The price of «living well» has fallen in the broader Asia Pacific region, according to a Julius Baer report, though the top cities still dominate globally.
Singapore was once again the most expensive city worldwide for high net worth individuals (HNWI) to be considered «living well», according to the fifth edition of Julius Baer’s «Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report». Hong Kong rose by one rank to second place while Shanghai fell from the second spot to fourth.
Despite dominating the top of the list, Asia Pacific fell to become the second most expensive region, losing its pole position for the first time to Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). APAC’s drop was driven by lower prices in certain cities, most notably Tokyo (15th to 23rd) due to the decline of the yen.
Slower Price Increase
In dollar terms, the overall price rise globally slowed from 6 percent in 2023 to 4 percent in 2024. The price of goods rose faster than services at 5 percent and 4 percent, receptively.
Julius Baer’s report is based on the cost of a basket of 20 goods and services representative of «living well» across 25 cities, such as property, cars, education and high-end consumer goods.
