Singapore Retains Spot as World’s Most Expensive City for the Wealthy

The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index tracks the price of a basket of 20 luxury goods and services, ranging from private school fees and healthcare to residential property and cars, across 25 cities globally. The data was gathered between November 2025 and March 2026. The report surveyed 360 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) globally.

Singapore’s continued lead was driven by the high cost of residential property and cars, the two items that carry the heaviest weightings in the index, as well as the strength of the Singapore dollar. “The strong currency, alongside a stable political system and resilient economy, reflect the relative stability and appeal of Singapore in an uncertain world,” the report said.

Yee Kim Tan, Julius Baer’s Singapore branch manager, said Singapore continues to stand out as a “natural choice” as the wealthy consider what assets to hold and where these assets should sit. “It is valued for its stability, strong rule of law and the sense of security it offers when planning for the long term. For many families, it forms part of a broader, deliberate allocation across regions, alongside Europe and the Americas,” he said.

Wealth accumulation remained resilient in Asia-Pacific, with 90 per cent of HNWIs surveyed reporting an increase in assets over the past 12 months. At the same time, investors took a more active approach to portfolio adjustments amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, with more than 73 per cent of APAC respondents saying they had increased diversification over the past 12 months. Among them, 53 per cent added precious metals as a hedge, while 46 per cent broadened the geographic spread of their portfolios.

Chris Irwin, head of FX and precious metals trading Asia at Julius Baer, said gold has become more strategically important in private portfolios. “In a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical alignment and financial sanctions, gold’s virtues are straightforward and practical. It is liquid, politically neutral and free of counterparty risk,” Irwin said.

The report noted that technology-led cities appear to be pulling ahead, while markets more reliant on traditional industries are changing more gradually. Average prices in APAC rose 7.4 per cent in US dollar terms, compared with the global average increase of 10.2 per cent. Currency appreciation in other regions played a larger role in driving global price increases than local inflationary pressures within APAC.