A Demographia International report says Victoria is one of the least affordable places in the world. File photo.
A list compiled by Demographia International, which is in its 15th Annual housing affordability survey, basis affordability on the average housing income. Victoria is ranked 13th from the bottom, which means it is highly unaffordable. It is ahead of even Toronto and London, England.
Victoria, Nanaimo and the Comox Valley some of the least affordable housing markets in the world. (Demographia International).
Nanaimo is 19th least affordable, tied with the Comox Valley. Those two areas are more unaffordable than popular spots like Santa Barbara in California and Boulder in Colorado.
On the list, the Vancouver market is the second least affordable in the world, behind Hong Kong. After Vancouver are Sydney, Melbourne, Santa Cruz, San Jose and Los Angeles.
Middle-income housing affordability in Canada’s major markets. (Demographia International).
The survey rates housing affordability using the “median multiple” which is the average housing price divided by the median household income in a market. A median multiple of 5.1, where the home costs five times more than the average household income, is considered “severely unaffordable. Vancouver’s median multiple is at 12.6, Victoria’s is 8.5, Nanaimo is 8.0 and the Comox Valley is 7.5.
Demographia International’s report also states that while the B.C.’s foreign buyer’s tax has been associated with moderation of house prices in Vancouver, “reductions have been concentrated in higher cost houses, with middle market housing affordability having continued some deterioration.”
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