In the third quarter of this year, the average size of mortgage loan newly taken out rose by 17.12 million won from the previous quarter. By age, borrowers in their 30s saw the biggest increase, and by region, residents of the greater Seoul area had the largest gain. In contrast, the total volume of household loans, including unsecured loans, remained similar to the previous quarter.
According to the "Results of the compilation of borrower-level household debt statistics" released by the Bank of Korea on the 22nd, the new mortgage loan amount per borrower in the third quarter averaged 227.07 million won, up 8.2% (17.12 million won) from the previous quarter. This was the biggest increase since the third quarter of last year (14.2%·26.61 million won).
These statistics were derived from information on a total of 2.35 million borrowers secured from NICE personal credit data. A key feature is that it allows a more granular view of borrowers' liability status by age and region, which was difficult to capture in the existing household finance and welfare survey.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) cited a decrease in the number of borrowers as the reason for the rise in the average new amount of mortgage loans. A BOK official said, "The average new amount is calculated by dividing the total new amount by the number of borrowers, and after the June 27 real estate measures, the number of new borrowers fell by a larger margin than the total amount, pushing up the average."
The June 27 measures were the first real estate policy announced since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, capping the mortgage loan limit at 600 million won in regulated areas of the greater Seoul area and effectively blocking new loans to multiple-home owners. The move reduced both the total amount of mortgage loans and the number of borrowers, but the sharper decline in the number of borrowers led to an increase in the average new amount.
By age, the average new mortgage loan amount was highest among borrowers in their 30s at 287.92 million won. They were followed by those in their 40s at 246.27 million won, their 20s at 222.07 million won, their 50s at 185.52 million won, and those 60 and older at 145.76 million won. Across all age groups, new mortgage loan amounts increased except among those 60 and older (-2 million won), with the largest gain among borrowers in their 30s at 28.56 million won.
By region, the average new mortgage loan amount was highest among borrowers in the greater Seoul area at 279.22 million won. It was followed by the Daegu–Gyeongbuk area (188.34 million won), the southeast region (175.87 million won), the Chungcheong area (170.46 million won), the Gangwon–Jeju area (164.99 million won), and the Honam area (155.39 million won). The increase was also largest in the greater Seoul area at 30.45 million won, with the Daegu–Gyeongbuk area (18.48 million won) and the Gangwon–Jeju area (15.06 million won) also rising. The southeast region was the only one to decline, down 2.99 million won.
Meanwhile, including mortgage loans and unsecured loans, the average new amount of total household loans per borrower in the third quarter was 38.52 million won, up 260,000 won from the previous quarter, keeping the overall level similar. The average fell when including not only mortgages but also borrowers who took out only small unsecured loans.
By product, mortgage loans (227.07 million won) and jeonse deposit loans (154.78 million won) were the largest, followed by collateralized loans other than dwellings (20.36 million won), unsecured loans (18.93 million won), and other loans (12.55 million won). Mortgage loans rose by 17.12 million won, the largest increase, and jeonse deposit loans (3.55 million won) and non-dwelling collateralized loans (2.69 million won) also increased. In contrast, unsecured loans fell by 3.85 million won and other loans were unchanged from the previous quarter.
By age, the average new amount of total household loans was highest among borrowers in their 30s at 53.65 million won, followed by those in their 40s (43.37 million won), their 50s (35.34 million won), those 60 and older (30.17 million won), and those in their 20s (19.99 million won). By region, the average was highest in the greater Seoul area at 45.35 million won, followed by the Chungcheong area (33.77 million won), the southeast region (32.04 million won), the Daegu–Gyeongbuk area (30.59 million won), the Honam area (29.60 million won), and the Gangwon–Jeju area (25.59 million won).