The homeownership rate among people in their 20s and 30s fell below 30%. As a result, the asset gap between young adults and middle-aged and older generations widened to the maximum.
On the 26th, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), the homeownership rate for households age 39 and under was 27.7% last year. That was down 2.4 percentage points from a year earlier, the lowest since the related statistics were reorganized in 2017.
The homeownership rate for those 39 and under hit a record high of 40.7% in both 2018 and 2019 and then continued to fall. It dropped 13 percentage points over seven years, and last year was the first time it was in the 30% range.
By contrast, the homeownership rate for people in their 50s was 63.5%, and for those 60 and older it was 68.5%. Although both were down 0.6 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from a year earlier, the declines were smaller than among those age 39 and under.
The gap in homeownership led to an asset gap. Last year, the net worth of households age 39 and under was 219.5 million won, down 0.9% from a year earlier, while the net worth of people in their 50s was 551.61 million won, up 7.9%, and for those 60 and older it was 535.91 million won, up 3.2%. The net worth of people in their 50s was 2.5 times that of households age 39 and under, and for those 60 and older it was 2.4 times. The net worth gap between these two age groups and the young also was the largest since the related statistics began in 2017.
The homeownership gap between income tiers also widened. Last year, the homeownership rate for the bottom 20% (first quintile) by net worth was 6.8%, the lowest since the statistics were compiled. In contrast, the homeownership rate for the top 20% (fifth quintile) by net worth was 84.2%. Accordingly, the gap in homeownership rates between the top and bottom 20% widened to 77.4 percentage points. In particular, the price of the occupied dwelling averaged 686.77 million won for the top 20%, 117 times the 5.85 million won for the bottom 20%.