IVE's Ahn Yu-jin wins lottery for 4-billion-won 'The H Bangbae' apartment

IVE member Ahn Yu-jin has reportedly won a spot in the general pre-sale lottery for The H Bangbae, a reconstruction apartment complex in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, Ahn won the lottery for a unit in The H Bangbae, which is set for move-in as early as September.

The H Bangbae is a high-end apartment development by Hyundai E&C, built through the reconstruction of the Bangbae District 5 zone. The large-scale complex spans 29 buildings with a total of 3,064 units, rising from four below-ground floors to 33 above-ground floors. A pre-move-in inspection is scheduled for Saturday through Monday, with move-in set to begin in September.

The complex held its general pre-sale last August, with about 215 of the 650 general-supply units allocated through a lottery. The offering drew strong interest because applicants with low subscription scores — or those who already owned one home — had a realistic shot at winning.

The H Bangbae attracted particular attention because, despite being subject to the price ceiling on new apartments, buyers in the general pre-sale are not subject to an owner-occupancy requirement.

Under the enforcement decree of the Housing Act, an owner-occupancy requirement of three years applies when the pre-sale price is below 80 percent of the nearby market price, and two years when it falls between 80 and 100 percent. The H Bangbae was priced at or above surrounding market levels, however, exempting it from the requirement.

General pre-sale buyers may therefore rent out their units — through jeonse or monthly rent arrangements — after move-in. Whether Ahn plans to live in the unit herself has not been confirmed.

Pre-sale prices at The H Bangbae were set at up to 1.7 billion won ($1.13 million) for the 59-square-meter type, 2.24 billion won for the 84-square-meter type, 2.5 billion won for the 101-square-meter type, and 2.76 billion won for the 114-square-meter type. The current asking price for the 84-square-meter unit is around 4 billion won. A unit of that size sold for approximately 3.69 billion won in April, suggesting the price has climbed by more than 1.45 billion won in roughly two years.

If Ahn won a general pre-sale unit in the 84-square-meter category, analysts say she could expect a paper gain of close to 1.8 billion won.