Have you ever been on a trip to a glorious capital city, and thought “wow, I can see myself living here”?. If it hasn’t happened yet, I’m sure it will at some stage. The grass is greener on the other side is an important phrase that may resonate deep inside most people; and in certain circumstances it may even be true. However, going somewhere on vacation and living there are two very different things. You walk down a street in Paris, it’s beautiful, full of cafes and scenery. That $200 a night looks like money well spent. Have you ever looked into how much it may cost to purchase a property in a place like this however? Read on in the article to discover just with cities, though they may be stunning and exciting, would certainly price you out of any permanent move.
The 4 Most Expensive Cities In The World To Buy A House
Hong Kong
An exciting place that many have surely dreamt about visiting; Hong Kong certainly lives up to the hype. Known for it’s booming economy, sky-scrapers, numerous bars and restaurants; it is seemingly one of the ideal places to set up camp permanently. Though a Cantonese speaking country, English is a prominent language there and you can very much get by. Despite all it’s glory, house prices are absurdly expensive. The average price of a home in Hong Kong can set you back up to $1.2 Million! Supply and demand has clearly won here, with too many people fighting for a small amount of housing. Levels have been labelled, “unaffordable”, and it has even been said that an $80 billion artificial island is being planned to battle this housing crisis.
Singapore
Another small, but rising city that has only been on the up in recent years; Singapore is an amazing city. A former swampland, it’s current look is unrecognizable since gaining independence in 1965. An economic success, it is now considered one of the financial capitals of the world. Singapore leads the statistics in many fields, and is an expensive place to vacation. That being said, it is also an expensive place to live full-time. The average price of a home in Singapore is $874, 372. Additionally, though foreigners can buy private properties like apartments, they need government approval to buy landed properties. They are only allowed to buy executive condominiums that are a minimum of ten years old, and it is forbidden to buy a HBD flat. These restrictions is what essentially prices foreigners out of buying a property in Singapore.
Shanghai
We remain in Asia for another city, Shanghai! Shanghai is the most populated city in the world, housing over 26 million people. This Eastern Chinese city is the busiest container port in the world, and is up there as one of the financial capitals. It is no secret that China has a booming economy, and along with this, it is one of the most expensive cities globally. The average price of a home in Shanghai is $815. 322. Also, even though foreigners are not fully restricted when purchasing properties, it seems there is a requirement for a foreigner to have a minimum of a 1 year job contract to be able to. Year by year, it can be seen that housing prices are growing significantly.
Vancouver
Canada! The land of the free; maple syrup and beavers. The younger sibling to the United States, everyone likes Canada. Like anywhere else however, Canada has some super expensive cities, namely, Vancouver. Canada’s problem isn’t so much the lack of space; you can see how big it’s land mass is. However, how much of that land is useable space? We aren’t so sure. Additionally, it will always set you back more trying to live in bigger cities, like this one. The average price of a home in Canada’s cleanest, culturally diverse city is $815, 322. Annually, this figure keeps rising and some sources even report the average price being over $1 Million now. In order to purchase a condo, a prospective buyer will need to have a minimum household income of $128,000 dollars. That is just to put a down-payment on an average Vancouver condo! Maybe other areas in Canada might be more worthwhile to live in, leaving Vancouver as a nice get-a-way destination.
The Cities on this list are certainly grand, beautiful and luxurious. To live in any of these cities would be a dream, but with rising prices and the lack of supply and high demand, this is only ever going to become more problematic. Until the housing market sees a resurgence, best hold off from buying in these cities.
