Singapore has risen to the top of the rankings as the most expensive city in the world for luxury living for the first time as it competes to be a leading global hub for the super-rich.
The city, which ranked fifth in 2022, jumped ahead of Shanghai and Hong Kong, which ranked second and third, respectively, according to a report by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group.
Singapore’s attractiveness to high-net-worth individuals is reflected in the higher prices that locals now face. By the end of 2022, Singapore will have an estimated 1,500 family offices in the territory, double the number of the previous year, according to the report. It is also the most expensive city in the world in terms of car prices.
According to the report, released on Tuesday, “rising living standards and growing demands on local infrastructure mean that life is not cheap.” “The demand for residential real estate is very high, and taxable cars and basic health insurance are 133% and 109% more expensive than the global average, respectively,” according to “Bloomberg” and viewed by “Al Arabiya.net.”
Julius Baer’s Lifestyle Index ranks the world’s 25 most expensive cities by analyzing residential real estate, cars, business class flights, business school, gala dinners and other luxuries. Asia remained the most expensive region for luxury living for the fourth year in a row.
The other big gainer was New York, which rose to No. 5 from No. 11 last year, due to a stronger dollar and recovery from the pandemic.
While London fell to fourth place from the second. The impact of Brexit and the “ensuing turmoil” continue to hurt the UK’s reputation, and London now faces tough competition from booming financial centers such as Dubai and Singapore, according to Julius Baer.
For the first time since the report began, Europe, the Middle East and Africa became the least expensive region to live well with, with European cities falling down the rankings.
Dubai climbed into the top ten for the first time, becoming the seventh most expensive city, with Zurich dropping to fourteenth. Julius Baer said that the emirate is the “star performer” in this year’s index, and the movement of large numbers of wealthy people has affected real estate prices and demand.
Cities of soft hands
The survey found increased demand for travel and leisure with the lifting of pandemic restrictions and the return of freedom of travel.
Other big gainers were hotel suites and business class flights, although there were some exceptions.
