The U.S. Is 'One Of The Cheapest Countries On Earth To Buy A House,' Someone Pointed Out. It Could Get Much Worse If It Follows Global Trends

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A recent post on Reddit sparked a fiery debate about housing affordability in the U.S., pointing to international data showing that the U.S. is still one of the most affordable countries in the world to buy a home.

Global Housing Trends

“People act like housing is so unaffordable here,” wrote the original poster, “but the data shows that the USA has a lower housing price to income ratio than any western country.” They cited figures from World Population Review, which ranks countries based on home prices compared to income levels.

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According to last year’s data, the U.S. ranks third globally in housing affordability by price-to-income ratio, behind only Oman and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has a ratio of 3.3, compared to countries like the U.K. at 9.1, Canada at 10.4 and Portugal at 13.3.

“People say that housing ‘has to get cheaper,'” the poster added, “In reality, it could get a lot worse, if other countries are to base off of.”

That comment drew hundreds of replies—some supportive, many skeptical. One of the most upvoted comments pointed out that most countries don’t offer the kind of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages common in the U.S. “So much of middle class wealth in this country is based on the idea that you can get a 30-year fixed mortgage but also refinance or pay off at any time with no early termination fee,” one commenter said.

Others argued that while national averages may show affordability, they don’t reflect local extremes. “Half of us live in major cities and the price-to-income ratio is absurd,” said one person. “In San Diego an average middle class home costs $1.4 million now.”

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But the original poster didn't back down. “I literally just bought a house for 2x what the sellers bought it for 9 years ago. So I know it's more expensive than it was. But it’s still cheaper than almost anywhere else in the world.”

World Population Review’s rankings back that up. While the U.S. has a price-to-income ratio of 3.3, countries like France, South Korea, and China rank far worse with a price-to-income ratio of 11.2, 20.7 and 29.4, respectively. At the very bottom of the list: Syria, with a price-to-income ratio of 112.2.

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Still, several commenters pointed out that these kinds of global comparisons often ignore regional nuance. “The comparison is not with other countries, it's with other generations,” one person wrote.

Even so, the data suggests that in a global context, American housing may not be as bad as it feels—at least not yet.

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This article The U.S. Is 'One Of The Cheapest Countries On Earth To Buy A House,' Someone Pointed Out. It Could Get Much Worse If It Follows Global Trends originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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