Buying a house on the edge of a cliff, a huge wave called polarization > News

The news that the sale price of private apartments in Seoul has opened an era of 60 million won per pyeong is a symbolic event that goes beyond a simple change in numbers. According to recent statistics from the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), pre-sale prices in Seoul have shown a steep upward curve over the past year, breaking an all-time high. In particular, high-price complexes supplied in specific areas such as Dongjak-gu served as a driving force in raising the overall average. This goes beyond a short-term issue of simply increasing sales prices, and proves that newly built apartments in key areas of Seoul are now becoming the exclusive property of wealthy individuals. The reason why prices are not falling despite the decline in sales volume is because anxiety over lack of supply in the city is leading to a vicious cycle that justifies the increase in sales prices.

The topography of the sales market is also thoroughly segmented depending on financing ability. The rapid increase in the proportion of ultra-high-price transactions worth more than 2 billion won, centered around Gangnam 3-gu and Yongsan-gu, shows that the preference for ‘smart houses’ among wealthy people has never cooled down. On the other hand, in contrast to the boom in the high-priced housing market, an increase in transactions of mid- to low-priced homes priced between 300 million and 600 million won is observed in the outskirts of Seoul and the Gyeonggi-do area. This is the result of non-homeowners trying to secure residential stability turning their attention to the sales market, unable to withstand the rising rents and instability in the rental market. As transactions for mid-priced apartments, which served as the backbone of the market, have shrunk, the housing market has now been completely divided into investment destinations for the wealthy and survival purchase destinations for the working class.

Meanwhile, as the real estate market continues to overheat and become unstable, social ills are also emerging everywhere. The recent incident of a man in his 20s who killed an acquaintance's dog by throwing it from the 15th floor of an apartment building for the trivial reason of being late for an appointment is a shocking example of a crooked aspect of our society. We cannot help but be concerned that the housing stress experienced by living at high density in a small space may be expressed in extreme anger management disorders. Although the court sentenced him to prison, pointing out the cruelty and seriousness of the crime, citizens are angry about the suspended sentence. It is time to reflect on the extent to which housing instability and desolate urban environments caused by skyrocketing real estate prices will test human moral limits.

The trend in Gyeonggi-do and local regions is also in line with Seoul's polarization trend, but its driving force is determined by the industrial ecosystem. Regions with clear job prospects, such as Pangyo Techno Valley or the semiconductor cluster, maintain high-priced transactions, while small local cities that do not have this are maintaining their existing price structure and are unable to narrow the gap with the metropolitan area. In particular, as lending regulations and household debt management become more stringent, the preference for upper-class locations backed by financial power is expected to become more solidified. Ultimately, it is highly likely that the future real estate market will take on the aspect of 'individual survival' in which differentiation by region and price range becomes more evident due to changes in the policy-financial environment.