Hong Kong tops list of Asia’s most expensive cities for a luxury lifestyle
The city’s sky-high property prices help it leapfrog Shanghai and Singapore, although it remains good value for wine, jewellery and ladies’ shoes, according to investment bank Julius Baer
Hong Kong is the most expensive city in Asia for luxury living, jumping two spots to beat Shanghai and Singapore largely because of high property costs, according to the latest annual Julius Baer “Wealth Report”.
The report, which tracks the luxury spending trends of Asia’s high-net-worth individuals, showed that while the overall basket of goods and services in Hong Kong rose by only 1 per cent, the city’s ranking was pushed up by soaring residential property prices.
“Hong Kong is the most expensive place to buy a property in Asia,” said Pearlyn Wong, executive director of markets and advisory solutions at the Swiss private bank. “More than twice, or even three times as expensive as the region on average.”
At US$51,594 per square metre, Hong Kong prime real estate is 2.69 times more expensive than the Asian average, the report noted.
“We’ve never seen such wide differences between Hong Kong and other Asian markets,” said Bhaskar Laxminarayan, chief investment officer and head of investment management for Julius Baer in Asia.
The report compares the costs of 21 goods and services, including property, across 11 Asian cities.