Samsung C&T will hold an unrestricted subscription sale for Raemian Elavine, a complex it supplied last month in Banghwa New Town, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, as roughly 20% of its general supply units remain uncontracted. With the sale price for 84-square-meter units exceeding 1.8 billion won ($1.3 million) and mortgage limits capped at 400 million won, winning applicants abandoned their contracts after concluding that financing would be difficult.
According to Korea Real Estate Board's Cheongyakhome on the 21st, Raemian Elavine will hold an unrestricted subscription on the 27th for the remaining 56 units out of 272 previously offered in the general sale. By housing type, the remaining units include 47 units of 84㎡ and 9 units of 115㎡.
The complex recorded an average competition ratio of 25 to 1 in its first-round general subscription on the 18th of last month, when 3,426 subscription applications were filed for 137 units. However, competition varied widely across unit sizes. While 59㎡ units posted a competition ratio of 228.8 to 1, 84㎡ units drew only 6.09 to 16.64 to 1, and 115㎡ units just 2.67 to 1.
The diverging fortunes between 59㎡ units and those of 84㎡ or larger came down to pricing. The highest sale price for 59㎡ units was 1.429 billion won, below the 1.5 billion won threshold, while 84㎡ units were priced between 1.712 billion and 1.848 billion won, exceeding 1.5 billion won. For homes priced above 1.5 billion won, mortgage limits are capped at 400 million won, meaning winners of 84㎡ units need more than 1.4 billion won in cash by the time of occupancy. Compared with 'Acro Seocho' and 'Haute Banpo,' which enjoy superior locations to Banghwa New Town and had 84㎡ sale prices of 2.2 billion to 2.4 billion won under the sale price ceiling system, the pricing was viewed as relatively expensive.
Still, the industry widely expects all remaining units to be absorbed through the unrestricted subscription. Unrestricted subscription is open to any non-homeowner household member residing in the Seoul metropolitan area, even without a subscription account. "Newly built apartments in prime Seoul locations are mainly supplied through reconstruction and redevelopment projects, and construction costs are rising as unions pursue premium strategies amid factors such as the Iran war," a sales industry official said. "Unless loan regulations are eased, financing for newly built pre-sale units, which allow more time until occupancy, remains comparatively easier."
