[Beginner's Guide to Buying a House] Special Supply is Increasing... How Can I Apply?

Government Increases Special Supply to Address 2030 Generation's Dissatisfaction

First-Time Special Supply Introduced for Private Housing
However, Conditions Are Strict... Must Be Lifelong Homeless and Have Income for Over 5 Years

Income Criteria for Newlywed Special Supply Also Relaxed
Households of 4 with Annual Income of 100 Million Won Can Apply

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] When I become a real estate reporter, I often get unexpected KakaoTalk messages from friends. "How do I apply for a housing subscription?" "What is first priority?" For the 2030 'Burin-i (real estate + beginner)' who only have subscription savings accounts created by their parents when they were young, I am trying to create a guide.

House prices are soaring day by day, but there is good news for 2030 Burin-i who had to wait more than 10 years to accumulate enough points to win a housing subscription lottery. It is the government's plan to expand special supply.

Last month, the government announced a plan to reform the special supply of housing subscriptions through the July 10 real estate measures. Currently, the partial amendments to the 'Housing Supply Regulations' and the 'Public Housing Special Act Enforcement Regulations' containing these details are under legislative notice until the 7th of next month.

The core of this amendment, likely to be implemented next month, is the introduction of the first-ever life-first special supply for private housing and a significant increase in the income criteria for newlywed special supply.

The market views this measure as a complementary action following the introduction of a 100% point-based subscription system for houses under 85㎡ (exclusive area), which is the size of national housing, in speculative overheated districts such as Seoul, and the expansion of the point-based system ratio to 50% for houses over 85㎡. The intention is to expand homeownership opportunities for young people who have almost no chance of winning under the point-based system.

The government's response comes amid analyses that the 30s, who have become so-called 'Cheongpo-jok (subscription quitters)' due to difficulty winning under the point-based system, have turned to active home buying, leading to a 'panic buying' phenomenon driving house price increases. According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 17th, among the total 48,928 apartment sales transactions in Seoul in the first half of this year, those in their 30s accounted for 15,015 transactions (31.1%), the largest proportion.

Up to 15% Life-First Special Supply for Private Housing... But Criteria Are Stringent

So, what exactly will change? First, the proportion of special supply, which is relatively favorable to the 2030 generation such as life-first special supply, will increase significantly. Currently, the total proportion of special supply is 80% for national housing and 43% for private housing. Once this amendment is implemented, it will exceed half for all: 85% for national housing, 58% for private housing on public land, and 50% for private housing on private land.

In particular, life-first special supply, which was not previously introduced for private housing, will be introduced for the first time. For private housing built on public land, 15% of the total supply will be allocated for life-first special supply, and for private housing built on private land, 7% will be allocated. The life-first special supply proportion for national housing, which was previously 20%, will also increase by 5 percentage points to 25%.

Government's Plan to Expand Special Supply for First-Time Homebuyers (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

To receive this life-first special supply, first, as it is 'life-first,' not only the applicant but all household members must have never owned a house before.

In addition, the applicant must currently be married or have children. In other words, there must be dependents such as a spouse or children. If only children are present, the children must also be unmarried. New employees cannot apply for life-first special supply because only workers or self-employed persons with more than five years of work experience are eligible.

Furthermore, there are income criteria. For a three-person household, if the monthly income exceeds 5.63 million KRW, application is not possible. Currently, subscription eligibility is granted only if the household's average monthly income is below 100% of the previous year's average monthly income of urban workers. For this year, the limits are 2,645,147 KRW for a one-person household, 4,379,809 KRW for two persons, 5,626,897 KRW for three persons, and 6,226,342 KRW for four persons. If the household earns more than these amounts, life-first special supply is not possible.

Moreover, unlike the newlywed special supply, there is no procedure to apply a higher income criterion when the spouse has income, making it even more difficult to meet the requirements.

Finally, asset criteria are also imposed. As of this year, the total value of real estate assets including land and buildings must be below 215.5 million KRW, and if the applicant owns a car, its value must be below 27.64 million KRW.

However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to relax the income criteria from 100% to 130% of the average monthly income of urban workers for private housing, considering that the sale price of private housing is higher than that of national housing. In this case, households of three or fewer persons with monthly incomes up to 7.22 million KRW and four-person households with monthly incomes up to 8.09 million KRW will be eligible to apply.

Newlywed Special Supply Criteria Also Relaxed... Households Earning 100 Million KRW Annually Eligible

Government's plan to ease income requirements for special supply of private housing for newlyweds. (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

The government also plans to raise the income criteria for newlywed special supply. Currently, the income criteria are 100% (120% for dual-income) for public housing and 120% (130% for dual-income) for private housing. Starting next month, for newlywed hope towns with sale prices over 600 million KRW and private housing (limited to first-time homebuyers), the criteria will be raised to 130% (140% for dual-income).

For a four-person household, 140% of the previous year's average monthly income of urban workers is 8,716,879 KRW, which translates to an annual income of 104,602,546 KRW, meaning households earning over 100 million KRW annually will be eligible to apply for newlywed special supply.

Currently, the newlywed special supply is expected to maintain the direction of having no separate asset criteria. Unlike life-first special supply, newlywed special supply does not have separate asset requirements, which has caused controversy over 'gold spoon' subscriptions, but the government has stated that it has no plans to change this policy.

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