08/30/2025
North America saw the western regions dominate the higher price brackets.
Cities including Vancouver in Canada, and San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego in the United States, along with Honolulu in Hawaii, all ranked highly. Toronto in Canada was ranked 12th.
The cities listed above in the top rankings are mostly advanced nations and advanced cities. These cities often maintain stringent construction and civil engineering regulations, or property buyers frequently prefer houses over other housing types. As houses typically require a certain amount of land, those closer to city centres command higher prices.
Furthermore, infrastructure development costs in residential areas are high, and housing construction costs are also elevated. Labour costs are high relative to productivity, and recently, supply chain issues have also driven up construction and civil engineering material costs.
Recently, North America has also seen a growing preference for apartments and condos, and it is evident that housing preferences are shifting, influenced by immigrants arriving from Asian countries.
Should the popularity and demand for detached houses decline in the future, the profitability of material-related companies such as Home Depot (HD:US) is likely to decrease, and demand for related construction and civil engineering materials, including timber, may also fall.
However, as demand for flats and condominiums increases, so too may the need for rail and public transport services traversing city centres. This urbanisation trend is fostering a preference for public transport due to increased road congestion, alongside a growing demand for saloon cars and SUVs over pick-up trucks.
Urban transformation reshapes consumption patterns and structures, bringing about shifts in economic and financial flows.
How about travelling while closely observing the cities listed above? :)
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-worlds-most-unaffordable-housing-markets/
