"Ministry of Land Refutes 'Unbeatable Barrier for 30s in Housing Subscription'... '1 in 4 Winners Are from the Point System'"

Experts Point Out "Cutoff Scores Soared After Price Ceiling Announcement, Simple Comparison Is Unreasonable"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has strongly refuted the controversy that the expansion of the subscription point system has lowered the chances of apartment winners in their 30s. Citing last year's statistics, MOLIT claims that among the winners of private housing supplied through the point system in the Seoul area, those in their 30s accounted for 23.4%.

However, experts point out that this is a simple statistic for the entire last year and does not take into account the sharp rise in subscription competition rates and winning cut-off scores after the announcement of the August 12 measures introducing the private land price ceiling system.

According to MOLIT's announcement on the 29th regarding the age status of private housing winners in Seoul last year, among the general supply winners, those in their 30s numbered 2,870, accounting for 26.7% of the total 10,763 winners. The number of winners in their 40s was 4,264, meaning that 7 out of 10 winners were in their 30s to 40s, MOLIT added. Among these, for the point system supply volume, out of 9,261 winners, 2,170 were in their 30s, accounting for 23.4%.

MOLIT explained that the proportion of winners in their 30s was even higher in the lottery system among the general supply and in special supply. In the lottery system, among 1,502 households, the proportion of winners in their 30s was 46.6% (700 people), and including those aged 20 and under, the total was 845, exceeding half.

In the special supply for newlyweds married within 7 years, among 1,935 winners, 1,671 were in their 30s, accounting for 86.4%.

Accordingly, among a total of 13,941 private housing units in the Seoul area, the proportion of winners in their 30s was 35.8% (4,989 people), similar to the proportion of winners in their 40s (37.3%, 5,200 people).

Through the August 2, 2017 real estate measures, the government decided that in speculative overheated districts, all units of small and medium-sized apartments under 85㎡ exclusive area would select winners in order of points without a lottery. The current point system consists of a maximum of 84 points, including 32 points for the period of no home ownership, 35 points for the number of dependents, and 17 points for the subscription savings account period. Since the periods of no home ownership and subscription savings account are structured to increase points effectively by 'age order,' it is pointed out that it is difficult for those in their 30s to receive high points.

Experts argue that the issue of exclusion of those in their 30s due to subscription overheating became prominent mainly in the second half of last year. In fact, before the August 12 measures announcing the private land price ceiling system last year, the average subscription competition rate for apartments in Seoul was 18.3 to 1, but after that, it soared to 63.2 to 1. The minimum winning score also rose by more than 16 points, from 39.5 points before the measures to 55.6 points after.

There are also complaints that the special supply for newlyweds requires an annual income not to exceed 130% of the average income per urban worker household of the previous year, making it impossible for dual-income couples earning more than 84.27 million KRW (based on 2019) to apply.

Experts point out that as demanders in their 30s repeatedly fail in apartment subscriptions, they are turning their eyes to purchasing existing houses.

An industry insider said, "The recent influx of those in their 30s into the housing sales market is due to the subscription regulations becoming an 'insurmountable wall'." According to the Korea Real Estate Board, among the total 68,943 domestic (individual) apartment sales transactions in Seoul last year, those in their 30s purchased 20,691 units (30.0%), revealing them as the top 'big buyers' across all age groups. Those in their 40s purchased 20,562 units (29.8%), and those in their 50s purchased 13,911 units (20.2%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.