Contributd by ROMESH NAVARATNARAJAH –
Singapore is one of the least affordable cities in the world for young professionals, according to Knight Frank’s Cost of Living Index
The city-state was ranked 16th on the list of 20 global cities monitored by Knight Frank, and published in its inaugural Global Cities 2015 report.
The report stated that young graduates based in Singapore have one of the lowest levels of disposable income, with around 10 percent of their net salaries left at the end of every month.
Frankfurt was rated as most affordable on the list, with young professionals in the German city having 60 percent of their income remaining after expenses.
In 20th place, Hong Kong emerged as the least affordable city, with a 4.61 percent income deficit recorded for a Hong Kong graduate.
All Asian cities fell below the top 10 among the global cities tracked.
Knight Frank’s research looked at young graduates in the districts surrounding the city limits, using variables including graduate starting salary, cost of rented accommodation and utility bills, as well as the cost of a pint of beer, a coffee and groceries.
James Roberts, Head of Commercial Research at Knight Frank, said: “Many of the new districts emerging around the traditional CBD’s have developed as vibrant and edgy places to live, and often appeal to young graduates starting out on their career. However, as the areas gain popularity, prices rise and often the young graduates struggle to remain in the area.”
He added: “It can no longer be assumed that older employees want to move to the suburbs, instead they are joining younger workers in preferring a vibrant urban lifestyle so competition for homes in many of these edgier locations is hotting up. The challenges across many of these global cities will be balancing the conflicting demands of accommodating the new wave of firms, and their workers, in the same highly sought-after districts.”
By Romesh Navaratnarajah*
* The author is the Singapore editor of Property Guru group. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg.
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