The 12th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey has been released measuring the housing affordability of 378 markets across 9 countries.
Advertisement
Hong Kong has the least affordable housing of 87 major global cities, with prices a record 19 times average pre-tax household income, according to a new survey.
Vancouver and Toronto are both ranked as “severely unaffordable” among Canadian cities of more than a million people.
Hong Kong has the most expensive housing market in the world.
Just behind was Sydney (12.2) whose housing affordability was “the worst experienced outside Hong Kong in the 12 years”, followed closely by Vancouver (10.8) and Melbourne, San Jose and Auckland who tied for fourth place (9.7).
It’s also more than twice the level in Seattle.
The survey considers median multiples of 3.0 and below as affordable; 3.1 to 4.0 moderately affordable; 4.1 to 5.0 seriously unaffordable; and 5.1 and above severely unaffordable.
Hong Kong and London are the cities most at risk of a housing bubble amid declining affordability, UBS Group AG said in a report in October.
Home prices have fallen by about 6.4 percent since their peak in August past year.
As of 2016, a typical house in Sydney will set a homeowner back an average of 12.2 times their wage, up from 9.8 times their income in 2014.
However, the figures in markets with a high proportion of retirees may be skewed by high-wealth, low-income older households.
Senator Bob Day says the problem is the refusal of local and state governments and their land management agencies to provide an adequate and affordable supply of land for new housing stock.
Now another study has indicated that Singapore is not even in the league of World’s least affordable metropolitan cities.
“Many are now choosing to defer having a family in the hope they will be able to somehow put together the funds to buy a home later in life”.
Advertisement
“It is the product of restrictions imposed through planning regulation and zoning”.
