Seoul Homeownership Remains a Challenge Despite Slight Improvements | Be Korea-savvy

Seoul Homeownership Remains a Challenge Despite Slight Improvements


A densely populated villa area in Seoul, with an apartment complex visible in the background. (Yonhap)

A densely populated villa area in Seoul, with an apartment complex visible in the background. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Purchasing a home in Seoul remains a significant financial challenge, with residents needing to save their entire salaries for 13 years to afford a property, according to data released by South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Friday.

The report highlights ongoing housing affordability issues across the country, despite some improvements over the past year.

The Price-to-Income Ratio (PIR) for Seoul, which measures the number of years of median income required to buy a median-priced home, stood at 13 in 2023, down from 15.2 the previous year.

While the decline reflects a drop in housing prices during the survey period, Seoul remains the least affordable city for aspiring homeowners.

Sejong City recorded the second-highest PIR at 8.7, followed by Gyeonggi Province (7.4), Daejeon (7.1), and Busan and Daegu (both at 6.7). At the other end of the spectrum, South Jeolla Province had the lowest PIR at 3.1, with the nationwide average unchanged at 6.3.

Regionally, the PIR for the Seoul metropolitan area fell from 9.3 in 2022 to 8.5 in 2023. In addition to Seoul, Gyeonggi Province (8.9 to 7.4) and Incheon (7.7 to 6.1) saw notable improvements, as did metropolitan cities (6.8 to 6.3) and provincial areas (4.3 to 3.7).

The decrease in PIRs nationwide reflects the impact of falling housing prices during the survey period, the ministry noted.

In addition to affordability challenges, the survey revealed that Seoul’s rental households spent an average of 22.7% of their monthly income on rent. When asked about the most-needed housing support programs, respondents prioritized financial assistance for home purchases and deposit loans for rental agreements.

The findings are part of the 2023 Housing Survey, conducted between June and December of last year, based on in-person interviews with 61,000 households nationwide.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)

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