Global Live-Work costs spiral 21% since 2009 as world economies “rebalance”

Rents in global prime cities have dropped a touch, says Knight Frank, although the rate of decline is slowing in the world's key financial centres...

Knight Frank's Prime Global Rental Index rose by 1.6% in the final quarter of 2012, taking the annual increase to 5.1% and putting the index 20% above its post-financial crisis low in Q2 2009.

New York, London and Hong Kong are the most expensive locations for construction in the world, with cost premiums of between 40% and 60% compared with many European cities, and a "severe construction…