The results of the 14th Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey have been revealed, and with no big surprise, Australia hasn’t done too well.

Sydney has been ranked as the second least affordable city in the world for the third year in a row, faring better than Hong Kong.

The survey rates middle-income housing affordability using the “Median Multiple” calculation, which is the median house price divided by the median household income. It is used to compare housing affordability between markets by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund, The Economist, and other organisations.

Sydney scored a Median Multiple of 12.9 (higher than last year). Hong Kong scored 19.4, while Vancouver in third place scored 12.6.

The new results have also seen Melbourne move up from sixth position to fifth. This again, combined with other Australian cities, makes the nation the third most unaffordable housing market in the world. 

The Top 10:

  1. Hong Kong, China
  2. Sydney, Australia
  3. Vancouver, Canada
  4. San Jose, USA
  5. Melbourne, Australia
  6. Los Angeles, USA
  7. Honolulu, USA
  8. San Francisco, USA
  9. Auckland, New Zealand
  10. London, UK

The full Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey is available here