Cheolsan Xi The Heritage 84㎡ sets new high at 2.01 billion won
Second-floor reserve unit relisted at same base price after earlier failed auction
Competitive bidding runs Nov. 16–18; exempt from land transaction permit rules
A reserve unit at Cheolsan Xi The Heritage in Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, will go on sale starting at 1.6 billion won ($1.18 million) — even as the complex's 84-square-meter units became the first in Gwangmyeong to surpass 2 billion won in actual transactions. Attention is focused on what the unit will ultimately fetch, given that the base bidding price is more than 400 million won below the recent record.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, an 84-square-meter unit at Cheolsan Xi The Heritage changed hands Monday for 2.01 billion won, a new high for the complex. The deal, involving a 10th-floor unit, topped the previous record of 1.995 billion won set for a 19th-floor unit on Oct. 15 by 15 million won in just 18 days. A unit of the same size on the 14th floor sold for 1.65 billion won in October last year, meaning prices climbed 360 million won in roughly a year.
It marks the first time an apartment of the so-called "national standard size" — the 84-square-meter unit type popular with Korean families — has crossed the 2 billion won threshold in Gwangmyeong. Apartment prices in the city have posted some of the steepest gains in the country this year. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, Gwangmyeong's cumulative apartment price increase stood at 18.01 percent as of Nov. 2, the second highest nationwide after Dongtan-gu in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, at 21.91 percent.
Against this backdrop, the Cheolsan Jugong 8 and 9 complexes housing reconstruction association announced Friday a fourth round of reserve unit sales at Cheolsan Xi The Heritage, putting four units up for competitive bidding. Reserve units are lots that reconstruction and redevelopment associations set aside — rather than offering in the general pre-sale — as a buffer against potential litigation or additional costs, and are typically sold as a project nears completion.
The four units on offer are a 59-square-meter unit (Building 104, Unit 2006) with a base price of 1.35 billion won; an 84-square-meter unit (Building 104, Unit 202) at 1.6 billion won; a 114-square-meter Type B unit (Building 101, Unit 201) at 1.85 billion won; and a 114-square-meter Type C unit (Building 101, Unit 2503) at 1.95 billion won. All prices are base bidding prices, and the highest bidder wins.
The 84-square-meter unit is drawing the most attention. Its base price of 1.6 billion won is 410 million won, or 20.4 percent, below the recent record of 2.01 billion won. The unit is on the second floor, however, compared with the record-setting 10th-floor unit, and because bidding is competitive, the final sale price could exceed the base.
The same unit was listed at the same base price earlier this year but failed to attract a buyer. The association put seven reserve units to auction in January, with the two 84-square-meter units each carrying a base price of 1.6 billion won. Building 104, Unit 202 — the unit now being relisted — carries the same price as before.
Another notable feature of reserve unit sales is their exemption from land transaction permit requirements. Gwangmyeong was designated a land transaction permit zone under the government's Oct. 15 real estate measures last year, meaning ordinary apartment purchases require approval from the local government. Reserve units sold directly by a reconstruction association under its management and disposal plan, however, are exempt from that requirement — and the two-year owner-occupancy obligation that comes with the permit does not apply either.
Bidding runs for three days from Nov. 16 through Nov. 18, with bids opened after 5 p.m. on Nov. 18. The winning bidder must sign a sales contract within 20 business days of notification. Move-in is possible immediately upon signing, but the ownership transfer registration is scheduled for the first half of 2027.
Cheolsan Xi The Heritage, built by GS Engineering & Construction on the site of the former Cheolsan Jugong 8 and 9 complexes, is a large development of 3,804 units across 23 buildings rising up to 40 stories. When it launched pre-sales in late 2022, the 84-square-meter units were priced at roughly 940 million to 1.05 billion won. Some smaller unit types drew undersubscription in the first-round application — with a competition ratio as low as 0.5 to 1 for certain 59-square-meter types — though the complex eventually sold out. Current market prices are now approaching double the original pre-sale figures.
quq@heraldcorp.com
