Apartments in Seoul are seen in this undated file photoNEWS1
Seoul’s 30-somethings are stretching their finances to the limit to get a foot on the property ladder, as soaring rents and fears of further home price gains drive first-time buying to record levels.
A total of 9,343 first-time purchases of residential properties — including apartments, multifamily homes and officetels, or units zoned for both commercial and residential use — were registered in Seoul in August, according to Supreme Court registration data released on Thursday.
That was up 16.7 percent from 8,006 in July and the highest monthly figure in six years, since 10,238 purchases were recorded in August 2020.
First-time buyers accounted for 53.8 percent of Seoul’s 17,371 housing transactions in August. It was the highest proportion since the Supreme Court began releasing the data in January 2010.
People in their 30s dominated first-time purchases of residential properties in August, with 4,857 transactions. The age group accounted for 52 percent of all such purchases — more than double the 2,419 made by buyers in their 40s, the next-largest group.
The number of monthly home purchases by people in their 30s generally ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 last year but has climbed to 3,000 to 4,000 this year.
Analysts attribute the rush to buy to growing concerns about a housing shortage and worsening conditions in the rental market.
The concern is that many younger buyers have relatively little capital of their own and are borrowing heavily to get onto the property ladder. A fall in home prices could leave them saddled with large debts on properties bought near the peak of the market.
A pedestrian looks at posters of houses on the market at a real estate agency in Seoul on Aug. 18.NEWS1
People in their 30s bought about 39.6 trillion won ($29.5 billion) worth of homes from Feb. 10 through the end of July, the highest amount of any age group, according to data obtained by Rep. Kim Jong-yang of the People Power Party.
Loans from financial institutions accounted for 15.87 trillion won, or 40.1 percent, of their purchases during that period. The corresponding share was 25.1 percent for buyers in their 40s and 14.5 percent for those in their 50s.
“The government’s regulatory approach is effectively encouraging people in their 30s to buy homes,” said Park Won-gap, the chief real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank. “When it comes to housing supply, the government should prioritize measures that can realistically be implemented quickly rather than focusing on long-term plans with little chance of being carried out.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
