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10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

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London’s property market is still hell bent on going crazy as if it has overeaten and become over inflated yet again. British Land, the London-based property investment company that is centered on commercial property in the capital has just posted a staggering increase in the value of the property on its books, to the tune of 12.1% in 2014. Office and residential property increased by 18.8% also. The company has a pre-tax profit in 2014 of £31 million ($494.2 million), which is up on the previous year by 5.4%.

British Land owns the famous Leadenhall Building in London, otherwise known as the Cheesegrater. In 2014, it went beyond all expectations and broke new dizzy heights for rent. It managed to make an average of £90 (or $142) per square foot last year. British Land raked in $409 million just on the sale of 22 apartments in the center of London in 2014. That’s $19 million per flat on average.  There are new developments that are planned in London in the areas of Shoreditch and also in Surrey Quays and that means that a killing could be made yet again.  Of course, British Land doesn’t believe that the property bubble will come to an end and says: “The UK remained the real estate investment market of choice for overseas capital in search of yield. London continued to be the principal beneficiary, with demand driving yields down in both the City and West End.” But, as we all know, bubbles have a bad habit of busting and exploding in some people’s faces. They strongly believe that it will continue, however.

But, London is not the only place in the world for expensive property. Where would you think is the place where you would need the most when forking out for a place to live around the world? Here’s the list of the top-ten cities in terms of the cost of the property there.

The Knight Frank Wealth Report has just published the top 40 cities in the world which work out to be the most expensive for property prices in its Global Cities Survey. The place to invest for a great future for your kids, or the place definitely not to move to if you don’t want to be paying a huge percentage of your annual salary in rent or mortgage repayments? If you have the money though, these cities could be the places to invest in. Here are the top ten places (reverse order) if you have a spare million dollars laying around to get rid of somewhere in the world:

Top-Ten Cities

  1. Los Angeles, where it would take $1 million to get 57 square meters of property in the city center.
  1. Paris would set you back $1 million and get you just 50 square meters of some chic place to crash in.
  1. Shanghai is cheap at half the price apparently where that same $1 million would get you two square meters less than in Paris, at 48 square meters.
  1. Sydney is also the place to buy if you can live in 41 square meters for the same price.
  1. Geneva would see you getting property to the tune of 39 square meters per $1 million.
  1. Singapore would set you back $1 million and get you 39 square meters of luxury.
  1. New York would allow you to have 34 square meters for the same price.
  1. London would provide you with a measly 21 square meters for that same million.
  1. Hong Kong would get you just 20 square meters.
  1. Monaco is the most expensive place on the planet for property today and would get you just 17 square meters. If you can resign yourself to living in a small cupboard with the wife, the kids and probably at that price the domestic servants or hired help.

London will apparently remain the only city in Europe that will remain in the top cities in the world and the rest of them will suffer due to the rise in importance of Asia. There will still be a projected increase in European cities of 27% in terms of the world’s wealthiest people, but the figures will grow even faster in other cities in Asia, meaning Europe will be knocked off the top. The number of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals will grow by 91% according to the survey in the next decade in Asia.

You would certainly have to be an Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual to make it onto the property ladder in those cities.

UHNWIs

The greatest growth in cities with regard to Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals is in:

·         Singapore with an extra 1,752 UHNWIs.

·         Hong Kong notching up 1,251 more UHNWIs.

·         New York adding an extra 1,013 UHNWIs in the city.

But the top cities according to the report to attract UHNWIs are going to be in 2025:

·         New York

·         London

·         Hong Kong

·         Singapore

·         Shanghai

·         Beijing

·         Miami

·         Dubai

·         Paris

·         Zurich

But, what’s the state of ownership in the USA and how many people can actually afford to buy their own place these days? Who’s going to be heading for New York and London and how many people have the money to actually do so these days?

 

State of Property Ownership in the USA

According to government statistics regarding home ownership in the USA and the number of rentals; we can see the following regarding the USA today:

·         36% of the US populations rents property today.

·         That means some 42,357,512 households and some 107,573,870 people that are residents living in rented accommodation.

·         64% of the US population lives in owner-occupied accommodation.

·         That means some 73,933,462 households.
Or, 200,525,299 people that are resident in the country in property that they own.

·         People under the age of 30 make up 51% of those that are in rented accommodation today (more than 55 million people).

·         Those that are over the age of 65 make up just 8% of the rental accommodation (more than 8 million people).

It’s not surprising given the price of accommodation in some of the cities above in the list in the US that the under thirties are having trouble getting on to the property ladder, is it? While the big investment companies are gaining the benefits from the property bubble, then the younger ones will just have greater and greater difficulty in entering the property market and buying somewhere to live.

 

Where would you invest in the future in the property market? What city would get your attention?

Apparently, you might be surprised as they are not the cities that are attracting any attention right now from many people. The top cities to invest in right now would be those that are going to become major regional actors and not the ones that actually have the billionaires-buddy club already.

