Real Estate Deception Exposed: Words to Beware Of in Property Ads

▶ Reporter Jeon Hyeong-jin
The real estate market has a strong information asymmetry among asset markets. It is also a place where there are many incidents of deception and deception. We’ve put together a list of words that cleverly fool us.

You may have seen phrases like ‘high-speed transport network in all directions’ in adverts for the sale of apartments, etc. Usually, if there is some form of transport nearby, that is emphasized. But if you put a lot of things together, there’s a good chance none of them will be close. The same goes for ‘dual station area’. Because it is in the middle of two stations, the distance between each station is often ambiguous.

As for the phrase ‘worrying about good news in the future’, it means that there is nothing now. If the word ‘clean nature’ were used here, it is very likely that there will be nothing in the future.

In the case of bird views shown in brochures or homepages, this is often highlighted in one corner. ‘CG is for illustrative purposes only and may differ from reality’. Not that it can be different, more or less different from reality. In particular, in the case of CG released in the early stages of a project, it is more likely to change during the building permit process, so it is easier to understand that it is concept art. there is

There are many cases where the name of the construction company is promoted, such as ‘No. 1 brand reputation’. There are many survey companies, and each company has a different survey rating, so you can think about how to take a tour in the first place.

Equally, it is difficult to overemphasize its promotion as a ‘local landmark’. Because it’s used as an idiom, it’s harder to find places nearby that aren’t self-proclaimed landmarks.

Also, in Korea, there is a high preference for south facing as a selection criterion for residential buildings, so the phrase ‘all furniture placed facing south’ is often used. The word ‘main’ is the key in this statement. There are places where that is not the case.

Even in areas related to money, there are many expressions that require explanation. As for ‘intermediate payment without interest’, it is not a lie on the surface. Since the project owner pays the loan, there are no intermediate payday loan interest charges to be paid by the borrowers. However, it seems that it is already reflected in the selling price. It is a simple problem for business owners to think about where the money to pay interest will come from.

The same goes for ‘free balcony extension fee’. If it wasn’t a charity project, it would already be reflected in the basic retail price.

At the retail level, it is not difficult to find a place that advertises that ‘units and units are under contract on a first come, first served basis.’ This means that it is left because it was not sold. ‘Special sale of company holdings’ means ‘that’s why we’re selling it as if it’s something good.’

Even if you apply for and win an apartment, you cannot choose which building or unit you live in. The property and number will be decided by lottery before entering into a legal contract. However, if there are still supplies left and the product reaches the first-come, first-served sales level, the first-come, first-served person literally chooses from among the remaining items and contract signing. This is what a first-come, first-served contract for a given building or number means. Simply put, it is called unsold inventory.

And there is no such thing as a special sale. It is only a special supply system that distributes products first to a certain class of people. In fact, the very term “holding company” is misleading. They make money by selling, and it’s a company created to sell, so why do they have houses?

There is also room to think about the advertising phrase ‘○○ highest level membership contest type 100 to 1’. This is because subscriptions are made by type of housing. Even within the same complex, some types of housing may have high competition, while others may be scarce. Therefore, it is common to express the level of membership competition as simply the average level of competition for each housing type.

However, even the average level of competition can be deceiving. If the number of employed households is small, the level of competition may be high. Therefore, it is more accurate to measure the level of popularity through the number of membership bank accounts obtained for each property. For your information, you can download the complete survey data on subscription centers from 2019 to 2024 at the Zipconomy Community Center.

▶ Download the complete study data
https://www.hankyung.com/jipconomy-house/

Phrases such as ‘a flat deposit of 5 million won’ are also a promotional technique that discourages potential subscribers. The down payment is usually set at 10-20% of the sale price. For an apartment worth 500 million won, the down payment is 50 million won.

However, if it is an interest rate of 5 million, can you really sign a contract by paying only this amount? No. This means that you only need to pay 5 million won first and then pay the remaining 45 million within a couple of months. In the end, the payment will be received in two installments, but the total amount will not change.

Of course, not all sales promotions are false or misleading ads. I focused on phrases that were too clear or could be misunderstood. If there’s a lie you’ve been fooled by, leave a comment.

Planning and progress Reporter Jeon Hyeong-jin withmold@hankyung.com
filming PD Jo Hee-jae and Yesua design Jiyoung Lee, Hayoung Park
edit Yes PD