The Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (GH) under the Gyeonggi provincial government has found that nearly 70% of the areas in the 'youth purchase rental dwellings' program, which aims to support the housing of young people, failed to fill their recruitment quotas. The youth purchase rental dwellings program is part of the government's housing stability policy, in which public institutions buy dwellings at low prices and provide them to the youth at affordable rental rates.
GH, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) are conducting the program. Since it is a project funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the recruitment targets and entry conditions are the same.
Last year, GH announced that it would offer benefits for up to 10 years at a cost less than half of the rental price, but it failed to fill the recruitment quota in 12 out of 18 regions in Gyeonggi Province. Even in some regions with high demand, the final competition ratio remained at 1.25 to 1.
The competition ratio for the youth purchase rental dwellings offered by LH in Gyeonggi Province averaged 58 to 1, indicating high demand. Many of the dwellings supplied by GH are located in the same areas as those provided by LH in Gyeonggi Province. Some areas are in different districts but are located within 1 km of each other.
On the 7th, GH reported that the results of the applications for the second round of youth purchase rental dwellings in 2024 showed that 12 out of 18 supply areas in Gyeonggi Province did not fill their recruitment numbers, resulting in a competition ratio below 1 to 1.
In this context, GH noted, "The competition ratio was calculated by reflecting the number of potential tenants, which was three times the number of dwellings supplied. The competition ratio calculated based on the number of dwellings supplied, excluding potential tenants, is believed to be approximately 10 to 1."
Regionally, Gosaek-dong in Suwon recorded a recruitment of 22 with only 10 applicants, establishing a competition ratio of 0.45 to 1. Areas such as Baegot-dong in Siheung (competition ratio 0.77 to 1) and Seojeong-dong in Pyeongtaek (competition ratio 0.2 to 1), as well as Jugyo-dong in Goyang (competition ratio 0.6 to 1), also failed to fill their recruitment quotas. GH recruited a total of 321 people, but 402 applied, resulting in an overall average competition ratio of 1.25 to 1. The area with the highest competition ratio was Dasan-dong in Namyangju, which, with 50 applicants for 10 positions, recorded a ratio of 5 to 1.
The second round of youth purchase rental dwellings recruitment that just concluded is a project for which the announcement was made on Nov. 28 last year. Individuals who are college students, job seekers graduated or dropped out of university or high school within the last two years, or who are between 19 and 39 years old can apply. The initial contract is for two years, and it can be renewed four times, allowing individuals to live there for a maximum of 10 years.
Interestingly, the youth purchase rental dwellings supplied by LH in Gyeonggi Province attract many young people. According to LH, there were four rounds of recruitment for youth purchase rental tenants last year. A total of 1,152 units were supplied in Gyeonggi Province, with 66,765 applicants, resulting in an average competition ratio of 58 to 1.
There is almost no difference in the regions where the dwellings provided by LH and GH are offered. GH recruited 25 tenants in Seojeong-dong, Pyeongtaek, but only 5 (competition ratio 0.2 to 1) applied. This area is only 800 meters away from Sinchang-dong, where LH provided youth purchase rental dwellings.
A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said, "While LH allows for easier applications through the well-known Cheongyak Plus, GH requires applicants to visit the corporation's website to apply, and since the number of dwellings supplied at one time is higher for LH than for GH, this seems to have influenced the competition ratio." The official added, "The relatively lesser-known fact that GH supplies youth purchase rental dwellings may have also impacted the low support from young people."