Singles Spend 1/4 of Income on Rent

Published on 2017/02/05 | Source

Single householders spend a quarter of their monthly disposable income on rent, according to a study.

Property information service Real Estate 114 analyzed census data and other figures gathered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

As of the third quarter of 2016, the monthly disposable income of single householders stood at W1.42 million, of which W360,000 went on rent (US$1=W1,146).

The proportion was the highest in Seoul. Last year, the average monthly rent for a home under 33 sq. m stood at W440,000, or 30.7 percent of singles' disposable income.

Second was Jeju Island at 28.7 percent.

Lee Mi-yoon at Real Estate 114 said, "Even in advanced countries like the U.S. and New Zealand, spending more than 25 to 30 percent of disposable monthly income on rent is considered excessive".