Seoul Redevelopment Starts to Look Like New York's Model

Exits were split across individual buildings, and the gap in living-environment quality made small homes hard to develop. Because fragmented small houses existed individually, each block had its own exit, which makes development difficult.

These villa districts have poor overall living conditions, including parking shortages and waste problems, and showed low credibility, making it hard for development premiums to attach. Because each house was independent, comprehensive improvement was difficult.

In the past, collecting redevelopment consent forms was done by hand, took a lot of time and effort, and was considered nearly impossible. Residents' negative perception of OS agents also acted as a major barrier to securing consent.

However, with the emergence of proptech, a digital transformation technology, approval procedures have been simplified, and these physical and administrative barriers are gradually lowering. The process of collecting consent forms is now moving very quickly and easily, according to the explanation.

This is similar to a small-scale new town, a method that secures economies of scale to raise project feasibility.

Through systems such as the Rapid Integrated Planning program, approval procedures are shortened and project costs are cut, maximizing the efficiency of redevelopment projects.

Fully electronic consent forms let residents consent and submit documents easily by smartphone, a groundbreaking method that cuts the time for the consent process by more than 99%. It is explained that submitting a family register takes less than five minutes.

The introduction of such digital technology is accelerating the formation of promotion committees and associations, significantly raising the overall pace of redevelopment projects.

The possibility has opened for entering the no-premium redevelopment market through small-ticket investment.

Through a paradigm shift that converts villas into the economies of scale of large apartment complexes, investors can quickly enter the early market where villas can easily become apartments and enter the redevelopment market with no premium.

Beyond simply meeting the requirements, whether residents have sufficient genuine willingness to develop is also an important consideration.

In addition, a careful location analysis is needed, including whether sufficient safety margin has been secured and which location is cheaper through relative value assessment.