Median multiple
Housing indicator measure of affordability
The Median multiple or Median house price to income ratio is a housing indicator used to indicate the affordability of housing in any given community. The Median house price to income ratio was the primary indicator H1 of the 1991 World Bank/UNCHS Housing Indicator system. It was subsequently used as a measure of affordability by the UN Commission for Sustainable Development, the National Association of Realtors, State of the Environment 2003 Tasmania, and the Mortgage Guide UK.
The indicator has been popularised by Demographia International, and was called the 'Median multiple' from their second comparative international survey in 2006.
The median multiple is the ratio of the median house price by the median gross (before tax) annual household income. This measure has historically hovered around a value of 3 or less, but in recent years has risen dramatically, especially in markets with public policy constraints on land and development.
01Housing Affordability Rating
The 2024 Demographia International Housing Affordability report uses the following affordability categories based on the median multiple for a given market:
| Housing Affordability Rating | Median Multiple |
|---|---|
| Affordable | 3.0 & Under |
| Moderately Unaffordable | 3.1 to 4.0 |
| Seriously Unaffordable | 4.1 to 5.0 |
| Severely Unaffordable | 5.1 to 8.9 |
| Impossibly Unaffordable | 9.0 & Over |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Median multiple”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Housing prices to personal income ratios.webp by Wikideas1, CC0
- House price to income ratio.webp by Wikideas1, CC0
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