Owning a car alone in Singapore is very costly. Nattapoom V/Shutterstock
Four Asia-Pacific cities among the 10 costliest on earth, according to new EIU survey.
By Property Report
Singapore was rated the world’s most expensive city, marking five years in the top frame of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney were ranked fourth, sixth and 10th, respectively, in this year’s survey tracking prices of over 150 products and services in 133 cities as of September 2017.
Singapore was rated 16 percent more expensive than benchmark New York City, which ranked 13th priciest worldwide.
Paris took over Hong Kong’s second spot from last year. The “only euro-area city” in the top 10, the French capital “remains extremely expensive to live” in, although the cost of alcohol, transport and tobacco offer more value for money there than in other European markets, EIU analysts stated.
More: Inside one of Singapore’s strangest homes
For perspective, the average price of a bottle of wine costs USD11.90 in Paris and USD23.68 in Singapore.
The city-state also remains the most expensive place in the world to buy and own a car due to the government’s onerous ownership curbs. A private car could set a buyer back by SGD70,000 (USD53,000) in Singapore.
Prices of high-end property in the city could double by 2025, “assuming the government intervention won’t be too drastic,” according to Alex Schlaen, CEO of Panache Management which advises high net-worth individuals (HNWI) on luxury realty.
Asian cities also stood among the cheapest in the world, with Bangalore and Karachi ranking 129th and 127th, respectively, a few notches above last-placer Damascus.
Zurich, Oslo, Geneva, Copenhagen and Tel Aviv round out the top 10. No American city was more expensive than New York, with Los Angeles rated 14th priciest in the world and Minneapolis next at a distant 26th.
The top 10 most expensive cities in the world, according to EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey:
1. Singapore, Singapore
2. Paris, France
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
5. Oslo, Norway
6. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Seoul, South Korea
8. Copenhagen, Denmark
9. Tel Aviv, Israel
10. Sydney, Australia
This article was originally published on Property-Report.com. For more stories from Asia’s most trusted and enduring luxury real estate, architecture and design publication, visit Property-Report.com
