[Real Estate AtoZ] Attention on 'Post-Sale' Amid 'Sunssal Apartment' Controversy... Could It Be a Solution to Prevent Defects?

As concerns over apartment safety grow due to the ‘rebar omission’ controversy involving Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), ‘post-sale complexes’ are gaining attention. Since sales begin after more than 60% of the apartment is constructed, buyers can inspect the actual units before deciding whether to purchase, raising expectations that the risk of poor construction can be reduced. However, some argue that relying solely on post-sale to judge apartment defects is insufficient.

In the first half of this year, post-sale complexes were rare enough to count on one hand. According to the sales industry, except for a few, post-sale complexes in the first half were mostly small-scale complexes with fewer than 100 units located in provincial areas. However, a large supply of post-sale complexes is scheduled for the second half of this year. In Seoul, ‘Sangdo Prugio Clavenue (771 units)’ in Dongjak-gu and ‘Raemian One Pentas (641 units)’ in Seocho-gu are preparing for post-sale. In Gyeonggi Province, ‘Vermontro Gwangmyeong (3,344 units)’ in Gwangmyeong and ‘Dongtan Lake Park Nature & e-Pyeonhansesang (1,227 units)’ in Hwaseong are also set for post-sale.

What is the ‘post-sale method’?

Apartment sales are broadly divided into ‘pre-sale’ and ‘post-sale’ depending on the timing. Pre-sale is a method where consumers purchase apartments after only viewing the model home. Construction companies, as housing suppliers, generally prefer pre-sale because it involves less initial financing burden. They can secure construction funds through a kind of interest-free loan by receiving deposits and interim payments from buyers. Additionally, homebuyers benefit from purchasing housing at prices set 2 to 3 years earlier, which is usually cheaper.

On the other hand, post-sale is a method where sales begin after more than 60% of the building’s frame work is completed. Consumers can directly inspect apartments close to their actual state at the construction site before deciding on a contract. Also, since less than a year remains until completion, the possibility of construction companies rushing the work excessively is reduced. This is why demand for post-sale is growing among homebuyers concerned about poor construction.

Limitations in judging defects... urgent need to improve chronic issues

However, experts point out that the post-sale method is not a fundamental solution to prevent poor construction. For safety reasons, it is practically difficult for the general public to access construction sites, and even if they see the actual units, it is very hard to identify defects in major structural parts. Moreover, apartment defects such as windows, furniture, and wallpaper mainly occur during finishing work, which is difficult to assess at the typical post-sale sales stage when construction progress is around 60-80%. Song Seung-hyun, CEO of City and Economy, said, “Considering that the collapse of Gwangju’s Hwajeong I-Park occurred at about 60% progress, it is not easy to assess the strength of structural parts at this stage,” adding, “The actual impact of post-sale on ensuring building quality is likely to be limited.”

There are also calls to prioritize correcting chronic problems such as illegal subcontracting and poor supervision at construction sites. Seo Jin-hyung, co-representative of the Fair Housing Forum and professor at Gyeongin Women’s University, said, “In recent cases of poor construction, it is more urgent to improve structural problems such as illegal subcontracting to unqualified companies lacking construction capabilities for profit maximization and cost reduction, and poor supervision,” adding, “Post-sale is not a fundamental solution to poor construction.”