Asia tops the rank as the most expensive region for living and houses the three most costly cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
The wealth surge in the region has undoubtedly been accompanied by an increase in prices especially with regards to residential property, according to a recent Julius Baer report. The bank’s data indicated that six of the ten most expensive cities to buy a home resided in Asia. The same also applied to high-end cars, where eight of the ten cities with the highest prices can also be found in the region.
«The emergence of vast numbers of newly wealthy Asians over the past decade has had a profound effect on global consumption,» said Jimmy Lee, APAC head and executive board member at Julius Baer. «In particular, Chinese buyers now dominate purchases across categories, from cars to watches.»
Greater China Dominance
The effects of China’s burgeoning wealth class has undoubtedly been felt in the Greater China region. Hong Kong, for example, ranks above the 90th percentile for costliness not only in property but also beauty services, fine dining, business class flights and lawyer fees. The world’s second most expensive city, Shanghai, is also especially costly with regards to portable goods such as watches and handbags alongside services such as legal advice and personal training.
Despite Asia’s overall costliness, it also demonstrated an unrivaled range in the matter through Mumbai. The Indian city is the least expensive city (28th) in Julius Baer’s report and offers «exceptional value across all items». Globally, the Americas were the second most expensive region led by New York (4th worldwide) and Europe ranked last led by London (7th worldwide).
Conscious Consumption
In addition to luxury, the report also covered the emergence of more socially or environmentally oriented consumer behavior – «conscious consumption». Asia ranks high across a number of issues with the survey indicating that the region was the leading home to individuals who were «extremely concerned» about air pollution, water pollution and the use of pesticides.
According to the report, Indonesians, Indians, Malaysians, Thais and Filipinos are most inclined to choose a product based on whether it is fair-trade labeled or environmentally friendly due to first-hand experience of rapid economic growth and lack of trust in local brands.
Julius Baer's «Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report» covers price trends of premium goods and services based on an index that tracks 20 items across 28 cities globally.
