Sales of residential officetels are following one after another in the Seoul metropolitan area. As apartment sale prices and jeonse deposits rise, prices of mid-to-large officetels, regarded as an alternative housing product, are also rising steadily. Attention is turning to new officetels with apartment-like layouts.
According to the housing sales industry on the 27th, POSCO E&C plans to sell "The Sharp First World Seoul" officetels in November, rising on the former Sangbong Terminal site in Sangbong-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. The single building will have eight basement levels and 49 floors above ground and consist of 308 units of 84 square meters of exclusive floor area. Together with 999 apartment households sold earlier, it forms a large complex. Sangbong Station and Mangu Station are within walking distance, and transport links are expected to improve when the Greater Train eXpress (GTX)-B line opens.
At Block M5 of Incheon's Cheongna International City, Daewoo E&C is preparing to supply "Cheongna Arc One Prugio." The mixed-use complex has five basement levels and up to 49 floors above ground, with 1,855 households in total, including 987 residential officetel units. Hana Financial Group's Hana Dream Town is right next to the complex. The sale price of a 103-square-meter officetel reaches 1.1 billion won.
BYC has launched sales of "GD Metro Tower" in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. With seven basement levels and up to 40 floors above ground, it will first supply 770 units in Building B out of 1,095 residential officetel units. Guro Digital Complex Station on Seoul subway Line 2 is nearby.
Officetel prices are rising mainly in mid-to-large sizes. According to Korea Real Estate Board statistics, sale prices of Seoul officetels with exclusive area of more than 60 square meters and up to 85 square meters have risen for 17 months, from May last year to September this year, with a cumulative gain of 3.17% over the period. Large officetels of more than 85 square meters have also risen for 18 consecutive months.
In September, the rise in Seoul officetel monthly rents was 0.37%, the highest monthly figure since records began in 2018. One interpretation is that demand shifted to similarly structured mid-to-large officetels as apartment sale prices and jeonse deposits jumped at the same time. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, Seoul home prices have risen for 89 consecutive weeks as of the 19th, setting a new record for the longest rising streak every week.