Is something strange happening to North Korean property prices?
Is something strange happening to North Korean property prices?
The real estate business is only tacitly permitted in the Hermit Kingdom
Apartment values in Pyongsong City in North Korea are spiking, thanks to more accessible transport infrastructures and a moneyed class of wholesalers that wants to be closer to them, according to Daily NK.
One apartment building in the Yokchon-dong area has seen unit prices grow from USD40,000 to as much as USD60,000, sources close to the Seoul-based publication reported. The building is located near major arteries and a railway station.
“The residential property is attractive to major market heavyweights even though it wasn’t built recently,” one source said. “Ease of transportation seems to be the major pulling factor.”
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The city is home to Doksan Farmers’ Market (formerly Pyongsong Market), the largest distribution wholesale market in North Korea. “Yokchon-dong became more popular because (merchants) can directly unload their cargo near the residential area, which is located at a major transportation hub,” another source tipped Daily NK.
Conversely, the Okchon-dong district has fallen out of favour with merchants because of its narrower roads. “The price of apartments in Okchon-dong are rising due to the market, but the houses in Yokchon-dong are showing an even sharper rise,” the source said.
Although buying and selling homes is technically illegal still in North Korea, some real estate agents have managed to conduct transactions on the strength of their connections to the country’s ruling Worker’s Party. “The brokers are closely connected to authorities, so people with money use the brokers for housing transactions,” one source told Radio Free Asia.
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Source: Property Report