
UK house prices: Expert predictions
We look at what is happening with UK house prices, including expert predictions for the future and whether there will be a market crash.
Read more…How do property prices in the UK compare to those of the rest of the world? We estimated the average cost of a city-centre 2-bed flat in 99 countries to find out.
The global average cost of a 2-bedroom flat is £176,000, up 5% from a global average of £167,000 in 2022. The UK was the 19th most expensive place to buy a property, with an average price for a 2-bedroom flat at £263,000. This is 49% higher than the global average across all countries.
1. Hong Kong: £1,440,000
2. Singapore: £986,000
3. Switzerland: £772,000
4. South Korea £601,000
5. Luxembourg: £547,000
1. Egypt: £24,000
2. Pakistan: £25,000
3. Venezuela: £27,000
4. Bangladesh: £39,000
5. Tunisia: £40,000
Hong Kong was found to be the most expensive country to buy property, with a 2-bed flat costing an eye-watering £1.4 million – 7 times the global average. Hong Kong was the only country where a city centre flat would cost you more than £1 million on average.
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest place to buy a property was Egypt, where a 2-bedroom flat of the same size would cost you just £24,000. This is 86% less than the global average, and for comparison, you could buy 60 flats in Egypt for the price of just 1 flat in Hong Kong!
Egypt has held onto its position as the cheapest place to buy a property since 2022, when it would have cost slightly more at £30,000.
Wherever you decide to live, you’ll need some help choosing the best mortgage for you.
Hong Kong is also the most expensive city in the world to buy a property, with an average price of £1.4 million. This is followed by Zurich, Switzerland, with an average price of £1.2 million, and Seoul, in South Korea, with an average price of just over £1 million.
London was the 7th most expensive city in the world to buy a flat, with an average cost of £799,000. However, this figure is down slightly from the average price for a London flat in 2022, which was £814,000.
Number | City | Average cost of flat in city | Compared to global average |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | £1,440,000 | 718% |
2 | Zurich, Switzerland | £1,197,000 | 580% |
3 | Seoul, South Korea | £1,007,000 | 472% |
4 | Singapore, Singapore | £986,000 | 460% |
5 | Geneva, Switzerland | £945,000 | 437% |
6 | Shanghai, China | £835,000 | 374% |
7 | London, United Kingdom | £799,000 | 354% |
8 | New York, NY, United States | £792,000 | 350% |
9 | Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel | £766,000 | 335% |
10 | Beijing, China | £760,000 | 332% |
The average cost of a 2-bed flat in Europe is £193,000. This is up 7% from £181,000 in 2022 and is 16% more than the global average of £167,000.
However, the cost of property varies significantly between European countries, with a flat in Switzerland, the most expensive country at £772,000, costing over 11 times more than the cheapest country, which is Turkey at £66,000.
The UK is the 9th most expensive country in Europe to buy a 2-bedroom flat, and you’d be spending £70,000 more than the European average.
1. Switzerland: £772,000
2. Luxembourg: £547,000
3. Germany: £328,000
4. Austria: £314,000
5. Norway: £305,000
1. Turkey: £66,000
2. North Macedonia: £69,000
3. Ukraine: £70,000
4. Bulgaria: £81,000
5. Kosovo: £82,000
Zurich is the most expensive city in Europe to buy property, with the average 2-bed flat costing a hefty £1.2 million. Geneva comes in as the second most expensive European city to buy property, with an average cost of £945,000.
Property prices in both Zurich and Geneva have shot up in the past year, with Zurich prices 51% higher than in 2022, when a flat would have cost £792,000 on average, and Geneva prices 40% higher, with an average cost of £675,000 in 2022.
London is the third most expensive European city, with the average cost of a flat at £799,000. This is 354% more than the global average cost to buy a city centre flat.
The cheapest city in Europe for a flat is Bitola in North Macedonia, with an average cost of just £47,000, which is 25 times cheaper than a flat in Zurich. This is followed by Dnipro in Ukraine, with an average cost of £55,000 and Rostov-on-Don in Russia, with an average cost of £59,000 – perhaps not surprising given the 2 countries are currently at war.
1. Zurich, Switzerland: £1,197,000
2. Geneva, Switzerland: £945,000
3. London, United Kingdom: £799,000
4. Paris, France: £630,000
5. Munich, Germany: £613,000
1. Bitola, North Macedonia: £47,000
2. Dnipro, Ukraine: £55,000
3. Rostov-on-Don, Russia: £59,000
4. Odessa, Ukraine: £61,000
5. Chisinau, Moldova: £66,000
Explore the table below to find out the cost of a flat around Europe and the world.
