ARE AUSTRALIA'S APARTMENT PRICES AFFORDABLE ON A WORLD SCALE?

(Note figures are expressed in USD, so currency fluctuations can also affect the ranking)

The Global Property Guide (GPG) regularly produces the rankings of the world's most expensive cities to buy real estate, based on their extensive research. 

Citylife International Realty updates the figures yearly to include the other Australian cities not included by the GPG. These figures are updated yearly, but on different dates, so may not reflect the exact market as at the date shown in the chart.

(Other data by CBRE below)

Figures are typically based on the average selling price for a 120 square metre apartment (in most locations). The apartments are typically in a prime inner city area and do not reflect new build projects, as they may be significantly more expensive. 

AS CAN BE SEEN ABOVE, EVEN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY, RANKS AROUND THE MIDDLE.

MELBOURNE IS IN THE BOTTOM THIRD, BRISBANE AND PERTH RANK AMONG THE WORLD'S MOST AFFORDABLE.

What are the sources of GPG's price and rents data?

The GPG draw it's figures from their own, in-house research, based on a simple yet effective method - they systematically scan web advertisements for residential property, looking at offers for sale, and offers for rent, of good (but not new) apartments.

They begin by defining key upper-end rental districts in a country's premier city, then carefully select appropriate price ranges, taking average prices, rejecting deviant outliers.