A dramatic housing cost surge has gripped major North Korean cities since the pandemic. House prices in Hamhung have risen two to three times their pre-COVID levels. Consequently, this housing cost surge squeezes young couples out of the property market entirely. A source noted that many young couples want to live separately from their parents. However, the financial burden of housing has grown too large for them.
The housing cost surge stems from broader inflationary pressures across the country. The North Korean won has fallen sharply due to a rising foreign currency exchange rate. Therefore, a 70-square-meter apartment in central Hamhung now trades at about $50,000. Before the pandemic, that same apartment cost roughly $18,000, an increase of nearly 2.8 times.
Hyesan shows even steeper increases from this housing cost surge. A downtown apartment sold for 70,000 yuan, or about $9,600, in 2020. Now it goes for around 300,000 yuan, or roughly $41,000. Consequently, the increase exceeds fourfold since before the pandemic. Ground houses outside the city center have risen roughly 1.3 to 1.5 times.
This housing cost surge has widened an already pronounced class divide. Donju entrepreneurs bought up housing stock in prior years and now reap windfall gains. Ordinary young North Koreans face an unaffordable market as a result. Couples used to save together for homes. Now incomes are not keeping up with this housing cost surge, a source said.
Many young couples give up on homeownership entirely. Most resort to living with parents or renting space in someone else’s home. The Ryanggang source noted that donju children receive parental help for housing. Ordinary families’ children end up renting instead. As demand for rentals grows, monthly costs have also risen sharply. Some young North Koreans now delay marriage because they cannot afford even the rental option. Consequently, this housing cost surge widens inequality and delays family formation. The regime has not announced any policy response to address the crisis yet.
