Market trends

The cost of living the Australian dream has surged with Sydney and Melbourne among the five most expensive cities in the world, according to an annual survey.

Asia and Australasia account for 11 of the top 20 most expensive cities, Europe eight and South America one, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s worldwide cost of living index showed. No North American cities featured in the top 20.

Tokyo reclaimed the title as the world’s most expensive city. Last year currency swings pushed Zurich to top spot, but government exchange rate controls relegated it to seventh this time. Osaka was ranked the second most expensive.

Jon Copestake, editor of the index, said one of the most notable changes was the rising costs in Australia, with Sydney third in the list and Melbourne fifth. Sandwiched between them was Oslo.

“Ten years ago there were no Australian cities in the top 50 and I have not seen this sort of climb with any other cities,” Copestake said. “But economic growth has supported inflation, and the strength of the Australian dollar against other currencies besides the US dollar has driven up costs. Visitors will certainly feel the difference and people living there will have noticed prices have crept up.”

The survey is based on costs of more than 160 items ranging from food and clothing to domestic help, transport and utilities. Also featured in the 2013 top 10 were Singapore, Paris, Caracas and Geneva. London moved up one place to 16.

Asia and Australasia may have 11 of the 20 most expensive cities, but they are also home to six of the 10 cheapest. Mumbai and Karachi were the joint cheapest locations in the survey, followed by New Delhi, Kathmandu and Algiers.

Referring to India and its forecasts for growth, the EIU said: “Income inequality means that household spending levels are low on a per capita basis, which has kept prices down, especially by western standards.”

Rounding out the bottom 10 were Bucharest, Colombo, Panama City, Jeddah and Tehran.

The 10 most expensive cities in the world

1. Tokyo, Japan (+1 place)

2. Osaka, Japan (+1)

3. Sydney, Australia (+4)

4=. Oslo, Norway (+1)

4=. Melbourne, Australia (+4)

6. Singapore (+3)

7. Zurich, Switzerland (-6)

8. Paris, France (-2)

9. Caracas, Venezuela (+25)

10. Geneva, Switzerland (-7)

…and the 10 least expensive cities in the world

1=. Karachi, Pakistan

1=. Mumbai, India

3. Delhi, India

4. Kathmandu, Nepal

5=. Algiers, Algeria

5=. Bucharest, Romania

7. Colombo, Sri Lanka

8. Panama City, Panama

9. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

10. Tehran, Iran

(From The Guardian newspaper, London)

We are very excited here at propertyfinder.ae towers because of our HUGE new advertising billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road (opposite the Pepsi plant).

We already have a funky ‘I love propertyfinder.ae’ bridge banner which will be up for a few more days – but this fab new advertisement will be up for the whole of February.

We’re proud of our fab site and want to make sure the whole of Dubai knows it!

Let us know what you think of the new board – all comments welcome!

Check out our CEO & Founder Michael Lahyani’s latest column in Khaleej Times. This week he discusses two incredible new Dubai construction announcements…

BUILDING THE FUTURE

It has been a very eventful end to the year in Dubai with the announcement of a two new mega projects that are literally going to change the face of the emirate forever.

First there was confirmation of a new Dh10 billion entertainment complex featuring five different theme parks to be located in Jebel Ali. Marine parks and a dedicated Bollywood zone are among the many eye-popping plans now being put into action by master developer Meraas for this ambitious project.
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We were thrilled to see the results of our recent ‘Happiness Survey’ (see blog post below) cause huge waves of interest across the emirate and even make the front page of daily newspaper 7DAYS!!

Check out their full coverage below…

SURVEY REVEALS THE ‘HAPPIEST NEIGHBOURHOODS’ IN DUBAI

People who live beside the seaside in Dubai have the biggest smiles on their faces, according to a new happiness index.

Property portal propertyfinder.ae asked 300,000 visitors to its site to answer questions on their level of happiness in connection with where they lived in Dubai – and life for those in Umm Suqiem is joyous.

Despite having a lack of street names, the coastal dwellers reckon their neighbourhood is attractive, convenient and has quality facilities.

Next on the happy barometer were residents in Dubai Marina, who count on cool shops, restaurants and a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Suburban Springs was also high on the happy scale thanks to tree-lined streets and a chilled-out, family-friendly ambience. Downtown Dubai, JLT, Palm Jumeirah and Jumeirah made up the rest of the top seven.

Renan Bourdeau, managing director at propertyfinder.ae, said: “The trends we are uncovering should shed light on what property hunters really want and will prove useful for the industry as a whole.”

Property broker Nikki Summers, of Brix, said: “I can understand the reasons for the top three.”

Summers added: “Umm Suqeim offers large, luxurious villas with easy access to schools, supermarkets and, of course, the beach, which is great for families with children.

“Dubai Marina offers young, executive-living with everything on your doorstep like restaurants, bars and cafes. Plus, it has easy access to the metro and is within walking distance of JBR beach and The Walk – all with views to die for.

“The Springs caters for young families and the peace and quiet takes you away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai. This area has community shops and amenities such as pools and gyms. It is suburban life at its best.”

Staff at propertyfinder.ae refused to say which were the least cheerful areas in Dubai, but did say people were not happy with traffic congestion, construction work, being far away from shops and restaurants, too much hustle and bustle and being too far from a metro station.

(From 7DAYS newspaper, Dubai)