Hong Kong has the world's least affordable housing, according to an international survey, a finding likely to stoke anger among residents already fed up with runaway property prices. Buying a home in the Asian financial hub, synonymous with its super-rich tycoons and glittering financial district, costs more than 11 times the city's average salary, outpacing London, New York and other major cities, US-based consulting firm Demographia said in a report released Monday.
Sydney was ranked the second-least affordable major city, followed by Vancouver, and Melbourne. The 7th Annual International Housing Affordability Survey compared home prices and household income in 325 cities in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. It is the first time Hong Kong has been included in the survey.
Hong Kong's median home prices in the third quarter of 2010 averaged HK$2.58 million ($330,939), about 11.4 times the median household annual income of HK$225,400. The most affordable homes in the survey were all in the United States and Canada, with Saginaw in Michigan being the most affordable city, with a median house price of $61,400.