Hong Kong has jumped two places to become the most expensive city in Asia, according to Julius Baer's latest report which tracks luxury expenditure trends of High Net Worth Individuals.
It should come as no surprise that the seventh annual «Wealth Report: Asia», sees Hong Kong displace Shanghai as the most expensive city, while Kuala Lumpur is the most competitive.
The biggest price increases were found in cigars, men’s suits and legal fees, while the largest declines came from hotel suites, ladies’ handbags and botox.
Hong Kong has jumped two places to become the most expensive city on a price-weighted basis for the first time since the report started to publish city rankings in 2015. While the overall basket of goods and services in Hong Kong rose by 1.0 percent only, the city’s ranking was pushed up by soaring residential property prices with property being the biggest ticket item in the index.
Ambitious Asian Consumers
At $51,594 per square meter, Hong Kong prime real estate is 2.69 times more expensive than the Asian average at $19,150 in this year’s report. Hong Kong is also the most expensive city for fine dining and business class flights.
The report shows that the cost of luxury living, as measured by the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, rose by 1.42 percent on an aggregate basis in U.S. dollar terms. This upward trajectory of the index points to sustained demand for luxury goods and services in Asia. More specifically, 13 out of the 22 items measured in 11 Asian cities saw price increases.
«Wealthier Asian consumers and their increasing discretionary spending play an ever more important role in driving global consumer demand,» said Boris Collardi CEO of Julius Baer.
