Anyone who has been following the real estate market over the past two decades will know that in many countries, especially in the United States, it has become much more difficult to buy a home.
A new study lists cities around the world that have become inaccessible to many.
The U.S. cities on the West Coast and Hawaii occupy five of the 10 most inaccessible locations, according to the annual Demographic International Housing Affordability report, which has tracked home prices for 20 years.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the most expensive cities in the U.S. to buy a home are in California, with San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego among the top 10.
The Hawaiian capital of Honolulu is also mentioned in sixth place among 94 major markets surveyed in eight countries.
Australia is the only other country, besides the U.S., to dominate the list, led by Sydney and the southern cities of Melbourne in Victoria and Adelaide in South Australia.
However, at the top of the global ranking is Hong Kong, the compact Asian financial center known for its small apartments and extremely high rents. Notably, it is the only Chinese market cited in the report.
A regular participant in the “most expensive” lists, Hong Kong has the lowest home ownership rate of all the cities surveyed, at just 51%, compared to its Asian rival, Singapore, where home ownership reaches 89% due to the government’s decades-long commitment to invest in public housing.
Hong Kong may be the least affordable city in the world, but it has been more inaccessible in the past. Home prices fell during the pandemic in 2020 when the government closed the city’s borders and imposed a Covid Zero policy.
Closing the list is Canada. Both Vancouver and Toronto are on the list of inaccessible cities.
For those who cannot wait for changes in housing policies or for a drop in demand that could lead to a decline in prices, the report also identifies the most affordable cities among the 94 surveyed worldwide.
They are Pittsburgh, Rochester, and St. Louis in the U.S.; Edmonton and Calgary in Canada; Blackpool, Lancashire, and Glasgow in the UK; and Perth and Brisbane in Australia.
The 10 Inaccessible Cities
1. Hong Kong
2. Sydney
3. Vancouver
4. San Jose
5. Los Angeles
6. Honolulu
7. Melbourne
8. San Francisco/Adelaide
9. San Diego
10. Toronto
Source: CNN