Home > Business > Finance

Home purchase in 2024 required full salary for 14 years, data shows

Published: 16 Nov. 2025, 15:12 Updated: 16 Nov. 2025, 16:54

Apartment complexes are seen in Seoul on Nov. 13. [NEWS1]

For the average salaried worker, a home purchase in Seoul in 2024 required saving their entire salary for about 14 years, data showed Sunday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Sunday released the results of its 2024 Housing Survey, based on in-person interviews conducted in the second half of last year with 61,000 households nationwide.

The price-to-income ratio for Seoul homeowners — which indicates how many years of income would be required to buy a home without any spending — was 13.9, based on median values. Following the capital, the highest ratios were found in Sejong with 8.2, Gyeonggi with 6.9, Daegu with 6.7, and Incheon with 6.6.

By region, the greater Seoul area recorded a ratio of 8.7 — up from 8.5 the previous year — while metropolitan cities remained unchanged at 6.3. Provincial regions rose from 3.7 to 4.

The average number of years it took households to purchase their first home after becoming heads of their household was seven years and 11 months in 2024, slightly up from seven years and eight months the year before. Since coming in at six years and 11 months in 2019, it has remained above seven years since 2020.

The national homeownership rate — the share of households that own a property, irrespective of who lives in it — rose to 61.4 percent in 2024, up 0.7 percentage points from 60.7 percent the previous year. Regionally, ownership rates rose across the board: from 68.6 to 69.4 percent in provincial areas, from 62.3 to 63.5 percent in metropolitan cities and from 55.1 to 55.6 percent in the capital region.

Apartment complexes are seen from central Seoul's Namsan on Nov. 14. [NEWS1]

The occupancy rate — the percentage of households living in homes they own — also rose to 58.5 percent, up from 57.4 percent. It increased in provincial areas from 65.4 to 66.5 percent, in metropolitan cities from 58.9 to 60 percent, and in the capital region from 51.9 to 52.7 percent.

In terms of housing tenure nationwide, 58.4 percent of households owned their homes, while 38 percent were renters.

The rent-to-income ratio for renter households — the share of monthly income spent on rent — stood at 15.8 percent, unchanged from the previous year. Regionally, the rate declined across the board: from 20.3 to 18.4 percent in the capital region, from 15.3 to 15.2 percent in metropolitan cities, and from 13.0 to 12.7 percent in provincial areas.

Per capita living space remained unchanged from the previous year at 36 square meters (388 square feet), with regional figures at 40.2 square meters in provincial areas, 36.7 square meters in metropolitan cities, and 33 square meters in the capital region.

The average living space per household fell slightly from 68.9 square meters in 2023 to 68.1 square meters last year. The percentage of households living below the minimum housing standards set by law increased from 3.6 to 3.8 percent.

The average length of time households lived in their current homes was eight years and five months, up about five months from the year before. On average, homeowners lived in their homes for 11 and a half years, while renters stayed for three years and seven months.

Sales notices are put up at a real estate agency in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Nov. 5. [NEWS1]

The most common reasons for moving were to upgrade facilities at 47.2 percent, to be closer to work at 30.6 percent and for better transportation access at 25.5 percent. Involuntary reasons included lease expiration at 18.1 percent, unaffordable home prices at 8.3 percent and redevelopment or reconstruction at 3.7 percent.

The percentage of respondents who believed they should own a home dropped slightly to 86.8 percent, down from 87.3 percent.

The most desired forms of housing support were mortgage loan assistance at 32 percent, jeonse (lump-sum deposit) loan support at 27.8 percent, monthly rent subsidies at 12.2 percent, and the supply of long-term public rental housing at 10.9 percent.

Among young households, 82.6 percent were renters, and 17.9 percent lived in commercial-residential properties such as officetels. For newlywed couples, 43.9 percent owned their homes, most of which were apartments at 73.4 percent. For older adults, 75.9 percent were homeowners, with 39.2 percent living in single-family houses.

When unmarried respondents were asked about the ideal house size for marriage, the average answer was 75.8 square meters of floor space — larger than the average home size reported in the survey, which was 68.1 square meters.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]