Updated at 1:07 p.m., Monday, February 5, 2007
Honolulu makes top 3 for least-affordable housing
Advertiser Staff
Honolulu ranks as the third-least affordable housing market in a study of 159 cities in metropolitan areas in six countries by Demographia, a Belleville, Ill.-based public policy consultancy.Honolulu ranked behind Los Angeles-Orange County and San Diego and ahead of San Francisco, according to the survey. All were listed among the 59 markets identified as being "severely unaffordable" by Demographia.
The firm used the median house price in each market and divided it by the median annual gross household income to come up with the ranking. To be considered affordable the house price could not exceed three times household income. It took 10.3 times annual household income in Honolulu to afford a home, according to Demographia figures.
Housing prices were considered to be severely unaffordable if prices were more than five times the annual median household earnings.
The most affordable market was found in Fort Wayne, Ind., where the median home was priced at two times the annual household income. The consultancy studied markets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Britain.
