Ever wondered what $1 million could buy you? Everyone’s fantasized about what they’d do with that kind of money at one point or another, but a new report from real estate firms Knight Frank and Douglas Elliman will give you a glimpse of just how far that much money will go when it comes to the best and most expensive real estate around the world.
According to CNBC, the Wealth Report 2016, which was released at the beginning of March, found that the small coastal European nation of Monaco retained its top spot on the list.
The report only looked at “prime” real estate, which is restricted to the best of the best locations, and found that $1 million will only get you about 17 square meters, or 183 square feet of real estate in the country. That works out to being a 12-by-15-foot room or apartment.
Unsurprisingly, New York City held onto the top spot as far as United States’ city property is concerned. You can get a whole extra 10 square meters of space compared to Monaco, or about 290 square feet of real estate for the $1 million buy-in. New York City placed fourth on the international list overall.
The number two city on the list was Hong Kong (20 square meters, or 215 square feet) followed by London in third (22 square meters, or 236 square feet).
While these cities remained at the top in terms of costliness, they were not the biggest winners in terms of overall growth. Vancouver, BC, in Canada was the city that had made the biggest jump from year-to-year with prices for this criteria up about 25%, according to the report. Sydney, Australia, took second in the rate of growth category at 15%.
“If you look at places like New York, London or Hong Kong and other sort of key markets, they are starting from a very high level of pricing at the current time,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research for Knight Frank. “So I think we should expect slower price growth at best over the next few years compared to the past five years.”
If you’re planning on being one of the 45 million people who move each year, on average, don’t worry too much about the rising real estate prices. Overall, the market saw significant growth in 2015, but a lot of that is expected to tail off this year as wealth creation slows on the heels of Chinese and international market volatility. However, the experts involved in compiling the report credit Chinese investors as one of the primary factors in the growth seen last year.
“Demand from Chinese buyers is stronger right now than it was last year,” said Howard Lorber, chairman of New York-based Douglas Elliman.