 6,500 households is expected through an urban development project. The Pungmu Station area urban development project will create housing for more than 6,500 households, a 5,478㎡ plaza, and 35,309㎡ of parks and green space on an 874,343㎡ site around Sau-dong.
Because it directly abuts the station area and the presale price cap system applies, apartment buyers in the Pungmu area are focusing on subscriptions for the Pungmu Station area complexes.
A person in their 40s surnamed Lee, who identified as a Pungmu-dong resident, said, "Although the list prices for the Pungmu Station area complexes have not yet been set, if the exclusive 84㎡ price is set in the 600 million to 700 million won range, I plan to apply for a subscription."
Meanwhile, the commercial district near Pungmu Station in Gimpo has yet to take hold. On this day, paper notices seeking tenants were posted on the first and second floors of shops near Exit 2 of Pungmu Station. Even first-floor corner shops of 9.5–10㎡ near Pungmu Station, offered with a 10 million won deposit, 1.6 million won monthly rent, no key money or even "rent-free" periods waiving rent for a set time, have not found tenants.
Yoon Su-min, a real estate specialist at NH Nonghyup Bank, said, "Around Pungmu Station in Gimpo, apartment supply did come along one after another 8–10 years ago, but there was not enough steady residential supply to form a proper commercial district," while adding, "If supply proceeds under this urban development project, as users increase, vacancies in shops around Pungmu Station can decrease and the commercial district can pick up."