This undated file photo shows apartment buildings in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Seven in 10 Koreans with mortgage loans saw their interest burden increase compared to last year amid a steep increase in interest rates, a poll showed Tuesday.
According to a survey conducted by home matching platform Zigbang Co. of 948 users of its application, 41.4 percent of the respondents said that they had taken out a mortgage to purchase or rent their home.
Among 392 respondents who said they had taken out loans, 70.7 percent said that their interest burden increased compared to last year.
By region, those living in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon (79.4 percent), Seoul (78.5 percent) and Gyeonggi Province (70.4 percent) felt a higher interest burden.
By age, the largest share of those in their 20s and 30s took out mortgage loans mainly for jeonse or wolse deposits, while a higher share of those in their 40s and older took out mortgage loans to purchase residential properties.
More than 80 percent of the respondents said that they had less than 300 million won (US$226,720) worth of property loans.
Roughly 20 percent said that their interest rate was lower than 3 percent, while the share of those whose interest rate was higher than 6 percent stood at 12 percent, showing a big gap in the range of interest rates among the respondents.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
