Only Hong Kong was rated less affordable than Vancouver in the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, which tracks 378 metropolitan markets in Canada, the United States, Australia, China, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The survey calculates affordability by comparing median house prices with median incomes -- the higher home prices relative to incomes, the more unaffordable the market.

In Vancouver, the report said the median home price was $704,800, 10.6 times higher than the median household income of $66,400 in 2014. That's the worst affordability ranking Vancouver has ever received in the survey's 11-year history, and an increase from 2013 when prices were about the 10.3 times higher than incomes.

Meanwhile, the median home price in Toronto was $482,900, about 6.5 times higher than the median household income of $73,900 last year.

A report released Monday by TD Economics said a mortgage increase of two percentage points could cause financial hardship among Greater Toronto Area homeowners, pushing up the number of residents who devote 30 per cent of their income to mortgage payments to 20 per cent from 16 per cent.

Overall, the study ranks Canada as "seriously unaffordable," with home prices in major urban markets about 4.3 times higher than incomes, while for Canadian real estate markets overall, median home prices are 3.9 times median incomes.

Read more: http://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/human-interest/vancouver-s-housing-market-ranked-among-least-affordable-in-the-world-survey-says-1.2197765#ixzz3PfFiwSyx