Last month, the nationwide first-priority subscription competition rate for private apartments turned upward for the first time in two months. Demand concentrated in Seoul complexes subject to the price ceiling on presale units, while most non-capital region complexes were undersubscribed, leading only to a slight increase.
On the 29th, Real House, a presale evaluation firm, analyzed Cheongyak-home data and found that the nationwide average first-priority subscription competition rate in March was 6.99 to 1 (based on a 12-month moving average). That was up 0.73 percentage points from 6.26 to 1 in the previous month. After dropping from 6.31 to 1 in January to 6.26 to 1 in February, the trend turned upward again in March.
The nationwide average competition rate peaked at 14.80 to 1 in May last year and then turned downward, coming in at ▲ 9.08 in July ▲ 9.12 in August ▲ 7.78 in September ▲ 7.40 in October ▲ 6.78 in November ▲ 6.91 in December ▲ 6.31 in January this year ▲ 6.26 in February, before rebounding to 6.99 in March.
By region, Seoul's average competition rate was 147.85 to 1, up 2.67 points from 145.18 to 1 in the previous month. In March, core and preferred locations in Seoul such as HAUTERRE Banpo, ACRO de Seocho, Ichon LE | EL, and The Sharp Singil Central City were offered for sale.
In particular, subscription demand concentrated in Seocho-area complexes subject to the price ceiling on presale units. ACRO de Seocho drew 32,973 applications for 30 homes, posting a competition rate of 1,099.10 to 1, while HAUTERRE Banpo received 30,540 applications for 43 homes, recording 710.23 to 1. Ichon LE | EL also attracted 10,528 applications for 78 homes, marking a competition rate of 134.97 to 1.
Gyeonggi Province's competition rate was 3.13 to 1, down slightly from 3.21 to 1 in the previous month. Among March offerings, Gapyeong's "Sun Valley Aude County Gapyeong Seorak" received 10 applications for 1,034 homes, coming in at 0.01 to 1, and Siheung's "Siheung Geomo B1 Hoban Summit" received 91 applications for 270 homes, recording 0.34 to 1.
In Incheon, the competition rate was 3.14 to 1, up from 2.67 to 1 in the previous month, but actual subscription results varied widely by complex. "Geomdan Lake Park Station Paragon" received 6,377 applications for 204 homes, recording 31.26 to 1, but most of the remaining complexes failed to fill their supply. "Yeonsu World Meridian Urban Foret" drew 38 applications for 125 homes (0.30 to 1), and "Ocean Foret Bene Nest House" received 26 applications for 249 homes (0.10 to 1).
Outside the capital region, undersubscription was pronounced. Of the 14 non-capital region offerings in March, 11 complexes recorded fewer applications than the number of homes supplied.
Kim Seon-a, head of presale analysis at Real House, said, "The rebound in March subscription competition rates should be seen not as a broad market recovery, but as demand concentrating in a few core complexes whose competitiveness has been confirmed," and added, "With the burden of presale prices growing, buyers are weighing location, price, and liquidity before deciding whether to subscribe, so performance gaps by complex could widen further."