32 of the Most Populous North American Cities Are 'Seriously and Severely Unaffordable', Study Says

Researchers have compiled data on annual incomes and housing prices in the 50 most populous cities in North America to calculate housing affordability, and how quickly a homeowner could pay off their mortgage.

The recent study by Point2 Homes shows Vancouver, Manhattan, and San Francisco held the top 3 spots, respectively, as the least affordable housing markets in North America. Though Manhattan and San Francisco have higher median home sale prices, Vancouver's median home sale price is far above the median family income, making it the least affordable market.

Once a moderately-priced borough, Brooklyn now has a median selling price of $725,000, considerably less compared to the likes of San Francisco and Manhattan, but almost three times as much as the national median. And with the median household income just shy of the U.S. benchmark, Brooklyn’s severely unaffordable median multiple of 13.1 secures its position among the top 5 most unaffordable U.S. markets.

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