Subscriber numbers for housing subscription accounts continue to fall, but Seoul’s “Comprehensive Savings” accounts rise for a second straight month

[Financial News] While the number of housing subscription account holders continues to decline, the number of people holding Comprehensive Housing Subscription Savings accounts in Seoul rose for a second consecutive month. The total is still down for the year, but the recent rebound in Comprehensive Savings subscribers in Seoul alone has prompted speculation that demand from people eyeing major redevelopment projects and subscriptions for newly built apartments may have played a part.
According to Cheongyak Home, the Korea Real Estate Board’s subscription portal, the number of Comprehensive Housing Subscription Savings account holders in Seoul rose by 240, from 5,814,862 at the end of July to 5,815,102 at the end of August. By the end of September, the figure had reached 5,816,760, up 1,658 from the previous month and marking a second consecutive monthly net increase.
Second-priority subscribers drove the rise in Comprehensive Savings accounts in Seoul. In September, the number of first-priority subscribers fell by 2,738, from 3,666,513 to 3,663,775, while the number of second-priority subscribers rose by 4,396, from 2,148,589 to 2,152,985. In August, first-priority subscribers also fell by 3,394 from the previous month, while second-priority subscribers increased by 3,634. The overall increase in Comprehensive Savings account holders over the past two months is attributed to the increase in second-priority subscribers exceeding the decline in first-priority subscribers.
The number of housing subscription account holders has continued to trend downward. Nationwide, the number of Comprehensive Housing Subscription Savings account holders fell by 15,650, from 24,649,680 at the end of August to 24,634,030 at the end of September. Over the same period, the number fell by 6,010 in Incheon and Gyeonggi, by 7,477 in the five major metropolitan cities, and by 3,821 in other regions. Seoul was the only major region to record an increase in subscribers.
The decline in older account types, including housing subscription deposits, installment savings and savings accounts, is also thought to have contributed to the overall drop in housing subscription account holders. In the past, housing subscription accounts were divided into these three types. But in 2009, Comprehensive Housing Subscription Savings accounts were introduced, allowing holders to apply for both national and private housing, and new subscriptions to the existing products were effectively halted from 2015.
Since older accounts could be converted to Comprehensive Savings accounts starting in October 2024, the decline in older accounts is thought to include some product conversions as well as cancellations. In September, the number of older housing subscription account holders in Seoul fell by a combined 13,123, more than the increase in Comprehensive Savings accounts. As a result, the total number of housing subscription account holders in Seoul, including those with older products, fell by 11,465, from 6,272,360 at the end of August to 6,260,895 at the end of September.
Apart from the structural decline in older accounts, some pent-up demand in Seoul’s housing subscription market appears to have contributed to the net increase in Comprehensive Housing Subscription Savings account holders in Seoul for the past two months. Factors driving people away from housing subscription accounts, including high apartment presale prices, lending restrictions and low chances of winning a unit, remain in place. Even so, demand to keep accounts in anticipation of opportunities to apply for housing in major redevelopment projects and newly built apartments is expected to be relatively resilient.
In particular, with the scarcity of newly built apartments in Seoul continuing and interest in presales at major redevelopment projects remaining high, some demand to maintain or open Comprehensive Savings accounts in order to secure future opportunities to apply is thought to have been reflected in the figures. However, the recent increase has been modest, and the number of first-priority subscribers is still declining.
Ko Jun-seok, a professor at Yonsei University’s Sangnam Institute of Management, cited expectations for public housing sales as a reason for the increase in Comprehensive Savings account holders in Seoul. “Young people find it difficult to win private housing through the points-based system, whereas the amount paid in and the length of time an account has been held are important for public housing sales,” Professor Ko said. “The government has announced plans to expand public housing sales, and supply is also planned in key Seoul locations such as the Yongsan maintenance depot site, so there may be people opening accounts in anticipation of that.”
[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter