An annual international survey of housing markets has rated Vancouver as the third least affordable market anywhere in the world, and that's impacting nearby markets like Victoria.
The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey determines affordability of housing markets by comparing median house prices to median household incomes. Markets are considered affordable when the median price is no more than 3 times higher than the median household income. Markets become unaffordable when prices are 5 times higher than median income.
Using that benchmark, Vancouver earned a whopping 11.8 rating - making it "severely unaffordable", trailing only behind Hong Kong (18.1) and Sydney, Australia (12.2).
The authors blame Vancouver's through-the-roof prices for having a ripple effect on nearby cities, giving British Columbia the distinction of having the most unaffordable smaller housing markets in the country.
Victoria was the worst of the smaller markets, rated 8.1, or "severely unaffordable". Again, that means housing prices in the capital city are just over 8 times higher than the city's average household income.
The Fraser Valley rated a 7.1, and Kelowna is at 6.4.
If you are looking for the most affordable city in Canada for housing you'll need to move to Moncton, New Brunswick which earned a 2.1, the most affordable housing market in the nation for the 5th year in a row.