Seoul Public Rental Residents Say "Space Is Small"... 64% Feel the Need for Homeownership

Published 07 May.2023 15:31(KST)

Updated 07 May.2023 16:29(KST)

Seoul Public Rental Residents Say "Space Is Small"... 64% Feel the Need for Homeownership

Among residents of public rental housing in Seoul, 6 out of 10 expressed a desire to own their own homes. Many opinions indicated the need for improvements in terms of housing size and management.

According to the 'Seoul Public Rental Housing Resident Panel Survey' released on the 7th by Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), 64.4% of respondents answered "yes" when asked if they believe owning a home is necessary. The need for homeownership was particularly high among public rental types such as Happy Housing (85.2%) and Long-term Jeonse (74.6%).

The evaluation of the current exclusive residential area showed that "small" (47.4%) was the most common response. "Average" (45.8%) followed, while only 6.8% said "large." When asked about the preferred exclusive area if they were to move, 40~60㎡ was the most popular choice at 38.3%, followed by 60~85㎡ (28.1%), under 40㎡ (24.1%), and over 85㎡ (9.5%).

On the other hand, 87.7% expressed satisfaction with living in rental housing. The most cited advantage was "stable residential life" (55%). The biggest issue mentioned was "small housing size" (15%). Regarding necessary measures for high-quality rental housing, shortening the replacement cycle of internal facilities and equipment improvements (38.2%) and reducing noise between floors (31.4%) were highlighted.

This survey is the result of a questionnaire on changes in the living conditions and housing welfare needs of Seoul public rental housing residents, conducted by SH Corporation since 2016. It is explained that the seven-year longitudinal survey allows for a multidimensional understanding of the housing stability effects of public rental housing. SH Corporation has fully opened the Seoul public rental housing resident panel survey data on its website so that any Seoul citizen can easily access it.

The survey sample size is about 3,000 households, considering the public rental housing management volumes not only of Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation but also of Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) and the Housing Management Corporation. When weighted, this corresponds to 200,000 households. The targeted public rental housing types include permanent rental, multi-family purchase rental, 50-year public rental, redevelopment rental, national rental, long-term Jeonse, and Happy Housing.

Kim Heon-dong, president of SH Corporation, said, "Through this data release, we hope everyone will recognize that living in public housing can improve quality of life," adding, "We will continue to develop policies based on data and verify their effectiveness to contribute to the housing welfare of Seoul citizens."