A detached house in Daebyek-ri, Daegot-myeon, Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, has come to auction at roughly half its appraised value, drawing attention ahead of a third sale attempt.
According to GG Auction, a court and public auction data firm, the two-story house and its land in Daebyek-ri, Daegot-myeon, Gimpo are scheduled for a third sale on Thursday. The minimum bid stands at 353.81 million won ($238,000), about 49 percent of the original appraised value of 722.07 million won. The price has fallen after two consecutive failed auctions.
The property sits on a 535-square-meter lot and has a total floor area of 294 square meters. The first floor covers about 158 square meters and the second floor about 92 square meters, with a separate roughly 40-square-meter storage unit also included. The storage space connects directly to the main house, allowing the buyer to use it as both a living area and a workspace or storage facility.
From Yongsan-gu in Seoul, the property is about an hour's drive via the Olympic Expressway and Gimpo Hangang Road, though commute-hour traffic can push travel time to more than 90 minutes.
A spacious yard sits in front of the house. The generous floor area makes it potentially well-suited for large families or buyers looking to combine a home and workspace under one roof. There is no dedicated garage, but the yard and the space adjoining the road appear usable for parking. The large storage building at the rear is another selling point.
The building was completed in 2014. Despite being more than a decade old, its exterior is in relatively good condition, and furniture and household items left inside suggest the property was occupied until recently.
The surrounding area of Daegot-myeon is a mixed-use zone of detached houses, farmland, and factory and warehouse facilities. The neighborhood is relatively quiet, but small industrial operations — including industrial gas suppliers, metalworking shops and construction firms — are scattered throughout.
The nearest metro station is Yangchon on the Gimpo Gold Line, about a 10-minute drive away. Those relying on public transit must first make their way to the area near Sunam Elementary School to catch a bus, a journey that takes about 30 minutes to reach Yangchon Station. The Gurae Station area, where commercial facilities and hospitals are concentrated, and the E-mart Gimpo Hangang branch are both about 15 minutes away by car.
The legal title is relatively straightforward: any mortgage liens registered on the property will be extinguished upon a successful bid. A status survey found three individuals — none of them the owner — registered as heads of household and identified as tenants, and an occupant was confirmed on site. However, none of the occupants are considered to have enforceable tenancy rights against a new owner.
An easement has also been registered on a privately owned parcel used to access the public road from the house. An easement grants the right to use another person's land for a specific purpose, such as passage. Because the successful bidder takes on this easement, there is no risk of toll disputes or road-use conflicts that can arise when a property lacks a share in its access road.
Analysts say the pool of potential buyers is limited, however. The property's distance from Seoul, limited public transit, sparse everyday amenities and the concentration of nearby factories and warehouses may put off buyers seeking a quiet rural lifestyle.
"Given the density of factories and manufacturers in the area, the property is more likely to attract operators of nearby industrial businesses or local residents than Seoul commuters," said Lee Ju-hyeon, a senior researcher at GG Auction. "The combination of a large house, a yard and a separate storage building is a genuine advantage."
Lee added that significant appreciation in value would be hard to expect given the industrial character of the location, but noted that two failed auctions had brought the price down to roughly half the appraised value. "The title issues and access road situation are not major concerns, so at the current price the chances of a successful bid this time around look relatively good," he said.
quq@heraldcorp.com
