Compared to other major cities in Asia such as Tokyo, Shanghai or Hong Kong, house prices and rentals in Taipei City still have potential to continue surging, real-estate brokers said Thursday. According to the newest list of Asia's most expensive places to live published by Forbes magazine, Taipei ranks 16th with an average monthly rent of US$1,065 for a high-end two-bedroom apartment. Toyko topped the list at US$4,737, followed by Hong Kong at US$3,871 and Beijing in third place at US$3,659. Urban enclaves where prices rose the most include the region's financial hubs such as Mumbai, Singapore and Taipei, according to a Mercer Consulting's annual cost-of-living survey. Despite the global downturn, rents are relatively high and property prices are on the rise in these cities, according to Forbes. 'In the past, we've seen Europe as the most expensive. Over time, the Asian cities have caught up quite a bit in terms of cost-of-living increases, ' said Cathy Loose, a principal consultant at Mercer. 'Mainly because of the limited space, real estate in terms of demand versus supply is driving the rental price high.' Huang Cheng-fu, an assistant manager with Evertrust Rehouse -- one of the leading real estate brokers in Taiwan, said the US$1,065 monthly rental estimated by Mercer for a fine two-bed room apartment in Taipei's upscale Daan or Hsinyi district is a reasonably accurate figure. Compared to the US$3,871 average monthly rent for a similar product in Hong Kong, rents and house prices in Taipei are expected to continue rising amid ever closer exchanges in the greater China area, Huang contended. Su Chi-jung, a manager at Sinyi Realty Estate, said Taipei's 16th-spot ranking reflects the fact that there is ample room for it to become more international, on the grounds that the rate of a city's globalization is closely related to its rental levels. Once there are more foreign business executives in a city, its rent levels usually go up because such foreign nationals want to rent high-quality houses, he said. With cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges continuing to expand and more foreign and Chinese executives coming to Taiwan, Su predicted that Taipei will move further up the list in the future. Locations in other parts of the country, however, will not see a similar rise in real estate property or rental prices, another analyst added. 