Housing: Four California cities among the 10 most expensive in the world

A new study by Chapman University and Canada's Frontier Centre for Public Policy revealed that five cities in the nation are considered "impossibly unaffordable" when it comes to housing prices. This ranks them among the top 10 most expensive markets in the world.

The authors analyzed 94 major cities in eight countries around the world, and found that San Jose, Calif., is the least affordable place in the U.S. and fourth least affordable worldwide when it comes to the cost of a home.

To obtain the ranking results, the measurements were based on the price-to-income ratio of each area studied. That is, the median home price divided by the median household income.

Four of the top 10 in California

Four of the top 10 most expensive housing markets in the ranking are in California. Adding to San Jose (4) are: Los Angeles (5), San Francisco (8) and San Diego (10). On the other hand, Honolulu ranks in sixth place.

In the report, Joel Kotkin, director of the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, stated referring to California:

"Restrictive housing policies may be packaged as progressive, but in social terms, their impact could better be characterized as regressive."

The study revealed that in the U.S. there are also more than 10 places where homes are considered "very unaffordable." This list was led by the city of Miami, which was the least affordable, followed by New York; Boston; Seattle; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Denver; Portland, Ore.; Las Vegas; Salt Lake City; Sacramento, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Fresno, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz. and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., among others.

Globally, the study reveals that these are the least affordable major cities:

1. Hong Kong, China.

2. Sydney, Australia.

3. Vancouver, Canada.

4. San Jose, Calif.

5. Los Angeles.

6. Honolulu.

7. Melbourne, Australia.

8. San Francisco.

9. Adelaide, Australia.

Nine of the 10 most affordable cities are in the U.S.

The study also revealed which markets are the most affordable in the world. Of the 94 cities analyzed, Pittsburgh's housing market was ranked most affordable in the world, followed by Rochester, N.Y. and St. Louis.

The top 10 most affordable cities in the world are:

1. Pittsburgh.

2. Rochester, N.Y.

3. St. Louis.

4. Cleveland.

5. Edmonton, Canada.

6. Buffalo, N.Y.

7. Detroit.

8. Oklahoma City.

9. Cincinnati,.

10. Louisville, Ky.