Seoul Unsold Apartments Near 1,000 Units... 34% Are 'Malignant Unsold Units'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] As of the end of last year, the number of unsold housing units in the Seoul area was found to be close to 1,000 units. Compared to 54 unsold units a year earlier, this represents an increase of more than 18 times. The number of unsold units after completion also rapidly accumulated, accounting for 34% of the total unsold units.

According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza on the 19th, the number of unsold units in Seoul was 994 as of the end of December last year, an 18.4-fold increase compared to 54 units in the same month of the previous year. The upward trend, which began with 133 unsold units in March last year, accumulated 719 units in June, then showed stability in July (592 units) and August (610 units), but increased again by more than 100 units in September (719 units) and October (866 units). After seeming to decrease to 865 units in November, the number surged again in December, reaching nearly 1,000 units.

The number of unsold housing units in the Seoul area has been found to approach 1,000 units. The photo shows a reconstruction site of an apartment in Seoul city.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, in December last year, the so-called "malignant" unsold units after completion surged by 131 units, reaching 340 units. Malignant unsold units, which were only 45 units in January last year, accounted for 24% of total unsold units at 209 units by November, but increased by 10 percentage points in December alone, reaching 34%.

Most of the unsold units were small-sized housing units of 60㎡ or less exclusive area. As of the end of December last year, unsold housing units of 60㎡ or less exclusive area totaled 715 units, accounting for 71.9% of the total. This is an increase of 4.2 percentage points compared to the 67.7% share of units 60㎡ or less in the previous month. Considering small urban-style residential units or officetels not included in the statistics, the number of small unsold housing units is estimated to be even higher.

Meanwhile, the surge in unsold units in the Seoul area appears to have affected sale prices. According to the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG)'s "Private Apartment Sale Price Trend" survey, as of the end of December last year, the average sale price per 3.3㎡ of private apartments in Seoul was 29,779,200 KRW, down 0.18% from the previous month. Compared to the same month of the previous year, it fell by 9.60% (3,164,700 KRW).