Where is the priciest residential property? Hong Kong keeps crown, but livability drops
Deutsche Bank cuts the financial hub’s quality-of-life standing as soaring expenses squeeze households, and Seoul emerges as a tech-driven regional competitor
Hong Kong has retained its position as the world’s most expensive residential property market despite a 10 per cent price decline from pre-pandemic levels, according to a new Deutsche Bank report warning that housing affordability continues to weigh on living standards.
The investment bank lowered the city’s quality-of-life ranking to 55th this year, down from 48th in 2025. Even so, the financial hub has maintained its appeal to international investors and high earners when factoring in residents’ purchasing power and overall livability, according to the 10th edition of the “Mapping the World’s Prices” report, co-authored by Jim Reid and Galina Pozdnyakova.
“Hong Kong remains a global magnet for talent and capital,” the analysts said. “The richest cities are not always the easiest places to live.”
The ranking assessed residential property purchase prices across 69 cities worldwide. Prices were converted into US dollars and measured by the purchase costs of flats, with comparisons made against 2016 levels and the pre-Covid-19 baseline from 2019.
The property metric is an indicator that the bank uses to compile its quality-of-life index, which also factors in purchasing power, safety, healthcare, property-price-to-income ratios, commute times, pollution levels and the climate.
Deutsche Bank attributed Hong Kong’s drop in that index to “extremely high costs” related to property, pollution and long commuting times, as elevated housing costs have eroded the benefits of relatively high salaries in one of the world’s leading financial centres.