Q2 Average New Mortgage Loan per Borrower Drops to 208.29 Million Won, Lowest in 18 Months

Bank of Korea Releases Provisional Household Debt Statistics by Borrower for Q2 2026

Sharp Decrease for Borrowers in Their 40s (-35.37 Million Won), While Those in Their 20s See a 3.92 Million Won Increase

In the second quarter of this year, the average amount of newly issued mortgage loans per borrower fell to 208.29 million won, the lowest level in a year and a half. This was mainly due to stricter loan management by financial institutions. Meanwhile, the per capita mortgage loan balance increased during the same period, driven by a decrease in repayments compared to the previous quarter.

ATMs of major banks are installed throughout Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the “Household Debt Statistics by Borrower for Q2 2026 (Provisional),” released by the Bank of Korea on August 25, the average amount of newly issued mortgage loans per borrower for the second quarter was 208.29 million won, down by 21.10 million won from the record high of the previous quarter (229.39 million won). This marks the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2024.

Minsook Hong, head of the Household Debt Microstatistics Team at the Economic Statistics Department of the Bank of Korea, explained, “While new borrowers saw a slight increase in the amount of new loans, the average was pulled down as existing borrowers reduced the volume of new borrowings, mainly due to tighter lending regulations.”

By age group, there were significant decreases among those in their 40s (-35.37 million won), 30s (-26.32 million won), and 50s (-12.81 million won). In contrast, the amount increased for those in their 20s by 3.92 million won. By region, declines were seen in the Seoul metropolitan area (-43.97 million won) and Gangwon/Jeju regions (-21.08 million won). By type of financial institution, the non-bank sector saw the largest drop (-61.22 million won), followed by other institutions (-17.86 million won) and banks (-12.40 million won).

Minsook Hong added, “In the metropolitan area, the decline in newly issued mortgage loans appears to be driven by an increase in transactions of mid- to low-priced homes. People in their 30s and 40s are generally the key borrowers of mortgage loans, and as they focused on purchasing mid- to low-priced apartments, the overall new issuance declined.” Regarding the rise in new mortgage loans among those in their 20s, she noted, “Many in their 20s tend to be first-time or non-homeowners, and such loans are subject to relatively fewer restrictions, which contributed to the increase.”

Looking at the distribution of new mortgage lending per borrower by demographic and usage patterns, those in their 30s accounted for 43.7%, the Seoul metropolitan area for 57.6%, and banks for 79.5% of the total new mortgage loans.

In the second quarter, the average amount of new household loans per borrower stood at 34.14 million won, down 1.28 million won from the previous quarter. This decrease was concentrated among those in their 40s (-5.83 million won) and 30s (-2.74 million won), residents of the metropolitan area (-1.93 million won), non-bank borrowers (-14.39 million won), mortgage loans (-21.10 million won), and jeonse loans (-5.77 million won).

Breaking down the distribution of new household loan amounts per borrower by characteristic and usage pattern, those in their 30s accounted for 32.7%, the metropolitan area for 59.4%, by type of borrower: new entrants (78.0%), by financial institution: banks (58.3%), by product: mortgage loans (41.0%), and by number of financial institutions: one institution (43.0%).

The average household loan balance per borrower increased by 500,000 won from the previous quarter, reaching 97.9 million won. By age group, it rose among those in their 40s (+620,000 won) and 30s (+490,000 won), but declined among those in their 20s (-930,000 won) and people aged 60 and older (-360,000 won). Regionally, the Southeastern region (+480,000 won) and the Honam region (+300,000 won) saw increases. By type of financial institution, other institutions (+480,000 won) and banks (+330,000 won) had increases. By product, mortgage loans (+1.87 million won) and jeonse loans (+880,000 won) experienced the most growth.

The mortgage loan balance also rose by 1.87 million won to reach 161.93 million won.

There is a possibility that the amount of new household loans will increase in the third quarter of this year. This is because the overall limit on household lending has expanded with the recent “8·13 policy.” Minsook Hong stated, “A significant portion of the rise in household lending is expected to be centered on group loans. However, since policy authorities intend to maintain strong oversight of overall household debt, it is necessary to monitor developments such as the potential for money moves.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.