Hong Kong has become the world's second-most expensive city in terms of housing values, topped only by New York, says online research company Global Property Guide.
A 120-square-metre apartment in New York sold for an average of US$16,216 per square metre at the end of last year, the highest price of all 90 markets that were surveyed. An equivalent flat in Hong Kong cost US$15,424 per square metre.
At a price of US$13,814 per square metre, Tokyo was ranked third, followed by Mumbai at US$11,413 per square metre and Singapore at US$10,723.
But with prices outpacing rental growth, Hong Kong ranked poorly in terms of gross rental yield - at 3.12 per cent, the seventh-lowest. Gross rental yield for a New York flat was 3.75 per cent, Tokyo was 5.69 per cent and Mumbai was 4.02 per cent, followed by Singapore's 3.97 per cent.
An earlier survey by Global Property Guide showed that home prices in Hong Kong recorded the strongest inflation-adjusted gains in a survey of 34 property markets last year, followed by Taiwan.
The 2009 survey of residential property prices showed Hong Kong housing prices ended the year up 20.8 per cent in real terms against 2008 year-end prices, after a 15 per cent decline in last year's first quarter triggered by the global financial crisis.