Most Expensive Real Estate

In some respects, New York always lives up to expectations and this year is no exception; once again, housing in the Big Apple is among the world’s costliest.

The accolade comes from Bloomberg’s annual Global City Housing Cost Index. But, while the top six cities hold few surprises, there were some shocking results outside of the usual suspects in the upper tier.

Two of the most notable results: Dubai became shockingly affordable. Where housing costs in the Gulf city once ate up more than 70 percent of monthly income, it’s now a comparatively low 47 percent. Meanwhile, the biggest price increase was logged by the Canadian city of Toronto, which gained 18 places in the ranking compared to last year’s index.

Here’s a look at the top six cities where you can always count on housing costing a small fortune. [Bloomberg]–Erin Hudson

Hong Kong