As home prices rattle higher, interest in public sales is growing. With private supply of dwellings in the greater Seoul area, including Seoul, shrinking and sales prices rising, demand for subscriptions is increasing for public sales where homes can be purchased at reasonable prices.
According to Subscription Plus of Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) on the 21st, 11,849 people applied for 14 units in the general supply subscription for the recent "Gwacheon Juam C1 block." The competition rate soared to a whopping 846 to 1. In the area (Gwacheon), 2,033 people applied for subscription, and 9,816 applications came from other areas.
The Gwacheon Juam C1 block is a public housing complex being built in Juam-dong, Gwacheon, with two underground floors and up to 28 above-ground floors in 14 buildings, totaling 1,338 units. It consists of 120 public sale dwellings, 812 Newlywed Hope Town units, and 406 Happy Housing units.
For the exclusive 84㎡ type eligible for public sale, the price is 1.02249 billion to 1.08815 billion won (based on the standard type), but it appears demand for subscriptions was strong because the price level was lower than nearby apartments.
The Namyangju Jinjeop 2 A-3 block, formed as a Newlywed Hope Town that recently conducted the main subscription, recorded a competition rate of about 10 to 1 as 1,621 people applied for 163 units of the exclusive 55㎡ type. For the Gimpo Gochon 2 A1 block as well, 999 people crowded in to apply for 71 units released as general supply. The competition rate was 14 to 1.
A shift in sentiment has also been detected recently at public sale apartment complexes in the third new towns that conducted advance subscriptions. Until mid last year, many third new town advance subscribers clearly tended to give up the main subscription. As project delays were repeated, pushing back move-in times, and as sales prices were raised due to higher construction costs, a large share of advance subscribers chose not to participate in the main subscription.
However, recently the likelihood that advance-draw winners will file for the main subscription has been increasing. Looking at the advance subscription status for public sales at the Guri Galmae Station Area A-4 block, 149 people applied for 189 units. The main subscription filing rate among advance subscribers reached 79%. Last year, the main subscription filing rate among advance winners at the nearby Guri Galmae Station Area A-1 block was 71%.
At the Namyangju Jinjeop 2 B-1 block as well, the main subscription filing rate among advance-draw winners exceeded 70%. Last year, at the nearby Namyangju Jinjeop 2 A-1 block where subscriptions were conducted, the main subscription filing rate among advance winners was only 56%.
The reason subscription demand for public sales is growing like this is that, as the rise in home prices centered on Seoul spreads to surrounding areas and private supply volumes decrease, securing "my own home" is becoming increasingly difficult. Although public sales are also expected to see sales prices rise as construction costs increase, demand appears to have grown for public sale dwellings supplied at reasonable market levels because home prices are expected to climb even more.
Lee Eun-hyung, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, said, "As prices rise in a structural situation where supply cannot keep up with demand, the subscription competition rate is going up in areas adjacent to Seoul," adding, "Because the government is setting a policy direction to supply cheaply to low-income people without homes, winning a public housing subscription can, in effect, generate guaranteed revenue." Lee added, "In the case of advance-draw winners, even if the sales price rises at the main subscription, if they do not participate because it seems expensive, there is no alternative as home prices are going up."
In particular, the fact that the government is moving up the timetable for supplying public sale dwellings, including in the third new towns, also had an impact. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH have recently prepared policies such as incentives for compensation and relocation to advance groundbreaking for the third new towns, making it clear that project periods in some districts are being shortened. For the Goyang Changneung S-1 block, the project period was moved up by two months, from Feb. 2029 to Dec. 2028.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and LH expect subscription demand for public housing to continue, as they plan to supply public housing this year at key sites such as Hwaseong Dongtan and Namyangju Wangsuk. This month, general supply is scheduled for the Incheon Yeongjong Sky City A24 block. In Mar., the Namyangju Wangsuk 2 A1 and A3 blocks, in May the Seongnam Nakseong A1 block, and in Jun. the Goyang Changneung S2, S3, and S4 blocks are expected to open for subscription.