[Where Did the Yoon Administration's 2030s Buy Homes?] Rising Popularity of Commuting-Friendly Areas: Hwaseong, Suji, Songpa

"Workplace Comes First": Demand Belt Formed by Proximity to Work
Hwaseong and Suji: Abundant Jobs in Surrounding Areas, Easy Access to Gangnam
Songpa: Adjacent to GBD, Significant Apartment Price Differences by Neighborhood
Southwestern Gyeonggi: 'Bridgehead' for the 2030 Generation Entering Seoul

Hwaseong-si in Gyeonggi Province, Suji-gu in Yongin-si, Dongan-gu (Pyeongchon) in Anyang-si, Wonmi-gu in Bucheon-si, and Songpa-gu in Seoul. These are the top five areas where the purchase share of apartments by the 20s and 30s age groups in the Seoul metropolitan area increased the most from 2022, when the Yoon Suk-yeol administration began, to 2024. The Seoul metropolitan area swept the list.

According to the 'Apartment Transaction Status by Age Group' report by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 15th, a full survey was conducted on 255 cities, counties, and districts to analyze the change in apartment purchase share by the 2030 generation over two years from 2022 to 2024. The area with the highest increase rate was Hwaseong-si in Gyeonggi Province, with a 0.8 percentage point increase. Suji-gu in Yongin-si (0.78 percentage points), Dongan-gu in Anyang-si and Wonmi-gu in Bucheon-si (each 0.75 percentage points), and Songpa-gu in Seoul (0.62 percentage points) followed. These five places ranked 1st to 5th in the increase rate of purchase share by the 2030 generation.

In the analysis of metropolitan local governments, Seoul ranked first in the increase rate of purchase share, but when a full survey was conducted down to basic local governments, cities in Gyeonggi Province performed well. This is likely because Seoul, with its 25 districts, has purchase shares divided into many small parts by autonomous districts, whereas Gyeonggi Province has only two to three cities as analysis units according to the Korea Real Estate Board.

"Workplace Comes First" Clear Preference for Proximity to Work

The popularity of Hwaseong-si and Suji-gu in Yongin-si, ranked first and second in Gyeonggi Province, and Songpa-gu, ranked first in Seoul, can be summarized as 'proximity to workplace.' Hwaseong is home to Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong Campus, which encompasses foundry, memory, and logic semiconductors. It also holds the title of 'the youngest city nationwide' with an average age of about 39, and accessibility to Seoul has greatly improved with the opening of GTX-A. Suji-gu in Yongin-si benefits from the Shinbundang Line, providing good access to the Gangnam Business District (GBD), and Songpa-gu in Seoul is located adjacent to the GBD.

Park Won-gap, Senior Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, said, "Songpa, the only district in Seoul to make the ranking, is grouped with the Gangnam 3 districts, but within it, there are significant price differences by neighborhood, so unlike Gangnam and Seocho-gu, there are enough apartments accessible to the 2030 generation." He added, "Hwaseong and Yongin are also places with many jobs for young people." Ham Young-jin, Head of Real Estate Research Lab at Woori Bank, said, "Hwaseong and Yongin are representative areas in Gyeonggi Province where commuting to and from Seoul is easy through transportation networks."

'Bridgehead' for Entering Seoul: Southwestern Gyeonggi

Anyang-si Dongan-gu and Bucheon-si Wonmi-gu in Gyeonggi Province, which tied for third place in the increase rate of purchase share by the 2030 generation, are areas that include first-generation new towns. They are Pyeongchon New Town and Jungdong New Town, respectively. Yang Ji-young, Senior Manager of Asset Management Consulting at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "Anyang and Bucheon are preferred areas for the 2030 generation who find entering Seoul or even Bundang burdensome," adding, "They are relatively affordable and offer easy commuting to the southwestern part of Seoul." This suggests that, considering 'cost-effectiveness,' the southwestern Gyeonggi area has been chosen as a 'bridgehead' for entering Seoul rather than the most preferred areas in Gyeonggi such as Bundang, Pangyo, or Gwacheon.

Bucheon and Anyang are also analyzed as attracting demand from the 2030 generation due to high expectations for future development. Both areas have been designated as lead districts for the redevelopment of first-generation new towns. In Anyang Pyeongchon, three zones?Kkummaeul Kumho, Saemmaeul, and Kkummaeul Woosung?comprising 5,460 households were selected. In Bucheon Jungdong, two zones?Samik and Daewoo Dongbu?comprising 5,957 households were chosen as lead districts. Yang said, "It seems the 2030 generation strategically targeted places where both actual demand and investment demand can flow in," adding, "It shows efforts to find the optimal location outside Seoul with limited funds."