New York ? Moscow has eclipsed Tokyo as the world’s most expensive city, a new survey says.

The Russian capital moved up three spots from a year ago thanks to a recent property boom, according to a survey released today, while the Japanese capital slipped to third place due to the weaker yen.

South Korea’s Seoul ranked second on the list, up from fifth last year.

The survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 144 cities around the world, measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 items such as housing, transportation and food. The survey is aimed at helping multinational employers determine compensation for their expatriate workers.

With cities around the world getting increasingly expensive for expatriates – notably cities in developing countries – employers may need to re-examine the way they provide compensation and benefits for their workers, said Rebecca Powers, a senior consultant at Mercer.

“As we see more and more movement into these emerging markets, a lot of those programs need to be looked at,” Powers said.

Overall, foreign exchange rate fluctuations were behind the majority of the changes in ranking, but in Moscow’s case, costs were buoyed by the surging price for large living accommodations. Prices for big houses rose some 50 percent over the past year, driven in large part by soaring demand from expats, Powers said.