Saving ₩1.5M a month for a ₩700M home takes 23 years, or 40 if prices rise 2% a year
Dividing the home price by your monthly saving seems to give the answer. But the price moves, and the money you have saved earns interest. Put both in and follow it month by month, and the timeline shifts a lot.
How to calculate the time to a home
It is two lines repeated every month.
- Savings = last month’s savings × (1 + monthly return) + monthly saving
- Price = last month’s price × (1 + monthly growth)
Count months until savings first reach the price. Monthly return and growth are the annual rates divided by 12. If they never meet within 100 years, the plan does not reach the target.
When the price is flat and when it rises
Assume a target price of ₩700M, ₩50M saved so far, ₩1.5M saved a month, and a 3% annual savings return.
| Price growth | Time needed | Price by then | What you put in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% a year | 23 years 2 months | ₩700M | about ₩467M |
| 2% a year | 40 years 1 month | about ₩1,559M | about ₩772M |
| 4% a year | Over 100 years | Savings never catch up | n/a |
With a flat price it takes 23 years and 2 months. At just 2% growth the plan takes 16 years and 11 months longer, 40 years and 1 month. At 4%, saving ₩1.5M a month never catches the price. Same savings, same return, and one price assumption splits the result this far.
Changing the monthly amount
Assume prices rise 2% a year and change only the monthly saving.
| Monthly saving | Time needed |
|---|---|
| ₩1.5M | 40 years 1 month |
| ₩2M | 29 years 8 months |
| ₩3M | 19 years 4 months |
Saving ₩500,000 more a month cuts over ten years. Doubling the monthly amount more than halves the time, because once saving outruns the price’s climb, the gap closes quickly.
What this leaves out
Loans are not included. The calculation is the time to save the whole target price. If you plan to borrow, enter the amount of your own money you need as the target. Taxes, purchase costs, and income rising or falling are not included either.
All numbers above are example inputs. Real prices, growth, and returns vary by region and time. The calculator pulls no market data and computes only from what you enter.
For where to live until you buy, see When the jeonse loan rate rises from 4% to 6%, jeonse and monthly rent swap places.
Frequently asked questions
What price growth should I enter?
There is no right answer. Try values like 0%, 2%, and 4% and see how far the result moves.
What if my income rises?
Monthly saving is treated as constant. If you expect income to rise, enter an average, or split the period and calculate twice.
What savings return should I use?
The after-tax return of the product you would actually use, such as a deposit or installment savings. Set it to 0 to count only what you put in.
To run your own numbers, use the Home savings calculator.