As financial sector household loan regulations continued in the second quarter of this year, the scale of both new household loans and mortgage loans decreased.

According to the Household Debt Statistics by Borrower released by the Bank of Korea today (the 25th), the average new household loan handling amount per borrower (debtor) in the second quarter stood at 34.14 million won, down 1.28 million won from the first quarter.

This is the lowest level since the first quarter of 2023 (33.44 million won).

New household loan handling amounts decreased by 4.09 million won in the fourth quarter of last year due to the impact of real estate regulations, and then increased by 990,000 won in the first quarter of this year as housing transactions increased, but turned downward again in the second quarter.

By sector, while banks increased (+3.42 million won), non-bank mortgage loan handling decreased significantly (-14.39 million won), leading to an overall large decline.

Looking solely at mortgage loans among new household loan handling amounts, the average new handling amount (208.29 million won) decreased by 21.1 million won from the previous quarter.

The scale of the decline was the largest since statistics began to be compiled in 2013.

The new handling amount in the second quarter was the lowest in a year and a half since the fourth quarter of 2024 (206.48 million won).

By age group, those in their 40s (-35.37 million won) saw the largest decrease, followed by those in their 30s (-26.32 million won), 50s (-12.81 million won), and 60s (-10.69 million won).

Only those in their 20s saw an increase in new mortgage handling amounts, rising by 3.92 million won.

The average new mortgage handling amount for this age group was 232.17 million won, breaking the all-time record following the previous quarter.

Dividing the proportion of new mortgage loans by age group, those in their 30s accounted for 43.7%, an increase from the previous quarter (41.4%).

They were followed by those in their 40s (24.5%), 50s (15.9%), 60s and older (9.9%), and 20s (6.0%).

By region, mortgage loans dropped sharply in the Seoul metropolitan area (-43.97 million won) and the Gangwon-Jeju region (-21.08 million won).

Decreases were also seen in the Dongnam region (-9.42 million won) and Chungcheong region (-5.08 million won), while increases were recorded in the Honam region (+11.13 million won) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (+1 million won).

Min Sook-hong, head of the Microscopic Household Debt Statistics Team at the Bank of Korea, said, "The average new household loan handling amount per borrower decreased due to the impact of strengthened financial sector loan management, such as household loan aggregate regulations." He added, "In particular, the decrease in the scale of loan increases or refinancing by borrowers who already held existing loans had a major impact."

He continued, "However, as housing transactions in the Seoul metropolitan area continued to increase, new handling amounts showed a slight increase limited to borrowers who newly entered the market in the second quarter."

Team Head Min stated, "With the recent August 13 measures increasing the total volume of household loans, there is a possibility that new handling amounts could increase in the third quarter." However, he noted, "We must continue to monitor the authorities' overall stance on strengthening household loan management, housing market conditions in the Seoul area, the direction of government measures, and stock investment funds."

He explained, "In the case of those in their 20s, because the proportion of homedeficiency and first-time homebuyers is high, they were less affected by loan regulations, leading to an increase in new handling amounts."

The average balance of household loans per borrower, rather than new handling amounts, stood at 97.9 million won in the second quarter, up 500,000 won from the previous quarter.

The average mortgage balance increased by 1.87 million won to 161.93 million won.

The average balances of household loans and mortgage loans continue to break record highs every quarter.

Mortgage loan balances increased mainly centered around those in their 20s (+5.75 million won) and 30s (+4.09 million won), the Chungcheong region (+1.82 million won), Gangwon-Jeju region (+1.66 million won), and the Seoul metropolitan area (+1.58 million won). By average balance, those in their 30s were the highest at 234.19 million won, followed by those in their 20s (203.94 million won) and 40s (185.86 million won).

This is the first time that the average mortgage balance for those in their 20s has exceeded 200 million won.

(Photo: Yonhap News)