No housing subscription account needed: One unit in Songpa-gu offers potential W1b windfall

A single unit in Seoul's Songpa-gu is drawing attention for the potential market-price gain of around 1 billion won ($707,000) it could offer a lucky buyer.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's subscription portal Cheongyanghome, the Songpa Signature Lotte Castle complex in Georye-dong, Songpa-gu, will open apartment subscriptions for one unit — re-released after an illegal transaction — on Tuesday.

The unit, a Type 84C with an exclusive use area of 84 square meters, was returned to the market after its original contract was canceled due to illegal resale or other supply-order violations. Its pre-sale price is set at 940.85 million won.

When Songpa Signature Lotte Castle originally launched pre-sales in 2019, units with an exclusive use area of 84 square meters were priced between 835 million and 897 million won. The re-released unit's price reflects housing maintenance costs, management fees and resale-related expenses, yet the increase from the original pre-sale price remains modest.

The unit comes with options already installed — including imported hardwood flooring, built-in wardrobes in the master bedroom and secondary bedrooms, a premium kitchen and a system air conditioner — for which the buyer must pay a separate options fee of 71.7 million won. The total effective pre-sale price, including options, comes to 1.01 billion won.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, a unit of the same type in the complex sold for 2.1 billion won on July 16. A successful applicant could therefore expect a market-price gain of around 1 billion won.

Songpa Signature Lotte Castle was developed through the redevelopment of Zone 1 of the Georye 2 Renewal Promotion District. The complex comprises 17 buildings rising up to 33 above-ground floors over three below-ground levels, with a total of 1,945 units. Its status as a near-new large-scale complex — move-ins began in 2021 — adds to its appeal.

Winners will be announced on Friday, and document submission and contract signing will take place from Aug. 24 through Aug. 28.

No housing subscription account is required to apply. Any householder without a home who is registered as a Seoul resident as of Aug. 10 — the date of the recruitment announcement — is eligible. If multiple applicants compete for the unit, the winner will be selected by lottery.

Songpa-gu is designated both a speculative overheating district and an apartment subscription overheating zone. Anyone who wins this unit will be barred from winning another subscription for 10 years. Even applicants who ultimately decline to sign a contract will remain on record as winners, and both the winner and members of their household will be restricted from applying as first-priority subscribers in speculative overheating districts and subscription overheating zones for five years from the date the winner is announced.

The resale restriction period has already expired. A three-year resale ban applied from the original winner announcement date of Sept. 17, 2019, meaning the restriction has since lapsed. The residency obligation period listed in the recruitment announcement, however, remains three years.

Financing is the key challenge. At the time of contract signing, the buyer must pay 30 percent of the pre-sale price — 282.25 million won — and the initial financial burden grows further when the options deposit is factored in. The remaining balance is due during the designated move-in period.

With lending regulations tightening in recent months, prospective applicants are advised to confirm they can actually secure the necessary funds before counting on a win.

Earlier units released from canceled contracts at the same complex also drew strong interest. When one 84-square-meter unit was put back on the market in 2022 at 871 million won, some 31,780 applicants rushed to apply, making for fierce competition.