Cero de 95 mercados asequibles en 2024. Ocho países, cada metrópoli rastreada, todos inasequibles por primera vez en el registro.
Portugal's price-to-income ratio jumped 58% in nine years; Canada and the US each climbed about 30%. The shape is the story: nearly every OECD economy moved in the same direction, just at different speeds.
La razón precio-ingreso de Portugal subió 58% en nueve años; Canadá y EE.UU. cerca de 30%. La forma es la historia: casi toda la OCDE se movió en la misma dirección, a distinto ritmo.
Hong Kong demands 18.4 years of full household income, the most extreme reading ever recorded. Even the US national average at 5.1 years would have been considered a crisis a generation ago.
Hong Kong exige 18.4 años del ingreso total del hogar, la cifra más extrema jamás registrada. Incluso el promedio nacional de EE.UU. de 5.1 años habría sido una crisis hace una generación.
Every major Latin American capital demands over 17 years of income, with Bogota at 22.1. The reference line marks the US national ratio: even Mexico City sits nearly 3x above it.
Cada capital latinoamericana exige más de 17 años de ingreso; Bogotá llega a 22.1. La línea marca la razón nacional de EE.UU.: incluso Ciudad de México está casi 3x por encima.
A home cost 2.7 years of pay in 1990 and 5.1 in 2025: roughly two extra years of total income. Harvard found the 2022 ratio of 5.6x beat the 2006 bubble peak; the affordability line of 3x is now a memory.
Una vivienda costaba 2.7 años de salario en 1990 y 5.1 en 2025: casi dos años extra de ingreso total. Harvard halló que el 5.6x de 2022 superó el pico de 2006; el umbral asequible de 3x ya es historia.
Prices climbed 38% while mortgage rates ran from 3% to nearly 7%, compounding the squeeze. The two forces multiply: the monthly payment on a typical home roughly doubled in four years.
Los precios subieron 38% mientras las tasas pasaron de 3% a casi 7%, agravando el ahogo. Las dos fuerzas se multiplican: la cuota mensual típica casi se duplicó en cuatro años.
The US is still short 3.7 million homes; completions are running at 1.45 million a year. At April 2026's completion pace the gap takes years to close even if demand stays flat.
EE.UU. aún necesita 3.7 millones de viviendas; las terminaciones van a 1.45 millones al año. Al ritmo de abril de 2026, la brecha tarda años en cerrarse aunque la demanda no crezca.
Median first-time buyer age went from late 20s to 40, with seven years added since 2020 alone. Roughly the time it takes to earn a degree and finish a medical residency has been added to the wait.
La edad mediana pasó de casi 30 a 40 años; siete años sumados solo desde 2020. Se sumó al espera lo que dura una licenciatura más una residencia médica.
Only 21% of US home sales now go to first-time buyers, half their pre-2008 share. Waiting until 40 to buy instead of 30 costs a typical US household about $150,000 in lifetime equity.
Solo el 21% de las ventas van a compradores primerizos, la mitad que antes de 2008. Comprar a los 40 en lugar de a los 30 cuesta al hogar típico unos 150,000 dólares en patrimonio.
Croatians leave home at 31.3 and Finns at 21.4; the EU average sits at 26.2 years. More than 3 in 4 young people in Italy, Korea, and Spain still live with their parents, among the OECD's highest shares.
Los croatas dejan el hogar a los 31.3 y los finlandeses a los 21.4; la media de la UE es 26.2. Más de 3 de cada 4 jóvenes en Italia, Corea y España viven con sus padres, de los más altos de la OCDE.
OECD real house prices hit 134 points in 2025, the peak of a three-decade climb. Affordability explains up to a quarter of the rise in young adults still living with their parents.
Los precios reales de la OCDE llegaron a 134 puntos en 2025, cima de tres décadas de subida. La asequibilidad explica hasta una cuarta parte del aumento de jóvenes que viven con sus padres.
By 2019 UK children of owners were 51% homeowners, more than double the 22% rate for children of renters. Both groups slid downward, but the gap widened: the housing ladder is becoming an elevator with a family key.
