Human resources consultancy ECA International has released its latest Cost of Living Survey, which shows that Hong Kong has dropped one place to become the second costliest city in the world, while New York has overtaken Hong Kong at the top of the list.
With New York's prices rising faster and HK's housing rents continuing to fall in, HK fell back down the rankings, ending a four-year run at the top of the list.
In Asia, Singapore rose eight places to fifth place, while Seoul moved up one spot to ninth. The surge in housing rents in both areas was driven by different factors, leading to the rise in rankings. On the Mainland, the rankings fell across the board due to the weak performance of the Renminbi and lower inflation rates than in other regions. Shanghai and Guangzhou remain the most expensive cities in Mainland China, but both have fallen out of the global top 10, ranking 13th and 14th, respectively.
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