An IMGlobalWealth.news Report
New 2026 research exposes a vast gulf between property prices and household earnings, even as the global housing market begins to cool in real terms.
In Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the price of a typical home is equivalent to roughly three years of household income. In Syria, it is almost 87.
The striking gap emerges from a global comparison published by Visual Capitalist using data from the UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026. Covering more than 180 countries and territories, the ranking compares typical residential property prices with average annual household incomes. The global ratio stands at 11.2.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE share the lowest ratio, at 3.0, followed by South Africa at 3.4, North Korea at 3.5 and Oman at 3.6. The United States ranks seventh among the markets surveyed, with a ratio of 4.5.
At the other end, Syria records 86.7, more than twice Sri Lanka’s 40.8. China follows at 34.6, while Nepal, Cambodia and the Philippines all exceed 30 times annual household income.
The ranking is more than a league table of expensive and inexpensive property. It highlights how access to housing is increasingly determined by accumulated wealth, inherited equity and access to credit, rather than employment income alone.
“in 2026, housing remains one of the clearest dividing lines between those who earn income and those who already possess wealth”
The latest market data offer a more complicated picture. According to the Bank for International Settlements, inflation-adjusted global house prices fell by 0.6% in the final quarter of 2025. Prices were broadly stable in advanced economies but declined by 1.4% across emerging markets, largely because of weakness in Asia.
That modest global decline conceals sharp regional differences. Real prices rose by 16% in Portugal and 10% in Spain during the year, while falling by 6% in both China and Canada. Since the pandemic began, real global house prices have still increased by almost 3%. Compared with the aftermath of the 2007–09 financial crisis, they are nearly 20% higher.
Cooling prices do not automatically mean affordable homes. Mortgage rates, deposits, taxes and living costs remain elevated in many markets. Meanwhile, wages have often failed to keep pace with property and rental costs.
The OECD says real house prices have increased by more than 40% on average across its members over the past decade. Around two in five low-income private tenants now spend more than 40% of their disposable income on rent. The share of all private tenants crossing that threshold rose from 12.8% in 2012 to 17.9% in 2023.
Housing supply remains central to the problem. Construction costs, labour shortages, restrictive planning rules, limited land availability and declining public investment have constrained new development. At the same time, migration, smaller households and population growth have sustained demand in many cities.
International capital adds another dimension. The IMF notes that foreign buyers, safe-haven investment and cross-border wealth flows can boost prices in desirable markets, benefiting existing owners while making entry harder for local residents. This tension has already led countries including Canada and New Zealand to restrict some foreign residential purchases.
For internationally mobile families, affordability therefore changes at the border. A market that is inaccessible to local earners may remain attractive to someone arriving with equity accumulated in London, Toronto or another high-value city.
The ranking should not be read as an automatic investment guide. It does not capture mortgage availability, foreign-ownership restrictions, rental returns, taxes or differences between capital cities and regional markets.
Its central conclusion is nevertheless difficult to dispute: in 2026, housing remains one of the clearest dividing lines between those who earn income and those who already possess wealth.
