More Koreans are now renting out homes on a monthly basis instead of long-term terms, underscoring changing lifestyle and demographic changes in one of the fastest aging societies in the world, according to a government census report.

According to data released by Statistics Korea, those living in rented homes in jeonse, long-held mainstream Korean renting arrangement where tenants pay lump-sum deposit for usually two years, totaled 4,468,000 households in 2015 census study to take up the lowest-ever 15 percent share of 19.11 million homes. The ratio was down 6.2 percentage point from five years ago. Instead monthly rents gained 2.8 percentage points to account for 22.9 percent of total homes. It is the first time monthly rentals have exceeded long-term rentals.

Jeonse prices skyrocketed due to scarcity in supplies as homeowners opted to put out homes on a monthly basis as lump-sum deposits yielded little returns due to record-low interest rates. More Koreans also prefer to rent out homes in monthly basis as jeonse prices now cost closer to the actual home value.

Increasing single families also contributed to less need for long-term rentals.

Single-living households increased by 1.06 million to 5.20 million in 2015 from five years ago. Singles accounted for 43.9 percent. Widowers were next at 27.9 percent and the divorced at 6.2 percent.

The government data also showed that 10.85 million households were living in their own homes as of last year, up 2.6 percent from 2010. Homeownership rate has been on the rise in those in their 30s and 40s which account for 39.2 percent and 53.8 percent, respectively, as it had become easier and cheaper to take out mortgage-backed loans amid low interest rates and deregulation and because jeonse cost almost as homes.

The census of population and housing has been conducted every five years for all citizens across the country since 1970. This year’s survey was based on samples representing 20 percent of total households through online and door-to-door survey.

By Kim Se-woong

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