The same cities made up the top three a year ago.

The average rent price for a three-bedroom apartment in Hong Kong, number one on the list, reached more than $18,000 a month last year, a 15-percent jump from the year before. In Tokyo, the average rent for a three-room flat in 2011 was $9,450.

In Europe, rents have risen by about 3 percent in local currencies over the past year, despite the crisis in the Eurozone.

Rounding out the rest of the top ten cities, in descending order, were New York, London, Caracas, Geneva, Bogota, Singapore, and Lagos.