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The cost of a city centre two-bed flat around the world
18 Sept 2018
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 two-bed flat in 91 countries to find out. Of these, the UK was the 16th most expensive, at £227,000. The average across all countries was £149,000, which makes the UK’s figure 52% 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 two-bed flat costing an eye-watering £1.3 million – almost nine times the global average.
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest place for property appears to be Egypt, where a flat of the same size would cost you a modest £27,000, 82% below average.
If you’re looking to get on the property ladder in the UK, check out this page for advice and tips on all the help that is available to you.
See the map or the table below for the rest of our findings.
The full list of countries
| Country | Average price per square metre for city centre flat | Price for two-bed flat |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | £21,727 | £1,280,000 |
| Singapore | £13,220 | £781,000 |
| Switzerland | £9,182 | £543,000 |
| South Korea | £7,402 | £438,000 |
| Japan | £6,165 | £364,000 |
| Taiwan | £6,089 | £360,000 |
| Israel | £5,365 | £317,000 |
| Norway | £5,073 | £300,000 |
| China | £5,038 | £298,000 |
| Sweden | £4,973 | £294,000 |
| France | £4,903 | £290,000 |
| Australia | £4,158 | £246,000 |
| Germany | £4,010 | £237,000 |
| Austria | £3,954 | £234,000 |
| Denmark | £3,924 | £232,000 |
| United Kingdom | £3,839 | £227,000 |
| Iceland | £3,784 | £224,000 |
| Finland | £3,681 | £218,000 |
| Netherlands | £3,604 | £213,000 |
| Ireland | £3,593 | £212,000 |
| Qatar | £3,520 | £208,000 |
| New Zealand | £3,336 | £197,000 |
| Lebanon | £3,277 | £194,000 |
| Italy | £3,224 | £191,000 |
| Canada | £3,200 | £189,000 |
| Czech Republic | £2,826 | £167,000 |
| Thailand | £2,787 | £165,000 |
| Belgium | £2,657 | £157,000 |
| Spain | £2,576 | £152,000 |
| Malta | £2,510 | £148,000 |
| Portugal | £2,233 | £132,000 |
| United Arab Emirates | £2,188 | £129,000 |
| Slovenia | £1,969 | £116,000 |
| Estonia | £1,966 | £116,000 |
| United States | £1,884 | £111,000 |
| Uruguay | £1,836 | £109,000 |
| Lithuania | £1,815 | £107,000 |
| Chile | £1,792 | £106,000 |
| Hungary | £1,791 | £106,000 |
| Croatia | £1,718 | £102,000 |
| Panama | £1,715 | £101,000 |
| Poland | £1,663 | £98,000 |
| Malaysia | £1,652 | £98,000 |
| Slovakia | £1,633 | £97,000 |
| Vietnam | £1,575 | £93,000 |
| Cyprus | £1,511 | £89,000 |
| Serbia | £1,509 | £89,000 |
| Argentina | £1,470 | £87,000 |
| Brazil | £1,443 | £85,000 |
| Peru | £1,431 | £85,000 |
| Montenegro | £1,408 | £83,000 |
| Sri Lanka | £1,376 | £81,000 |
| Latvia | £1,354 | £80,000 |
| Puerto Rico | £1,324 | £78,000 |
| Greece | £1,292 | £76,000 |
| Iran | £1,261 | £75,000 |
| Algeria | £1,232 | £73,000 |
| Costa Rica | £1,212 | £72,000 |
| Morocco | £1,194 | £71,000 |
| Romania | £1,191 | £70,000 |
| Ecuador | £1,149 | £68,000 |
| India | £1,148 | £68,000 |
| Nepal | £1,145 | £68,000 |
| Russia | £1,142 | £68,000 |
| Philippines | £1,122 | £66,000 |
| Albania | £1,108 | £66,000 |
| Colombia | £1,095 | £65,000 |
| Kosovo (Disputed Territory) | £1,082 | £64,000 |
| Belarus | £1,076 | £64,000 |
| Bosnia And Herzegovina | £1,060 | £63,000 |
| Iraq | £979 | £58,000 |
| Bulgaria | £973 | £58,000 |
| Azerbaijan | £959 | £57,000 |
| Indonesia | £919 | £54,000 |
| Jordan | £917 | £54,000 |
| Mexico | £914 | £54,000 |
| Macedonia | £857 | £51,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | £839 | £50,000 |
| Dominican Republic | £836 | £49,000 |
| Bangladesh | £831 | £49,000 |
| Ukraine | £806 | £48,000 |
| Venezuela | £799 | £47,000 |
| Palestinian Territory | £788 | £47,000 |
| Kazakhstan | £785 | £46,000 |
| Turkey | £780 | £46,000 |
| South Africa | £774 | £46,000 |
| Georgia | £753 | £45,000 |
| Moldova | £739 | £44,000 |
| Pakistan | £647 | £38,000 |
| Tunisia | £619 | £37,000 |
| Egypt | £451 | £27,000 |
The top 10 most expensive cities for a flat
| City | Average price for city-centre two-bed flat | Compared to global average |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong, Hong Kong | £1,280,000 | 866% |
| London, United Kingdom | £788,000 | 529% |
| Singapore, Singapore | £781,000 | 513% |
| Beijing, China | £676,000 | 454% |
| Zurich, Switzerland | £670,000 | 450% |
| Shanghai, China | £667,000 | 448% |
| New York, NY, United States | £623,000 | 418% |
| Seoul, South Korea | £619,000 | 415% |
| Geneva, Switzerland | £611,000 | 410% |
| Shenzhen, China | £586,000 | 393% |
See the stats for these 5 UK cities
| City | Average price for city-centre two-bed flat | Compared to global average | Compared to UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £788,000 | 529% | 347% |
| Cambridge | £360,000 | 242% | 159% |
| Liverpool | £294,000 | 197% | 130% |
| Edinburgh | £226,000 | 152% | 100% |
| Manchester | £144,000 | 97% | 63% |
“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’re able to. You can see more helpful information on this dedicated page.”
– Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com
Methodology
The price per square metre for a city-centre flat in each country was taken from cost-of-living site Numbeo on 23 August 2018. Countries that didn’t show up in their table weren’t included in this analysis.
The median area of a two-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 two-bed flat in each country.
For all media enquiries, please contact
Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 3828 1338
UK Communications Manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 3828 1338
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