  1. Belgrade, Serbia: There is a projected forecast of a jump of 72% in terms of HNWIs (dollar millionaires) by 2024. There was only a growth of 12% from 2007 to 2014. But, this is set to rocket in the next ten years. The city has an attractive taxation policy that has managed to attract major world companies such as Fiat and Siemens and it makes up for 40% of the economic activity of the country already.

 

  1. Panama City, Panama: The number if HNWIs has doubled since 2007. There is a projected figure of 7,000 of them by 2024. The Economist called Panama City “the Singapore for Latin America” and it is economic stable and proficient today. Foreign direct investments stand at 9% of Gross Domestic Product.

 

  1. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: This is the country with the fastest growing economy in Africa at the present time. It also has an expanding population, with the city seeing its population surge to more than 8 million people by 2040. There is a predicted figure of 2,600 HNWIs by 2024, which means the strongest percentage growth in the world.

 

  1. Yangon, Myanmar: Myanmar has a projected growth rate that is set to outstrip those of India and also of China in the coming decades. The city of Yangon accounts for 20% of the country’s economic output and the number of HNWIs is set to reach 3,500 by 2024.

 

Are these the places to buy accommodation in and start getting into investment-wise for property? 

 

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Wed, 05/20/2015 - 08:34 | 6112989 This is it
This is it's picture

Let's do another list. The top 10 countries with stupidest people spending money...

 

 

 

oh it's the same list.

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 03:37 | 6112642 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

In UK, it's like a religion that property prices always up.

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 20:47 | 6111814 squid
squid's picture

We have a problem, what is the definition of "Owner Occupied"?

 

Unless you have title to the property, that is no mortgage, you don't own it.....the bank does and you're "renting-to-own" off the bank.

 

So this is all rather fuzzy.

 

I'd like to see the stats like this:

a. Owner occupied,

b. Rent-to-own from bank,

c. Rent.

 

The problem with the article is that it lumps A and B together.

 

Squid

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 19:04 | 6111483 walküre
walküre's picture

Yeah, well.. those in charge of money supply and interest rates have a different agenda. What is the benefit to them when more and more UHNWIs roam the planet and buy up everything. The guys in charge have held on for a longer time than the cycle of this financial system and believe you me, their intention is to claw it back massively. They're in charge and they don't share with every yellow, black or white nigger on the planet who thinks they're UHNWIs because the Yids threw them a few crumbs over the years and created opportunities to get fantastically wealthy.

They are doing "God's work" and everyone familiar with their book knows that the "Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away".

The system will get drained like you haven't seen it before. It will see a massive wealth purge and a cleanse of epic proportions. Nothing we have ever seen in our life times and I don't know if the Dirty Thirties can even match what is coming down the pike.

Follow those who have been put in charge of the money supply. The owners of vastly expensive real estate for example in London, Singapore or Monaco are not of the tribe. Members of the tribe are typically more modest and frugal in their purchases. Keep this in mind. There is a perfect explanation why these people are in charge of the money supply, why wealth is created, why collapses happen and why the game has been going on for millenia. There is a reason why they are not much loved despite the lip service by suckers outside the circle.

Unless we are seeing a complete 180 and deviation off the path that's been "chosen" for hundreds if not thousands of years, the next drainage is just a matter of months away.

I have no affiliation to the tribe but I have a respect for the power they're wielding over the global economy. We can all bitch and complain about how they "rig" the system and much of it is completely warranted. But it has a longer tradition and methodology than any of us can get our heads around. If they're not in charge, who is? The Chinese who are busy buying up the world with Mao paper backed by a fake economy of entire Potemkin Villages? The Europeans who are literally fucking with everyone and their filthy dogs? Africans who will culturally never escape the bush?

Who is going to do it?

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 18:48 | 6111450 gmak
gmak's picture

If Canada is supposed to have the mother of all housing bubbles, why aren't Toronto and Vancouver on the list?

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 22:09 | 6112065 umdesch4
umdesch4's picture

I know, right? Vancouver must be at #11, because you can actually get around 65 square meters (around 700 square feet) in downtown Vancouver for around $1 million if you shop hard. Of course, if you're white, nobody will sell to you. (and if you think that's racist, read some articles about anti-white racial discrimination in Vancouver real estate)

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 22:41 | 6112198 willwork4food
willwork4food's picture

Anti white in Vancouver? WTF? I was there years ago, a beautiful city. Do tell.

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 03:59 | 6112660 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

before NAFTA, before Hong Kong takeover by China

Vancouver BC was a wonderful place to visit. Then the homoginization of culture/products started, and the 500 unit Condos started filling the skyline

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 00:10 | 6112383 umdesch4
umdesch4's picture

It's gotten interesting. You're seeing a lot of this sort of thing:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1955669/vancouver-property-exclusively-markete...

But that's just one high-profile commercial real estate deal. This kind of thing is happening in the housing market a lot lately too, to the point where I'm seeing pieces about it in the local MSM, and I even heard that Christy Clark mentioned it as an issue at some speech last week. It's gotten to the point where it's hard to ignore now.

