Average Monthly Rent 417,000 Won... Up 31% Compared to 5 Years Ago
Ground Floor Increased by 16.2%... "Expand Public Rental Housing"
Over the past five years, monthly rents for basement units, including semi-basement houses, have risen more sharply than those for above-ground units.
On the 5th, Han Junho, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, analyzed data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. According to the analysis, the average monthly rent for basement floors in nationwide row houses and multi-family houses in 2022 was 417,297 KRW, a 30.6% increase from 319,645 KRW in 2017. In contrast, rents for above-ground floors increased by only 16.2% during the same period.
In Seoul, where basement floor transactions account for nearly 50% of total transactions, the average monthly rent increase for basement floors was 31.3%, far surpassing the 10.6% increase for above-ground floors.
The average monthly rent for both above-ground and basement floors in nationwide row houses and multi-family houses has steadily increased since 2018. For basement floors, the rent increase rate in 2022 was the highest at 17.8%. Seoul also saw the highest increase rate this year at 19.8%, followed by 13.0% in 2020.
Regarding jeonse deposits, the increase was also greater for basement floors than for above-ground floors. The average jeonse deposit for basement floors in nationwide row houses and multi-family houses in 2022 was 116,664,823 KRW, a 56.7% rise from 74,431,288 KRW in 2017. During the same period, deposits for above-ground floors increased by only 38.1%. In Seoul, the average jeonse deposit for basement floors rose by 53.8%, while above-ground floors saw a 30.9% increase.
Recently, the rapid shift from jeonse to monthly rent and rising interest rates have significantly increased housing cost burdens for low-income households. The sharp rise in monthly rents, especially for basement floors where living conditions are more vulnerable compared to above-ground floors, raises concerns about worsening living hardships for ordinary citizens.
Assemblyman Han stated, "Partial interest-free loans on deposits and moving cost support alone cannot help low-income households achieve stable housing relocation." He added, "To reduce the monthly rent burden on vulnerable housing groups, a large supply of public rental housing must ultimately be provided to induce price stabilization downward." He emphasized, "Next year's government budget should be directed toward significantly expanding the budget for public rental housing and housing welfare."
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