SINGAPORE (June 25): Singapore and Hong Kong are the most expensive cities for luxury goods like cars, fashion and residential properties, while Shanghai has slipped two places to place fourth in this year’s edition of the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report by Julius Baer, released on Tuesday.

Singapore again took the top spot in the annual ranking, and is also the most expensive place in the world to own a car.

Julius Baer says the city continues to attract the ultra-wealthy by maintaining its reputation for political and economic stability alongside a “pro-business environment”.

Just two years ago, Singapore placed fifth behind cities like London and Taipei in the 2022 version of the annual report, which is now in its fifth year.

The city ranking is based on the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, which analyses the cost of a basket of goods and services representative of “living well” in 25 cities around the world.

The price of luxury goods in Singapore remained flat on average y-o-y, falling 0.46% in local currency terms but up 0.8% in US dollar terms. Singapore’s inflation levels held steady at 4.8% across 2023.

This year, many of the biggest jumps up and down the index were a result of currency fluctuations, says Julius Baer. “Index prices are converted to US dollars to allow for global comparison, and the strength of currencies such as the Swiss franc and, conversely, the poor performance of currencies such as the Japanese yen are clearly seen in the performance of these cities in US dollar terms.”

Runner-up Hong Kong moved up one spot to replace Shanghai in this year’s ranking, as the second-most expensive city for property prices. Hong Kong is also the most expensive place to engage a lawyer.

Shanghai, now ranked fourth, saw challenges in the real estate market last year, which Julius Baer believes softened consumer confidence. Nonetheless, it is the most expensive city to enjoy a degustation dinner