"Starting as early as March, KTX (high-speed rail) will run, and in June, the GTX (metropolitan express railway)-A line will connect to Seoul Station. The Suseo–Gwangju Line and the Suseo Station integrated transfer center are also slated to break ground, and nearby apartment reconstruction projects are gaining momentum, so prices jump by 100 million to 200 million won in the blink of an eye, no exaggeration. A 30-pyeong unit at Samik Apartment right in front of Suseo Station transacted at 2 billion won a year ago, but the asking price of the only listing on the market is 3.6 billion won." (official at a certified real estate agency in Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
Around 1 p.m. on the 9th, the inside of Suseo Station on Seoul Subway Line No. 3 was crowded with people. Suseo Station is traversed not only by Line No. 3, but also by the Suin–Bundang Line, GTX-A and SRT (Suseo high-speed rail), for a total of four rail lines, drawing significant foot traffic. Exiting from Suseo Station Exit No. 1, the roadway was jammed, but the sidewalk was quieter than expected. A few apartment complexes stood out. It felt quite different from Seoul Station and Yongsan Station, which are densely developed and packed with office buildings.
A dramatic transformation is not far off for Suseo Station either. A large-scale transit-oriented development project is underway around Suseo Station, which is set to be reborn as an integrated transfer center up to 26 stories tall, featuring a department store and a hotel. On a 100,000-square-meter site, a Shinsegae department store, a 4-star hotel, and a research and development (R&D) center will be built. With a project cost of 1.6 trillion won, construction is slated to start within the year, with completion targeted for 2023.
Its position as a "transportation hub (center)" in the southeast is also being solidified. Starting in March, KTX will enter Suseo Station, which until now has only had the less-frequent SRT. GTX-A, which has been operated separately as "Unjeong–Seoul Station" and "Suseo–Dongtan," will also be linked. The Suseo–Gwangju Line is expected to break ground within the year. The Suseo–Gwangju Line is a 19.4-kilometer rail line that starts at Suseo Station, passes Moran Station in Seongnam-dong, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and connects to Gyeonggi Gwangju Station in Opo-eup, Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
Record-high transactions continue around Suseo Station. According to the actual transaction price disclosure system of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a 60-square-meter exclusive-use unit at Samik Apartment in Suseo-dong transacted at 2.35 billion won in November last year, marking a record high. That is more than a 700 million won increase compared with a transaction at 1.575 billion won on Jan. 7 last year. Under the reorganization of the district unit plan for the Suseo housing site development district, the land use of Suseo Samik Apartment, designated as a Type 3 residential area (floor area ratio of 250% or less), can be upgraded to quasi-residential (floor area ratio of 400% or less).
As the profitability of reconstruction improves, housing prices are rising quickly. The 84-square-meter exclusive-use units at Samsung Apartment in Suseo-dong, which transacted around 2 billion won early last year, transacted at 2.77 billion won last month, the highest on record. An official at a certified real estate agency in Suseo-dong said, "Home prices have risen sharply, but many people are looking for listings," adding, "It doesn't feel like actual transaction volume is increasing significantly, but record highs keep getting set."
Ilwon-dong, which is grouped with Suseo-dong in Gangnam-gu as part of the Suseo housing site development district, is also benefiting from development. Here, reconstruction and redevelopment projects are overlapping, and asking prices are essentially whatever sellers name. After the May decision to reorganize the district unit plan for the Suseo housing site development district, reconstruction of 16,000 households in the area has been taking clearer shape. The front-runners are Garam Apartment and Sangnoksoo Apartment in Ilwon-dong. Both are five-story apartments with a low floor area ratio of 109%, making them viewed as highly profitable for reconstruction.
Banners congratulating the passage of the reconstruction maintenance plan by the Seoul city review committee were hung throughout Garam Apartment. Major builders including Samsung C&T, Daewoo E&C, GS Engineering and Construction, POSCO E&C, Lotte E&C and DL E&C are mobilizing en masse, signaling a fierce bidding war from the outset. Under the maintenance plan, Garam Apartment will be reborn from the current five stories and 496 households to a maximum of 25 stories and 818 households (including 61 rental units). Sangnoksoo will be transformed from five stories and 740 households to 25 stories and 1,126 households (74 rental units). A 100.94-square-meter exclusive-use unit at Garam Apartment transacted at 3.43 billion won last month. That is an increase of 850 million won from a transaction at 2.58 billion won in February last year.
Olympic Family Town in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, is also cited as a beneficiary complex of Suseo Station. Cross Gwangpyeong Bridge, which connects from this complex to Tancheon, and you are right at Suseo Station. In a straight line, it is about 1 kilometer. Its advantage is that it is a large-scale complex, which is rare near Suseo Station. It has 4,494 households. Olympic Family Town is also pushing for reconstruction. It is planned to be built up to 26 stories with 6,620 households. A 104.39-square-meter exclusive-use unit transacted at 2.83 billion won in November last year, which is 1 billion won higher than at the start of the year.