Mumbai among world’s top 20 expensive cities
MUMBAI:Prices of prime residential properties in India’s top three cities either fell or saw marginal growth in the last one year even as Mumbai continues to be among the world’s top 20 expensive cities, according to a report by property consultant Knight Frank.
Mumbai ranked 16th among the world’s costliest cities for the year 2018, down from the 15th spot in the previous year, the report released by the global real estate consultant on Wednesday said.
The rankings are based on affordability of prime residential properties in a particular city. For instance, in Mumbai around $1 million (₹6.5 crore) can buy a property of about 92 square metres, while in Monaco, which tops the list of most expensive cities, the same amount can buy 16 square metres of space, the report said.
The report pointed out, however, that luxury property prices in New Delhi and Bengaluru fell 2.3% and 2.4%, respectively, while those in Mumbai saw a marginal rise of 0.57% last year.
Indian cities have dropped in the ranking of cities based on price movements of luxury residential properties. “Slowdown in prime residential markets has pulled down the top Indian cities in the PIRI Index (or Prime International Residential Index),” the report said.
While Mumbai slipped to the 57th spot from 30th in the previous year, Bengaluru ranked 84, down from 61. New Delhi was at the 83rd spot, up from 88th in the previous year.
Guangzhou, a city in China, tops the list with property prices appreciating by 27.4% in the last one year.
According to the report, Mumbai stood 47th on the Knight Frank City Wealth Index among 314 global cities.
The index is drawn from four major indicators such as wealth, investments, lifestyle and future in a particular city.
Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru feature among the top 100 cities in the list.
“India is one of the major drivers of ultra high net worth individual (UHNWI) population growth in Asia, which is a bright spot in the global landscape,” Samantak Das, chief economist and national director (research) Knight Frank India.
India witnessed a 54% increase in population of individuals with a net worth of over $50 million between 2012 and 2017. It is likely to see a growth of 71% in the next five years.
At the end of 2017, India had around 2,920 UHNWIs. The number is likely to touch 4,980 by 2022.
“However, the inclination to invest in property is lower for the ultra-wealthy Indians compared to their global peers. Only 23% wealthy Indians are interested to invest in property (excluding a primary residence and secondary home) in India compared to 43% globally,” Das said.
THE RANKINGS ARE BASED ON AFFORDABILITY OF PRIME RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES IN A PARTICULAR CITY