"5 Years of Moon Administration, Seoul Jeonse Tenants Need 440 Million KRW More to Own a Home"

Difference Between Seoul Apartment Sale and Jeonse Prices, 4.4748 Billion KRW in H1 2021
Surged from 1.6691 Billion KRW in June 2017 to 4.4748 Billion KRW in June 2021
Districts with Sale Switching Costs Under 100 Million KRW: 11 in 2017 → 0 in 2021

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] In the fifth year of the Moon Jae-in administration, it has been revealed that Seoul apartment tenants living on Jeonse need an average of more than 440 million KRW to purchase their own home.

On the 12th, according to an analysis of the "Seoul Apartment Market Price Status from June 2017 to June 2021" submitted by the Korea Real Estate Board to Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, the difference between the average sale price and Jeonse price of Seoul apartments as of the first half of this year (June) was calculated to be 447.48 million KRW. This means that switching from Jeonse to purchase requires an average cost of over 440 million KRW.

In particular, in June 2017, when the current administration took office, the price gap was only in the mid-100 million KRW range (166.91 million KRW), but it increased every year to 245.67 million KRW in June 2018, 319.46 million KRW in June 2019, 417.17 million KRW in June 2020, and 447.48 million KRW in June 2021. Over the five years of the Moon administration, the cost for Jeonse tenants to purchase their own home increased by 2.7 times.

Among the autonomous districts, the largest sale-Jeonse price gap was in Gangnam-gu, reaching 910.64 million KRW as of June 2021. Next were Yongsan-gu at 816.25 million KRW, Seocho-gu at 791.22 million KRW, Songpa-gu at 620.48 million KRW, and Seongdong-gu at 619.61 million KRW. Additionally, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Yangcheon-gu, Dongjak-gu, and Mapo-gu also required an average purchase cost of over 400 million KRW.

Furthermore, in June 2017 when the Moon administration began, among the total 25 autonomous districts, there were 11 districts where the cost to switch from Jeonse to purchase was less than 100 million KRW, but now, after more than five years, there is not a single district with a cost under 100 million KRW. Rather, Seodaemun-gu saw a sharp increase in the sale-Jeonse price gap from 89.39 million KRW to 346.99 million KRW, and Nowon-gu, which was 72.52 million KRW, also rose to 287.57 million KRW. Even Guro-gu, which had the smallest gap at 67.10 million KRW, now requires more than 200 million KRW (256.67 million KRW) to buy a home.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "Before the Moon administration, just over five years ago, it was possible to purchase a home in Seoul by saving only 100 million KRW while living on Jeonse, but now it has become impossible."