A growing number of major apartment complexes in the Seoul metropolitan area that recorded high subscription competition ratios are seeing large volumes of unsigned units, leading to unranked subscription sales. Analysts attribute the trend to high sale prices and loan regulations that make financing difficult, prompting winners to forfeit contracts despite penalties including the loss of their housing subscription account eligibility.
According to Real Estate R114, only seven of the top 10 private-sector complexes by competition ratio in the first quarter of this year completed all contracts on the first round.
The complex with the most unsigned units was The Sharp Bundang Centro in Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam. When subscriptions opened in January, the project recorded a competition ratio of 51.3 to 1 — the second-highest in the first quarter after The Sharp Priella in Mullae-dong, Seoul (89 to 1). Yet about 50 of the 84 units offered in the general sale — roughly 60% — were forfeited and put up for unranked subscription.
Anyang Station Central I'Park Sujain, offered for sale in Manan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, also saw 28 of 185 units forfeited. While 2,207 applicants competed in the initial subscription round, only 609 applied in the unranked round. At Ssangyong The Platinum Onsu Station in Sosa-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, three units went to unranked sales, and the number of applicants plunged from 1,317 in the original round to 168 in the unranked round — nearly a tenfold drop.
Market observers say the wave of contract forfeitures stems from high sale prices and loan restrictions. The sale price for a 84-square-meter unit at The Sharp Bundang Centro was 2.17 billion won ($1.6 million), roughly 600 million won above prevailing market prices in the area, sparking controversy over excessive pricing. Moreover, loans for homes priced between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion won are capped at 400 million won, meaning buyers needed 1.77 billion won in personal funds. Analysts say many applicants submitted subscriptions on a "apply first, think later" basis before fully understanding the complex loan regulations introduced after the October 15 measures last year.
As a result, during the unranked subscription round, demand surged for units priced below 1.5 billion won that are relatively affordable and qualify for more favorable loan terms. A 60-square-meter unit priced at 1.49 billion won — narrowly escaping the loan cap — attracted 271 applicants for a single unit, while the 84-square-meter units priced roughly 700 million won higher drew only 124 applicants for 26 units, yielding a competition ratio of just 4.77 to 1.
Winners who fail to sign a contract lose the validity of their housing subscription account and face a subscription ban of up to 10 years. They must cancel their account and re-register, losing all accumulated payment credits and tenure-based points. Applicants are therefore advised to exercise caution before submitting subscriptions.
"It seems many applicants rushed in assuming loans would be available as before, planning to worry about financing after winning," an industry official said. "But when they found that funding was actually not feasible, they gave up their contracts. No matter how strong the preference for new apartments — the so-called 'eoljuksin' mentality of choosing new builds no matter what — the belated realization that sale prices were simply too high drove a mass exodus."
