Demand and Affordability for Housing of First Jobbers in Mueang District, Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

The first jobber is a group of people who enter working society after graduating from various educational institutions for no more than 4 years.  The survey data in 2024 found that today there are 39,718 first jobbers in Mueang Khon Kaen District.  The key characteristic of this group is that they are starting to build a family and planning to buy a home.  Therefore, this group will become an important customer of Khon Kaen Province real estate sector.  This research aims to study their housing needs and their affordability to pay for the desired housing in the next 5 years by collecting data from 400 people who are working in Mueang Khon Kaen District today and analyzing the data using statistical methods.

The study found that, first, most of the sample group graduated with a bachelor’s degree. They are

single and work as a full-time employee in the company, with no second career.  Overall, they have an individual income of 10,500-15,000 baht per month and a household income of 25,001-40,000 baht per month, Notably, those with the age of 26–27-year-old have the highest individual income of 15,001-20,000 baht per month.  Second, for lifestyle and behaviors, the sample group prefers to travel by motorcycle, which takes 15 minutes to get to work.  They like to order products online and buy ready-made food to bring back home or always order delivery.  In addition, this study found that all age groups have similar behaviors. Third, they mostly live in rental housing.  The 22-23-year-old jobbers mostly live in a dormitory or an apartment with a rental price of 2,001-4,000 baht per month.  However, the 24–25-year-old jobbers mostly live in a single or a twin house. In the present day, this sample group has housing problems.  That is, the current residence is too far from their workplace.  Fourth, they prefer to buy a house more than other housing types.  Specifically, they prefer a single or twin house, priced 2-4 million baht.  Their favorite location is the center of Mueang Khon Kaen District.  Fifth, when evaluating the affordability to pay for housing needs within the next 5 years in this people group.  It is found that most of them are unable to pay, whether to buy or to build, for the housing that they wanted. These results indicated that the first jobber in Mueang Khon Kaen District today was not ready to own their residence.  Therefore, they need supports from the government and related private sectors. In addition, it is necessary that the financial institutions provide them knowledge about financial planning for their future housing.