Want to buy a home in Seoul? Save for 15.2 years.

The view of apartment complexes in downtown Seoul as seen from Namsan Mountain [YONHAP]

Buying a house in Seoul requires diligent savings for an average of 15.2 years without spending any monthly salary, according to a survey released on Friday.

The housing survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport showed that the Price-Income Ratio (PIR) for Seoul surged from 14.1 times in 2021 to 15.2 times last year. The PIR indicates the time needed to accumulate funds for home acquisition without utilizing monthly income.

This suggests that, despite lower home prices, higher interest rates have extended the timeframe required to amass the financial capacity to purchase a house in Seoul by an additional year compared to the previous year.

In the neighboring city of Incheon, the PIR rose from 7.1 times to 7.7 times, while in Gyeonggi, it decreased from 9.9 times to 8.9 times.

Nationwide, the average PIR declined to 6.3 times in the past year from 6.7 times in 2021.

Living expenses in rental accommodations have become more challenging, with the Rent-Income Ratio (RIR), indicating the percentage of monthly rent compared to monthly income for rental households, increasing to 16.0 percent from 15.7 percent the previous year.

The homeownership rate for last year reached 61.3 percent, marking a 0.7 percentage point increase from 2021 and representing the highest rate since data collection began in 2006.

Despite the heightened difficulty in home-buying, there is a growing desire for homeownership among the public.

The percentage of respondents expressing the necessity of owning their own home increased by 0.7 percentage points to 89.6 percent compared to 2021.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]