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.
Wherever you decide to live, you’ll need some help along the way. Find out how to get a mortgage for an overseas property here. If you’re aiming 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.
| 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 |
| 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% |
| 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% |
– Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com
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.
The price of Bitcoin surged in May 2019 so we asked a panel of 10 fintech leaders why they think Bitcoin is on the rise; whether they think consumers should buy, hold, or sell; and what might be in store for the cryptocurrency. Read more…
A growing number of Brits are ditching high-street branches in favour of apps for their banking, but how much are we actually using them? Read more…
Finder's new research found that 1 in 5 Brits (20%) regularly spend money on the likes of Uber, Deliveroo and Just Eat, which equates to a whopping £19 billion a year. Read more…
We wanted to know if Brits are preparing for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. It turns out that 29% are planning to take special measures ahead of Brexit. Read more…
Our research revealed that 7 in 10 Brits (69%) plan to spend specifically for Easter, with this year's total Easter spend predicted to be £1.1 billion Read more…
Our research found that an estimated £381 million will be spent on Easter eggs this year; this is £154 million more than if consumers bought the same amount of chocolate but in bar form (£227 million). Read more…
