Chapman University Releases International Housing Affordability Report Revealing None of the 95 Major Markets Affordable

New report from Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy and The Frontier Centre for Public Policy reveals deepening crisis for middle-income households

/EIN News/ -- ORANGE, Calif., May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the first time in the report’s 21-year history, none of the 95 major housing markets analyzed across eight nations qualifies as “affordable.” This alarming statistic headlines the newly released 2025 edition of Demographia International Housing Affordability, authored by Wendell Cox and published by Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy in partnership with The Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

The annual report provides housing affordability ratings for the third quarter of 2024 in Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, offering a comprehensive and timely analysis of global housing market conditions.

Joel Kotkin, director of the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University, commented, “Middle-income homeownership is increasingly out of reach in major urban centers. The consequences for generational equity, upward mobility, and regional economies are profound. Unless bold reforms are made, especially around land use and urban planning, we risk further deepening inequality and economic stagnation. That’s why we’re proud to continue this vital partnership with Canada’s Frontier Centre for Public Policy.” 

The rankings in the report are based on a measure called the median multiple, which compares the median house prices in a market to the median household income. In other words, it answers the question, How many years of income would it take for a typical household to buy a typical home? For example, if the median home costs $300,000 and the pre-tax median household income is $75,000, the median multiple is 4.0. Markets are then rated on a scale ranging from “affordable” (3.0 or less) to “impossibly unaffordable” (9.0 or more). The higher the number, the harder it is for the middle-income households to afford homeownership.

Key 2024 Findings

• No market was rated “Affordable” (3.0 or below).
• Most Affordable: Pittsburgh, PA remains the most affordable major housing market for the fifth consecutive year, with a median multiple of 3.2.
• Least Affordable: Hong Kong tops the list again with a median multiple of 14.4.
• California’s Crisis: Several California markets rank among the least affordable, with four categorized as “Impossibly Unaffordable”:
  • San Jose - 12.1
  • Los Angeles – 11.2
  • San Francisco – 10.0
  • San Diego – 9.5

Top 10 Most Affordable Markets (All rated “Moderately Unaffordable”)

1. Pittsburgh, PA (USA) – 3.2
2. Cleveland, OH (USA) – 3.3
3. St. Louis, MO-IL (USA) – 3.5
4. Rochester, NY (USA) – 3.6
5. Edmonton, AB (Canada) – 3.7
    Middlesbrough & Durham (UK) – 3.7
    Oklahoma City, OK (USA) – 3.7
    Omaha, NE-IA (USA) – 3.7
9. Sheffield (UK) – 3.8
10. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (USA) – 3.9

Top 10 Least Affordable Markets (All rated “Impossibly Unaffordable”)  

1. Hong Kong (China) – 14.4 
2. Sydney (Australia) – 13.8 
3. San Jose, CA (USA) – 12.1 
4. Vancouver, BC (Canada) – 11.8 
5. Los Angeles, CA (USA) – 11.2 
6. Adelaide (Australia) – 10.9 
7. Honolulu, HI (USA) – 10.8 
8. San Francisco, CA (USA) – 10.0 
9. Melbourne (Australia) – 9.7 
10. San Diego, CA (USA) – 9.5

The Housing Affordability Crisis: Causes and Solutions  
Middle-income households continue to face rapidly escalating housing costs, a key driver of today’s cost-of-living challenges. Historically, home prices rose in tandem with incomes, making ownership feasible. In many high-income countries today, however, housing costs far exceed income growth.

Primary Causes

According to the study, there are two primary causes of housing unaffordability:

• Urban Containment: Policies such as greenbelts, urban growth boundaries and densification initiatives, while intended to curb sprawl, often results in severe land shortages and skyrocketing process.
• Land Use Policies: Restrictive zoning and planning regulations limit housing supply, inflating land values and pricing many households out of the market.

Economic Dynamics

Land values tend to rise closer to urban cores. When urban containment policies are enforced, land prices can spike dramatically at regulatory boundaries, sometimes increasing 8 to 20 times compared to nearby less stringently regulated areas.

A Potential Model: New Zealand’s Reform

New Zealand has begun implementing policies to liberalize land supply and address demand, offering a promising case study for governments confronting similar affordability challenges.

A Focus on People

The report advocates for human-centered planning, prioritizing upward mobility and economic opportunity over rigid regulatory ideals. Supporting middle- and lower-income households must be central to any urban policy solution.  

About Chapman University   
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally ranked private university in Orange, California, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles. Chapman serves nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, with a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students can choose from over 100 areas of study within 11 colleges for a personalized education. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution. Students at Chapman learn directly from distinguished world-class faculty including Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur fellows, published authors and Academy Award winners. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. The university features the No. 4 film school and No. 66 business school in the U.S. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu.   

Media Contact:
Bob Hitchcock, Director of Strategic Communications
rhitchcock@chapman.edu