Luxury Real Estate Chosen by the Wealthy... What Are the Results?

- When the wealthy earn 30 million won, the lower income group loses 500,000 won... Real estate deepens inequality
- The 5th quintile (highest income group) sees a significant increase in real estate assets and a decrease in financial assets

Shinhan Bank recently announced the '2020 Ordinary People's Financial Life Report' based on an email survey of 10,000 economic participants nationwide.

According to the report, the wealthy increased their assets by borrowing to invest in real estate. The lower-middle class was making a living by even taking on 'two jobs.' One of the key reasons was fluctuations in real estate prices.

As of 2019, the real estate value of the lowest 20% income group, Group 1, decreased by 550,000 KRW from 56.99 million KRW in 2018 to 56.44 million KRW. Group 1 was the only income group to see a decrease in real estate asset size. In contrast, the top 20% income group, Group 5, saw an increase of 31.26 million KRW, reaching 694.33 million KRW in real estate assets.

The report showed that the higher the income, the greater the increase in real estate asset value. Group 2 recorded 154.68 million KRW, up 1.77 million KRW from 152.91 million KRW in 2018. From Group 3 onwards, the increase in real estate assets exceeded 10 million KRW compared to 2018. Group 3 increased by 15.57 million KRW to 281.62 million KRW, and Group 4 increased by 28.18 million KRW to 408.48 million KRW.

Accordingly, the real estate asset gap between income Groups 1 and 5 widened from 11.6 times in 2018 to 12.3 times in 2019. The total asset size difference also grew accordingly. The total assets of Group 5, the top 20% income group, were 882.94 million KRW, 9.2 times larger than Group 1's total assets of 95.92 million KRW.

The proportion of financial assets among the highest income group is gradually decreasing. Although Group 5's real estate assets increased significantly, their financial assets recorded 138.96 million KRW, 2.57 million KRW less than in 2018. However, despite the decrease in financial assets, Group 5's financial asset size was 1.8 times that of Group 4 and 5.3 times that of Group 1.

Meanwhile, VilladgreumW, located in the Archiwool Artists' Village near Walkerhill Hotel, is scheduled for sale this month. VilladgreumW, consisting of 16 units with contract areas ranging from 187㎡ to 281㎡ across basement level 1 to the 4th floor, is designed with all units facing south. Each unit features a main kitchen and a separate sub-kitchen space for convenient kitchen living, and private gardens will be provided free of charge for units on the first floor.

VilladgreumW offers convenient access to major Seoul areas such as Gangnam within 15 to 30 minutes, as well as Jamsil, Seongsu, Hannam, and the eastern Gyeonggi region. Additionally, the luxury hotels Grand Walkerhill and Grand Vista Walkerhill, located in Gwangjang-dong, are within a 5-minute drive, allowing residents to enjoy a relaxed lifestyle with hotel amenities, dining, banquets, wellness, and membership fitness facilities nearby.