Singapore is constantly making it into yearly rankings of the most expensive places to live in.
Recently, the country rose to become the most expensive city in the world for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), according to a report by Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
Source: Swapnil Bapat on Unsplash
A big part of the rise is apparently property prices.
High living standards and demand for property, as well as highly taxed cars and prices for essential health insurance, are way above the global average.
This is amid plans by the authorities to entice more HNWIs to our country since last year.
According to the Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2023, Singapore is now the priciest city for HNWIs to live in on the index, up from fifth place previously.
Investopedia describes HNWIs as people who generally have at least US$1 million (S$1.3 million) in liquid financial assets.
“As one of the safest large cities in the world, Singapore is unique, both in terms of crime and property rights, but also due to tax advantages for those with sizeable global incomes,” said Mark Matthews, Head of Research Asia Pacific at Julius Baer.
The report added, “The government has worked hard to create an attractive environment to live in and HNWIs have taken note, but this attractiveness is reflected in the prices local consumers now face.”
Among the specific factors that make Singapore expensive are high demand for accommodation.
School places are also “at a premium” and “the general cost of living is significant”.
Though cars are highly priced at 133% above the global average, the report says this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
This is because controlling the number of cars on roads can help reduce pollution and congestion. Singapore also has an excellent public transport system.
Furthermore, prices have risen significantly, especially for luxury entertainment such as whisky and wine, as well as hotels and flights.
“The cost of fine dining and premium whisky are 33% and 24% greater than the regional average respectively, while business class flights cost 44% more on average,” the report noted.
These can all be partly attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and the world beginning to open up.
The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index “analyses the cost of a basket of goods and services representative of ‘living well’ in 25 cities around the world”.
This, they explained, gives “an overview of the relative cost of maintaining a high-net-worth lifestyle in various major urban centres”.
The cost of various items — from residential property to women’s handbags — in 25 key cities are compiled for global, regional, as well as categorical changes to be examined.
Julius Baer then ranks the cities from most to least expensive in terms of how much it costs to live well from the perspective of HNWIs.
Besides Singapore, rounding out the top three most expensive cities to live in are Shanghai and Hong Kong.
These are the top 10 cities globally:
When even a report for HNWIs considers Singapore the most expensive city in the world, that probably says something about the cost of living here.
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Featured image adapted from Partha Narasimhan on Unsplash.
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