[비즈한국] It has been revealed that the number of people in their 20s and 30s who purchased a collective building (apartments, officetels, villas, etc.) for the first time in Seoul in the first quarter of this year reached its highest level in 5 years. As Seoul's housing sale prices continue to rise and the burden of jeonse and monthly rent grows, the desire of young non-homeowners to secure their own homes has been stimulated once again. In particular, buying activity was prominent in areas such as Gangseo, Nowon, Yeongdeungpo, Seongbuk, and Guro, where collective buildings at relatively accessible price ranges are distributed.
On the 25th, according to Bizhankook's analysis of data from the Supreme Court's Registry Information Plaza, 12,403 people in the 2030 generation (ages 19 to 39) purchased their first collective building in Seoul in the first quarter of this year, which is about double the number from the same period last year (6,167). This is the highest figure since the first quarter of 2021, which recorded 13,438 people. This year, the 2030 generation accounts for 65% of all first-time collective building buyers in Seoul, a 6-percentage-point increase from the previous year.
The area with the highest number of first-time collective building buyers in their 20s and 30s is Gangseo-gu. Buyers in the first quarter numbered 937, accounting for 8% of the total. By autonomous district, the order is as follows: Nowon (799), Yeongdeungpo (767), Seongbuk (765), Songpa (746), Guro (743), Dongdaemun (651), Eunpyeong (625), Dongjak (619), Seodaemun (607), Gangdong (582), Yangcheon (510), Mapo (493), Gwanak (459), Seongdong (420), Gangbuk (354), Gwangjin (334), Jungnang (328), Gangnam (309), Seocho (298), Dobong (246), Yongsan (237), Geumcheon (226), Jung-gu (217), and Jongno (131).
Neighborhoods where the increase in 2030 generation buyers was notable in the first quarter of this year are Gangbuk-gu and Guro-gu. The number of buyers in Gangbuk-gu was 354, a 225% increase (245 people) compared to the previous year, while the number of buyers in Guro-gu was 743, a 193% increase (489 people). This means the number of buyers has tripled compared to the same period last year. In addition, the buyer growth rate by district was high in: Eunpyeong-gu (168%), Nowon-gu (159%), Jongno-gu (152%), Seongbuk-gu (141%), Gwanak-gu (134%), Seodaemun-gu (132%), Gangseo-gu (131%), Yangcheon-gu (124%), Dongdaemun-gu (121%), and Dongjak-gu (113%).
Seoul housing prices are maintaining an upward trend. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's monthly housing price trend survey, Seoul's comprehensive housing sales price index in March this year was 101.05 points, an 8.38% increase from the same month last year. In this statistic, Seoul housing prices turned to an upward trend in April 2024 and have continued to rise for 24 consecutive months up to March this year. The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements' housing sales market consumer sentiment index was 117.8 points, down about 13% from the same month last year, but it remains at a high level. This index considers below 95 as a price decline phase, 95 to below 115 as a stagnant phase, and 115 or higher as an upward phase.