Seoul Housing & Communities Corp’s cyber model house. (image: Seoul Housing & Communities Corp.)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The Wuhan coronavirus is prompting changes to the way South Korean construction companies are selling new apartment units.
Jungheung Construction Co., which plans to open sales for an apartment complex in the Wirye New Town in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, in February, has replaced the typical model house with a “cyber model house” instead of opening a venue for potential customers to visit.
“Because we are in an atmosphere of refraining from events where many people gather, Hanam City is also strongly encouraging construction companies to make use of cyber model houses,” said an official at Jungheung Construction.
Earlier Monday, Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. and SK Engineering & Construction Co. opted to cancel an event to unveil a model house at a new apartment complex and replace it with a cyber model house, the first of its kind since the novel coronavirus crisis.
GS Engineering & Construction Co. also postponed the opening of a model house at a new apartment complex in Daegu, which was scheduled to open Friday, to March 21.
If the novel coronavirus situation does not improve, the company will refrain from opening the model house and replace it with a cyber model house.
With the opening of only cyber model houses without offline sample houses, some point out that this takes away opportunities from applicants who want to check out a real example of what their new apartment might look like, and experience the space in person.
However, the prevailing view is that cyber model homes are an inevitable choice at a time when the epidemic is spreading and there is no knowing how long the emergency will continue.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
