Is Public Rental Housing a Stepping Stone for Young Adults’ Housing?: Effect of Rental Housing Type on the Intention to Achieve Homeownership and the Mediation Effect of Residential Satisfaction

Young-adult single-person households have emerged as a socially vulnerable group facing housing instability in Korea. To improve insufficient housing policies for this social group, we must evaluate existing policies and provide feedback in a timely manner. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of housing welfare programs targeting young adults, considering the increase in the supply of public rental housing for them. This study estimated the effect of residing in public rental housing on the intention to achieve homeownership and the mediation effect of residential satisfaction by employing structural equation modeling. The results confirm the following findings. First, when controlling households’ sociodemographic conditions, satisfaction with housing conditions is higher in public rental housing than in private rental housing. Second, high residential satisfaction among young-adult single-person households residing in public rental housing has a significant positive effect on their intention to achieve homeownership through high satisfaction with housing conditions. These findings suggest that public rental housing is an effective housing policy and a stepping stone toward homeownership for young-adult single-person households. This study concludes by emphasizing the necessity for a public rental housing policy considering these policy outcomes.