Hong Kong is the city at most risk of a property bubble, followed closely by Munich, Toronto and Vancouver, according to a study published by the Swiss bank UBS on Thursday. Amsterdam and London were also in bubble territory, while Stockholm, Paris, San Francisco and Frankfurt were close, according to the study of 20 top cities across the globe.
In Hong Kong, it now takes 22 years of labour for the median-salaried skilled service sector worker to purchase a 60 square metre (approximately 650 square feet) apartment. A decade ago it took only 12 years. "Although many financial centres remain at risk of a housing bubble, we should not compare today's situation with pre-crisis conditions," Mark Haefele, Chief Investment Officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, was quoted as saying in the report.