Buyers in Their 30s Set Record for Seoul Apartment Purchases at 41%

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "artificial intelligence (AI)-based customized news recommendation and summary service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. Seoul Apartment Purchases by Those in Their 30s Surpass Even COVID-Era Debt-Fueled Buying

- Key Summary: According to the Korea Real Estate Board, buyers in their 30s purchased 14,103 Seoul apartments from January to May this year, accounting for 40.9% of all transactions. Both the number and share are the highest on record since data collection began in 2019, roughly 24% higher than the same period in 2020. In April this year, the share soared to 45.9%, breaking the previous high of 40.2% set in January 2021. The buying by those in their 30s has also spread to Gyeonggi Province apartments (up 52.9% from the same period a year earlier) and Seoul non-apartments (those in their 20s and 30s accounting for 34-35%), increasing upward pressure on home prices across the greater Seoul area.

2. With Gap Investment Blocked, Financial Loans Surge…Gift and Inheritance Funds More Than Double

- Key Summary: An analysis by The Seoul Economic Daily of home acquisition fund procurement plans obtained through the office of Rep. Kim Jong-yang of the People Power Party found that among 22,258 home transactions by those in their 30s from February to April this year, the total procurement amount per home purchase jumped 82% from 450 million won to 820 million won. Of this, the share of financial institution loans surged from 29.1% to 41.2%, and the loan amount per transaction increased 2.6-fold from 131.5 million won to 338.72 million won. The share of gift and inheritance funds also more than doubled from 3.4% to 7.5%, reflecting a reality in which buyers can no longer cover home price increases on their own. Meanwhile, the share of gap investment (using rental deposits) plunged 19.1 percentage points from 24.8% to 5.7%, effectively vanishing.

3. After Jamsil Jugong 5, Jangmi Too…10,000 Units Along the Han River Draw Near

- Key Summary: On the 2nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the change to the redevelopment zone designation and the district unit plan decision for the Jangmi 1·2·3 reconstruction in Sincheon-dong. The project reconstructs the existing 3,522 units into a total of 5,105 units (including 551 public housing units), with a floor area ratio of 300% or less and a maximum of 49 floors. Following the Jamsil Jugong Complex 5 receiving project implementation plan approval on the 1st, observations have emerged that the Jangmi apartments could select a construction firm as early as within the year, and competition for construction rights among major builders such as Samsung C&T (028260), Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720), and Lotte Engineering & Construction is expected to begin in earnest. On the ground, with listings themselves scarce, properties are being sold immediately even at just 20-30 million won below the highest actual transaction price.

4. Accounting for Half of Gwangmyeong Apartment Buyers…Villa Investment Ahead of Redevelopment Also Rampant

- Key Summary: The buying wave among those in their 30s is spreading even into the early-stage redevelopment villa market. In the case of Nokbeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, which is awaiting selection as a rapid integrated planning (RIP) redevelopment candidate site, 8 out of 10 buyers were in their 30s, and in the Sadang District 21 in Dongjak-gu, the price per land share (3.3㎡) jumped from 70-80 million won to 120 million won right after serial numbering, and currently asking prices start from 150 million won. Meanwhile, in major areas of Gyeonggi Province, the pattern of those in their 30s leading home price increases is also clear. In Dongan-gu, Anyang, which has a cumulative rise of 10.26% this year, the buying share of those in their 30s was 53.7%, and in Gwangmyeong it exceeded half at 51.3%.

5. hynix to List US ADRs on the 10th…IMF's Korea Growth Rate in Focus

- Key Summary: This week, Samsung Electronics' (005930) preliminary second-quarter earnings and the IMF's revised forecast for Korea's growth rate are the market's biggest interests. Samsung Electronics will announce its preliminary second-quarter earnings on the 7th, and with Micron Technology, a bellwether for the semiconductor industry, posting record earnings, the market expects Samsung Electronics' second-quarter operating profit to be around 90 trillion won. The IMF is scheduled to release its 'July World Economic Outlook' on the 8th, and Korea's growth rate forecast is expected to be sharply raised from 1.9% in April. The Bank of Korea and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have already raised it to 2.6%, and some foreign research institutions have presented figures as high as 4%.

6. Overnight Forex Trading Begins, but Concerns of Being Half-Baked…Won's Appeal Must Be Raised First

- Key Summary: The Seoul foreign exchange market shifted to a five-day-a-week 24-hour system from the 6th, but whether it will lead to substantial trading activation remains uncertain. According to an analysis by The Seoul Economic Daily, as of June, 77.3% of won-dollar exchange rate trading was concentrated in the existing Seoul session hours (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), while the late-night hours (10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.) accounted for just 2.4%. This 24-hour opening is a prerequisite for inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Developed Markets Index, but experts point out that substantial trading increases require expanding offshore won liquidity and resolving the Korea discount through measures such as improving corporate governance.