When I show students the rooms, I often hear that "Seoul housing prices are too expensive." There are one-room jeonse listings with deposits over 100 million won, and people coming up from outside the capital don't understand the prices. A one-room studio is on par with the jeonse for a small apartment in the provinces. They look around a few places, figure out the price level, and only then sign a contract before heading back.
At 10 a.m. on the 12th, a person surnamed A, who runs a licensed real estate agency near the back gate of Chung-Ang University in Dongjak District, Seoul, said this. February, A noted, is when incoming freshmen who have been admitted to the university come with their parents to find housing, more than when current students who planned ahead move. This agency still had multiunit housing listings ranging from a 10 million won deposit with 500,000 won monthly rent to a 30 million won deposit with 700,000 won monthly rent. A said, "Many of the good rooms are gone," adding, "What's left are many places with poor living conditions unless they're expensive homes."
Those looking for monthly rentals near the campus that day said, "Rents are quite burdensome." A person surnamed B in their 50s, who said they came up from Daegu to find their child's first place to live alone, said, "Rooms have been getting taken since November last year, so I hear many of the cost-effective ones are already gone. Seeing for myself, there aren't many decent listings, so I feel pressed," adding, "I plan to see a few places today and put down a deposit before heading back."
A person in their 40s surnamed C, a parent of another incoming college student, said, "We applied for a dorm but didn't get in. We're trying to find a safe and clean place reflecting my daughter's preference, but such listings are pricier than expected," adding, "If we choose a clean new building on a main road, it looks like 700,000 to 800,000 won a month is the baseline. I also hear there are good, affordable women's share houses, so I plan to look into those."
Among non-apartment types such as officetels and low-rise apartment (row and multiunit housing), the newer the building, the greater the price increase. A local licensed real estate agent said, "After COVID-19 ended, monthly rents shot up once, and while the recent upward trend isn't as steep, older buildings saw only management fees rise by 20,000 to 30,000 won, whereas in new buildings monthly rent seems to have risen by about 150,000 won."
◇ Average housing costs near Seoul universities top 670,000 won
Other university districts are in a similar situation. According to the real estate platform "Dabang," the average monthly rent in 10 major university areas in Seoul was found at 670,000 won as of Oct. last year, based on a 10 million won deposit.
Ewha Womans University ranked as the most expensive university district for monthly rent in Seoul. Monthly rent near Ewha Womans University was 790,000 won. Looking at recent listings on Dabang, officetels near Ewha Womans University, if newly built in a good location and around 330 square feet, often exceeded 1 million won per month with a 10 million won deposit. A newly built 396-square-foot officetel completed this year in a station area had a 10 million won deposit and monthly rent reaching 1.6 million won. Urban lifestyle housing or multiunit one-rooms were priced lower than that.
Following Ewha Womans University were Kyunghee University (730,000 won), Sungkyunkwan University (700,000 won), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (690,000 won), Korea University (690,000 won), and Yonsei University (670,000 won) as high-rent university areas.
As a result, some students opt for share houses or find homes in areas far from campus instead of living alone. University student Lee, 24, said, "Commuting alone takes four hours round trip, so I found a share house," adding, "With monthly rent in the 500,000 won range, it's a layout where the single room is private but the living room and kitchen are shared, and it's cheaper than renting a studio."
Areas near university campuses see steady annual demand regardless of the economy, but because supply elasticity is limited, monthly rents are analyzed to be on an upward trend. According to University Alimi, the dormitory accommodation rate at Seoul universities last year was 17.2%, meaning the remaining student housing demand must be absorbed by the private rental market. As the number of international students grows, competition for rooms is getting fiercer. The number of international students at universities in Seoul was 57,762 last year, up 9.4% from 52,819 the previous year.
In contrast, the supply situation in the housing market near universities is not favorable. Redevelopment and reconstruction are not active, and even when development happens, the supply of very small rental dwellings that can absorb student demand is decreasing.
Recently, as the aftermath of jeonse fraud accelerates the "monthly-ization of jeonse," it has become more common to reduce deposits and shoulder higher monthly rents, a factor cited for pushing up housing costs near university districts.
◇ Expand supply alongside monthly rent support
The heavy housing expense burden creates gaps in consumption and living standards among college students, and differences in the timing of asset formation and independence. That is because housing conditions and living stability vary depending on whether parents can provide support.
Concerned about this, the central and local governments are expanding monthly rent support for young people. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport provides partitioning support for up to 24 months, covering up to 4.8 million won (up to 200,000 won per month) of rent paid by young people (ages 19–34) living in monthly rentals. Recipients of housing benefits receive the monthly cap of 200,000 won minus the housing benefits amount. Eligible are young people without a home whose household income is at or below 60% of the median income, and whose original household income is at or below 100% of the median income.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government provides partitioning support for up to 12 months, paying monthly rent of up to 2.4 million won (up to 200,000 won per month) to young people without homes (ages 19–39) whose income is at or below 150% of the median income and who live on monthly rent in buildings with deposits of 80 million won or less and monthly rent of 600,000 won or less.
Experts said that because such monthly rent support is a short-term remedy, structural changes such as expanding the supply of public housing for young people should proceed at the same time. They said the government's supply plan to increase youth rental housing in station areas needs to be implemented quickly to stabilize young people's housing costs. There is also a call to ease regulations on owners of multiple homes so the private sector can provide sufficient supply.
Seo Jin-hyung, a professor in the Real Estate Law and Administration Department at Kwangwoon University, said, "Developers' supply of non-apartments is blocked," adding, "With regulations on owners of multiple homes making private supply difficult as well, we need to lift restrictions to smooth out supply."