The World's Most Expensive Cities - 2007

[Shadow]

Interesting article...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/15/pf/most_expensive_cities/index.htm

Sydney doesn't even make the top 20 (it just sneaks in at 21)

USD $4000 per month to rent a two-bedder in Moscow...

So what makes these cities so expensive... it can't just be population, since many are smaller than Australian cities. Who thinks Australian cities will appear in the top 20 over the next few years?

Does this mean Capital Growth may have no real limit... prices in high demand areas will always go up, indefinitely, and somebody will always be able to pay?

Sounds good to me!

Cheers, Shadow.

 

[alexlee]

Sydney doesn't even make the top 20 (it just sneaks in at 21)

USD $4000 per month to rent a two-bedder in Moscow...

So what makes these cities so expensive... it can't just be population, since many are smaller than Australian cities. Who thinks Australian cities will appear in the top 20 over the next few years?

Does this mean Capital Growth may have no real limit... prices in high demand areas will always go up, indefinitely, and somebody will always be able to pay?

In theory ability to pay increases with income. But the increase doesn't have to be uniform. In New York and London, you have a bunch of finance people that get paid obscene salaries. Bonus time is a prime mover of property. So even if the average wages goes down, if you have enough highly paid people prices can still go up.

I think it's the reverse of what you're saying. Prices go up IF people are able to pay. If people aren't able to pay, prices don't go up.
Alex

 

[wylie]

I met a woman who is renting in my street. She is from Moscow but has been away for several years, and visits family there. Her father is a scientist and her brother a nuclear physicist, also no longer in Moscow. She told me that in Moscow there are not really middle class people (like us). There are very, very rich people and very poor.

I'd be interested to know how much the very poor people pay for their accommodation.

Wylie

 

[alexlee]

My understanding (just from reading) is that there are lots of government or employer sponsored housing estates in Moscow. Having been there (only on a holiday many years ago) it just struck me how big the gap between rich and poor is. Though New York and London have big gaps too.

Rent control is still popular (though getting less so) in New York. There's council housing in London (quirk being that there are estates in EVERY area, including the most expensive ones). Something like half the people (read it somewhere but forgot where) in Hong Kong live in government subsidised housing (lots of subsidies to the developers, and government housing is sold to low income people on a lottery basis). In Japan, many companies provide employees with cheap accomodation (with sizes depending on your level and whether you have a family, military style) and public servants get rent allowances. My fiance's brother paid 5,000 yen (as in FIFTY BUCKS) a month for his company dorm. Crap place, but heck for 50 bucks.... he drives a BMW.

In many ways Australia is the most free-wheeling of them all when it comes to housing for the poor.
Alex

 

[Glebe]

This list is biased because it considers things from a USD point of view. Which makes sense as it's intended for US ex-pats.

So this doesn't take into consideration the cost of someone earning ruples buying stuff in ruples, or someone earning pounds buying stuff in pounds etc.

 

[chrispy]

I was interested to see Geneva at No. 7 and this confirms Alex statement regarding people being paid excessive amounts allowing them to pay the higher rents. Geneva has the International Organisations paying the higher salaries and allowances allowing the personnel living in Geneva to pay the exhorbitant prices. The staff lower down the salary scale on long term contracts tend to live across the border in France where the rents are lower and where they have a chance of buying property.

Chris

 

[sue78]

I am surprised Seoul has over taken Tokyo! Can't call it the poor man's japan anymore.

I don't think these are averaged prices.

 

[Ricardo29]

moscow has inner city controls on housing limits and various restrictions. new married couples who arent from "inner city moscow" find it near on impossible to live in the city. peasants from the provinces daren't even try anymore (pure-bred muscovites have deliberately priced them out and make it impossible......racist and elitist reasonings). Demand therefore skyrockets.

The only real commerce done there is also by international firms...who pay obscene expat wages, hence rents can be whatever they like. There are also no controls...they do what they want, no landlord laws or tribunals or any controls that western "democracies" put in place. you dont like it, get on the train to siberia.

day to day items are stock standard, not much different to here. a beer is a few bucks, big mac a few bucks, metro ride a buck or so, hotel $200 or so....all pretty same same.