The survey results showed that the median house price is 4.6 times the median household income.
House prices in Singapore are considered “seriously unaffordable”, with a median multiple of 4.6, which means that the median house price is 4.6 times the city-state’s median household income, according to an annual survey.
Conducted by urban planning policy consultancy Demographia in Q3 2018, the 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey (2019) covered 309 cities in eight countries, including the United States, China (only Hong Kong), the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
More: 88% Of Singaporeans Unhappy Over High Property Prices: PropertyGuru
The survey found that Hong Kong has the world’s least affordable home prices, with a median multiple of 20.9, up from last year’s 19.4. Vancouver came in second, while Sydney, Melbourne and San Jose came in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Los Angeles, Auckland and San Francisco emerged as the sixth, seventh and eighth least affordable housing markets, while London (Greater London Authority) and Toronto were tied in 10th place with a median multiple of 8.3.
“Over the past year, there has been moderation of house prices in some of the most unaffordable markets,” noted the report.
“In some markets, prices have stabilized, while in others actual declines have occurred. However, none of the price declines have been sufficient to materially improve housing affordability. These developments could, in the long run, simply be further indication of the price volatility exhibited associated with stronger land use regulation.”
Read the full report here.
Can you afford a condo in Singapore? Check your affordability now. Get more details on the property market outlook for 2019
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
