In 2020, Hong Kong had the most expensive residential property market worldwide, with an average property price of 1.25 million U.S. dollars. The government of Hong Kong provide public housing for lower-income residents and almost 45 percent of the Hong Kong population lived in public permanent housing in 2018.

Geneva stands out as Europe's most expensive city for apartment purchases in early 2025, with prices reaching a staggering 15,720 euros per square meter. This Swiss city's real estate market dwarfs even high-cost locations like Zurich and London, highlighting the extreme disparities in housing affordability across the continent. The stark contrast between Geneva and more affordable cities like Nantes, France, where the price was 3,700 euros per square meter, underscores the complex factors influencing urban property markets in Europe. Rental market dynamics and affordability challenges While purchase prices vary widely, rental markets across Europe also show significant differences. London maintained its position as the continent's priciest city for apartment rentals in 2023, with the average monthly costs for a rental apartment amounting to 36.1 euros per square meter. This figure is double the rent in Lisbon, Portugal or Madrid, Spain, and substantially higher than in other major capitals like Paris and Berlin. The disparity in rental costs reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the intricate balance of supply and demand in urban centers. Economic factors influencing housing costs The European housing market is influenced by various economic factors, including inflation and energy costs. As of April 2025, the European Union's inflation rate stood at 2.4 percent, with significant variations among member states. Romania experienced the highest inflation at 4.9 percent, while France and Cyprus maintained lower rates. These economic pressures, coupled with rising energy costs, contribute to the overall cost of living and housing affordability across Europe. The volatility in electricity prices, particularly in countries like Italy where rates are projected to reach 153.83 euros per megawatt hour by February 2025, further impacts housing-related expenses for both homeowners and renters.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

Telluride, CO, was the most expensive market for luxury single-family home market in the United States in 2025. In February that year, the median sales price of a single-family home in Telluride was 4.5 million U.S. dollars. Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and Park City, UT were other locations that fetched prices over four million U.S. dollars.

The median sales price of the existing privately owned single-family homes in the United States increased slightly in 2024. The most expensive homes were found in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, where the median sales price was *** million U.S. dollars. Hawaii and Delaware experienced the strongest home appreciation.

In 2019, Hong Kong had the most expensive residential property market worldwide, with an average price per square foot of 1,987 U.S. dollars.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong, an autonomous special administrative region of China, has one of the least affordable housing markets in the world. A region with an estimated 7.49 million people, it has become increasingly difficult to purchase a home in Hong Kong. The spoken languages in Hong Kong are Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

Hong Kong housing market

The housing market in Hong Kong has seen an increase in prices in the past couple years. There are two types of housing unit offers in Hong Kong, private and public. The number of public rental housing units has been consistently rising since 2008. Nearly half of the public rental apartments in Hong Kong as of March 2018 were between 30 and 39.9 square meters. Not only has the number of public rental housing units increased since 2008, so have the private ones. However, there are more private housing units than public ones in Hong Kong. Additionally, the Home Ownership Scheme exists in Hong Kong. It is a government sponsored program that subsidizes public housing in Hong Kong. First created in the late 1970s, it was instituted with two targets in mind. The first was to persuade the richer tenants of these apartments to leave so families in greater need could live there. The second was to allow these families to become home owners, since they did not have enough money to buy in the private sector. Under this program, the government sells apartments to qualified low-income tenants at prices below the market value.

In the United States, Hawaii was the state with the most expensive housing, with the typical value of single-family homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range exceeding ******* U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly, Hawaii also ranked top as the state with the highest cost of living. Meanwhile, a property was the least expensive in West Virginia, where it cost under ******* U.S. dollars to buy the typical single-family home. Single-family home prices increased across most states in the United States between December 2023 and December 2024, except in Louisiana, Florida, and the District of Colombia. According to the Federal Housing Association, house appreciation in 13 states exceeded **** percent in 2023.

This statistic shows the price per square foot in selected prime residential markets worldwide in 2018. Hong Kong was the most expensive residential market globally with average prime residential values of ***** U.S. dollars per square foot.

The average transaction price of new housing in Europe was the highest in Norway, whereas existing homes were the most expensive in Austria. Since there is no central body that collects and tracks transaction activity or house prices across the whole continent or the European Union, not all countries are included. To compile the ranking, the source weighed the transaction prices of residential properties in the most important cities in each country based on data from their national offices. For example, in Germany, the cities included were Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Berlin. House prices have been soaring, with Sweden topping the ranking Considering the RHPI of houses in Europe (the price index in real terms, which measures price changes of single-family properties adjusted for the impact of inflation), however, the picture changes. Sweden, Luxembourg and Norway top this ranking, meaning residential property prices have surged the most in these countries. Real values were calculated using the so-called Personal Consumption Expenditure Deflator (PCE), This PCE uses both consumer prices as well as consumer expenditures, like medical and health care expenses paid by employers. It is meant to show how expensive housing is compared to the way of living in a country. Home ownership highest in Eastern Europe The home ownership rate in Europe varied from country to country. In 2020, roughly half of all homes in Germany were owner-occupied whereas home ownership was at nearly ** percent in Romania or around ** percent in Slovakia and Lithuania. These numbers were considerably higher than in France or Italy, where homeowners made up ** percent and ** percent of their respective populations.For more information on the topic of property in Europe, visit the following pages as a starting point for your research: real estate investments in Europe and residential real estate in Europe.

