[Issue] "Number of Auction Properties Surges"... Gwangju Court Auctions Reach 11-Month High

147 Cases Recorded, Up 28 from Previous Month

Successful Bid Rate Drops by 2.5 Percentage Points to 81.4%

4,039 Unsold Units; 19,917 Scheduled for Occupancy

Industry: "Ongoing Move-ins Likely to Prolong Wait-and-See Attitude"

"Recently, the number of properties has noticeably increased. Apartments in the 30-pyeong range are coming up more frequently, and inquiries have also become more common."

This is how an official from the auction industry in Gwangju described the current atmosphere. While the sales market remains stagnant, the number of properties on the court auction market is rising.

On the morning of the 26th, citizens are filling out related documents at the Enforcement Officer's Office of the Gwangju District Court. Photo by Bohyun Song

According to the "January 2026 Auction Market Report" released on the 27th by GGI Auction, a company specializing in auction and public auction data, the number of apartment auctions conducted in Gwangju last month was 147. This is an increase of 28 cases from the previous month (119 cases) and marks the largest number in 11 months since February last year (153 cases).

Price indicators have declined. Last month, the successful bid rate for Gwangju apartments stood at 81.4%, down 2.5 percentage points from the previous month's 83.9%.

There was competition at individual complexes. For example, at Sarangro Booyoung, Building 313, 14th floor in Sinchang-dong, Gwangsan-gu, the final bid was 277 million won, which is 98.9% of the appraised value of 280 million won, with 23 bidders participating. At Hillstate Baegun, Building 102, 12th floor in Baegun-dong, Nam-gu, the property was auctioned at an appraised value of 420 million won and sold for 400 million won. The successful bid rate was 94.2%, with 18 bidders participating.

The number of auctions also increased in Jeonnam. Last month, the number of apartment auctions in Jeonnam was 176, up 12 from the previous month (164), marking the highest level in the past year.

The successful bid rate for Jeonnam apartments was 83.5%, up 1.6 percentage points from the previous month's 81.9%.

Supply indicators were also compiled. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Real Estate R114, as of January, the number of unsold homes in Gwangju was 1,371 units, while Jeonnam had 2,668 units. Combined, the two regions accounted for 4,039 unsold units.

Future move-in volumes have also been tallied. In Gwangju, a total of 19,917 units are expected to be occupied-11,490 units this year and 8,427 units next year. In Jeonnam, 10,647 new apartments are scheduled for occupancy-4,381 units this year and 6,266 units next year.

The market sentiment index also declined. According to the "February Gwangju-Jeonnam Consumer Sentiment Survey" released by the Bank of Korea's Gwangju-Jeonnam branch, the housing price outlook index was 90, down 25 points from the previous month. This is lower than the national average (108) and marks the largest drop since the survey began in January 2013. With the index below 100, more respondents expected home prices to fall rather than rise in the future.

An industry official stated, "While there has been a slight increase in transactions recently, the stream of scheduled move-ins continues," adding, "The wait-and-see attitude among buyers is likely to persist for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.