The average price for a city-center apartment in Hong Kong stands at US$27,753 per square meter in 2026, up from $26,749 a year earlier, according to the German lender’s latest Mapping the World’s Prices report released on Monday.
But the annual report, which assessed prices and a range of other indicators across 69 cities worldwide, lowered the city’s quality-of-life ranking to 55th from 48th last year.
The city’s score was weighed down by extremely high costs, property prices, pollution and long commuting times, it said.
A general view of Two International Finance Centre (IFC), HSBC headquarters and Bank of China in Hong Kong, China, July 13, 2021. Photo by Reuters |
Nonetheless, Hong Kong, like New York, London and Paris, remains a magnet for international investors and high-income professionals.
“The lesson is that the richest cities are not always the easiest places to live,” the report concluded.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s average city-center apartment price stands at $22,933 per square meter, down from $23,595 in 2025.
Seoul climbed one spot to third, overtaking Singapore with an average price of $23,545 per square meter. Switzerland’s Zurich (2nd) and Geneva (5th) rounded out the top five.
Among these cities, only Zurich and Geneva placed in the top 10 for quality of life, while Seoul ranked 31st.
Singapore came in 40th for quality of life. The report noted that the city-state faces affordability issues similar to New York, where salaries rank among the world’s highest but costly rents consume a large share of income.
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