In 2019, the most expensive housing market in Ireland was Dublin, with the Dublin 6 area leading the ranking at over 628 thousand euros in average asking price. Wicklow and Galway City competed with some of Dublin's prime areas, with average asking prices of approximately 333 thousand euros and 297 thousand euros.

The median house price in *****, Atherton, California, was about *** million U.S. dollars. This made it the most expensive zip code in the United States in 2023. ***** Sagaponack, N.Y., was the runner-up with a median house price of about *** million U.S. dollars. Of the ** most expensive zip codes in the United States in 2026, six were in California.

The average price of detached and duplex houses in the biggest cities in Germany varied between approximately ***** euros and 10,000 euros per square meter in 2024. Housing was most expensive in Munich, where the square meter price of houses amounted to ***** euros. Conversely, Berlin was most affordable, with the square meter price at ***** euros. How have German house prices evolved? House prices maintained an upward trend for more than a decade, with 2020 and 2021 experiencing exceptionally high growth rates. In 2021, the nominal year-on-year change exceeded 10 percent. Nevertheless, the second half of 2022 saw the market slowing, with the annual percentage change turning negative for the first time in 12 years. Another way to examine the price growth is through the house price index, which uses 2015 as a base. At its peak in 2022, the German house price index measured about *** percent, which means that a house bought in 2015 would have appreciated by ** percent. Is housing affordable in Germany? Housing affordability depends greatly on income: High-income areas often tend to have more expensive housing, which does not necessarily make them unaffordable. The house price to income index measures the development of the cost of housing relative to income. In the first quarter of 2024, the index value stood at ***, meaning that since 2015, house price growth has outpaced income growth by about ** percent. Compared with the average for the euro area, this value was lower.

Barcelona, Madrid, and Donostia - San Sebastian were some of the most expensive cities to rent a house in Spain in February 2025. Barcelona, which is the capital of Catalonia, led the list with an average price of 23.7 euros per square meter. Madrid followed closely in the second position with an average square meter of rental residential property cost of 21.2 euros.

The average resale house price in Canada was forecast to reach nearly ******* Canadian dollars in 2026, according to a January forecast. In 2024, house prices increased after falling for the first time since 2019. One of the reasons for the price correction was the notable drop in transaction activity. Housing transactions picked up in 2024 and are expected to continue to grow until 2026. British Columbia, which is the most expensive province for housing, is projected to see the average house price reach *** million Canadian dollars in 2026. Affordability in Vancouver Vancouver is the most populous city in British Columbia and is also infamously expensive for housing. In 2023, the city topped the ranking for least affordable housing market in Canada, with the average homeownership cost outweighing the average household income. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but most residents believe that foreigners investing in the market cause the high housing prices. Victoria housing market The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, where housing prices are also very high. The price of a single family home in Victoria's most expensive suburb, Oak Bay was *** million Canadian dollars in 2024.

Mexico's housing market demonstrates significant regional price variations, with Mexico City emerging as the most expensive area for residential property in 2024. The capital city's average house price of 3.91 million Mexican pesos far exceeds the national average of 1.73 million pesos, highlighting the stark contrast in property values across the country. This disparity reflects broader economic and demographic trends shaping Mexico's real estate landscape. Sustained growth in housing prices The Mexican housing market has experienced substantial growth over the past decade, with home prices more than doubling since 2010. By the third quarter of 2023, the nominal house price index reached 255.54 points, representing a 146 percent increase from the baseline year. Even when adjusted for inflation, the real house price index showed a notable 40 percent growth, underscoring the market's resilience and attractiveness to investors. The mortgage market is dominated by three main player types: Infonavit, Fovissste, and commercial banks including Sofomes. In 2023, Infonavit, a scheme by Mexico's National Housing Fund Institute which provides lending to workers in the formal sector, was responsible for the majority of mortgages granted to individuals. Challenges in mortgage lending Despite the overall growth in housing prices, Mexico's mortgage market has faced challenges in recent years. The number of new mortgage loans granted has declined over the past decade, falling by approximately 200,000 loans between 2008 and 2023. This decrease in lending activity may be attributed to various factors, including economic uncertainties and changing consumer preferences. The state of Mexico, which is home to 13 percent of the country's population, likely plays a significant role in shaping these trends, given its large demographic influence on the national housing market.

In 2025, Zakopane was the most expensive city in Poland to buy real estate. The average price of an apartment per square meter in this city was over ****** zloty.

In 2019, house prices in Munich grew by ** percent, making it the fastest growing market out of the most expensive property markets worldwide. Meanwhile, house prices in Vancouver fell by *** percent.

Luxury home prices grew by more than ** percent year-on-year in ** of the ** most populous metros in the United States in the first quarter of 2024. The average sales price of luxury homes in Providence, RI increased by over ** percent in that period, making it the metro with the fastest growing luxury home prices. The luxury market is defined by the source as the most expensive five percent of the market.

The median house prices in the most expensive zip codes in California reached as high as *** million U.S dollars. Atherton (94027), had the most expensive median house price, followed by Santa Barbara (93108), and Beverly Hills (90210). Six of the ranked zip codes were among the top ten most expensive zip codes in the United States in 2023.

In 2024, San Francisco, was the most expensive metro area for buying a luxury property. The median sale price of the single family homes in the top five percent of the market by market price was *** million U.S. dollars. In Detroit, on the other hand, the median sales price of a luxury housing unit was approximately ******* U.S. dollars.