A large apartment complex in Hwaseong's Dongtan district, where housing prices have been surging, has gone to auction — and it comes without an owner-occupancy requirement. With bidding set to open at nearly half the current asking price, the listing is expected to draw strong interest from both end-users and investors. The Real Estate 360 team examined the background of the auction and what living conditions at the complex are like.
According to GG Auction, a court and public auction data firm, a 111-square-meter unit at Yeadang Maeul Lotte Castle in Seokwoo-dong, Dongtan district, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, is scheduled for a second auction on Aug. 10.
The unit's appraised value is 837 million won ($562,000), comprising a land value of 335 million won and a building value of around 500 million won. Auction proceedings began in October 2024, and the first sale date was held in June but ended without a buyer. At the Aug. 10 second auction, bidding will open at around 590 million won — roughly 70 percent of the appraised value. If the unit again finds no buyer, the minimum starting bid will drop to 410 million won at a third auction in September.
Built in 2008, the unit features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garden bed and a balcony. The surrounding area offers a range of amenities, including Starfield Market and several other grocery stores, as well as Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital and clinics specializing in dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics. A 10-minute drive brings residents to a Lotte department store and an E-mart Traders in the second Dongtan area, along with a golf course.
Express buses from the stop in front of the complex can reach Gangnam within an hour one way, and routes serving central Seoul destinations such as Gwanghwamun mean Seoul office workers can commute door-to-door within two hours round trip. Residents can also take a 10-minute bus ride to Dongtan Station and board the GTX-A line to reach Suseo Station in about 20 minutes. Accessibility to Seoul is expected to improve further once the line's planned stop at Samsung Station and its full-route connection are completed.
According to Naver Real Estate, asking prices for units of the same floor plan in the complex currently range from 930 million won for lower-floor listings with existing tenants to a high of 1.4 billion won. A unit on the 13th floor changed hands in June at a record 970 million won for that floor plan.
In March, an 87.6-square-meter unit in the same complex went to auction and drew 18 bidders, selling for 711 million won. Industry observers expect the second auction to fetch more than the appraised value, noting that demand has risen since then following Dongtan's designation as a land transaction permit zone.
The listing carries no legal encumbrances, and the current owner is believed to be living in the unit.
Kang Eun-hyeon, head of the auction research center at law firm Myeongdo, advised prospective bidders to check their borrowing limits with their primary bank in advance, noting that while the land transaction permit system does not apply to auction purchases, lending regulations still do. "It can be risky to take on a tenant before the current owner has fully vacated, so I recommend planning your finances around paying the balance in full using your own capital first," he said.
hope@heraldcorp.com
