HUG designates 5 unsold-unit management zones for October, adding Osan and Gyeongsan

The Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) announced Wednesday that it has designated five areas — two in the greater Seoul metropolitan area and three in regional cities — as unsold-unit management zones for October. Gangneung in Gangwon Province was removed from the list, while Osan in Gyeonggi Province and Gyeongsan in North Gyeongsang Province were newly added.

An area qualifies for designation when it has at least 1,000 unsold units and unsold units account for 2 percent or more of the total apartment housing stock in that city, county or district, and when it meets at least one of three conditions: a rise in unsold units, slow absorption of unsold units, or concern over a potential increase in unsold units. Developers seeking pre-sale guarantees or project financing (PF) guarantees in designated areas must undergo a preliminary review.

The five designated areas are Incheon's Yeongjong-gu and Osan in Gyeonggi Province in the metropolitan area, and Gangseo-gu in Busan, Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province, and Gyeongsan in North Gyeongsang Province in regional cities.

The designation period runs through Nov. 9 for Incheon's Yeongjong-gu, Busan's Gangseo-gu and Cheonan, effective from July or September 2026. For Osan and Gyeongsan, the designation applies from Saturday through Nov. 9.

The total number of unsold units in October's designated zones stood at 11,235 as of August 2026, representing about 16.2 percent of the 69,134 unsold units nationwide.

The preliminary review requirement for pre-sale guarantees applies to any development project seeking such a guarantee in a designated area. Rental housing projects, redevelopment and reconstruction projects, housing and officetel projects with fewer than 100 units, and some post-construction sale projects may be exempt from the review.

The inclusion of some metropolitan-area cities on the list signals that the polarization of the pre-sale market — long concentrated in outlying regions and provincial cities — is spreading to mid-sized cities within the greater Seoul area.