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The average Indian would need to work for three centuries to pay for a luxury home in Mumbai, making the city the least affordable in the world for locals, according to an analysis of real estate and wages.

A 100-square-meter luxury residence in Mumbai costs about $1.14 million (`5.86 crore at a conversion rate of 51.43 for a USdollar), or 308 times the average annual income in India, based on calculations from a housing index compiled using 63 markets by Knight Frank LLP and income estimates of the U.S. 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.

Prime-location home prices in Mumbai averaged $11,400 (`586,302) a square metre in the quarter to December 31, while India’s per-capita purchasing power was $3,700 (`190,291). Shanghai residential prices were $19,600 (`10,08,028) a sq m and China’s income was $8,400 (`432,012). The Knight Frank index is compiled using the top 5% of districts in each city, said Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.

“There are big differences in wealth levels in emerging markets compared to the developed world, which is part of the course for economic development,” Bailey said. “In the first phase of growth some people make big fortunes, it takes time for this to trickle down as the middle class develop and generate their own wealth.” Bloomberg