January 0.28 to 1 → August 36.62 to 1
As housing prices soar, the competition rate for first-priority apartment subscriptions in the Seoul metropolitan area in August has increased by 130 times compared to the beginning of the year. This is interpreted as a surge in demand from people trying to secure their own homes before prices rise further.
View of apartments in Seobu Ichon-dong from the 63 Building observatory. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Real Today, a real estate research firm, analyzed the competition rate for first-priority apartment subscriptions in the Seoul metropolitan area based on data from the Korea Real Estate Board's Subscription Home and announced on the 4th that the competition rate, which was 0.28 to 1 in January, reached 36.62 to 1 last month.
In January, 1,649 households were offered for general supply in the metropolitan area, with 459 first-priority subscription accounts applied. In February, 3,348 accounts were submitted for 1,582 households, resulting in an average competition rate of 2.12 to 1 for first priority.
Subsequently, the competition rates for first priority were 6.74 to 1 in March, 8.49 to 1 in April, 6.78 to 1 in May, 21.95 to 1 in June, and 9.31 to 1 in July, showing an upward trend.
In particular, last month, 110,131 first-priority subscription accounts were submitted for 3,007 households, setting a new high this year with an average competition rate of 36.62 to 1.
A Real Today official explained, "In terms of subscription competition rate, it has increased 130 times compared to the beginning of the year, and the number of first-priority subscription account applications has increased 240 times."
As raw material costs and labor expenses continue to rise, driving housing prices endlessly higher, it is analyzed that prospective buyers are actively using their long-saved subscription accounts to secure homes before prices become even more expensive.
According to data from the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) on 'Private Apartment Sale Price Trends,' as of the end of July, the sale price of private apartments in the metropolitan area was 22.51 million KRW per 3.3㎡, up 10.88% from 20.30 million KRW a year earlier.
Real Today expects that due to improvements in the subscription system, competition rates and scoring will increase further from next year, and demand is expected to remain focused on the housing market for the time being.
A Real Today official said, "Recently, the government announced plans to improve the subscription system by combining the account holding periods of married couples and increasing the subscription opportunities to one per person for couples, so demand from those trying to secure homes within this year is expected to increase further."
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