Hong Kong tops survey of world's least affordable home market

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong retained its rank as the most expensive housing market among 406 major metropolitan regions in the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey for the seventh year in a row.

The median price of a home in Hong Kong last year was 18.1 times the median annual pretax household income, the survey showed. That's a modest improvement in affordability compared with last year's 19 times, which was the highest multiple in the 12 years Demographia has been conducting its research.

The dearth of affordable housing in Hong Kong has been a persistent headache for Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, despite a raft of taxes and mortgage caps introduced under his administration.

Prices of secondary homes, which account for about 70 per cent of volume, are up nearly 40 per cent since he took office in July 2012 and increased 7.7 per cent last year. They are hovering just 2.6 per cent shy of their September 2015 record.

Hong Kong's median multiple "represents a substantial deterioration in its housing affordability," Demographia said in the report, citing a median multiple of 11.4 times in 2010.

BLOOMBERG