Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

The house price to income ratio in the United States has reached concerning levels, with the index hitting ***** in the fourth quarter of 2024. This indicates that house prices have outpaced income growth by over ** percent since 2015, highlighting a growing affordability crisis in the housing market. The widening gap between home prices and wages is putting homeownership out of reach for many Americans, particularly as real wages have remained stagnant. Rising home prices and stagnant wages While average annual real wages in the United States have increased slightly since 2014, home prices have soared. The median sales price of existing single-family homes reached a record-high in 2024, representing a substantial increase over the past five years. This disparity between wage growth and home price appreciation has led to a significant decrease in housing affordability across the country. Affordability challenges in the U.S. housing market The U.S. Housing Affordability Index, which measures whether a family earning the median income can afford a median-priced home, plummeted in 2024, marking the second-worst year for homebuyers since records began. This decline in affordability is reflected in homebuyer sentiment, with homebuyer sentiment plummeting.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (MSPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q1 2025 about sales, median, housing, and USA.

The average sales price of new homes in the United States experienced a slight decrease in 2024, dropping to 512,2000 U.S. dollars from the peak of 521,500 U.S. dollars in 2022. This decline came after years of substantial price increases, with the average price surpassing 400,000 U.S. dollars for the first time in 2021. The recent cooling in the housing market reflects broader economic trends and changing consumer sentiment towards homeownership. Factors influencing home prices and affordability The rapid rise in home prices over the past few years has been driven by several factors, including historically low mortgage rates and increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market has since slowed down, with the number of home sales declining by over two million between 2021 and 2023. This decline can be attributed to rising mortgage rates and decreased affordability. The Housing Affordability Index hit a record low of 98.1 in 2023, indicating that the median-income family could no longer afford a median-priced home. Future outlook for the housing market Despite the recent cooling, experts forecast a potential recovery in the coming years. The Freddie Mac House Price Index showed a growth of 6.5 percent in 2023, which is still above the long-term average of 4.4 percent since 1990. However, homebuyer sentiment remains low across all age groups, with people aged 45 to 64 expressing the most pessimistic outlook. The median sales price of existing homes is expected to increase slightly until 2025, suggesting that affordability challenges may persist in the near future.

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual residence-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

The house price to income index in Europe declined in almost all European countries in 2023, indicating that income grew faster than house prices. Portugal, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands led the house price to income index ranking in 2023, with values exceeding *** index points. Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland were on the other side of the spectrum, with less than 100 index points. The house price to income ratio is an indicator for the development of housing affordability across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. A ratio higher than 100 means that the nominal house price growth since 2015 has outpaced the nominal disposable income growth, and housing is therefore comparatively less affordable. In 2023, the OECD average stood at ***** index points.

Japan JP: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 87.536 Ratio in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 89.289 Ratio for 2023. Japan JP: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 113.262 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 163.202 Ratio in 1973 and a record low of 73.471 Ratio in 2009. Japan JP: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual. Nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head. Net household disposable income is used. The population data come from the OECD national accounts database. The long-term average is calculated over the whole period available when the indicator begins after 1980 or after 1980 if the indicator is longer. This value is used as a reference value. The ratio is calculated by dividing the indicator source on this long-term average, and indexed to a reference value equal to 100.

Germany DE: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 88.538 Ratio in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 93.578 Ratio for 2023. Germany DE: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 95.901 Ratio from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2024, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 146.141 Ratio in 1981 and a record low of 76.343 Ratio in 2010. Germany DE: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual. Nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head. Net household disposable income is used. The population data come from the OECD national accounts database. The long-term average is calculated over the whole period available when the indicator begins after 1980 or after 1980 if the indicator is longer. This value is used as a reference value. The ratio is calculated by dividing the indicator source on this long-term average, and indexed to a reference value equal to 100.

Australia Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 149.268 Ratio in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 152.371 Ratio for Sep 2024. Australia Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated quarterly, averaging 82.643 Ratio from Mar 1970 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 220 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 153.422 Ratio in Jun 2024 and a record low of 62.554 Ratio in Sep 1983. Australia Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Quarterly. Nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head. Net household disposable income is used. The population data come from the OECD national accounts database. The long-term average is calculated over the whole period available when the indicator begins after 1980 or after 1980 if the indicator is longer. This value is used as a reference value. The ratio is calculated by dividing the indicator source on this long-term average, and indexed to a reference value equal to 100.

This dataset contains the ratio of median house price to median earnings by district from 1997 to 2012.

