New York Dubbed Most Expensive City In The World For Luxury Rentals

New York City has been named the most expensive across the globe for prime rentals, according to figures released by the Savills World Research team.

In the hub or arts and culture, luxury rents average $3,238 per week, with a price increase of 5.4% from last year. These figures have been aided by a boost of new prime supply which has increased the quality of rents, and in turn, increased the price margins.

The city was also dubbed the top city for the world’s wealthiest investors, according to a report from Knight Frank. It scored the top marks across five categories: overall desirability, wealth, investment, lifestyle and future.

The Savills research put Tokyo is second place for most expensive global city, with prime rents averaging £1,940 per week, an increase of 7.7% from 2017.

London stands firmly at third place with, rents costing an average of £1,700, despite recorded price drops of 2.9% from last year. However, the UK capital city could soon be overtaken by Hong Kong, which currently sits in fourth place.

Luxury rents in Hong Kong are just behind those in the U.K. capital, at £1,690 (US$2,382) per week, but have risen in the past year (2.7%) while London’s have fallen.

Amsterdam’s prime rents increased by a substantial 19.8% in 2017, putting it in fifth place at £1,370 (US$1,931) per week. Rents in the city have been driven up by relocating expats coupled with a shortage of stock, the analysis said.

Two Chinese cities feature in the top 10—Beijing and Shenzhen, with prime rents of £1,200 (US$1,691) and £1,020 (US$1,438) per week respectively. Dubbed China’s Silicon Valley, Shenzhen—where the population has risen from 300,000 in 1980 to 12 million—has seen a rising number of wealthy domestic tenants and expats fueling prime rental demand.

“Our analysis tells us, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the cities that are most expensive to buy in are not necessarily the most expensive to rent in,” says Yolande Barnes, Savills head of world research. “Hong Kong mainstream house prices are now around £1,070 (US$1,508) per square foot, almost double the San Francisco average, but its mainstream rents are some 30% cheaper.”