[Ordinary People Report] If You Buy a House, You Have to Repay for 17 Years... 2030 Generation Says "I Won't Marry or Have Children"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] It has been revealed that the number of young people trying to purchase homes last year, even by taking out loans, has increased. Amid soaring housing prices and growing loan burdens, the number of those unwilling to marry or have children has also risen.

According to the 'Ordinary People's Financial Life Report' released by Shinhan Bank on the 5th, recently 7.2% of people in their 20s and 30s purchased a residence within a year. This is a 1 percentage point increase from 6.2% the previous year.

Photo by Shinhan Bank, Ordinary People's Financial Life Report

By age group, the 20s and 30s accounted for the largest share of homebuyers at 41.1%. Next were those in their 40s at 32.5%. Among the purchased homes, 84.1% were apartments.

Regarding funding, 9 out of 10 people covered the cost through loans. Among 20s and 30s who purchased homes, 89.8% used loans, which is a 14.7 percentage point increase compared to 2020. This is about 10 percentage points higher than the loan usage rate of 79.1% across all age groups.

The average price of homes purchased by young people was 364.46 million KRW, with 167.20 million KRW financed through loans. Housing prices rose by 33.52 million KRW compared to a year ago, while loan amounts increased by 49.55 million KRW. The increase in loans has led to a debt burden for the younger generation. It was found that the 20s and 30s repay an average of 800,000 KRW monthly over 17.4 years.

Nevertheless, 56.9% of people in their 20s and 30s expressed a desire to buy a home by taking on debt. This is slightly higher than the overall rate (53.9%) and that of people in their 40s (53.8%). However, due to insufficient income capacity, only 10.8% said they would purchase a home within two years. This is lower than the overall rate (11.6%) and that of people in their 40s (13.7%).

The rise in housing prices and the resulting increase in debt burden have also affected marriage rates. The proportion of newlywed households in their first year of marriage was 4.5%, down 1.9 percentage points from 6.4% four years ago. When asked about burdens during marriage preparation, 55.0% answered 'housing preparation.' During the same period, marriage costs increased from 134.04 million KRW to 169.16 million KRW, a rise of 35.12 million KRW, of which 97.8% (34.37 million KRW) was due to housing preparation.

The proportion of couples in their 20s and 30s who do not intend to have children also increased by 5.8 percentage points from 11.6% to 17.4% over four years. Among reasons for not intending to have children, 58.0% cited value-based reasons. Economic reasons followed at 18.0%, then timing reasons (8.0%), social reasons (6.0%), and health/family support (2.0%).

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