Seoul's 'Mirinae House' Exceeds 7,000 Units in Two Years; 38% of Newlywed Residents Give Birth After Moving In

Seoul's long-term Jeonse housing for newlyweds, "Mirinae House," introduced as a countermeasure against the declining birthrate, has surpassed 7,000 units just over two years after its initial supply.

By first providing newlyweds with stable housing and then offering opportunities for long-term residency and homeownership upon childbirth, actual tenant surveys showed that nearly 4 out of 10 residents gave birth to a child after moving in.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, a total of 7,108 Mirinae House units have been supplied from its first rollout in July 2024 through last month.

The city plans to supply about 4,000 units annually, adding another 17,500 units by 2030.

Mirinae House is "Long-Term Jeonse Housing II," unveiled in 2024 by redesigning "SHift," the long-term Jeonse housing system introduced by Seoul in 2007, to align with responses to the low birthrate.

Unlike the existing approach of providing housing to households that have already given birth, its distinctive feature allows newlywed couples without children and prospective newlyweds to move in first.

Upon moving in, residents can basically live for up to 10 years, and if they give birth to a child after moving in, the residency period is extended by up to 20 years.

Income and asset criteria are not applied during contract renewals.

Those who give birth to two or more children are also granted a preferential purchase right, allowing them to buy the housing unit at about 90% of the market price, and 80% for three or more children.

◇ For Homeless Newlywed Couples Residing in Seoul... Dual-Income Criteria Up to 200% Lowering Application Barriers

The basic application targets for Mirinae House are currently homeless newlywed couples and prospective newlyweds residing in Seoul.

Newlyweds must be within 7 years of their marriage registration, and prospective newlyweds can also apply as long as they prove their marriage prior to move-in.

Applicants and their spouses must not have owned a home continuously for the past 5 years.

Income criteria vary depending on the housing area and whether both spouses are working.

For exclusive areas of 60 square meters or less, the income must be 120% or less of the monthly average income per urban worker household from the previous year, and 180% or less for dual-income couples.

For housing exceeding 60 square meters, applicants can apply up to 150% and 200% for dual-income households, respectively.

Looking at these in actual amounts, for 2-person households, the monthly average income for 60 square meters or less is 7.04 million won or less, and 10.56 million won or less for dual-income couples; for exceeding 60 square meters, they are 8.8 million won or less and 11.73 million won or less, respectively.

For 3-person households, 60 square meters or less is 9.8 million won, 14.7 million won or less for dual-income couples, while exceeding 60 square meters is 12.25 million won and 16.34 million won or less, respectively.

For 4-person households, the levels are 10.56 million won and 15.84 million won, and 13.2 million won and 17.6 million won, respectively.

There are also criteria for total assets.

In the latest recruitment, the general limit is 662 million won or less, and if there are recently born children, the criteria are relaxed according to the number of children.

However, income and asset amounts may vary depending on the recruitment timing and household composition, so applicants must check the relevant recruitment notice during actual subscription.

Including dual-income newlywed couples with relatively high incomes in the target group aims to draw homeless middle-class households into the policy scope, considering high housing costs in Seoul.

◇ 60-to-1 Popularity for First Supply & 38% Childbirth After Move-in... Institutional Improvements Such as Installment Payments for Deposits

Thanks to lowered institutional barriers, newlywed interest was high.

A total of 17,929 households flocked to the 300 units at Olympic Park Foreon in Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-gu, supplied for the first time in July 2024, recording an average competition rate of 60 to 1 and a peak of 213 to 1.

Since then, Seoul has expanded supply types from apartments to multi-family and row houses, urban lifestyle housing, residential officetels, public Hanok houses, and deposit-supported types.

In the case of the "Mirinae House Public Hanok," introduced for the first time this year, 2,093 people applied for 7 recruitment slots, reaching an average competition rate of 299 to 1.

For 1 Hanok unit in Bomun-dong, Seongbuk-gu, 956 people applied.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is paying attention to childbirth-related changes observed after moving into Mirinae House.

In a survey conducted by the city in January of this year targeting 1,018 Mirinae House residents, 82 out of 216 respondents (38%) answered that they gave birth after moving in.

Responses indicating plans for future childbirth also stood at 84.7%.

While it is difficult to say solely from these survey results that moving into Mirinae House became the direct cause of increased childbirth, Seoul plans to continuously examine the impact of housing stability on childbirth decisions.

The city is also complementing the system to fit reality, such as introducing systems to lower the burden of lump-sum funds required at move-in.

After introducing the "deposit installment payment system" last April, which allows 30% of the deposit to be paid in installments during the residency period, it was found that 489 out of 533 households (92%) that signed contracts between April and August used it, reducing the initial payment burden by a total of 76.5 billion won.

Seoul plans to further review measures such as expanding the range of recognized children when applying preferential purchase rights and alleviating financial burdens during actual housing purchases.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "When housing is unstable, it is difficult to plan for marriage and childbirth, and even if you have children, it is hard to raise them stably," adding, "We will make the housing ladder much stronger so that newlywed couples can raise children with peace of mind and dream of homeownership."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.