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Miami’s reputation as a veritable black hole with an insatiable hunger for money isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Magic City regularly tops rankings of the most expensive places in the United States; now, financial experts at Remitly have ranked Miami as one of the most unaffordable cities in the world to buy a home.
Remitly, a digital financial services provider, looked at more than 150 cities across the most popular nations for incoming residents, focusing on property prices, average income, and mortgage rates to determine which cities are the most unaffordable for homebuyers. Miami ranked ninth behind cities like San Diego, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Paris (not the Texas one), and New York City.
The study ranks the cities by the percentage of a property a single home buyer can afford based on average income and listing price. In Miami, a single person earns an average of $51,000 a year, which would only get her about 38.5 percent of the average home listing price.
Most Unaffordable Cities for Homebuyers Globally:
- San Jose: 27.3 percent
- Los Angeles: 28.2 percent
- Long Beach: 31.7 percent
- San Diego: 33.3 percent
- Vancouver: 34.9 percent
- Paris: 35.6 percent
- Porto: 37.1 percent
- New York City: 37.3 percent
- Miami: 38.5 percent
- San Francisco: 38.6 percent
“With year-round sunshine, a vibrant culture, and a stunning coastline, Miami is a popular place to settle down, however, it’s also one of the least affordable,” the study reads. “The city’s property market has surged in recent years, fueled by demand from out-of-state buyers, overseas investors, and a growing influx of remote workers hoping to make the most of living by the ocean.
“Despite a strong local economy, with booming tourism, our study shows that a single buyer doesn’t have much hope of affording their own home without outside help or coming up with a large down payment.”
“Buying a home is a major life goal for many people, but our findings show that in many major cities across the globe this has slipped out of reach for average earners,” Remitly marketing vice president Ryan Riley said in the study. “With property costs varying so significantly from city to city, it’s understandable that this will influence people’s decisions on where to live and work, particularly those with families or looking to start one.”
Three South Florida cities also recently ranked among the best buyer’s markets in the U.S., according to a Redfin study. But the two rankings aren’t as conflicting as their titles may suggest; Redfin’s ranking merely compared the number of active sellers to the number of buyers, finding far more homes for sale. It didn’t focus on the actual cost of those home listings. The study noted that the buyer’s market applied only to those who could afford to buy.
“These patterns echo our previous research on why the world wants to move, with affordability, job prospects, and quality of life all ranking as global influential factors,” Riley said. “When the financial realities differ so sharply, it becomes a central part of how people plan their next chapter.”
