Hong Kong: 13.7× median income to buy a median home. Pittsburgh: 3.4×. The gap is a policy choice, not a law of nature.
Why Pittsburgh beats Hong Kong by a factor of four
The Demographia metric is simple: median home price divided by median household income. Above 5.0 is "severely unaffordable." Most of Australia, Canada, and coastal US have blown past that. Sydney sits at 13.3×, Vancouver at 12.3×. Pittsburgh, Edmonton, and Rochester all hold below 4.0×. The one thing all affordable markets share: planning systems that let supply respond to demand.
Rate increases from 2022–2024 raised mortgage costs without dropping home prices in most markets — affordability worsened even as demand cooled. US median home prices rose 40% from 2020–2025 while median incomes rose 22%. The same divergence played out across the UK, Australia, and Canada.
US home prices rose 40% in five years. Incomes rose 22%. The gap between owning and renting a life keeps widening.
Builders are shrinking the product
67% of US builders now offer sales incentives. 41% have cut prices outright. Median home size is stuck at 2,155 sq ft as builders hold price points by delivering less house. The 2025 proposal that drew the most debate: a 50-year mortgage — lower monthly payments, a lifetime of debt, dramatically more interest paid overall.
A 50-year mortgage was seriously floated in 2025. Paying off your home by age 80 is now a mainstream proposal.
The K-shape locks in
Households with existing equity keep buying and building wealth. First-time buyers without inherited advantage face arithmetic that doesn't work in any major coastal market. Property purchases in the US and Australia are concentrating among the already-wealthy.
The markets with low ratios didn't get lucky. They kept their zoning flexible. Until that changes elsewhere, the gap keeps compounding — one generation at a time.