[Visiting the 3rd New Town] Namyangju Wangsuk "If This Continues, Traffic Hell, Measures Needed"

Concerns Over Traffic Chaos Near Dasan and Other Housing Districts
Additional Urban Rail Confirmed Next Month
Worries About Nearby Property Price Drops
Compensation Issues for Illegal Warehouses Also Expected to Cause Turmoil

Warehouse in Jingan-ri, Jingeon-eup, Namyangju, where Wangsuk New Town will be developed

[Namyangju=Asia Economy Reporter Im On-yu] "Even now, the commute is completely congested from early morning, and if an additional new town with over 60,000 households is built, it will become a traffic hell." (A representative from Namyangju Dasin New Town A Real Estate Office)

The Namyangju Wangsuk District, being developed as a 3rd phase new town, is a representative logistics warehouse cluster area in the eastern metropolitan area. Most of this area is designated as a greenbelt, so there are hardly any houses visible, and large and small warehouses are scattered along the roads. To the west lies Byeollae District, and to the south is Dasan New Town.

Namyangju Wangsuk District is the largest among the five 3rd phase new towns. The district area is 11.34 million square meters, similar to the 2nd phase new town Gwanggyo New Town (11.3 million square meters). The housing construction scale is also 66,000 households, accounting for nearly 40% of the total supply of the 3rd phase new towns.

◆More concerns than expectations... Increasing calls for traffic measures= Ahead of the large-scale new town development, there were more voices of concern than anticipation locally. This is due to dissatisfaction with the continuous development of various new towns and housing sites without any substantial traffic measures.

Byeollae New Town (24,000 households) and Dasan New Town (32,000 households) alone total 56,000 households, and the entrances to Seoul are occupied by Guri Galmae, Inchang, and Topyeong Districts. Regarding the subway network, the Gyeongui-Jungang Line and Gyeongchun Line pass near the district, and the Jinjeop-Byeollae Line, which extends Seoul Subway Lines 4 and 8, will open in 1-2 years. Among the government's traffic measures, the Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX) Line B passed the preliminary feasibility study last August and is scheduled for completion as early as 2027. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to finalize and announce the urban railway section passing through Wangsuk District next month. Experts are considering Lines 9 and 6 as likely candidates.

The problem lies in the road network. Residents point out that the current state is far from sufficient to handle commuting demand. The bottleneck on the Guri-Pocheon Expressway, which connects to Seoul's Gangnam area, is severe, and National Road 47, which connects toward the city center, also experiences extreme congestion. A representative from Dasan New Town B Real Estate said, "If there are no sufficient alternatives to expand the traffic network, the Namyangju area will become a traffic hell every commuting time." In fact, even during weekday daytime, the reporter took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to travel from Seoul city center to Dasan New Town.

Panoramic View of Dasan New Town, Namyangju

◆Increase in jeonse demand but concerns over surrounding housing price decline= Jeonse demand for the preliminary subscription expected by the end of next year is already increasing around Wangsuk District. A representative from Byeollae New Town C Real Estate said, "As supply is taken up, it is difficult to find jeonse properties that match the price and date," adding, "Because of this situation, it is hard to find jeonse even in the new towns and the 20-year-old Booyoung Apartments near Donong Station."

Apartment sale prices in surrounding new towns, which had been rising until last year, have shown mixed trends with fluctuations this year. For example, the Dasan New Town Natural & Lotte Castle 84㎡ (exclusive area) peaked at 770 million KRW in September last year but adjusted to 725 million KRW last month. On the other hand, the actual transaction price of Byeollae New Town I-Park 84㎡ surged from 577 million KRW to 725 million KRW during the same period, showing a price alignment phenomenon between the two new towns.

However, there are also many voices concerned about the decline in existing new town housing prices due to the additional large-scale new town development. A representative from Dasan New Town D Real Estate predicted, "There is no business in front of supply; if a new town is built in Wangsuk District, a housing price adjustment will be inevitable."

◆Anticipated difficulties over compensation= Some expect that compensation issues for land and buildings could become obstacles to the project. This is because a significant number of warehouses in the district are illegal buildings. A taxi driver D in the area said, "Most warehouses were reported as livestock barns," and added, "The market price exceeds 3 million KRW per 3.3㎡, but there are many landowners opposing because compensation is rumored to be less than 2 million KRW per 3.3㎡."

In fact, as uncertainty over warehouse leases increases ahead of new town development, short-term contracts called 'kkalse' are prevalent in warehouses in this area. A representative from Jinjeop-eup Jin-gwan-ri E Real Estate said, "I have been brokering factories and warehouses, but it is difficult to even pay taxes," adding, "Although business is not good, there are quite a few real estate offices that have settled in to receive compensation." Namyangju=Reporter Im On-yu