If I gave you a million dollars and told you to buy a home with it, what would that home look like? Most of us dream of living in a sprawling country home, filled with tennis courts, swimming pools, home IMAX Cinema and a staff of help bigger than the one in Downton Abbey. Or maybe a swanky, high-end apartment with a great view of one of the world’s great cities is more your thing? Maybe you’d think about a beach front super-pad with a jetty for your personal yacht.

The thing is, a million dollars doesn’t go as far as most people would imagine in some parts of the world, but don’t despair! In other parts of the world it goes further than you think. Here are our top locations around the world and what a cool $1 million will actually get you.

New York City

Let’s start with the most famous city on Earth. NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world for property prices. One million of your hard earned dollars will buy you around 40sqm of luxury property. This definitely qualifies as “cosy”, but of course you wont need much space in New York, as the city that never sleeps offers so much to do and see that you’ll not be spending much time in the house at all.

NYC property prices have been steadily increasing at a rate of about 10-20% a year and given the city’s desirability, that trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon. As the city’s boroughs are being modernized and regenerated, neighbourhoods such as the Bowery and Queens that were definitely to be avoided 20 years go are now some of the most desirable in the country.

Hong Kong

If you want a truly expensive small space, you can buy around 21 sqm of luxury space in Hong Kong with your money. The apartments in Hong Kong are known as “micro-flats” for good reason. In a city as populated and busy as this, residential space is at a whopping premium.

 Hong Kong property prices have increased by over 300% in the past decade. According to Forbes magazine, less than half of the people who live in central Hong Kong own their own home.

Dordogne

In the scenic south of France lies the rolling hills of Dordogne, where our money will go further than the above. A lot further. Here, our million will get you your own chateau. A seven bedroom castle with its own swimming pools (yes, plural), steam room and 18.5 acres of private land.

The property prices in this region south of France can vary significantly as you get closer to the coast, but your million will go a long way here. Also the wine is fantastic and plentiful.

 London

Its no surprise to anyone that London is an expensive place to live. We’d be lucky to get 25sqm for our money here. There’s definitely no swimming pool included in that, either.London house prices have surged by nearly 32% in the last year, with a standard family home now costing over 20 times the national average wage in Britain today.

Paris

This one might surprise you. Paris is the only city on our list where the property market is going down. Recently, the Parisian average house price has fallen by as much as 5%. Not a lot, but in one of the world’s most beautiful and iconic cities, it means a lot.
That being said, your million still wont get you very much. We were able to find property as small as 21sqm which is really more of an expensive closet than a home for a fully grown person. That being said, what you’ll lack in space you’ll make up for in address envy.

Bidtracker team