RENTING property in Cebu has become less affordable since 2017, according to UK-based Online Mortgage Advisor.
Based on the findings of the mortgage company, Cebu is one of Asia’s worst cities for rental affordability, hitting third in the ranking, only beaten by Tehran in Iran (first place) and Colombo in Sri Lanka (second place).
Globally, Cebu ranked fourth.
In 2017, locals in Cebu typically set aside 114 percent of their average monthly salary after tax to afford a one-bedroom apartment in the city, Online Mortgage said.
In 2021, the figure soared as Cebuanos would have to earmark 182 percent of their monthly income to pay rent in the city in 2021.
This suggests that Cebu has become 68.1 percent less affordable for property renters since 2017.
“We compared each city’s average monthly net salary to the average rental cost of a one-bedroom apartment in a city centre to calculate its change in affordability between 2017 and 2021,” it said.
The study also found that locals in Manila would now have to spend 51.7 percent more of their monthly salary on rent. The capital city ranked fifth in Asia for worst affordability change, while it ranked seventh globally.
Online Mortgage said its data came from Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database of cost of living.
Online Mortgage noted Lagos in Nigeria is now the worst city in the world for renting. Between 2007 and 2021, paying rent in Lagos has become more expensive by 358.2 percent.
Between 2017 and 2021, it said 49 percent of the cities in its analysis became less affordable for renters.