Melbourne may bask in the title of the world's most liveable city, but it comes at a price.

The latest global cost-of-living survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Melbourne as the world's sixth most expensive city.

In Melbourne, the predicted 5 per cent growth is also a slowdown, but less of a fall given that city's more-modest 11.5 per cent increase in house prices over the past year.

It remains a more affordable city to live in than Sydney - but only slightly. The NSW capital ranked fifth in the survey.

"The long-term rise in the relative cost of living in Australia, driven by sustained strengthening of the Australian dollar, has cemented the positions of cities like Sydney and Melbourne as top-ten staples," the report says.