Journal of the Korean Housing Association ISSN:2234-3571(Print) 2234-2257(Online) 한국주거학회논문집

The purpose of this study was to explore housing value clusters of young renters in South Korea and their relationships to household and housing characteristics reflected in the 2012 Korea Housing Survey (KHS). The 2012 KHS microdata was used as secondary data. Among the households included in the microdata, 1,196,144 young renter households (between 20 and 34 years of age) in private rental units were analyzed. The main findings are as follows. Ten rating scale items measured housing values. Eight of them were grouped into three value factors: Investment, Affordability and Cost Increase. Using these three value factors and perception of homeownership, households were classified into four clusters: Prospective Home Investor, Settled Renter, Homeowner Wannabe, and Support Needed. The current tenure types, income and expectation for next tenure types of four housing value clusters of young renters reflected Korea’s tenure ladder which has home ownership at top followed by Jeon-se rental, monthly rental with deposit and monthly rental without deposit. The households in Prospective Home Investor and Homeowner Wannabe clusters would consider home purchase in the near future. Finally, households in Support Needed Cluster would be the main target to consider in development and implementation of housing welfare policies and programs to resolve housing problems of young renters, including beginning-stage professionals.