Pointing out the obvious:
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2014/03/28/vancouver-is-most-asian-city-ou...

By the way, those numbers from 2014 are out of date already. It's at least 1% higher now. Here's the money quote:
"Nine out of 10 newcomers to Metro Vancouver between 2001 and 2011 were born outside the country. In addition, Statistics Canada reports that 70 per cent of all recent immigrants to Metro Vancouver have origins in Asia."

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 03:18 | 6112621 ebear
ebear's picture

Here's an expression I used to hear from people who thought they were being clever:

"The Chinese are taking over Vancouver one house at a time."

To which I'd reply, "yes, but WE are taking THEM over one teenager at a time."

Sorry, but it doesn't matter where you're from, you don't take over Canada, it takes over you.  It's a subtle process that occurs over many years, which I guess is too slow for the above mentioned clever types, but it's unavoidable for the simple reason that it's easier to be Canadian than anything else, especially Chinese or Indian which have all kinds of strings attached.

Besides, even if you wanted to be Chinese or Indian, they won't let you, because you were born in Canada, and that makes you different.

I could elaborate, but this is ZH, and my time is valuable, so Ill just leave it at that.

Oh what the hell... one example can't hurt.  My friend Christine, born here of immigrant Chinese parents, married to a white guy - two kids.  Can't read Chinese, speaks her parents dialect at home but is too shy to speak it elsewhere as it immediately tags her as having rural roots.  OK, I spot quizzed her one day with questions like: who is Zhou Enlai and Sun Yat-sen?  She didn't know!  Boxer Rebellion?   Cultural Revolution?  Never heard of them.  You couldn't ask for a more Canadian response...LOL

This is not unusual - I have lots of stories like this.  I've lived in Vancouver since 1981 and have been paying attention the whole time.

Incidentally, both my brother and I (British immigrants) married asian.  Thai in his case, Japanese in mine.  Now, there's a whole other ball of wax you may want to investigate - intermarriage.  (my half-Thai nephew dating a half-Chinese girl is not at all unusual here)

OK, another anecdote (I'm on a roll).  When I was learning Panjabi several years ago, I had to be careful who I asked for help because guess what?  Many local Panjabis, especially the younger ones, can't read Gurmukhi.  Got to the point that I'd only ask the Khalsa brothers (beard & turban) for help, because they have to read Gurmukhi to read the Granth Sahib, their holy book.  Fact is, there's a fair amount of alarm within that community about the language being lost, especially the reading part which is central to the religion.   Just another example of what I'm talking about.

Canada touts "multiculturalism" as an ideal (dating back to attempts to keep Quebec in confederation), but we're far more of a melting pot than the US ever was.  Try calling black people Afro-Canadian and see what happens.  You'll get laughed at.  They won't know what to do with it.  Hell, you can barely get away with French-Canadian anymore.

The upshot is, we're all Canadians here.  We don't know what that means exactly, but we know that's what we are.  Maybe the lack of a definition is what works for us.  It's still a new country, so we haven't dug too deep a hole yet that we can't climb out of it once in a while and take a fresh look at things.

Alright then, lets have some down home Canadian trucker music to wrap things up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POibDj4xajY

 

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 00:25 | 6112412 umdesch4
umdesch4's picture

Aside, in case you think I'm singling out asians...it only stands to reason because of the numbers game. A friend/co-worker of mine, who is east indian, was looking at properties in the nice part of Surrey (believe it or not, there is a nice part), and was told that because his english is so good, he should make sure, when he calls the real estate agents, that he lets them know his full east indian name right away, or they won't want to deal with him (inference, because they will assume he's white).

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 19:25 | 6111564 Spitzer
Spitzer's picture

This is ultra high net worth stuff. On average Vancouver is the worst on the planet. I live here and it just gets more mental every day. And ppl just believe it will go on for ever. People here are the most delusional in the world.

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 18:15 | 6111343 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

Camden, Detroit, Baltimore, Ferguson, and Waco are the new places to invest for once in a lifetime gains.

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 17:51 | 6111261 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

I am tempted to print this article off and look at it again in five years time. Somehow I think this world might be marching to a different drum by then.

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 19:06 | 6111504 Infinite QE
Infinite QE's picture

See the film Children of Men to see the future state of all the cities on this list. 90% ghetto with armies occupying them and then 10% living in a surreal fantasy realm with tanks guarding the entrances.

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 10:14 | 6113298 messymerry
messymerry's picture

Orrrr, just watch Babylon A.D....

;-D

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 20:22 | 6111731 Creepy A. Cracker
Creepy A. Cracker's picture

Most expensive homes.

Most expensive wives/marriages.

Most expensive prostitutes.

Most expensive divorces.

It just doesn't sound very appealing to me.

1000 year old graffiti in the Tower of London (castle) - very cool.

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