Vancouver gets top five spot on another sad list for global affordability

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Vancouver has been named in the top five of another ranking of global cities, and it isn’t because of how beautiful Stanley Park is but because of the lack of affordability in the city.

In a report from The Guardian Australia, which looked at the most unaffordable cities in the world, Vancouver got the dubious honour of being named number four on the list.

The list looked at 200 cities with a metro population of more than two million people, with Hong Kong taking the top spot.

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Sydney was the focal point of The Guardian Australia‘s article, as, like Vancouver and many parts of Canada, the Australian city is facing a housing crisis costing its economy over $10 billion a year.

“The city’s median property price has surged to 13.3 times the median income; 35.3% of renters are in housing stress, and the city is ranked the sixth-least affordable city, beating New York and London. Only Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore, Vancouver, and Tel Aviv were less affordable,” reads The Guardian Australia‘s report.

The Guardian‘s report also suggested that due to the situation that Syndey is facing, an “immediate and bold” intervention would be necessary. Where does that leave Vancouver and Canada at large? What immediate and bold interventions are taking place on this side of the Pacific Ocean?

For Vancouver, rental rates are as high as ever, and while housing sales and prices have come down, they’re far from attainable for most of the middle class.

Nationally, last month, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, got a lot of heat for suggesting that the situation with housing was “not a primary federal responsibility.”

Meanwhile, a survey found that Canadians believe the federal government and immigration are to blame for the country’s housing woes.

Do you think Canada needs to see an immediate and bold intervention to fix housing? Let us know in the comments.