HUG designates Incheon Yeongjong, Busan Gangseo-gu, Gangwon Gangneung and South Chungcheong Cheonan as unsold-unit management zones

The Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) announced Friday that it has designated four areas — Incheon's Yeongjong-gu, Busan's Gangseo-gu, Gangneung in Gangwon Province and Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province — as unsold-unit management zones for September.

This month, Icheon and Yangju, both in Gyeonggi Province, were removed from the list, while Gangseo-gu and Cheonan were newly added. The four designated areas together account for 9,270 unsold units, or 13.6 percent of the 68,217 unsold homes nationwide.

A district, county or borough qualifies for designation when it has at least 1,000 unsold units and unsold homes account for 2 percent or more of its total apartment stock, and when it meets at least one of three conditions: a rise in unsold units, slow absorption of unsold inventory or concerns over future unsold supply. Once designated, any project financing (PF) guarantee application for a pre-sale project in the area requires a preliminary review.

If the preliminary review result is rated "good" or "average," a PF guarantee application may be submitted within six months of the notification date. A rating of "insufficient" requires the applicant to undergo a re-review.

If an applicant receives an "insufficient" rating on two or more occasions, guarantee applications are permitted only subject to fund-management conditions.