The analysis shows a 100-sqm luxury residence in Mumbai costs about $1.14 million, or 308 times the average annual income in India, based on calculations from a housing index compiled using 63 markets by Knight Frank and income estimates of the US Central Intelligence Agency for purchasing-power parity in 2011. Shanghai buyers would need 233 times the per-capita income in China and Moscow inhabitants 144 times Russian earnings. Singapore and New York homebuyers would need 43 years and 48 years, respectively, for equivalent residences using national income averages.
The Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index is compiled using the top 5% of districts in each city, according to Liam Bailey, London-based head of residential research at Knight Frank.