Protest-wracked Hong Kong still world’s priciest housing market in 2019 as Asian cities dominate top five, says CBRE survey
- Asian cities made up four of the top five most expensive housing markets last year, according to a report by the property consultancy
- CBRE and Savills see Hong Kong staying at the top of the table, despite the coronavirus and the recent re-emergence of anti-government street rallies
Four of the world’s five most expensive housing markets were in Asia last year, with Hong Kong maintaining its crown as the priciest with an average price of US$1.25 million, according to a report by property consultancy CBRE.
Whether Hong Kong can hold on to the spot is uncertain, with analysts expressing mixed views about the city’s prospects given the global downturn and the resurgence of political tensions over a security law that China plans to impose, a measure widely perceived as eroding the city’s semi-autonomy and threatening its status as a top business hub.
In the sixth edition of the Global Living 2020 report, Hong Kong topped 38 other cities, with average prices of homes rising by 4.7 per cent during 2019. The German city of Munich, a new entrant to the survey, came in second with average home prices rising 11 per cent to US$1 million.
Hong Kong was also the third most expensive place to rent a home, with New York and Abu Dhabi, respectively, taking the top two spots.
Singapore, Hong Kong’s main rival as Asia’s financial hub, came in third in the CBRE survey, falling a notch from the previous year, with home prices increasing 2.7 per cent last year to an average of US$915,601.
Shanghai, with home prices at US$905,834, was fourth, followed by another mainland Chinese city, Shenzhen, with prices at US$783,855. Like Singapore, Shanghai and Shenzhen both fell one spot from the previous survey, following the inclusion of Munich.