"When purchase inquiries come in, owners are either pulling their listings or raising asking prices by 10 million to 20 million won each," said an official at real estate agency A near "Suwon Hi Castle The First" in Suwon's Gwonseon district, describing the recent mood Monday.
"Just last week there were almost no inquiries and it was quiet, but yesterday and today we've received one or two purchase inquiry calls a day," the official said. "Other agencies may have received three or four inquiries a day." The official added, "When a purchase inquiry came in and I contacted the sellers, one withdrew the listing and most of the others raised their prices."
With Dongtan district in Hwaseong, Giheung district in Yongin, and Guri all designated as regulated areas in Gyeonggi Province, property markets in adjacent unregulated areas are stirring. For the "Suwon Hi Castle The First 2nd Complex," an 84㎡ unit listed at 780 million won rose 70 million won to 850 million won on May 30, the day the regulations took effect. "When Dongtan was surging, prices here also rose slightly in step, and now that Dongtan has been designated a regulated area, demand appears to be shifting here," the agency A official said.
The situation is similar around Byeongjeom district in Hwaseong. "Two to three months ago, when talk emerged that Dongtan could be designated a regulated area, buying interest began flowing into Byeongjeom," said an official at real estate agency B near "Byeongjeom Station I'Park Castle." "There have been many inquiries over the past two days, a lot of listings have been snapped up, and the prices of remaining listings have risen sharply." The official added, "There is a buyer who wants to purchase an 84㎡ unit listed at 850 million won, but the owner won't provide an account number. It's hard to get the account number, so transactions aren't easy."
According to weekly apartment price trends for the fifth week of June released by the Korea Real Estate Board, as of May 29, apartment sales prices in Suwon's Gwonseon district rose 0.25% from the previous week. Hwaseong's Byeongjeom district gained 0.16%, Anyang's Manan district 0.25%, Gunpo 0.25%, and Namyangju 0.16%. This survey reflected market conditions up to the day before the announcement adding Dongtan district, Giheung district, and Guri as regulated areas.
In Dongtan, which was designated a regulated area, the pace of gains slowed for a second consecutive week. Dongtan's apartment sales prices rose 1.46% from the previous week. Dongtan's sales price growth rate had soared to 2.22% in the third week of June before easing to 1.65% in the fourth week and 1.46% in the fifth week. Yongin's Giheung district and Guri, which were designated regulated areas alongside Dongtan, continued to rise. Giheung district rose 0.39%, a bigger gain than the previous week's 0.21%, while Guri rose 0.30%, a smaller increase than the previous week's 0.33%.
"Dongtan's gains narrowed amid the burden of a short-term price surge, but demand is showing a trend of shifting to Giheung district, where relatively inexpensive new buildings are concentrated," said Nam Hyeok-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank. "Buying interest is also flowing into Suwon's Yeongtong district, which is a regulated area but has favorable price accessibility, and as chain-relocation moves proceed, price strength is also being maintained in popular southern Gyeonggi areas such as Seongnam's Bundang, Jungwon and Sujeong districts." Suwon's Yeongtong district and Seongnam's Sujeong district rose 0.41% and 0.43% this week, respectively.
Seoul apartment prices also maintained their upward trend. Seoul sales prices rose 0.27% from the previous week, a smaller gain than the previous week's 0.30% but continuing the upward trend. Jeonse prices also stayed strong, with Seoul rising 0.30%. Seoul's cumulative jeonse price gain this year stands at 5.10%, approaching the sales price gain of 5.11%. With jeonse prices continuing to rise, their cumulative gain this year is nearing the sales price gain, raising the likelihood of an overtaking soon. In Gyeonggi, Seongnam's Jungwon district recorded the highest gain at 0.55%, followed by Hwaseong's Dongtan district at 0.42% and Gwangmyeong at 0.41%.
