Colombo has been ranked the most unaffordable city in the world for buying property, according to the latest Property Prices Index from Numbeo, the world’s largest cost-of-living database.
The data show that the price-to-income ratio in Colombo is 55.3, meaning the average property costs more than 55 times the average annual income.
By comparison, the gross rental yield—the annual rental income as a percentage of property price—is just 3% in the city center and 3.8% outside the center, making property investment less profitable.
Furthermore, the mortgage burden for the average resident is staggering, with mortgage payments equivalent to 774% of annual income. The city’s a