Country | Price per square meter in city centre | Cost of a flat | Compared to global average |
---|---|---|---|
Hong Kong | £24,364.03 | £1,440,000 | 718% |
Singapore | £16,681.85 | £986,000 | 460% |
Switzerland | £13,067.67 | £772,000 | 339% |
South Korea | £10,159.31 | £601,000 | 241% |
Luxembourg | £9,246.51 | £547,000 | 211% |
China | £6,598.22 | £390,000 | 122% |
Taiwan | £6,538.03 | £386,000 | 119% |
Israel | £6,529.67 | £386,000 | 119% |
Australia | £6,090.15 | £360,000 | 105% |
Germany | £5,557.05 | £328,000 | 86% |
Canada | £5,523.28 | £326,000 | 85% |
Austria | £5,313.89 | £314,000 | 78% |
New Zealand | £5,188.83 | £307,000 | 74% |
Norway | £5,155.44 | £305,000 | 73% |
France | £4,990.67 | £295,000 | 68% |
Kuwait | £4,750.73 | £281,000 | 60% |
Finland | £4,578.61 | £271,000 | 54% |
Sweden | £4,511.22 | £267,000 | 52% |
United Kingdom | £4,455.54 | £263,000 | 49% |
Denmark | £4,400.32 | £260,000 | 48% |
Netherlands | £4,351.00 | £257,000 | 46% |
Japan | £4,244.73 | £251,000 | 43% |
Ireland | £4,151.06 | £245,000 | 39% |
Czech Republic | £4,107.25 | £243,000 | 38% |
Qatar | £3,928.29 | £232,000 | 32% |
United States | £3,831.01 | £226,000 | 28% |
Slovenia | £3,067.62 | £181,000 | 3% |
Italy | £3,015.69 | £178,000 | 1% |
Belgium | £3,012.09 | £178,000 | 1% |
Lithuania | £2,989.09 | £177,000 | 1% |
Estonia | £2,956.70 | £175,000 | -1% |
Malta | £2,953.79 | £175,000 | -1% |
Thailand | £2,934.16 | £173,000 | -2% |
Croatia | £2,774.62 | £164,000 | -7% |
Spain | £2,702.14 | £160,000 | -9% |
Poland | £2,608.93 | £154,000 | -13% |
Hungary | £2,509.88 | £148,000 | -16% |
Portugal | £2,501.54 | £148,000 | -16% |
Slovakia | £2,405.85 | £142,000 | -19% |
United Arab Emirates | £2,349.60 | £139,000 | -21% |
Vietnam | £2,299.32 | £136,000 | -23% |
Armenia | £2,187.47 | £129,000 | -27% |
Serbia | £2,155.12 | £127,000 | -28% |
Uruguay | £2,144.44 | £127,000 | -28% |
Cyprus | £2,092.99 | £124,000 | -30% |
Philippines | £2,065.91 | £122,000 | -31% |
Greece | £1,890.86 | £112,000 | -36% |
Panama | £1,827.79 | £108,000 | -39% |
Latvia | £1,814.92 | £107,000 | -39% |
Jamaica | £1,782.79 | £105,000 | -40% |
Chile | £1,741.62 | £103,000 | -41% |
Montenegro | £1,733.80 | £102,000 | -42% |
Argentina | £1,698.84 | £100,000 | -43% |
Puerto Rico | £1,639.65 | £97,000 | -45% |
Romania | £1,589.61 | £94,000 | -47% |
Costa Rica | £1,571.68 | £93,000 | -47% |
Nepal | £1,528.13 | £90,000 | -49% |
Albania | £1,500.24 | £89,000 | -49% |
Malaysia | £1,458.36 | £86,000 | -51% |
Bosnia And Herzegovina | £1,455.03 | £86,000 | -51% |
Russia | £1,429.71 | £85,000 | -52% |
Belarus | £1,419.23 | £84,000 | -52% |
Kosovo (Disputed Territory) | £1,379.23 | £82,000 | -53% |
Brazil | £1,377.20 | £81,000 | -54% |
Bulgaria | £1,368.02 | £81,000 | -54% |
Peru | £1,320.60 | £78,000 | -56% |
Georgia | £1,316.24 | £78,000 | -56% |
Indonesia | £1,316.15 | £78,000 | -56% |
India | £1,306.32 | £77,000 | -56% |
Oman | £1,251.94 | £74,000 | -58% |
Mexico | £1,241.70 | £73,000 | -59% |
Guatemala | £1,231.05 | £73,000 | -59% |
Saudi Arabia | £1,195.80 | £71,000 | -60% |
Ukraine | £1,190.09 | £70,000 | -60% |
North Macedonia | £1,167.42 | £69,000 | -61% |
Dominican Republic | £1,164.84 | £69,000 | -61% |
Azerbaijan | £1,162.54 | £69,000 | -61% |
Morocco | £1,161.56 | £69,000 | -61% |
Iran | £1,159.77 | £69,000 | -61% |
Colombia | £1,147.98 | £68,000 | -61% |
Sri Lanka | £1,142.35 | £68,000 | -61% |
Kazakhstan | £1,121.86 | £66,000 | -63% |
Turkey | £1,108.34 | £66,000 | -63% |
Mauritius | £1,043.69 | £62,000 | -65% |
Syria | £1,014.26 | £60,000 | -66% |
Ecuador | £976.45 | £58,000 | -67% |
Bolivia | £919.91 | £54,000 | -69% |
Iraq | £910.25 | £54,000 | -69% |
Uzbekistan | £908.71 | £54,000 | -69% |
Jordan | £905.83 | £54,000 | -69% |
Algeria | £867.67 | £51,000 | -71% |
Kenya | £856.98 | £51,000 | -71% |
Palestine | £755.29 | £45,000 | -74% |
South Africa | £700.02 | £41,000 | -77% |
Tunisia | £683.71 | £40,000 | -77% |
Bangladesh | £652.53 | £39,000 | -78% |
Venezuela | £461.54 | £27,000 | -85% |
Pakistan | £428.79 | £25,000 | -86% |
Egypt | £402.09 | £24,000 | -86% |
Numbeo
The median area of a 2-bed flat in the UK, according to a 2010 dwelling size survey, is 59.11 square metres. Therefore, each price per square metre was multiplied by 59.11 to get the cost of a 2-bed flat in each country.
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