Most newlyweds think home ownership is a must

By Yoon Ja-young

Eight out of 10 newlyweds think purchasing and owning their own home is a must. That is the biggest economic reason why both husbands and wives are working, a survey showed.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the result of its survey of newlyweds Wednesday. A total of 2,677 couples, who have been married for less than five years, were polled.

The survey showed that 84.7 percent think owning a home is a must. That’s higher than the country’s average households, among whom 79.1 percent said they should own a home.

Those in middle- to lower-income brackets, and those with children, had stronger wills to buy their own homes, compared with high-income couples or those without children.

However, they don’t think it will be easy to become a homeowner. The survey showed that they expect it to take at least eight years and nine months on average to purchase a home.

Those living in Seoul, Incheon or Gyeonggi Province expected it to take even longer ― on average, 10 years ― while those in other regions estimated it to take an average of seven years and three months.

Among the newlywed couples, 37.2 percent said both the husband and the wife are working. The survey showed that the ratio of double-income couples falls as time goes on ― from 44.8 percent in the first year of marriage, to 40.9 percent in the second year, and to 30 percent in the third year. When asked why they chose to be double- income, 41.2 percent said “To buy a house.”

Mortgages seem to be essential to buy a home. While one out of five couples said they bought their homes with their savings, 35.5 percent said they had to get additional mortgages and 13.8 percent said they got financial assistance from their parents or other relatives.

The survey also showed what young couples take into account most when determining the location of their homes ― nearly half said the distance to work mattered most, followed by the residential environment at 26.6 percent and the distance to the home of their parents standing at 17.7 percent.

Among newlyweds, 29.4 percent are living in their own homes, while 62.9 percent are renting their homes. The value of those who own their own homes averaged 198 million won, while the average deposit for jeonse, or Korea’s unique home rental system where a lump sum deposit is given the landlord without monthly rent, stood at 112 million won.

Over half of the newlyweds said they were willing to live in rental homes provided by the government.

The annual income of the households in the survey averaged 43.4 million won.