"Do You Know About Gonggong Jeonse Housing?"... 7 Out of 10 People Say "Don't Know"

Only 26.1% of Respondents Know About 'Gonggong Jeonse Housing'
High Willingness to Participate in Gonggong Jeonse Housing Tenant Recruitment at 93.1%
Many Opinions Cite 'Affordable Sale Price' as Advantage of Sale-Conversion Rental Apartments

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The government introduced 'Public Jeonse' to alleviate the middle-class Jeonse housing shortage, but it appears that few people are aware of it. Seven out of ten Zigbang users responded that they 'do not know what Public Jeonse is.'

Zigbang announced on the 10th that, according to a mobile survey (95% confidence level with a margin of error ±2.15 percentage points) conducted from the 14th to the 28th of last month among 2,086 application users, 1,542 respondents (73.9%) answered 'do not know' when asked if they were aware of public Jeonse housing.

Awareness of Public Jeonse was higher among younger age groups. The percentage of respondents who answered 'do not know Public Jeonse' was 69.9% among those aged 60 and above, 72.3% in their 40s, and 82.4% for those aged 20 and below.

Although awareness was low, the willingness to move in after being introduced to Public Jeonse was relatively high. When asked about their intention to participate in tenant recruitment after an introduction to Public Jeonse, 93.1% (1,942 people) responded that they 'intend to participate.' The willingness to participate was higher among non-homeowners (94.9%) than homeowners (88.0%). By residential area, preference was higher in the metropolitan area, with Incheon (94.7%), Seoul (94.0%), Gyeonggi (92.1%), and the five major provincial metropolitan cities (90.8%).

The most common reason given for willingness to participate in Public Jeonse was 'It seems cheaper than market rent' at 32.0%. This was followed by 'Because it is a Jeonse type, not monthly rent' (28.8%), 'Because a certain housing period is guaranteed' (14.9%), and 'Because the exclusive area is larger than existing public rental housing' (9.9%).

On the other hand, among respondents (144 people) who expressed no intention to participate, the most common reason was 'Because I do not know the characteristics of the housing' at 25.0%. This was followed by 'Because it is rental housing' (19.4%), 'Because I am not a non-homeowner household' (17.4%), 'Because I have plans to purchase a house in the future' (14.6%), and 'Because it is a form such as officetel or multi-family housing, not an apartment' (13.9%).

When asked whether they had interest or intention to apply for existing public rental or publicly supported private rental housing, 1,957 people, or 93.8% of the total, answered 'yes.' Interest was relatively higher among non-homeowners (95.0%).

Regarding differentiated premium urban rental housing such as 'Nine One Hannam' in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which began lease-to-own conversion in March, 53.8% responded that they were 'interested.' Unlike public rental housing, interest in premium rental housing was higher among homeowners, with 64.9% of one-homeowners and 57.1% of two-homeowners showing interest, compared to 56.3% of non-homeowners.

A Zigbang official explained, "Although awareness of Public Jeonse, first introduced through the November 19th measures last year, is still low, interest is high after explaining the product characteristics. Effective promotion of the product is necessary when new housing types are supplied."