95 percent of young Koreans think owning a home is essential

More than nine out of 10 people in their 20s think purchasing a house is essential, according to a joint survey by job portals JobKorea and Albamon.

The result comes after the two job portals conducted a survey on 2,889 people in their 20s who don’t currently own a house.

When they were asked if they think purchasing a house is necessary, 94.8 percent said it is “essential.” Of them, roughly 78.1 percent said they have plans to buy a house even if they have to take out loans.

When asked why owning a house is necessary, 40.3 percent said “to make retirement comfortable.” Twenty-nine percent said they would feel anxiety without owning a house and 29.1 percent said owning a house is better than renting as the price of rent or jeonse has been rising rapidly.

Other reasons included that owning a house is a life goal, chosen by 27.1 percent, and investment, at 19.4 percent. Multiple answers were allowed.

Of the respondents who said owning a house is essential, 63.7 percent said they would like to purchase an apartment. Only 23.6 percent said they would prefer a detached house and eight percent said they want an officetel unit. Just 4.4 percent of respondents said they wish to live in a villa — the Korean name for generally older buildings no higher than five stories containing a number of smaller housing units.

By sizes, about 45.1 percent said they are considering a property over 30 pyeong (1,068 square feet), while 35.1 percent said they would prefer something between 20 and 30 pyeong. A pyeong is 3.3 square meters.

The result differed depending on where respondents currently live.

Of respondents who live in Seoul, nearly 76 percent said they want to get a house in Seoul. Only 18.7 percent said they are OK with the greater Seoul area including Incheon and Gyeonggi.

About 72.3 percent of respondents who currently live in Incheon and Gyeonggi also said they would like to purchase a house in the greater Seoul area. Only 23.5 percent said they wish to reside in Seoul.

Forty percent of people who live in rural areas said they would like to purchase a house there.

Respondents estimated that they would be able to get a house at the average age of 36.8. However, when they were asked if they are confident that they would be able to buy real estate in the future, they gave a score of 5.3 out of 10.

Of the people who said buying a house is unnecessary, 59.1 percent said the sky-high real estate prices would lead them to “fall into debt,” while 27.5 percent said they would like to invest the money in different areas rather than real estate.

Twenty-six percent said they don’t feel the need to own a house, 17.4 percent showed interest in other various types of residences such as “share houses” and 11.4 percent said not owning a house is a better option as they won't have to pay additional costs such as taxes.

Over three-quarters, or 78.3 percent, of respondents said real estate prices will continuously rise in the future while 14.1 percent said prices will stay the same. Only 7.6 percent thought that prices would fall.

Roughly 80.5 percent said jeonse and monthly rent prices would also increase further.

BY KIM KYUNG-HEE, CHEA SARAH [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]