Newlywed Apartments

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A certain number of newly built apartments in Korea are allocated to newlyweds for lower prices, as young couples often struggle to save enough money to buy a home. An apartment complex in the affluent Gangnam area in Seoul, where the price of a single unit can exceed one billion won, has come under fire recently. Here’s why.

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This is a model house of an apartment complex in Seoul's most affluent Gangnam area. More than 40,000 people flocked to buy the apartments for prices that are lower than the market prices in hopes of reaping huge profits later. Even apartments allocated for newlyweds have been almost sold out by now, contrasting with the situation in other areas, where few newlyweds can afford to buy homes. What's noteworthy is that a significant number of those who won the right to buy the apartments for lower prices are quite young. Seven of them are in their 20s, and the median age of all applicants is as young as 34. Under the current law, only working couples with a family of three and an annual income of under 70 million won are eligible to apply for the right to buy newly built apartments for prices lower than the market prices. But the minimum price of these apartments is one billion won, and the applicants are not allowed to receive loans to pay their interim deposits. This means they need at least 700 million won in cash to buy an apartment at this complex. A simple calculation reveals that it'll probably take ten years to save enough money to buy an apartment without spending a penny. Many say that buying a home for young couples without getting any help from their parents or someone else is virtually impossible. This has triggered criticism that apartments allocated for the newlyweds in Gangnam are only intended for young couples from wealthy families.