Hyundai Engineering & Construction's Hillstate, GS E&C's Xi and Hanwha's Hanwha Forena ranked as the top three apartment brands expected to grow the most, according to a consumer survey.
Real estate data provider R114 said on the 8th that the findings came from an apartment brand perception survey of 2,843 consumers nationwide, conducted from the 18th to the 24th of last month.
Hillstate, Xi and Hanwha Forena took the first three spots among brands seen as having the strongest growth potential. Daewoo Engineering & Construction's Prugio and Lotte Engineering & Construction's Lotte Castle also made the top five.
Brands rated highly for growth potential shared a strong association with a "luxurious" image, the survey found. The images consumers linked to each brand differed, however. Hillstate drew a relatively high share of responses for "stylish," while Xi was most strongly tied to "luxurious." Hanwha Forena ranked high for a "sophisticated" image. Prugio scored high on "trustworthy" and "stylish," and Lotte Castle on "luxurious."
Exterior design, advanced facilities and amenities were the main factors consumers cited in judging brand quality. Hanwha Forena received the highest rating for exterior design at 15%, followed by Xi, Lotte Castle and Hillstate at 10% each.
Hanwha Forena, Xi and Lotte Castle also drew relatively strong preference for advanced facilities. In amenities, Hillstate and Prugio each scored 14%.
"Builders have been rolling out separate high-end brands alongside their existing housing brands, widening the range of choices for consumers," an R114 official said. "Between long-established brands and newly launched ones, product competitiveness in areas such as design, advanced facilities and community spaces will become even more important."
The survey was conducted online. Respondents included 70% living in the greater Seoul area, 14% in provincial metropolitan cities and 16% elsewhere in the country. By age, those in their 30s made up the largest group at 46%, followed by those in their 40s at 29%, their 20s at 14%, their 50s at 7% and those aged 60 and over at 3%. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.84 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
