The number of Seoul home purchases by people in their 20s and 30s that involved money from gifts or inheritance has nearly tripled over the past three years. As rising home prices and tighter lending rules make it harder to raise funds, whether parents can provide financial support is emerging as a key factor dividing young adults' chances of buying a home.
Purchases that included gift or inheritance money rose to 10,477 last year from 3,585 in 2022, a 2.9-fold increase, according to housing fund procurement plans submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the office of Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 14th. As a share of all purchases by the age group, the figure climbed to 29.3% in 2024 and 36.1% in 2025 from 26.0% in 2022. In the first eight months of this year, it surged to 42.6%.
The trend was most pronounced among buyers in their 20s, who have had less time to build assets. Of 3,179 home purchases by Seoul residents in their 20s from January through August this year, 1,598, or 50.3%, involved gift or inheritance money. Among buyers in their 30s, such cases totaled 11,950, or 41.8%, over the same period.
Experts say the rise in gifts, driven by higher home prices and lending restrictions, is deepening the transfer of wealth across generations, turning gaps in parents' assets into gaps among young adults. With less money available from financial institutions, young buyers who receive lump sums from their parents can purchase homes with relatively smaller loans.
"For some people, a home is something they cannot afford even after saving their entire lives, while for others it is an asset they can acquire at a young age through a gift from their parents," Yeom said. "We need to strengthen housing supply and housing support so that young people can have the opportunity to buy their own home without relying on their parents' assets."