34% of 30s and 40s Households with Children "Bought a House Before Marriage"

According to the Land Transport Research Institute, 32% "Buy a House Based on Children's Education Conditions"

One-third of households in their 30s and 40s with children were found to have purchased their first home before marriage. The proportion of households that acquired their first home after the birth of their first child (29.3%) was higher than those who did so after the birth of their second child (28.7%).

On the 21st, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements released the results of a survey conducted on 3,042 households nationwide with children aged between 30 and 49 in the report titled "Home Ownership and Childbirth Decision Criteria and Obstacles for 30s and 40s Households with Children."

The average number of children in 30s and 40s households with children was 1.8. Households with one child accounted for 35.9%, two children 51.6%, and three or more children 12.5%. The proportion of households with one child was highest in Seoul at 44.2%, while the five major metropolitan cities (Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan) and Sejong had 38.1%. Their average monthly income was 5,146,000 KRW, and dual-income households accounted for 56.5%. The rate of dual-income households was higher in rural areas (59.7%) and Seoul (58.8%) compared to other regions.

Among 30s and 40s households with children, 62.6% lived in owned homes, but the homeownership rate in Seoul was relatively low at 44.5%. Of these households, 34.3% had purchased their first-ever home before marriage. 77.8% of 30s and 40s households with children lived in apartments, with apartment residency rates in metropolitan cities and provinces exceeding 80%, higher than Seoul's 63.3%.

Respondents cited child education conditions such as schools and academies (32.4%) as the most influential factor when choosing their current residence. Responses indicating the importance of housing and rental costs accounted for 24.4%, and distance to the workplace was 17.1%. The importance of child education conditions increased with higher income, while the influence of housing prices grew with lower income.

Only 9.6% of respondents expressed an intention to have more children. Factors hindering childbirth included the burden of childcare costs (26.4%), education expenses (20.0%), difficulties balancing work and family life (22.8%), and challenges in maintaining employment (17.6%).

Regarding important policies for housing stability, respondents living in Seoul answered that expanding housing supply in urban centers (28.6%) was most important. Among respondents living in Incheon and Gyeonggi, many answered that supplying housing in excellent locations (30.5%) and supporting home ownership for the homeless (34.8%) were priorities. In rural areas, the proportion of respondents who believed housing quality should be improved (16.0%) was higher than in other regions.

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