The Lifespan of American Houses is 55 Years... Why is Ours Only 30? [Real Estate AtoZ]

"Domestic Apartment Lifespan 30 Years... One-Third of Foreign Levels"
Wall-Type Structure Makes Remodeling Difficult, Leading to Demolition and Reconstruction
Wall-Type Structure Has Advantage of Shorter Construction Period

The average lifespan of multi-family housing in South Korea is about 30 years, which is significantly shorter compared to major countries such as the UK and the US. This is due to the difficulty in renovating and repairing homes through remodeling. Most apartments in South Korea are built with a wall-type structure, making remodeling difficult and requiring demolition followed by reconstruction.

Remodeling Difficult Due to Wall-Type Structure… "Repair is Hard, Demolition and Reconstruction Required"

According to the report "Current Status and Policy Tasks of the Housing Remodeling Market" published by the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute on the 17th, the average lifespan of multi-family housing in South Korea is about 30 years, which is one-third of the US's 55 years and the UK's 77 years. Park Yong-seok, a senior research fellow at the institute who authored the report, stated, "Depending on the research sample, the lifespan of multi-family housing in South Korea has been found to be about 26.7 years."

Apartment complex in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. The photo is unrelated to the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The short lifespan of housing is largely due to most apartments being built with a wall-type structure. Unlike the pillar-type structure that uses beams and columns, the wall-type structure is composed only of walls and slabs. In wall-type apartments, there are no columns to support the weight, so vertical and horizontal water pipes and plumbing must be embedded in the walls and floors and then covered with concrete. If plumbing issues arise in an aging apartment, the entire building must be demolished and reconstructed.

In contrast, the pillar-type structure supports weight with columns, leaving the walls hollow. Water pipes and plumbing are installed in the walls, and if problems occur, only the walls can be demolished and repaired while keeping the columns intact. Mixed-use complexes and Tower Palace are examples of buildings constructed with pillar-type structures.

Wall-Type Structure Mainly Adopted Due to Higher Cost Efficiency Compared to Pillar-Type

The wall-type structure has been primarily adopted for apartment construction because it is more cost-effective than the pillar-type structure. Park Hong-je, team leader of the Maintenance & Rental Team and Technology & Development Team at the Korea Housing Association, said, "The wall-type structure has already become widespread when building apartments," adding, "It reduces labor and construction time compared to the pillar-type structure."

A view of an apartment reconstruction site in Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He continued, "When building apartments with a wall-type structure, only the external wall formwork needs to be installed, but the pillar-type structure requires not only external wall formwork but also internal formwork such as beams," explaining, "The wall-type structure systematizes the construction method, reducing labor, and since the workload is less than that of the pillar-type structure, the construction period is also shortened."

He also pointed out that introducing the less common pillar-type structure amid rising construction costs poses risks for business operators such as associations and developers. He said, "Given the already rising construction costs and difficulties in securing labor, it would be challenging to build houses with the pillar-type structure," and added, "Since the wall-type structure is already widespread, it is questionable whether they would try to apply a different construction method under difficult circumstances."

Because most apartments are built with a wall-type structure, the housing remodeling market accounts for only about 10% of the total. Senior research fellow Park said, "90% of the remodeling market is occupied by non-residential buildings such as offices and commercial spaces," adding, "From a business perspective, most interest is focused on reconstruction, so remodeling receives less attention." He further noted, "Especially for wall-type apartments, it is difficult to change the internal structure through remodeling," and added, "If you try to demolish the walls themselves, safety concerns impose restrictions."