Most Expensive Cities in the World

Dubai Home Prices Fall 41 Per Cent; Still Rank World’s HighestSource : www.khaleejtimes. Com ~ Aneela Batool ~ 29 April 2009

DUBAI — Home prices in Dubai plunged by 41 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous three months, as a result of a loss of jobs and a drying up of bank credit during the economic slowdown, a property consultancy said on Tuesday.

The price plunge, which erased nearly two years’ of gains in property values, was the second consecutive quarterly decline, Colliers International said. Colliers reported an 8 per cent decrease in home prices during the October-December period, the first quarterly decrease since Dubai’s property boom began.

“We will see a further potential decrease in pricing, but it won’t see the same drastic fall that we have seen in the first quarter,” said Colliers Chief Operating Officer John Davis.Davis said it is too early to tell if Dubai might see a turnaround later this year.Some industry executives disputed Colliers’ outlook. “I don’t think the prices will go down further, as they have already touched the bottom,” said S. M. Syed Khalil, Executive Director of the Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, a property developer.

“By September the market will start getting stabilised.” Colliers compiled its data from prices in areas of Dubai where foreigners have been allowed to buy property since the real estate market was opened to non-Emiratis in 2002. These areas were largely responsible for Dubai’s real estate boom. In spite of the recent sharp correction in its property prices, Dubai had the most expensive residential real estate in February of any city surveyed in 34 of the world’s emerging markets, a new industry study showed.With its home prices averaging around $7,000 per square metre, Dubai ranked first among 59 cities — even after property valuations in the emirate had plunged from their peak late last year, according to the study by REIDIN.com, an online real estate consultancy.

The study found Singapore to be the second most expensive city, followed by Moscow, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tel Aviv.
According to the survey on housing costs and practices for employees sent on overseas assignments, Mumbai has emerged even more expensive than New York and Beijing.
New Delhi: The country’s financial hub, Mumbai, and New Delhi are among the world’s 10 most expensive cities for expatriates to live in, says a survey by global HR consultancy Mercer.

According to the survey on housing costs and practices for employees sent on overseas assignments, Mumbai has emerged even more expensive than New York City in the United States and China’s Capital Beijing.

Mumbai has been ranked as the world’s fourth most expensive city in terms of rental property for expatriates, while New Delhi is eighth, the survey for February 2009 said.
Mumbai has moved up by one notch from its fifth position in the September 2008 survey, while New Delhi has fallen two places from its sixth place in the previous ranking.
Russia’s Moscow has topped the list of world’s most expensive cities and is followed by Tokyo (2nd), Hong Kong (3rd), Mumbai (4th) and New York City (5th) as the five most expensive cities across the globe for expats to live in.

The survey highlighted that Asian cities have dominated the list of the world’s costliest locations for expats living there, with as many as six locations from the region being among the world’s top 10.