North Americans know all too well about soaring home prices, leading some to even consider relocating abroad to afford a home. According to Stats Canada, one emigrant leaves Canada every 25 minutes and according to a recent poll by Monmouth University, 34% of American respondents said they would settle in another country if they could. But is the grass always greener on the other side?
North Americans aren’t alone in their homeownership challenges. Countries around the world are grappling with high inflation and escalating real estate prices. In large urban centers in particular, the average price of a home has been steadily increasing, crossing the $1 million mark in some cities.
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To gain insights into how housing affordability in North American cities compares with other major cities worldwide, Zoocasa analyzed average home prices across 23 metropolitan areas in various countries, converting the prices into both USD and CAD.
Is Toronto as Expensive as Singapore? The Global Challenge of Housing Affordability
Of the 23 cities we analyzed, 8 have average home prices above $1,000,000 (CAD), demonstrating that affordability challenges extend beyond North America. A home in Singapore, widely recognized as one of the world’s most expensive cities, will cost you nearly $2,000,000 CAD or about $1.5 million USD. That number may sound shockingly high, but for Torontonians, the reality is that several neighbourhoods in Toronto already have average home prices above $2,000,000, and in some cases, even $3,000,000.
However, when looking at the city center, Singapore is still much more expensive than Toronto. According to SmartWealth Singapore, the average price of a condo in the core central region is a whopping $8.9M CAD, while a condo in downtown Toronto costs just $785,061. Barcelona, London, and Sydney all also have average home prices higher than Toronto, though not by much. Of the three, Barcelona is the most affordable with an average price of $1,299,924 while Syndey is the most expensive at $1,412,499.
Which Global Cities Have the Lowest Home Prices?
Though both Vancouver and Toronto have average home prices above New York and Miami, Calgary and Halifax are notably more affordable, even when compared on a global scale. Calgary’s average home price of $597,600 and Halifax’s average home price of $529,600 are less than that of Tokyo, Melbourne, Seoul, and Oslo - all of which have average home prices above $700,000 CAD.
Edinburgh is the closest city in price to both Halifax and Calgary, with an average home price of $556,590 CAD. But for even more affordable prices in the UK, homebuyers should look to Manchester, where the average price of a home is just $418,798 CAD.
Looking at Latin America, Mexico City offers the lowest average home price in the region at $296,096 CAD. Similarly, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago also offer reasonably priced homes at $422,970 and $351,820 respectively.
However, North Americans can find greater affordability in Southeast Asian cities. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital and largest city, takes the crown for having the lowest average home price of the cities we analyzed at $144,082. Even Canada’s most affordable cities like St. John’s and Greater Moncton have average home prices above $300,000, while in the US, you’d have to look in cities like Binghamton, NY and Akron, OH to find homes priced under $200,000 USD
It’s important to note that housing affordability is largely linked with income. Though Malaysia’s home prices are affordable for those earning a North American salary, those living and working in Malaysia may have a harder time. For example, in Malaysia, the median household income per capita was $5,731 USD in 2022 according to CEIC data.
Methodology
Home prices were gathered from a variety of sources using the most recent available data. Australian home prices were sourced from Domain’s December 2023 House Price Report. Canadian home prices were sourced from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, Greater Vancouver Realtors, Calgary Real Estate Board, and the Canadian Real Estate Association. Home prices in the US were sourced from the National Association of Realtors®. Home prices for the UK were sourced from the UK House Price Index from the HM Land Registry. The average home price for Seoul was sourced from the Korea Real Estate Board. The average home price for Tokyo was sourced from the Real Estate Economic Institute. The average home price for Barcelona was sourced from Spainhouses.net. Home prices for Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were sourced from Dot Property. The average home price in Santiago was sourced from FazWaz. The average home price in Singapore was sourced from SmartWealth Singapore. The average home price in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and Oslo was sourced from Statista.
Currencies were converted using the most recent exchange rates according to Forbes Advisor on the week of April 22, 2024.
