Posts for 'Cities' Category

What’s in a name?

When you go looking to buy a property, there are many things you want to take account of. Are there enough bedrooms? What are the transport links like? Are there the right local amenities, schools, parks to meet your requirements?

However, most of us don’t take much notice of the actual street name. That might be a mistake, as new research has shown.
Hills and Lanes

A study by property website Zoopla has found that the highest valued properties in the UK are found on streets with ‘Hill’ in the name, where the average price is a whopping £341,466 – well over 50% more expensive than the average price of a property in the UK, which stands at £218,705 according to Zoopla’s Zed Index.

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A shocking disclosure was made in the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) last week that Pakistan had become the most expensive country in the South Asian region after the highest rise in the prices of essential food items and the “highest inflationary pressure” compared to its neighbours like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and others.

The fresh evaluation of prices of food items done by the government revealed that India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other neighbouring countries were less expensive than Pakistan. But the official papers placed before the ECC were mysteriously silent on an important aspect of inflation, as Afghanistan is also much cheaper than Pakistan.

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If you're planning a visit to Tokyo, Geneva or Hong Kong, watch your pocketbook: These cities are among the 10 most expensive cities in the world.

The survey by Mercer ranks cities by the cost of more than 200 data points, including housing, food, transportation and entertainment. Keep clicking to see which worldwide destinations made the top 10.

The world’s most expensive city for expatriates is Luanda, Angola (pictured below). The Angolan capital beat out Tokyo for the top spot, with N’Djamena, Chad, Moscow, Russia, and Geneva, Switzerland, rounding out the top 5.

The Cost of Living Survey from Mercer used data from 214 cities across five continents, measuring the comparative costs of over 200 items in each location - such as housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

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Visitors to New York may gasp that locals frequently pay $20 for a single cocktail.

But the Big Apple turns out to be cheaper than 26 other world cities. If you really want to feel sticker shock, try relocating to Luanda, Angola.

The oil-rich capital city is the most expensive in the world for expatriates, a study released Tuesday shows.

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MORE multimillion-dollar roundabouts could be on the horizon for Wagga. The decision to budget $2.85 million for the Glenfield Road and Dalman Parkway roundabout was yesterday defended by Wagga City Council as future proofing the city's traffic control.

Director of Infrastructure Services Terry Dodds said new technologies meant roundabouts costed more but lasted up to five times longer. Mr Dodds said the technology of geofabrics and roller compacted concrete would ensure the construction lasted and saved council thousands of dollars.

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Somebody needs to tell the rental market that Britain is only just on the road to recovery and that growth is supposed to be slow and sustained. Because in some parts of the country, That’s according to flatsharing website spareroom.co.uk, which says that room rental costs, and their movement in the last 12 months, vary drastically depending on where you live.

Those flatsharing in Sunderland will have been thrilled to have seen average monthly house and flatsharing rents drop by a massive 13.5% in the last year, for example. While private renters in Stroke are not so lucky, having faced rent hikes of 11.3% in the last year. The runners and riders.

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DID you ever think that an HDB flat could fetch $1 million? Well, it looks like prices are inching closer to that mark.At least for a choice unit in Bishan. A Singaporean couple, who own a rare Bishan executive maisonette with a roof terrace, have asked for a staggering $950,000 for the 1,860 sq ft flat, according to a Lianhe Zaobao article yesterday.

The HDB valuation for the unit is about $730,000. That means the sellers are asking for cash over valuation (COV) of $220,000. It was also reported that a buyer has offered $900,000 for the flat. That will make it the highest ever transacted price for an HDB flat, if the deal goes through. Prices of HDB flats reached a record high in 2008 when a 1,614 sq ft executive unit in Queenstown was sold for $890,000.

The interested buyer for the Bishan flat - a 45-year-old Singaporean businessman - is willing to pay COV of about $170,000 for the 18-year-old flat. The flat is in Block 286, Bishan Street 24, and boasts an unobstructed view of the estate.

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Honolulu is the most expensive U.S. city to do business, according to a new study by KPMG LLP.

The New York-based audit, tax and advisory firm ranked Honolulu most costly among 37 smaller North American cities with a population below 1 million. It had a cost index of 107.3, or 7.3 percent above the U.S. national baseline.

“Selecting the best site for a business operation requires balanced consideration of many factors, including business costs, business environment, personnel costs and quality-of-life issues,” said Hartley Powell, national leader for KPMG’s Global Location and Expansion Services practice.

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Imagine living on the warm, sunny beaches of Hawaii--or maybe you would prefer the majestic setting and ski slopes of Aspen, Colo. While these idyllic locations are great places to put down roots, living there doesn't come cheap. Let's take a look at some of the most popular (and costly) places to live.

New York City, N.Y. New York City is the most expensive place to live in the U.S., and the eighth most expensive place to live in the world--a six-figure income will still only give you middle-class status. Just to put that into perspective, making $123,000 a year would buy you the same standard of living.

As someone who makes $50,000 in Houston, Texas, according to the New York Daily News.The average monthly rent for an apartment in the city is $2,800. Think that you can afford a place on $60,000 a year? Think again! Tenants have to make 40 times the monthly apartment rent to qualify without a guarantor. That means you need to make $112,000 just to qualify for a regular apartment.

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