Determinants of Housing Outcomes and Housing Expenditure in Non-Seoul Metropolitan Area and Seoul Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This research aims to explore the commonalities and distinctions of housing outcomes and housing expenditure between non-Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) and SMA, and to identify the determinants of residential assessment and housing expenditure. Using two waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS), this longitudinal study revealed that ageing and shrinking household size in two areas rendered a growing number of elderly, single-person, and female-headed households. The statistical findings showed that educational attainment of householders, labor force participation rate, and household income in SMA were higher and household size was larger than in non-SMA. As the ageing of non-SMA was faster than that of SMA, socio-economic disparities had widened over time. Further, substandard or inadequate housing conditions largely declined in non-SMA, and income growth backed by the rise in dual-income households enabled Chonsei tenants in SMA to move upward in the housing ladder, increasing satisfactions with housing and residential environment which were explicitly affected by such residential environment attributes as family life, social network and income. It’s notable that the dependence on social services in strong favor of cash transfers dramatically increased, and income became an important factor in predicting housing expenditure.