Last year, 6 out of 10 households in Korea owned their homes. The per-capita residential area was similar to the previous year, but the area per household edged down. It also showed that, as of last year, buying a home in Seoul would require saving every penny of one's salary for about 14 years.
According to the "2024 housing conditions survey results" released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 16th, last year's homeownership rate was 61.4%, up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier. By region, provinces were highest at 69.4%, followed by metropolitan cities at 63.5% and the Seoul metropolitan area at 55.6%, with all regions increasing from a year earlier.
The share actually living in owner-occupied homes was 58.4%, up 1.0 percentage point from the previous year, and the Seoul metropolitan area inched up to 52.7%. For all households, the tenure breakdown was owner-occupied 58.4%, rented 38.0%, and free 3.6%. The share of renter households was highest in the Seoul metropolitan area at 44.4%. The average duration of residence in a dwelling was 8.4 years, five months longer than the year before, and by tenure was 11.5 years for owner households and 3.6 years for renter households, indicating a longer settlement period.
The share of households that moved within the past two years, or the residential mobility rate, was 30.3%, down 1.9 percentage points. By region, the Seoul metropolitan area was highest at 33.4%. Reasons for moving were facility and equipment improvements (47.2%), proximity to work (30.6%), and convenient transportation (25.5%). Involuntary moves were due to lease expiration (18.1%), housing cost burden (8.3%), and redevelopment or reconstruction (3.7%).
Last year, the price-to-income ratio (PIR) for owner households in Seoul was 13.9 times at the median. PIR indicates how long it takes to purchase a home if one saves an entire salary. As of last year, to have "one's own home" in Seoul, it would mean saving every penny of salary for about 14 years.
After Seoul, regions with high PIRs were Sejong (8.2 times), Gyeonggi (6.9 times), Daegu (6.7 times), and Incheon (6.6 times). By broader area, the PIR rose from 8.5 to 8.7 times in the Seoul metropolitan area and from 3.7 to 4.0 times in provinces from a year earlier, while metropolitan cities (6.3 times) were unchanged.
The number of years required to acquire a first-ever home after becoming a household head was 7.9 years, up about two months from 7.7 years a year earlier. Per-capita residential area was 36.0㎡, the same as the previous year, and by region it was provinces (40.2㎡), metropolitan cities and others (36.7㎡), and the Seoul metropolitan area (33.0㎡). However, the average residential area per household declined slightly from the previous year.
An analysis of special household types found that young people and newlyweds had lower owner-occupation rates and higher shares below the minimum housing standard, while housing conditions improved for elderly households. Among young households, the rental share reached 82.6%, and the share living in non-dwelling accommodations (such as study rooms or containers) was 5.3%, higher than the overall average of 2.2%.
In the housing policy demand survey, the most cited needs were support for home purchase loans (32.0%), support for jeonse loans (27.8%), support for monthly rent subsidies (12.2%), and supply of long-term public rental housing (10.9%). By tenure, owner households most needed home purchase funds, while jeonse households most needed jeonse loans.