A median-income household in Seoul would need more than 10 years of saving every won of its pay to buy a mid-priced home, data showed. Setting aside half of monthly income after living expenses stretches that to 21 years.
Seoul's price-to-income ratio (PIR) stood at 10.43 in June for households in the third income quintile buying homes in the third price quintile, according to KB Real Estate's monthly housing time-series report for August 2026, released on the 18th.
PIR divides a home's price by a household's annual income, with a higher figure indicating a heavier price burden relative to earnings. The reading rose 0.15 from 10.28 a year earlier and has climbed for three straight months, from 10.19 in April to 10.32 in May and 10.43 in June. Over the same period, the nationwide PIR fell to 4.36 from 4.64, widening the gap with the capital.
The burden becomes clearer in monthly terms. The annual income of a median Seoul household used in KB Real Estate's PIR calculation is estimated at about 60 million won ($43,000), or 5 million won a month. On that basis, a mid-priced Seoul home works out to about 630 million won.
Saving the entire 5 million won each month would take about 125 months, or 10 years and five months. Putting aside half, or 2.5 million won, after living expenses extends that to 250 months, or about 20 years and 10 months. Saving 1.5 million won, 30% of monthly income, would require about 34 years and nine months. Depending on the savings rate, the time needed to buy the same home varies by more than double.
Within Seoul, the gap widens by decades depending on which price bracket a buyer targets. For a median-income household, the PIR is just 3.03 for homes in the bottom 20% by price, compared with 10.43 for the mid-priced tier, 17.93 for the fourth quintile and 39.34 for the top 20%.
Buying a home in the top 20% by saving the full 5 million won a month would take more than 39 years. The difference between the two figures alone amounts to 29 years.
Gaps by income level are also wide. For households in the bottom 20% by income, the PIR for a mid-priced Seoul home reaches 26.72. Even for the cheapest homes, those in the bottom 20% by price, the figure is 7.77.
For households in the top 20% by income, the PIR for a mid-priced Seoul home is 5.01, about half that of a median-income household. But for homes in Seoul's top 20% by price, the figure is 18.90, more than double the nationwide reading of 8.92.
