Vancouver second-least affordable housing market
Posted January 23, 2012 10:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver is now the world’s second-least affordable English-speaking city in which to buy a home, according to a public-policy firm called Demographia.
The median local price is equal to 10.6 years of median household income, surpassing Sydney, Australia but still behind Hong Kong. Demographia says a level of three is considered affordable.
Canada’s second, third and fourth least affordable cities are also in BC: Abbotsford, Victoria and Kelowna. Toronto is next at 5.1 years of income to buy a home.
Demographia blames “restrictive land-use regulations” that limit the supply of many people, but the report does not look at the effect of foreign buyers or desirability of location.
The most-affordable cities are recession-ravaged Detroit at just 1.4 years of income to buy a house, and neighbouring Windsor, Ontario at 2.2.