Despite Toronto's sizzling real estate market, reports decrying this city as one of the most expensive in the world have a counter argument in the form of the Economist's Intelligence Unit's Cost of Living Index.

In its latest version of the report, Toronto ranks 86th out of 133 major cities surveyed. That represents only a slight shift from our 2016 ranking of 88th.

One of the reasons why our city's sky-high real estate prices haven't shot us up through the rankings is that the index doesn't incorporate housing costs into its rankings.

According the Economist's criteria, "the survey compares the prices of 160 goods and services in 133 cities around the world."

Looked at in this capacity, Toronto is significantly more affordable than the cities that top the list — e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong, Zurich, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Geneva, Paris, and New York.

That might not, however, come as much consolation for those of us who do live in Toronto and need to rent apartments or want to buy houses. But at least we know it could be worse.

Here's a list of the most expensive cities plus other notable ones thrown in for good measure.

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. Zurich
4. Tokyo
5. Osaka
6. Seoul
7. Geneva
8. Paris
9. New York
9. Copehagen (tie)
11. Los Angeles
11. Oslo (tie)
11. Tel Aviv (tie)
14. Sydney
15. Melbourne
39. Vancouver
69. Detroit
86. Toronto