Hong Kong scores a record in survey of priciest housing markets

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong ranked as the most expensive housing market among 87 major metropolitan regions the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, with the highest unaffordability score ever recorded by the research firm.

The median home in Hong Kong costs 19 times the median annual pretax household income, the Demographia survey showed. That's the highest multiple in the 11 years Demographia has been conducting surveys, and up from 17 in last year's report, according to the company's website.

Hong Kong and London are the cities most at risk of a housing bubble amid declining affordability, UBS Group AG said in a report in October.

Hong Kong home prices climbed 370 per cent from 2003 to their peak in September 2015, and they've since fallen 8 per cent amid a deteriorating market and rising supply, according to data from the Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index. Prices are poised to fall as much as 30 per cent this year, according to Bocom International Holdings Co analyst Alfred Lau.

Sydney was ranked as the second-most unaffordable market after its multiple climbed to 12.2 from 9.8 in 2014, the biggest year-to-year increase that Demographia has ever reported. Vancouver was the ranked third-most expensive city, with a rating of 10.8, while London ranked in eighth place with a ratio of 8.5, the survey showed.

BLOOMBERG