The cost of owning and living in a home rose 2.7 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier due mainly to a hike in home prices, government data showed Wednesday.

The cost of owning a house and living there refers to overall spending related to maintenance, utility payments and other residential services, Statistics Korea said.


In comparison, consumer prices rose 0.9 percent during the cited period. It means that the cost of owning and living in a home has jumped three times as high as that of consumer prices, it said.

The cost of owning and living in a home has been staying above the growth rate of consumer prices since 2011 when the two gained 4 percent compared to a year earlier.

The data results showed that consumer prices have been on the decline due to a fall in oil prices, but the cost of owning and living in a home has been on the rise due to the hike in home prices and home rental system known as "jeonse."

Under South Korea's decades-old jeonse system, tenants transfer a large lump-sum deposit, known as key money, to the landlord which is then returned at the end of the rental agreement, which usually lasts two years. During the lease period, the tenants do not pay a monthly rent.

The average sales price for apartments across the country rose

3.18 percent as of Oct. 14 from the end of last year. The average sales price for apartments in Seoul jumped 6.2 percent during the same period, according to Real Estate 114, a property market research company.

The average jeonse price of apartments per 3.3 square meter came to 7.59 million won ($6,800) as of Oct. 14, up 2.74 percent from late December, it said. (Yonhap)