Seoul First-Time Home Buyers Hit 4-Year 8-Month High: Why Are 2030s Panic Buying?
In July, first-time home purchases in Seoul reached a 4-year and 8-month high, as the 'panic buying' trend among the 2030 generation intensifies amid a worsening jeonse shortage.
Key Summary: In July, the number of first-time home purchases in Seoul reached 7,547, marking a 4-year and 8-month high. Notably, the 2030 generation accounted for approximately 69% of all buyers, accelerating the trend of young adults entering the housing market.
Worsening Jeonse Shortage and the Background of 2030's 'Panic Buying'
Recently, the Seoul real estate market has seen housing anxiety skyrocket among tenants due to a severe shortage of jeonse (deposit-based lease) properties and rapidly rising jeonse prices. As instability in the rental market shows signs of prolonging, actual demand from the 2030 generation shifting from renting to purchasing has surged.
The primary drivers behind this phenomenon are the psychological fear of missing out (FOMO)—the feeling that "if I don't buy now, I never will"—combined with the use of relaxed loan regulations for first-time buyers and policy mortgage products like the newborn special loan. Consequently, buying activity has concentrated in key outskirt areas with good downtown accessibility and relatively low price barriers, such as Eunpyeong-gu, Nowon-gu, and Gangseo-gu.
FAQ: 2030 Seoul Real Estate Buying Trends
Q. Which Seoul areas are the 2030 generation buying the most?
According to recent statistics, first-time purchases were most active in Eunpyeong-gu. This was followed by Nowon-gu, Gangseo-gu, Songpa-gu, and Seongbuk-gu, indicating a concentration of 2030 buying power in non-Gangnam outskirt areas offering high cost-effectiveness.
Q. How will panic buying affect the real estate market in the second half of the year?
Transaction prices are rising, centered around mid-to-low-priced apartment complexes where youth buying is concentrated, triggering a so-called balloon effect. With new high-price transactions occurring daily in some outskirt areas, this trend is expected to act as a major driver of Seoul housing price increases in the latter half of the year.
Q. How long will this buying fervor last?
Experts analyze that despite the government's efforts to tighten household loans, as long as the fundamental cause—the jeonse shortage—remains unresolved, the purchase trend driven by actual demand from the unhoused is unlikely to subside in the near term.