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Financial repression and housing investment: An analysis of the Korean chonsei

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  • Kim, Jinwon

Abstract

South Korea has a unique kind of rental contract, called chonsei. The tenant pays an upfront deposit, typically from 40% to 70% of the property value, to the landlord, and the landlord repays the deposit to the tenant upon contract termination. The tenant is not required to make any periodic monthly rental payments. The main goal of this paper is to show why such a unique rental contract exists and has been popular in Korea. The model shows that chonsei is an ingenious market response in the era of “financial repression” in Korea (Renaud, 1989), allowing landlords to accumulate sufficient funds for housing investment without major reliance on a mortgage. The model also shows that the tenant, who suffers from insufficient mortgage borrowings, can access cheaper rental housing via chonsei than when only monthly rental housing is available. The model predicts that the chonsei system should fade out when arbitrage gains from housing investment disappear. An implication of the model is that the chonsei renter may save while the landlord and the owner-occupier put all their assets into housing and thus have no financial savings. This hypothesis is empirically tested and confirmed.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Jinwon, 2013. "Financial repression and housing investment: An analysis of the Korean chonsei," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 338-358.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:22:y:2013:i:4:p:338-358
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2013.09.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Jie & Wu, Fulong & Lu, Tingting, 2022. "The financialization of rental housing in China: A case study of the asset-light financing model of long-term apartment rental," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    2. Sanghyun Kim & Juhyung Kim & Jaejun Kim, 2016. "Structural Changes in the Korean Housing Market before and after Macroeconomic Fluctuations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Sam-Ho Lee, 2021. "Credit Constraint and Excess Return: The Case of Chonsei Leases in Korea," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 37, pages 157-197.
    4. Moon, Byunggeor, 2018. "Housing investment, default risk, and expectations: Focusing on the chonsei market in Korea," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 80-90.
    5. Park, Sung Sik & Pyun, Ju Hyun, 2020. "Between two extreme practices of rent-only and deposit-only leases in Korea: Default risk vs. cost of capital," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Lee, Junhee & Song, Joonhyuk, 2015. "Housing and business cycles in Korea: A multi-sector Bayesian DSGE approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 99-108.
    7. Younghoon Lee & Sanghyo Lee & Jaejun Kim, 2017. "Analysis of the Dynamic Relationship between Fluctuations in the Korean Housing Market and the Occurrence of Unsold New Housing Stocks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, January.
    8. Ahn, Seryoong & Ryu, Doojin, 2024. "Optimal chonsei to monthly rent conversion choice given borrowing constraints," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 28-42.
    9. Kim, Kyung-Hwan & You, Seung Dong, 2021. "The Global Financial Crisis and transition out of homeownership in Korea," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Joung Oh Park & Jinhee Choi & Guy Ngayo, 2023. "Predicting the Non-Return of Chonsei Lease Deposits in the Republic of Korea," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Kim, Daehwan & Nilsen, Jeffrey, 2021. "Testing the presence of borrowing constraints from consumption responses to housing deposit changes," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. So Jung Hwang & Hyunduk Suh, 2021. "Analyzing Dynamic Connectedness in Korean Housing Markets," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(2), pages 591-609, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Chonsei; Korean housing market; Financial repression; Household saving; Tenure choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior

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