Buying apartment in Seoul now takes 24 years of full-salary saving
Buying an apartment in Seoul has become increasingly out of reach for average workers, with average home prices soaring past 1.3 billion won for the first time, according to latest data.
KB Kookmin Bank's monthly real estate report, released Monday, showed that the average price of apartments in Seoul reached 1.3 billion won ($913,500) in April, marking a 0.98 percent increase from the previous month. That figure is 2.5 times the national average of 522 million won.
Experts suggest that rising construction costs and inflation could have pushed up presale prices while continued demand for homes in popular residential districts, such as Gangnam-gu, Yonsan-gu and areas along the Han River, have also contributed to the city's rising average housing prices.
The rise translates into a cut in affordability for would-be homebuyers.
Based on the average monthly salary of 4.599 million won in Seoul, as reported by the Labor Ministry, a worker would theoretically have to save every penny of their entire salary for 289 months — or 24 years — to afford an average-priced apartment in Seoul. In reality, with taxes, living expenses and inflation, it would take much longer.
Separate data released Tuesday by local real estate platform Dabang showed that an 84-square-meter, three-room apartment, the most common and in-demand housing type among Korean households, averaged 1.46 billion won in the first quarter, up 25.5 percent from a year earlier.
Of Seoul's 25 districts, Seocho-gu had the highest home prices with a three-room unit selling at an average price of 2.8 billion won.
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