Broadcaster Kim Gura said the price of his apartment has not risen in 15 years, attributing the stagnation to poor transportation links in the area. Kim bought the unit in Siksa-dong, Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, after hearing that an influx of Gangnam residents would turn the complex into a luxury development. Fifteen years later, the 162-square-meter unit is still valued at only around 700 million won ($521,000).
Kim made the remarks in an episode titled "Local Sentiment Report on My Neighborhood, Part 2: Siksa-dong, Ilsan," posted on the YouTube channel Grigura on Friday. "There are parts I feel uncomfortable talking about since this is where I live," he said, "but it is a good place to live, with plenty of upsides."
He then went on to explain why he believes home prices in the area have failed to rise.
"The reason prices don't rise in places like this is poor transportation," Kim said. "Except for Gangnam, when a new town is built with good transit and school districts, that area takes off."
Kim recalled the circumstances under which he bought the Siksa-dong apartment in 2011.
"I was ignorant at the time and ended up buying two homes without meaning to. One was in Siksa-dong, and the other was a pre-sale unit near Cheongna," he said. "I bought it without much thought after hearing that a luxury complex favored by Gangnam residents was coming in. I still own it and have never regretted it, but the price just won't go up," he added.
A real estate expert who appeared on the show that day explained, "At the time, there was strong demand for owning a single, well-located home, and mid-to-large-sized units were in fashion, so this complex reflects that trend. The pre-sale price back then was about 3.9 million to 4.2 million won per square meter."
"Complex 4's 162-square-meter units rose to 1.04 billion won in 2021 but are now trading around 745 million won," the expert added. "This is far too undervalued. Even without a subway line, it should be worth at least 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion won."
yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com
