Mercer HR Ranks 143 of the World’s Most Expensive Cities

If you are thinking of buying an international property, data published today from a worldwide annual cost of living survey compiled in March by leading human resources consultancy Mercer ranking 143 of the world’s major cities using the most expensive US city, New York as the benchmark, puts the realities of living abroad into perspective. The Mercer study, aimed predominately at Governments and multinational companies with expatriates on foreign assignment to gauge whether their compensation packages remain competitive in line with the global cost of living and measures changes in the comparative costs of more than 200 items including rent, transport, clothing, household goods, entertainment and food taking into consideration those daily must-haves such as coffee and dietary staple the fast-food hamburger!
British-based Mercer consultant Rebecca Power commented “Significant changes in the rankings since last are primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations reflecting the weakening US dollar and strengthening Euro, pushing up living costs faced by expatriates in many European countries”.

Moscow remains the most expensive city, serving the most costly cup of coffee whilst Copenhagen is the city which makes you pay the most for the humble fast-food hamburger. All those heading to Beijing next summer will be pleased to hear the fast-food hamburger comes in cheapest here and Buenos Aires is the place to be for coffee-seekers on a budget serving the cheapest cup of coffee.
The cost of housing is probably most individual’s most expensive outgoing in their monthly budget. Tokyo heads up the list of pricey places to call home where the cost of renting a luxury two-bedroom unfurnished apartment will set you back £2,110 per month compare that to rent of just £490 in Johannesburg for luxury living on a budget, definitely a factor to consider if one these cities is on your overseas property wish list.

In line with overseas property polls, Bulgarian capital Sofia is the cheapest city in Europe whilst for the fifth straight year Asunción in Paraguay, is officially the least expensive city in the world, however this could all change with Latin American economies steadily on the up. Rising property prices are the overriding factor for Indian cities like Mumbai moving up the ranks

Of the major metropolises around the world Moscow ranks the highest, becoming 34.4 per cent more expensive over the past 12 months. Unsurprisingly, London has leapt up just under 16 per cent to runner up position moving up three places from fifth. Largely attributed to rising property rental prices, which have pushed up a number of UK cities, the capital is now 26.3 per cent more expensive than New York. London is followed in hot pursuit by Asian capitals Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The top 10 list of most expensive cities in the world is dominated by six European (Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and Oslo) and four Asian urban hubs, a stronger Euro means expatriates are now paying a premium to live in many European countries, notably Germany and Spain.

Within the US, only 2 cities crack the Top 50, the Big Apple remains in pole position but along with other US cities such as celebrity capital Los Angeles experienced sharp falls as a result of the country’s economic downturn. In North America, Toronto remains the most expensive Canadian, though sliding 35 places to number 82 however Canada’s cities on the whole are cheaper places to live than this time last year, courtesy of country’s low rate of inflation, stable housing prices and changes in the value of the Canadian dollar. Canada is a favourite among British emigrating overseas as property for sale in Canada gives UK buyers great value for money and much more space than the tightly packed UK. Ottawa, bordering Montreal is Canada’s cheapest city where the cost of living is on a par with Guatemala City, Sofia, Bulgaria, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Wellington, New Zealand.

Globally, other low-ranking cities include Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi (142nd), and Ecuador’s capital, Quito (141st), which sit at the bottom of the rankings.

Cities experiencing serious slumps in their position include Sao Paulo (62nd) and Rio de Janeiro (64th) were the most expensive places to live, in South America, but dropping some 20 places each. Chinese cities slipped down the rankings thanks to low inflation and stable rental prices and a 6 per cent fall in the renminbi against the euro. But rising accommodation costs pushed up the expense of an expatriate package in Singapore, which climbed to 14th place from 17th, and in Mumbai, which jumped to 52 from 68.

Mercer said countries where their currency is pegged to the ailing US dollar such as cities in the United Arab Emirates namely Dubai and Abu Dhabi slumped however Israel’s largest city, Tel Aviv, was found to be the priciest city in the Middle East, with a ranking of 17th (up from 24th in 2006). In Africa, the most expensive place to live was Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, which ranked 24th. The decision to exclude, Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, from the survey this year is the result of its spiralling economic crisis, with the world’s highest inflation rate of 3,714%.