Israel’s housing market is the second most expensive in the world, according to a new study.
The study, which was conducted by Compare The Market Australia, found that in comparison to average disposable household income, South Korea has the most expensive housing market of the 39 countries assessed in the study, with each square meter (10.8 square feet) of housing space costing the equivalent of 39.6% of a single year’s-worth of the disposable income of the average South Korean household.
Israel was rated as the second least affordable country for housing, with each square meter (10.8 square feet) of housing space costing the equivalent of 26.6% of the average Israeli household’s annual disposable income.
Switzerland came in a close third, with each square meter of housing consuming 26.5% of the average household’s annual disposable income.
Luxembourg and Japan rounded out the top five, followed by France, New Zealand, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.
Turkey had the most affordable housing market, with each square meter of housing costing just 4.2% of the average household’s annual disposable income.
The US had the second most affordable housing market, with each square meter of housing costing 5.5% of the average household’s annual disposable income.
Russia came in third on the affordability scale, followed by Mexico and South Africa.
The ratings do not reflect the absolute prices of housing, but instead highlight the cost of housing adjusted for income and the cost of living.
Without taking the level of disposable income into account, Israel is still one of the costliest countries to purchase a home, coming in at number five, behind Switzerland, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Japan.
The average price per square meter of housing in Israel is $6,650, or $618 per square foot.
The US, by comparison, ranked as the 15th most inexpensive place to purchase a home – when disposable income levels were not taken into account – with the average cost of housing coming in at $2,504 per square meter, or $233 per square foot.
The UK ranked as the 13th least affordable country, with an average housing price of $4,691 per square meter, or $436 per square foot.