Residential Office-tel Prices Soar... Popular as an Alternative to Small Apartments

- Rising Demand for Residential Officetels Amid Surge in 1-2 Person Households Changing Housing Trends
- Bupyeong Officetel Transactions Increase by 38.3% Year-on-Year Due to Large-Scale Development Boom

Recently, with the explosive increase in the number of small households, attention has been focused on residential officetels, which are evaluated as alternatives to small apartments. As apartment prices rise due to government real estate regulations and it becomes increasingly difficult to win apartment subscriptions, demanders who want to own a home have turned their attention to residential officetels as a substitute for apartments.

Unlike apartments, which have strict subscription qualifications and point calculations, residential officetels can be applied for anywhere in the country without a subscription savings account as long as the applicant is over 19 years old, making the burden relatively lighter. In addition, recently, specialized designs and systems identical to those of apartments have been introduced, leading to evaluations that residential comfort has been further improved.

The increased attention to small households is due to a clear change in the number of households compared to the past. As the culture shifted from living in large extended families to 1-2 person households, the number of people preferring practical small-sized living spaces rather than large-sized residences has increased.

Among them, the transaction volume of officetels in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, has also increased significantly, drawing attention. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the transaction volume of officetels in Bupyeong-gu was about 609 cases in the first quarter of last year, but rose 38.3% year-on-year to 842 cases in the first quarter of this year.

As the transaction volume of officetels in Bupyeong-gu surged, the officetel "Bupyeong Station Harrington Place," which is being built in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, is also attracting attention ahead of its sale. This officetel will be built with a total of 504 units, with exclusive areas ranging from 49 to 59㎡.

"Bupyeong Station Harrington Place" is located in the station area of Dongsu Station on Subway Line 1 and also accessible to Bupyeong Station, providing excellent transportation conditions. Moreover, once the GTX-B Line, scheduled to start construction at the end of 2022, is completed, it will enjoy a triple station area. In addition, the Gyeongin Expressway and the Outer Ring Road are located nearby, and with major development projects such as the 3rd Yeonryuk Bridge (construction started in 2020 / scheduled to open in 2025), Wolpan Line (construction started in the first half of 2021 / scheduled to open in 2025), and the 2nd Gyeongin Line (scheduled to start construction in 2024 / scheduled to open in 2030), the transportation environment is expected to improve further.

In particular, when the GTX-B Line opens in 2027, the travel time from Bupyeong Station to Seoul Station, which currently takes 50 minutes, will be drastically reduced to around 15 minutes, and the time from Bupyeong to Cheongnyangni, which currently takes 1 hour and 10 minutes, will be shortened to about 19 minutes upon opening.

"Bupyeong Station Harrington Place" is equipped with living infrastructure and a pleasant environment. Nearby this officetel are Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart, and the Catholic University Incheon St. Mary's Hospital. Also close are the Bupyeong US military base park project, with a project cost of 490 billion KRW, and the Gulpo Stream ecological river project, with a budget of around 50 billion KRW. Additionally, the Bupyeong underground shopping mall, Bupyeong Culture Street, and Bupyeong Theme Street commercial areas are adjacent, providing excellent living infrastructure.

The area where this officetel is located, Bupyeong, also has abundant demand from the surrounding population. It secures demand from about 14,000 workers in the Bupyeong National Industrial Complex, about 10,000 workers at the Korea GM Bupyeong Plant, as well as employees at Bupyeong Water Purification Plant, Bupyeong Fire Station, and Korea Electric Power Corporation, ensuring stable profitability.

A real estate industry official said, "The concept of residential officetels as practical living products replacing apartments has strengthened, attracting demanders who feel burdened by subscriptions or prices. In the case of Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, with many development prospects and improved accessibility to Seoul, its future value is expected to increase."