'Is that my land on the news?' Namyangju brokers fielded 15 calls in under 3 hours

— Head of real estate agency A in Wabu-eup, Namyangju

The Wabu-eup area of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, was buzzing with anticipation on Thursday, the day the government unveiled its rapid housing supply plan. The government announced it would build 21,700 units on a 2.28-square-kilometer greenbelt in Wabu-eup near Dosim Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line — the largest single site among all newly designated housing districts.

At a real estate agency near Dosim Station, the owner rose from his seat and held up his smartphone to show a screen full of missed calls. "It's been less than three hours since the announcement and I've already taken 15 calls asking whether the development news is real," he said, adding that residents were pleased at the prospect of rising home prices given the scale of the plan.

He said the area had once been so scenic that many celebrities chose to live there, and predicted that a 100-square-meter apartment could fetch 1 billion won ($707,000) if infrastructure is built out and Han River views are properly incorporated into the development.

Local brokers expect the Deokso area to gain prominence from the development. The head of another agency, B, said Deokso was once known as "the Gangnam of Namyangju" some 20 years ago but had stagnated for about a decade while other neighborhoods such as Onam and Jinjeop surged ahead. He predicted that Wabu-eup's geographic advantages — its proximity to the Han River and the Olympic Expressway — would make it more sought-after than the nearby Wangsuk new town.

Enthusiasm was tempered by concern. While the location's proximity to Gangnam makes it an attractive place to live, brokers and residents agreed that the area's transportation network must improve. A visit to Dosim Station on Thursday afternoon illustrated the problem firsthand: a long wait on the platform — nearly 30 minutes — due to infrequent service on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. Just outside the station, a four-lane road quickly narrowed to two lanes.

The head of agency C in Wabu-eup said the area functions as a bedroom community and also carries heavy through-traffic, making rush-hour commutes brutal. "A trip that should take 10 minutes can end up taking more than an hour," he said.

Brokers said expanding transportation infrastructure is essential for the supply plan to have its intended effect. Another agent noted that express buses reach Jamsil, Gangnam and Gangbyeon in about 25 minutes outside of rush hour, and expressed hope that new apartment construction would bring a subway station to the area.

The same agent said there is effectively only one main road serving the area, and that it has not been widened. "I've seen quite a few young people move in because of the affordable housing prices, only to leave again because of the traffic," he said. A glance at a map of the area reveals a tangle of winding roads. Residents noted that even the nearby Dasan new town has a well-organized street grid, while Wabu-eup still runs on the old, haphazard roads laid down before any systematic planning took place.

Some residents worried the development could be delayed. Namyangju is already home to several large ongoing projects, including the Wangsuk new town and the Yangjeong transit-oriented development. Residents said those projects have been frustratingly slow to move forward, and while they welcomed the greenbelt designation being lifted, they cautioned that results would not come quickly. Minimizing disputes over compensation prices was also raised as a challenge.

Meanwhile, Namyangju Mayor Choi Hyeon-deok said Thursday that the city is at a pivotal moment as large-scale development reshapes its size and standing. "With a public housing district of 21,700 units taking shape, we will work proactively with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land and Housing Corp. to put in place preemptive wide-area transportation measures so that residents do not have to worry about traffic," he said.