En 2019 los hijos de propietarios del Reino Unido eran 51% dueños, más del doble del 22% de los hijos de inquilinos. Ambos grupos cayeron, pero la brecha se amplió: la escalera de vivienda se vuelve un elevador con llave familiar.
Half of UK first-time buyers and a quarter of US ones now lean on family money to get in. A Fed study attributes 27% of young US homeownership directly to parental transfers; UK families gifted 11 billion pounds by mid-2026.
La mitad de los primerizos británicos y un cuarto de los estadounidenses se apoyan en dinero familiar. La Fed atribuye 27% de la propiedad joven en EE.UU. a transferencias paternas; familias británicas donaron 11.000 millones de libras hasta 2026.
The US ownership rate sits at 65.6%, near its 60-year average, and 87% of young renters still want to buy. Steady headline rate masks who owns: older, wealthier, family-funded households — increasingly heirs rather than first-time buyers.
La tasa de propiedad en EE.UU. es 65.6%, cerca de su promedio de 60 años, y 87% de los jóvenes inquilinos quieren comprar. La tasa estable oculta quién posee: hogares mayores, con mayor patrimonio y financiados por la familia — cada vez más herederos que compradores primerizos.
The research behind this deck
Home prices broke from wages within one generation. Across 95 major markets, zero now qualify as affordable, the first-time buyer is 40, and parental money increasingly decides who gets through the door.
Key findings
In 2026, Hong Kong's home price requires over 18 years of a typical household's full income to buy -- the most extreme housing unaffordability recorded anywhere on Earth. Habidato
The U.S. home price-to-income ratio nearly doubled from 2.7× in 1990 to 5.1× in 2025, meaning a home that cost 2.7 years of pay now costs almost two full years of extra pay more. Housing Almanac
The median U.S. first-time buyer age hit a record 40 in 2025, up from the late 20s in the 1980s -- roughly a dozen extra years of waiting. National Association of REALTORS®
In 2024, young adults in the EU left their parents' home at an average age of 26.2 years, ranging nearly 10 years between the earliest and latest countries. Eurostat
In 2024, about half of all UK first-time buyers got financial help from family, peaking at 7 in 10 during the 2009 financial crisis. Savills / BBC News
Across major global cities in 2026, home prices range from over 18 years of income in Hong Kong down to 3 to 4 years in more affordable markets, revealing a staggering gap. Habidato
In just five years (2020 to 2025), the typical U.S. first-time buyer aged from 33 to 40 -- gaining seven years in half a decade. Realtor.com
In 2024, the age at which young adults left their parents' home ranged from 21.4 years in Finland to 31.3 years in Croatia, a nearly 10-year gap across EU countries. Eurostat
The U.S. national home price-to-income ratio climbed from 3.3 years of income in 2000 to a record 5.1 years in 2024 -- meaning homes became more than 50% harder to afford in just two decades. Housing Almanac
First-time buyers now make up only 21% of all U.S. home sales -- half the roughly 40% share they held before the 2008 crash. National Association of REALTORS®
More than 3 in 4 young people aged 15-29 in Italy, Korea, and Spain still live with their parents, among the highest shares in the OECD. OECD
Among US first-time buyers in 2024, about 1 in 4 used a family gift for their down payment, and 1 in 14 used an inheritance -- a record high. National Association of Realtors
The argument
In 2024, zero of 95 major housing markets across 8 countries qualified as affordable, a first in 21 years of Demographia data.
Portugal's price-to-income ratio jumped 58% from 2015 to 2024, leading the OECD; Canada and the US each rose about 30%.
Hong Kong tops the world at 18.4 years of household income to buy a home in 2026.
All five major Latin American capitals require over 17 years of income, with Bogota at 22.1.
The US ratio hit 5.1x in 2024, worse than the 2006 bubble, after home prices rose 38% in just four years.
The median US first-time buyer is now 40, up from 33 in 2020 and the late 20s in the 1980s.
In the UK, children of homeowners are now more than twice as likely to own a home as children of renters.
Parental transfers explain 27% of young US homeownership and 53% of UK first-time buyers got family money.
This research is published in English and Spanish. Ver en español