This data set uses the median house price data from Land Registry on residential house price transactions at full market value, this means it excludes all: commercial transactions, transfer, conveyances, assignments or lease at a premium with nominal rent which are: Right to Buy sales at a discount, subject to a lease, subject to an existing mortgage, by way of a gift or exchange or under a court order or Compulsory Purchase Order. This is compared to the median income data of full time workers from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) produced by the ONS.

This data was derived from Table 577, available for download as an Excel spreadsheet.

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual workplace-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

This table shows the average House Price/Earnings ratio, which is an important indicator of housing affordability. Ratios are calculated by dividing house price by the median earnings of a borough.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is based on a 1 per cent sample of employee jobs. Information on earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. It does not cover the self-employed nor does it cover employees not paid during the reference period. Information is as at April each year. The statistics used are workplace based full-time individual earnings.

Land Registry housing data are for the first half of the year only, so that they comparable to the ASHE data which are as at April.
Prior to 2006 data are not available for Inner and Outer London.

The lowest 25 per cent of prices are below the lower quartile; the highest 75 per cent are above the lower quartile.
The "lower quartile" property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order.
The 'median' property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order. The point at which one half of the values are above and one half are below is the median.

Regional data has not been published by DCLG since 2012. Data for regions has been calculated by the GLA. Data for 2014 has been calculated by the GLA.

Link to DCLG Live Tables

Portugal, the Netherlands and Austria are among the countries where house prices grew the most in comparison to income since 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the house price to income ratio in the Netherlands and Austria exceeded *** index points, indicating that since 2015, house price growth has outpaced income growth by ** percent. In Portugal, the index amounted to *** index points in the same period. This was not the case in all countries in the ranking: In Finland, Bulgaria, and Romania, the opposite trend was observed, showing that incomes grew faster than house prices. The house price to income ratio is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal income per capita, with 2015 chosen as the base year of the index. The ratio signifies the development of housing affordability, with higher figures meaning housing is more unaffordable. There are other indices, such as RHPI (or house price indices corrected by inflation rates) which look at this as well.

The house price to income ratio in Germany in the first quarter of 2024 declined notably from its peak in 2022. The ratio measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. Germany's index score in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to *****, which means that house price growth had outpaced income growth by about ** percent since 2015. This was below the average house price to income area in the Euro area 16.

The house price to income ratio in Sweden in the first quarter of 2024 has declined notably since its peak in 2022. The house price to income ratio is calculated by dividing nominal house prices by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. Sweden's index score in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to ****, which means that income growth has outpaced house price growth by *** percent since 2015. This was lower than the average house price to income reatio in the Euro area 16.

France FR: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 107.604 Ratio in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 116.870 Ratio for 2023. France FR: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 92.480 Ratio from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2024, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 126.864 Ratio in 2022 and a record low of 71.463 Ratio in 1998. France FR: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual. Nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head. Net household disposable income is used. The population data come from the OECD national accounts database. The long-term average is calculated over the whole period available when the indicator begins after 1980 or after 1980 if the indicator is longer. This value is used as a reference value. The ratio is calculated by dividing the indicator source on this long-term average, and indexed to a reference value equal to 100.

This dataset contains the ratio of lower quartile/median house price to lower quartile/median earnings in England

This dataset uses the median/lower quartile house price data sourced from ONS House Price Statistics for Small Areas (HPSSA) statistical release for years 2013-2015 and house price data sourced directly from Land Registry prior to 2013. This leads to slight differences in the distribution of affordability ratios before and after 2013 which should be noted if the dataset is used as a time series. It is planned to update the ratios with the HPSSA dataset for all years in the future.

The house price data is then compared to the median/lower quartile income data of full time workers from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) produced by the ONS.

This data was derived from Table 576 and 577, available for download as an Excel spreadsheet from the Live tables page (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-housing-market-and-house-prices). More details about the data sources are also available in the link provided.

Graph and download economic data for All-Transactions House Price Index for Utah (UTSTHPI) from Q1 1975 to Q1 2025 about UT, appraisers, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Household Income in Colorado (MEHOINUSCOA672N) from 1984 to 2023 about CO, households, median, income, real, and USA.

New Zealand NZ: Price to Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 117.981 2015=100 in Sep 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 120.692 2015=100 for Jun 2024. New Zealand NZ: Price to Income Ratio: sa data is updated quarterly, averaging 79.512 2015=100 from Mar 1986 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 155 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 143.218 2015=100 in Dec 2021 and a record low of 46.765 2015=100 in Mar 1987. New Zealand NZ: Price to Income Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Quarterly. Nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head. Net household disposable income is used. The population data come from the OECD national accounts database.