70% of Detached Houses in Incheon Are Over 30 Years Old... Exceeding the National Average

Over 40,000 Detached Houses Over 41 Years Old... 14,000 in Michuhol-gu and 4,800 in Bupyeong-gu
Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik: "Need for Park and Parking Expansion in Old Downtown and Support Measures for Aging Houses"

It has been revealed that 7 out of 10 detached houses in the Incheon area are over 30 years old.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Heo Jong-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Incheon Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu Gap), out of 78,369 detached houses in Incheon, 55,859 houses, accounting for 71.3%, have been in use for more than 30 years. This proportion of detached houses over 30 years old is 3.9 percentage points higher than the national average of 67.4%.

By district in Incheon, Bupyeong-gu had the highest proportion of detached houses over 30 years old at 94.5% (6,389 houses), followed by Michuhol-gu (93.9%, 13,717 houses) and Dong-gu (93.8%, 4,937 houses). The proportion of multi-family and row houses and apartments over 30 years old in Incheon was 32.6% and 25.5%, respectively, exceeding the national averages of 26.5% and 19.5%.

In particular, apartments over 41 years old showed a high proportion in Incheon’s original downtown areas, with 110 units in Michuhol-gu, 29 units in Jung-gu, and 18 units in Dong-gu.

Experts analyze that the reason why the aging of housing in Incheon exceeds the national average is because housing supply was promoted in areas where there were no houses before, so-called non-residential areas. The planned populations of Songdo and Cheongna International City, which were reclaimed land, are 265,611 and 98,060 respectively, which is cited as a factor that slowed down redevelopment projects in the original downtown areas.

The second phase new town project, Geomdan residential development, the third phase new town under development in restricted development zones, and the development of relocated factory sites are also pointed out as factors that could further worsen the aging low-rise residential areas in Incheon’s original downtown. A total of 55,000 households are expected to move into areas such as Gyeyang Technovalley, Guwol 2 District, Geomam Station area, and Yonghyeon Hakik District.

Representative Heo stated, "As supply plans pour into areas that were previously non-residential, there is a growing concern that the original downtown areas of Incheon, such as Jung-gu, Dong-gu, and Michuhol-gu, will become even more constricted. Unless infrastructure such as parks and parking lots in Incheon’s original downtown is actively expanded and support and management plans for low-rise residential areas and aging houses are prepared, the gap between new towns and original downtown areas may widen further."