Australian housing prices among world's most expensive

Australia's housing is nearly the most expensive in the global market and prices will only rise further, according to a report from Fitch Ratings released on Thursday.

In its 2015 Global Housing and Mortgage Outlook report, Fitch Ratings has listed Australian homes as the third most expensive of 22 countries researched.

However, the news only gets worse for potential buyers, with a further 4-percent increase in prices forecast in 2015, adding to the 7-percent increase last year.

Only South Africa and Brazil, who both have far higher levels of consumer inflation than Australia, are more expensive in terms of housing prices.

"Australian property remains among the most expensive on almost all metrics," the report said.

"With almost 25 years of continuous GDP growth, record low rates and stable unemployment, Fitch expects Australian prices to remain high and affordability likely to slightly worsen in the near term, before leveling off as it reaches an affordability ceiling."

Fitch's report also looks at the 22 countries and their price growth over the last 18 years, with Australia's values skyrocketing.

Australia has recorded a 390-percent increase in its housing prices since 1997, the highest of all countries researched.

Furthermore, Australia's home ownership rates have dipped dramatically since the turn of the century, falling from 70.7 percent in 2000 to 67.5 percent entering 2015.

However, in a slice of much-needed good news on the housing front, the report revealed that Australia has the highest level of mortgage repayments of the 22 countries surveyed. Endi