Young People Rush to Buy Homes Before Prices Rise Further

More than half of young Koreans want to buy a home this year before prices rise even further, a straw poll suggests.

The government has promised to supply more apartments in order to quell jitters among young Koreans and prevent them from rushing into the overheated market, but the laws of supply and demand seem hard to beat.

The Chosun Ilbo polled 407 people who attended a real estate expo last week and asked them when they want to buy their own home. Eighty-two of the 153 respondents in their 20s and 30s said in the second half of this year, reflecting jitters over apartment prices felt in that age group.

Asked what is the biggest obstacle to buying a home, 52 percent of all respondents ticked housing loan restrictions, 27 percent the tax burden and nine percent the fear that the housing market could crash.

Asked about the optimum price of an apartment, 26 percent said more than W900 million, 21 percent said between W700 million to W900 million and 20 percent said between W500 million to W700 million (US$1=W1,113).

Real estate analyst Ko Jong-hwan said, "The average apartment price in Seoul has surpassed W1 billion, so the government should consider easing housing loan regulations for homes costing more than W900 million."