The cost to purchase a home in South Korea’s capital of Seoul surpasses that of Tokyo and is quickly catching up to New York, according to a report by the National Assembly Research Service on Sunday.

The report showed that the price of a Seoul home cost an average of 100 million won ($91,500) more than that of a house in Japan’s capital. The median price for a Seoul home stood at 434.85 million won as of late last year, compared to Tokyo’s 311.36 million won. 


Purchasing a residence in Seoul is now roughly on the same playing field as New York City, where the median price is about 443.4 million won. However, because average income levels in both the United States and Japan surpass Korea, the report states Koreans take on average three to five more years to purchase a house over those in New York or Tokyo.

According to the data, it takes the people of New York an average 5.7 years to purchase a home, followed by 4.8 years for Singaporeans and 4.7 years for Tokyo residents. As for Seoulites, those with an average income of 47.28 million won require some 9.2 years to purchase a home.

The timeline needed to purchase a home in Seoul even surpasses that of London’s 8.5 years, despite the European city’s median cost of a home standing at 644.72 million won, nearly 210 million won greater than the cost of a home in the Korean capital.   

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)