Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 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.

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

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.

Japan JP: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 89.185 Ratio in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 87.364 Ratio for 2022. Japan JP: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 113.334 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 163.015 Ratio in 1973 and a record low of 73.387 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.

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.

Pre-2013 Land Registry housing data are for the first half of the year only, so that they are comparable to the ASHE data which are as at April. This is no longer the case from 2013 onwards as this data uses house price data from the ONS House Price Statistics for Small Areas statistical release. 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 since 2014 has been calculated by the GLA using Land Registry house prices and ONS Earnings data.

Link to DCLG Live Tables

An interactive map showing the affordability ratios by local authority for 2013, 2014 and 2015 is also available.

United States US: Price to Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 130.087 2015=100 in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 128.571 2015=100 for 2023. United States US: Price to Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 113.539 2015=100 from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2024, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 132.929 2015=100 in 1979 and a record low of 90.287 2015=100 in 2012. United States US: 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 United States – Table US.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.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA672N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, real, and USA.

In the United States, Hawaii was the state with the most expensive housing, with the typical value of single-family homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range exceeding 981,000 U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly, Hawaii also ranked top as the state with the highest cost of living. Meanwhile, a property was the least expensive in West Virginia, where it cost under 167,000 U.S. dollars to buy the typical single-family home. Single-family home prices increased across most states in the United States between December 2023 and December 2024, except in Louisiana, Florida, and the District of Colombia. According to the Federal Housing Association, house appreciation in 13 states exceeded nine percent in 2023.

Ratio of median quartile workplace earnings to median quartile house prices. The statistics used are workplace based full-time individual earnings. Source: Land Registry/Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Publisher: Communities and Local Government (CLG) Geographies: Local Authority District (LAD), County/Unitary Authority, Government Office Region (GOR), National Geographic coverage: England Time coverage: 1997 to 2009 Type of data: Survey

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

Australia Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 148.954 Ratio in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 151.643 Ratio for Sep 2024. Australia Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated quarterly, averaging 82.658 Ratio from Mar 1970 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 220 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 152.504 Ratio in Jun 2024 and a record low of 62.564 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.

The Housing Affordability Index value in the United States plummeted in 2022, surpassing the historical record of 107.1 index points in 2006. In 2024, the housing affordability index measured 98.1 index points, making it the second-worst year for homebuyers since the start of the observation period. What does the Housing Affordability Index mean? The Housing Affordability Index uses data provided by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It measures whether a family earning the national median income can afford the monthly mortgage payments on a median-priced existing single-family home. An index value of 100 means that a family has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a home. The higher the index value, the more affordable a house is to a family. Key factors that drive the real estate market Income, house prices, and mortgage rates are some of the most important factors influencing homebuyer sentiment. When incomes increase, consumer power also increases. The median household income in the United States declined in 2022, affecting affordability. Additionally, mortgage interest rates have soared, adding to the financial burden of homebuyers. The sales price of existing single-family homes in the U.S. has increased year-on-year since 2011 and reached 389,000 U.S. dollars in 2023.

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

France FR: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 107.544 Ratio in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 116.872 Ratio for 2023. France FR: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 92.481 Ratio from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2024, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 126.865 Ratio in 2022 and a record low of 71.464 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.

Annual house price data based on a sub-sample of the Regulated Mortgage Survey.

Housing affordability (median house prices to earnings ratio)

Analysis of ‘Boston House Prices-Advanced Regression Techniques’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/fedesoriano/the-boston-houseprice-data on 13 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

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Context

The Boston house-price data of Harrison, D. and Rubinfeld, D.L. 'Hedonic prices and the demand for clean air', J. Environ. Economics & Management, vol.5, 81-102, 1978.

Attribute Information

Input features in order: 1) CRIM: per capita crime rate by town 2) ZN: proportion of residential land zoned for lots over 25,000 sq.ft. 3) INDUS: proportion of non-retail business acres per town 4) CHAS: Charles River dummy variable (1 if tract bounds river; 0 otherwise) 5) NOX: nitric oxides concentration (parts per 10 million) [parts/10M] 6) RM: average number of rooms per dwelling 7) AGE: proportion of owner-occupied units built prior to 1940 8) DIS: weighted distances to five Boston employment centres 9) RAD: index of accessibility to radial highways 10) TAX: full-value property-tax rate per $10,000 [$/10k] 11) PTRATIO: pupil-teacher ratio by town 12) B: The result of the equation B=1000(Bk - 0.63)^2 where Bk is the proportion of blacks by town 13) LSTAT: % lower status of the population

Output variable: 1) MEDV: Median value of owner-occupied homes in $1000's [k$]

Source

StatLib - Carnegie Mellon University

Relevant Papers

Harrison, David & Rubinfeld, Daniel. (1978). Hedonic housing prices and the demand for clean air. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 5. 81-102. 10.1016/0095-0696(78)90006-2. LINK

Belsley, David A. & Kuh, Edwin. & Welsch, Roy E. (1980). Regression diagnostics: identifying influential data and sources of collinearity. New York: Wiley LINK

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Taiwan Housing Price to Income Ratio: Taipei City data was reported at 14.990 Times in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 15.120 Times for Sep 2017. Taiwan Housing Price to Income Ratio: Taipei City data is updated quarterly, averaging 11.770 Times from Mar 2002 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.160 Times in Mar 2015 and a record low of 5.890 Times in Dec 2002. Taiwan Housing Price to Income Ratio: Taipei City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Taiwan – Table TW.EB017: Housing Price and Housing Loan Payment to Income Ratio.

Germany DE: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data was reported at 93.521 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 108.353 Ratio for 2022. Germany DE: Standardised Price-Income Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 97.264 Ratio from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2023, with 44 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 146.052 Ratio in 1981 and a record low of 76.297 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.

Renting a home The change in rental affordability indicator compares changes in rental prices for new tenancies with the growth in median household disposable (after tax) income. Factors that can affect rental affordability are: Rental prices Household disposable income Saving for a deposit The change in deposit affordability indicator compares changes in house sales prices with the growth in median household disposable (after tax) income. Factors that can affect deposit affordability are: House sales prices Household disposable income Servicing a mortgage The change in mortgage serviceability indicator compares changes in the purchasing power of mortgage interest payments for new home loans with the growth in median household disposable (after tax) income. Factors that can affect mortgage serviceability are: Mortgage interest rates House sales prices Household disposable income. Individual experience of affordability will vary, for example if household income doesn’t change in line with the national median. A list of caveats and descriptions can be found on the CHAI dashboard here: https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/change-in-housing-affordability-indicators/about-the-indicators/