‘Pre-winning then worrying’?… For 2030 subscription, neither ‘Pre-winning’ nor ‘Post-worrying’ is easy

Number of Housing Subscription Savings Account Subscribers Decreased in November and December Last Year
First Decline Since December 2019
Youth Say "No Hope Due to High Competition Rates and Large Down Payments"

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's subscription website on the 28th, the number of subscribers to the Housing Subscription Comprehensive Savings decreased by 646 and 7,852 in November and December of last year, respectively, compared to the previous month. Voices from 2030 youth express that the effectiveness of the subscription lottery system is declining due to high competition rates and large contract deposits.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] "Looking at the competition rate for properties sold by lottery system in Seoul this time, I feel that housing subscription is useless. Instead of putting money into a subscription savings account, it seems better to gather funds through stock investment." (Park, 26, non-subscriber to subscription savings account)

The number of young people in their 20s and 30s who do not subscribe to housing subscription savings accounts is increasing. Although the government reformed the special supply for first-time homebuyers last November to allow 30% of the quota to be won by unmarried and childless households, the reality of 'lottery-level' competition rates of thousands to one and high contract deposits make it practically impossible to secure a home through subscription.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's Subscription Home on the 28th, the number of subscribers to the comprehensive housing subscription savings account decreased by 646 and 7,852 in November and December last year compared to the previous month, respectively. This is the first time since December 2019 that the number of new subscribers decreased month-on-month. Although the number of subscribers to the comprehensive housing subscription savings account last month (62,350,865) slightly increased by 51 compared to the previous month, it shows a slowdown in subscription as the number of subscribers increased by 15,240 compared to the previous month a year ago.

Limited housing supply and high competition rates are the main reasons that take away young people's hopes of winning subscriptions. On the 24th, Seoul Centreville Asterium Yeongdeungpo, which finished subscription applications, offered 10 units for first-time homebuyer special supply. Due to the limited supply and many applicants, the 59㎡ units, of which 6 were supplied, recorded a competition rate of an astonishing 2,107 to 1. The 49㎡ and 56㎡ units, each supplied with 2 units, also showed high competition rates of 671.5 to 1 and 534 to 1, respectively.

Additionally, difficulties in preparing the contract deposit reduce the effectiveness of lottery-based subscription applications. After the subscription winning announcement, applicants usually have about two weeks to prepare a contract deposit amounting to 10-20% of the sale price by the contract signing date. While the remaining balance before sale can be financed through a mortgage loan, there are few suitable loan products for the contract deposit, making it difficult to apply for subscription without personal capital. In fact, for Centreville Asterium Yeongdeungpo, winners must prepare up to 134.2 million KRW (based on 59㎡ units) within two months from the announcement day on the 3rd of next month. Lee (27), who applied for this first-time special supply, said, "As a young worker, it is difficult to get a credit loan, so even if I win, I am at a loss on how to prepare the contract deposit," adding, "If I cannot get help from my parents, it is practically like losing the chance to win."

Lee Eunhyung, senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Construction Policy, pointed out, "Since the limited supply was allocated to young people, the high competition rate is a natural consequence," and added, "Regardless of the opportunity to apply, the subscription benefits will be limited to young people who have sufficient ability to pay high contract deposits."

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