Incheon's unsold dwellings situation appears to be worsening. In October, the number of unsold dwellings increased by nearly 20% from the previous month, marking the highest number of unsold dwellings in five months. In some districts, the number of unsold dwellings doubled in just one month.
On the 23rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Incheon city government said that as of the end of October, the total number of unsold dwellings in Incheon stood at 1,910. That was up 18.8% (303 units) from the previous month, September (1,607 units), the highest in five months since 2,162 units in May. Incheon's unsold dwellings had stayed below 2,000 since May and hovered around the 1,600 level in August and September, but surged in October.
By district, Seo District and Michuhol District had the most unsold dwellings in Incheon. In October, Seo District had 1,009 unsold dwellings, accounting for 52.8% of Incheon's total unsold stock. Kim In-man, head of the Kim In-man Real Estate Research Institute, said, "In Seo District, Geomdan New Town is being developed as a second-phase new town, and because of this, supply has increased sharply in a short period, leading to some unsold inventory."
Geomdan New Town is being developed in areas including Dangha-dong, Majeon-dong, and Bullo-dong in Seo District by the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) and the Incheon Housing & City Development Corporation (iH). It targets a planned population of 180,000 and about 75,000 dwellings on an area of about 11.18 square kilometers (3.38 million pyeong), with move-ins beginning in 2021.
Michuhol District is also seeing unsold dwellings pile up. In October, Michuhol District recorded 707 unsold dwellings. That was an increase of 341 (94.4%) from the previous month, September (366), effectively doubling in one month. The surge in unsold dwellings in Michuhol District was due to unsold units at recently launched complexes, such as "Doosan We've The Central Doha," sold in Doha-dong.
This apartment complex, which Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. is building on lots around 53-28 Doha-dong with a maximum of 39 floors, 7 buildings, and 660 dwellings, began sales in late August. A Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. official said, "It is difficult to disclose detailed figures related to sales. However, contracts are proceeding normally, and we are clearing inventory in stages, taking market conditions into account."
A Michuhol District sales industry official said, "Buyers tend to prefer large-scale complexes, so small complexes with fewer than 1,000 dwellings often see unsold units, and a similar pattern appeared at this complex." Noh Hee-soon, a research fellow at the Korea Housing Institute, said, "Incheon has repeatedly seen large-scale dwelling supply when signals emerge of insufficient housing supply in Seoul as an alternative area, and unsold dwellings are piling up as supply surges again before existing unsold stock is cleared."
Meanwhile, according to the Korea Housing Institute, Incheon's move-in outlook index for December was 59.0, down more than 10 points from the previous month (72.0). The move-in outlook index gauges whether people who bought apartments can pay the remaining balance and move in as scheduled; a reading of 100 or lower indicates that negative views on the move-in market prevail.