76.4% of late millennials believe that owning a home is essential

The appropriate age for buying a first home is 'late 30s'

According to statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board, buyers of apartments in the Seoul metropolitan area were most concentrated among those in their 40s during 2019–2020, but from 2021 onward those in their 30s made up the largest share, and the purchasing share of people in their 20s and 30s has been on the rise.

In response, the Univ.Tomorrow 20's Research Institute released a report surveying the real estate perceptions of the late millennial generation (referring to those born between 1989 and 1995), who are becoming the core of actual real estate buyers. The survey focused in particular on their perceptions of home ownership.

76.4% of late millennials believe that owning a home is essential — According to the '2023 Late Millennials' Real Estate Perception Report' published by the Univ.Tomorrow 20's Research Institute, late millennials feel the need to own a home more strongly than any other generation. In fact, 76.4% of late millennial respondents answered that 'owning a home is essential in life.' In particular, the proportion who invest for the purpose of buying a home was 37.0%, higher than other generations, indicating that their desire to purchase real estate is relatively strong.

The appropriate age for buying a first home is 'late 30s' — When late millennials were asked when they expected to buy their first home, the largest share, 26.2%, answered 'within 4 to 5 years.' In addition, they answered that the 'late 30s' (37.8%) is the most appropriate age to buy a first home. Considering that late millennials range in age from their late 20s to their mid-30s, this is roughly five years beyond their current age, showing that their expected timing for buying a first home aligns with the age they consider appropriate.

The most preferred type of housing is the 'apartment,' and the most important location condition is — When asked what type of housing they wanted when buying a home, an overwhelming 78.7% chose 'apartment.' That figure is about 8.8 times higher than the second-ranked detached house (8.9%), showing that the vast majority hope to buy an apartment. In a social big-data analysis, apartments likewise ranked first in the volume of mentions among terms related to home ownership.

Furthermore, when the location and site conditions that late millennials consider most important for owning a home were examined based on their 1st + 2nd + 3rd + 4th + 5th ranked responses, 'nearby public transportation' recorded the highest response rate at 73.3%. This was followed by 'the presence of nearby marts and department stores (58.7%)' and 'safety and security of the surrounding area (50.2%).'

The housing conditions considered important differ by marital status — Among late millennial respondents, those hoping to acquire an apartment, mixed-use residential building, or officetel were examined regarding the housing conditions they consider important when buying a home. Unmarried respondents placed importance on the interior environment of the home, such as soundproofing (48.5%), interior lighting and orientation (39.0%), and insulation, heat retention, and humidity (33.1%). Married respondents, on the other hand, gave more answers that considered the asset value of the home, such as the building's age and whether it was newly built (46.6%), the floor level (39.7%), the total number of units (32.8%), and the apartment or officetel brand (29.3%).

Interior lighting and orientation ranked 2nd among unmarried respondents but did not make the top 7 among married respondents. Conversely, the building's age and whether it was newly built ranked 1st among married respondents but came in 7th among unmarried respondents, showing a large difference.

This survey was conducted using an online panel survey method with a structured questionnaire over four days, from February 20 to February 23, 2023, targeting a sample of 1,200 men and women aged 15 to 53 nationwide selected through population-proportional quota sampling by gender, age, and region, using 'Panel Now,' a Korean panel service operated by dataSpring.

Details can be found in the 2023 Late Millennials' Real Estate Perception Report within the research materials section of the Univ.Tomorrow 20's Research Institute website. In this report, respondent types were divided by region and marital status for detailed analysis. Beyond perceptions of home ownership, it also covers their overall asset perceptions and investment behavior, including what they consider material success and their criteria for being middle class.

Meanwhile, the Univ.Tomorrow 20's Research Institute is a corporate research institute affiliated with the integrated marketing agency Univ.Tomorrow, and is the only research institution in Korea specializing in the MZ generation, focusing intensively on millennial and Generation Z consumers. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, it analyzes MZ generation trends from multiple angles and provides the insights the market needs.