Average property price by country around the world

What is the cost of a city centre flat in countries around the world?

Updated

Sep 20, 2023

Fact checked

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.

The 5 most expensive countries

1. Hong Kong: £1,440,000
2. Singapore: £986,000
3. Switzerland: £772,000
4. South Korea £601,000
5. Luxembourg: £547,000

The 5 cheapest countries

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.

What is the most expensive city in the world to buy a property?

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.

Top 10 most expensive cities

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%

What is the average cost of a property in Europe?

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.

The 5 most expensive countries

1. Switzerland: £772,000
2. Luxembourg: £547,000
3. Germany: £328,000
4. Austria: £314,000
5. Norway: £305,000

The 5 cheapest countries

1. Turkey: £66,000
2. North Macedonia: £69,000
3. Ukraine: £70,000
4. Bulgaria: £81,000
5. Kosovo: £82,000

What is the most expensive city in Europe to buy property?

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.

The 5 most expensive cities

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

The 5 cheapest cities

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.

The cost of property around the world: Full list

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%

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 106 countries to find out. Of these, the UK was the 20th most expensive, at £238,000. The average across all countries was £167,000, which makes the UK’s figure 43% higher than the global average.
The most expensive place to buy a flat is Hong Kong (too small to be seen on the map), with a 2-bed flat costing an eye-watering £1.57 million – 8 times the global average. This is up from £1.4 million in 2020.
The 5 most expensive countries
1. Hong Kong: £1,566,000
2. Singapore: £987,000
3. South Korea: £703,000
4. Luxembourg £584,000
5. Switzerland: £574,000
The 5 cheapest countries
1. Egypt: £30,000
2. Pakistan: £32,000
3. Tunisia: £36,000
4. Nigeria: £36,000
5. Venezuela: £37,000
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest place for property now appears to be Egypt, where a flat of the same size would cost you a modest £30,000, which is 82% less than the global average. In 2020, Pakistan was the cheapest country for a 2-bed flat, where property prices have increased by 10%.
Wherever you decide to live, you’ll need some help along the way. If you’re aiming to get on the property ladder in the UK, check out our guide for first-time buyers for advice and tips on all the help available to you. You can also find out how to get a mortgage for an overseas property. You will also need a trusted provider to transfer your money overseas.
How do prices compare across Europe?
The average cost of a flat in Europe is £181,000. This is up from £154,000 in 2020 and is 8% more than the global average of £167,000. However, the cost of a flat varies significantly between European countries, with the most expensive country (Luxembourg, £584,000) costing over £537,000 more than the cheapest country (Turkey, £47,000). The UK is the ninth most expensive country in Europe to buy a 2-bedroom flat at £57,000 more than the European average (£181,000).
European cities compared
London is the most expensive European city, with the average cost of a flat being £814,000. This is over 387% more than the global average. Zurich, the financial city of Switzerland, is second with the average flat costing £792,000, followed by Geneva, also in Switzerland, costing £675,000. While Luxembourg is the most expensive country in Europe, it is the fourth most expensive city, with the average flat price being £647,000. Munich in Germany is the fifth most expensive, costing £624,000.
The cheapest city in Europe for a flat is Chisinau in Moldova (£52,000), followed by Plovdiv in Bulgaria (£57,000).
Explore the map and the table below to find out more about the cost of a flat around Europe.

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. Of these, the UK was the 13th most expensive, at £254,000. The average across all countries was £148,000, which makes the UK’s figure 71% higher than the global average.
The most expensive place to buy a flat is Hong Kong (too small to be seen on the map), with a 2-bed flat costing an eye-watering £1.4 million – 9 times the global average.
The 5 most expensive countries
1. Hong Kong: £1,388,000
2. Singapore: £860,000
3. Switzerland: £501,000
4. South Korea: £478,000
5. Japan: £391,000
The 5 cheapest countries
1. Pakistan: £29,000
2. Venezuela: £30,000
3. Egypt: £33,000
4. Tunisia: £35,000
5. Uzbekistan: £39,000
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest place for property appears to be Pakistan, where a flat of the same size would cost you a modest £29,000, 80% below average.
How do prices compare across Europe?
The average cost of a flat in Europe is £154,000, only marginally more than the global average of £148,000. However, the cost of a flat varies between European countries, with the most expensive country (Switzerland, £501,000) costing over £450,000 more than the cheapest (Moldova, £43,000). The UK is the fifth most expensive country in Europe to buy a 2-bedroom flat at £100,000 more than the European average (£254,000).
European regions compared
We compared the different regions of Europe to see how the price of a flat compares. Eastern Europe is the cheapest region to buy a flat in, at an average cost of £84,000. Whereas a flat in Western Europe, the most expensive region, will cost over 3.2 times more at £275,000, over £190,000 more expensive. The average cost of a flat in Northern Europe (the region including the UK) is £198,000, while Southern Europe costs £107,000.

These statistics show that prices for a city centre flat in the UK are generally comparable to our European and global counterparts. London is very much the exception to this rule, though, with a central flat being out of reach for almost all young Brits trying to get a foot on the property ladder.”
“If you’re a first-time buyer looking to purchase a flat or house, there are various ways that you can get assistance. Help to buy schemes allow you to earn tax-free interest, and the government also adds 25% to your savings (up to £3,000), which is a no-brainer if you’re serious about purchasing. People are increasingly looking at shared ownership as well. This allows you to purchase part of a flat from a housing association and will result in a lower deposit and monthly payments. You can then purchase more of the flat as and when you can. You can see more helpful information on this dedicated page.”

– Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com

Methodology and sources

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.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806

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Matthew Boyle

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Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife.

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Average property price by country around the world

What is the cost of a city centre flat in countries around the world?

The 5 most expensive countries

The 5 cheapest countries

What is the most expensive city in the world to buy a property?

What is the average cost of a property in Europe?

The 5 most expensive countries

The 5 cheapest countries

What is the most expensive city in Europe to buy property?

The 5 most expensive cities

The 5 cheapest cities

The cost of property around the world: Full list

Previous research: World cost of a flat 2022

Previous research: World cost of a flat 2020

Methodology and sources

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

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