No Public Sale Site Started Construction
Pre-Subscription Applicants Increasingly Give Up Moving In
Although the government announced an expansion of 30,000 public housing units in the 3rd New Towns as part of its housing supply measures, doubts have been raised about the feasibility of this plan. This is because not a single site among the previously announced public housing units in the 3rd New Towns has yet begun construction.
Moreover, with the move-in schedules for the existing 3rd New Towns delayed by 1 to 2 years beyond the original plan, cases of pre-sale winners canceling their contracts continue, reflecting a decline in public trust toward government policies.
Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, announced the "Housing Supply Activation Plan," which includes the additional supply of 30,000 public housing units in the 3rd phase new towns, at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 26th of last month. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@
According to data titled ‘Status of Non-Construction Compared to Project Approval from 2018 to July 2023’ submitted by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to Jang Cheol-min, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party, out of 116,479 approved housing units, 50,799 units (43.6%) remain unconstructed.
The unconstructed units include all public sale units (14,361 units) in the 3rd New Towns such as Goyang Changneung, Namyangju Wangsuk (9 sites), Namyangju Wangsuk2 (3 sites), Bucheon Daejang (3 sites), Incheon Gyeyang (3 sites), and Hanam Gyosan. Only two districts in Incheon Gyeyang, A2 (747 units) and A3 (359 units), are scheduled to begin construction this month.
In this situation, when the government announced an additional supply of 30,000 public housing units in the 3rd New Towns as part of the September 26 housing supply measures, some raised questions about the feasibility of the plan.
Assemblyman Jang Cheol-min pointed out, “The government has announced an expansion of public housing supply, but it is unable to properly handle even the existing units,” calling it “an empty declaration and a weak plan.” He added, “The damage caused by delays in public sales falls directly on ordinary citizens planning to move in,” emphasizing that “actual demand forecasts must be accurate and the feasibility of projects carefully considered when establishing project plans.”
In fact, as the move-in schedules for the 3rd New Towns have been delayed, about 9% of the pre-sale winners have given up on moving in. According to LH, out of 15,024 winners of the 3rd New Town pre-sale held between 2021 and 2022, 1,320 people (8.7%) canceled their winning status. This was due to delays in land compensation, which pushed back the construction schedule itself, contrary to the government’s plan.
Initially, the government announced that move-ins for the 3rd New Towns would begin between 2025 and 2026. Accordingly, pre-sale winners planned their financing and signed lease agreements for their current residences until move-in. However, as move-in was delayed, they were forced to give up their pre-sale rights and look for new places to live.
Currently, it is expected that the move-in schedule will be delayed by about 1 to 2 years depending on the project site, but even this is uncertain. Additional delays are anticipated due to rising construction costs, increasing unsold units, and the LH rebar omission scandal.
A, who gave up on the pre-sale in Namyangju Wangsuk, said, “The move-in schedule set for 2025 has been disrupted, and seeing the LH rebar omission scandal has destroyed my trust in public sales,” criticizing, “The government is too irresponsible.”
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