Housing is now so unaffordable that it has become a top-order issue for chief executives, with business leaders saying high house prices and skyrocketing rents are affecting where people choose to work and making it harder to find talent.

Forty-eight per cent of business leaders named “meeting the challenges of housing availability and affordability” as the top social issue affecting their operating environment – more than any other topic, according to KPMG’s seventh annual Keeping Us Up At Night report.