By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Yeongjong Sky City, a planned residential district west of Seoul, was promoted with big fanfare for months, but disappointing results of preliminary apartment sales is now casting a huge shadow over builders' massive apartment-selling ventures.
Dongbo Housing, Shinmyeong Construction & Engineering, Woomi Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hanyang kicked off their first three rounds of apartment sales last week, collectively offering 7,440 units in total. But contrary to the expected boom, turnout was low.
A less-than-expected number of homebuyers showed an interest in each of the rounds, leaving the average competition rate at just 0.83 to 1, according to Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings.
It said 1,851 people registered in the first round, 94 in the second and 4,323 in the third.
A majority of the construction firms selling units in Yeongjong Sky City were left with not enough homebuyers, but Dongbo Housing was the only builder that stood out to record a 1.61 to 1 competition rate.
The remaining unsold units will be up for sale to homebuyers without a housing subscription savings account starting Nov. 6, according to industry officials, but the question is whether Yeongjong Sky City can manage to attract more people.
Real estate experts say Yeongjong didn't have enough to offer from the start, but the proven low popularity is now going to be another burden to overcome.
``Yeongjong's location relative to Cheongna isn't attractive because it's farther away from Seoul,'' says Kim Moon-tae, a realtor who specializes in properties in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), which includes Yeongjong, Cheongna and Songdo.
Apartments in Cheonga, which is closer to Seoul than the two other districts, were put up for sale earlier this month, drawing heated competition from investors who want a piece of action in the heavily-touted IFEZ.
Kim Eun-kyung of Speed Bank, a real estate consultancy, explained that the toll gate connecting Yeongjong and Seoul served as a big downside factor for homebuyers who work in the capital area.
``Who wants to pay more than 10,000 every day?'' she said, stressing that the same negatives will drag down sales of Yeongjong apartments.
She said homebuyers are most likely going to take a wait-and-see approach until they gain more confidence in the region, which has already been labeled ``unpopular'' in the market.