Young Koreans' homeownership falls to record low, widening generational gap

An apartment complex undergoes reconstruction in Seocho District, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Young people in Korea are falling further behind in wealth, as the homeownership rate and the resulting generational gap widen to a record high.

According to the Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday, the homeownership rate for those 39 and under fell to 27.7 percent last year, down 2.4 percentage points from 2024. The rate is the lowest since 2017, a 13 percentage point drop from the record high of 40.7 percent set in 2018 and 2019.

By contrast, older age groups saw far smaller declines. The rate for those in their 50s slipped 0.6 percentage points to 63.5 percent, while the rate for those 60 and older dropped 0.4 percentage points to 68.5 percent.

The result is the widest generational gap in homeownership since 2017. The gap between those in their 50s and those 39 and under grew to 35.8 percentage points, while the gap between those 60 and older and those 39 and under reached 40.8 percentage points.

That divide extends to net assets. Households aged 39 and under held 219.5 million won ($150,000) last year, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier, while those in their 50s held 551.61 million won, up 7.9 percent, and those 60 and older held 535.91 million won, up 3.2 percent.

Those gaps were also the widest since 2017, with net assets for those in their 50s reaching 2.5 times higher than that of people 39 and under, and for those 60 and older, 2.4 times as much.

The pattern holds across asset brackets as well. The homeownership rate for the bottom 20 percent by net assets stood at 6.8 percent last year, compared with 84.2 percent for the top 20 percent. That gap of 77.4 percentage points was the widest since 79.8 percentage points in 2022.

The average home price for the top 20 percent was 686.77 million won, 117.4 times the average of 5.85 million won for the bottom 20 percent.

At a public forum on real estate policy last week, President Lee Jae Myung outlined measures to address real estate issues, including strengthening property holding taxes and expanding high-quality public rental housing.

The housing issue has become the main drag on Lee's approval rating. A Gallup Korea poll of 1,003 voters nationwide aged 18 and older, released Friday, showed a 51 percent approval rate, marking a third straight week of decline.

Real estate policy was the most cited reason for disapproval, at 22 percent, followed by the economy, livelihoods and high exchange rate at 10 percent.