What can $150k buy in real estate around the world?

Gotta love that exchange rate. Thanks for that post. It just shows you how much further your money can go in foreign countries. The funny thing is that a lot of them are best described as a paradise. Just shows you that you don’t need a million dollars to live like a millionaire.

This is great so far the Czech Republic is winning..

OK, I’ve been to Prosek, and, how to put this… it’s the opposite of charming. Row after row of drafty, commie-era prefab concrete high-rises.

Thanks for the post! Now I feel like a dumbass for buying a 47-metre apartment in Warsaw, Poland for about the same amount of money… ;P

If you would walk into any real estate agency here in the Netherlands, and ask “got any houses for $150k ?”, you’ll get arrested for making the agent laugh him/herself to death.

LMAO Croatia: Porec, Istria for 150 000$ that’s just bullshit, I’m from croatia and trust me this price is just silly, real estates on the coast are ~3 000$ per square meter at least, I wish prices were like that cause I’d own a appartment like that…

@jessica: try using some logic: Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1

In Oslo it will get you 15 square meters which is less than a student flat.

Centro is a complete SHIT neighborhood at night and all locals AVOID IT at night out of safety concerns.

This is pretty silly. The implication here is that there are ton of places in the world where you will get a nice place to live for little money, but the list is very deceptive.

Most of the places shown are in remote or rural areas. I’m sure you could find a house in the US in a rural area much better than most of these for that money. Nobody wants to live in these areas.

That place listed in Australia is a prime example – the house is actually tiny and if you take a close look at the interior it isn’t much. If you wanted to buy a place close to the main city (Sydney), well, you can’t. $150,000 won’t buy you much more than a storage lockup. I live in New South Wales.

I’ve also lived for 27 years in New Zealand. The entry for that country is a ghastly looking place, and again it’s in a country town with a depressed economy, where the only thing to do is leave.

You could have done this properly and had it be no less interesting. Crappy blog.

In England you couldnt even afford a beach hut for $150k

Jessica… look at the number of rooms and bathrooms and the article will be a little clearer.

There is no such prices in Moskow. For such apartment minimum 300 000 in Moskow

You can also purchase a 2400 sqft 5 bedroom 3.5 bath house hardwood floors and granite everything sitting on 11000 sqft lot in Texas! How do I know this? Because I just bought it! Hurray for the dummies who hooked up with those ARM loans and thank you big government for letting it happen!

You should have included some hideous run down US house that costs ~150K. I’m sure you could find a plethora of images on Craigslist.

where is the house for 150K in Beverly Hills

Time to start investing overseas!

How about posting some contact information? Can some one tell us who to contact for these?

man.. i have a 300k home and its 3 bed 2 bath.. wonder what my money can buy in the philippines or maybe in singapore..

Bali is the best deal, best weather, best water….. sign me up!

It’s easy to look at cost only…..but keep in mind the economies of many, if not all, of the countries shown are in worse shape than ours. Not to mention you have to live in thes 2nd & 3rd world locations.

Why am I slaving away trying to pay off a couple of $300,000 mortgages in the USA???

I LIVED IN CROATIA some while i was going threw Bosnia in the army beautiful and everyone was so friendly.that place looks wonderful.i hope they rebuilt the towns cause they were in ruins when i was there from all the conflicts.

I don’t care how cheap the place is, I’m not sure I’d want to live in Moscow or Mexico. No rule of law, drug cartels running the show, kidnappings. Sorry, not for me. The other places look great, though.

Yep – Just another many reasons never to consider living in the shit hole called New York.

Wow I’m in the wrong city. 150k can barely get me a parking space!

who the hell wants to live in those dumpy lawless corrupt countries. Id rather be a proud american and live in america in a smaller house than live half a world a way in a place where i cant trust the govt

Prosek in Prague is not nice I must say ( I’ve lived in the Czech Republic and there are BEAUTIFUL places all around but this one is not one of them …. but then that’s why it’s cheap(er). I love Porec, the sea is beautiful there!

It does state apartment, I would take apartment living at that price. I agree with Chris, it is Paradise.

I see the posted properties listed herein. My wife is from the Philippines and we purchased a very large property with extremely nice home, caretakers cottage, guest house, large lake, five gardens and much more (the kitchen alone is 32ft. x 44 ft.) all with marble floors for $140,000USD on about 55acres of land (they sell in hectares). We have also been able to purchase three fairly large farm properties there as well at extremely reasonable costs so we are well aware of overseas bargain deals on properties.

As an American working overseas, there are low cost areas outside the USA to live, and this article highlights it. The worldwide economic crisis has lowered real estate prices worldwide, but ironically, the USA has been hit one of the hardest and ironically, some of the Indians and Pakistanis and Filipinos that I do work with are really now looking at buying USA Real Estate as it still is offering some of the best bargains, and the most ownership rights as compared to other countries. Please note that many foreign countries impose considerable restrictions on property ownership to non-citizens of these foreign countries, whereas the USA does not have these restrictions (outside of paying taxes on a gain of sale).

Anyhow wish you the best of luck in your overseas real estate search.

Henry G. Huestis

Just shows you how money hungry people have got here.

Some of these LOOK to be incredible homes and locations. What are the restrictions for a US citizen to purchase in other countries? HUMMMM….

I dont see how these r such great deals? There are plenty of areas in the States right now where u can get houses for $150,000. I bought a 2 bedroom 2 bath townhouse in Tucson for 65,000 2 months ago. Now thats a deal.

Not even close to comparing to California, we are the shizzy.

would like to know where to look for bargins like that in the phillipines

I dont give a rats ass about other countries. I am an AMERICAN. I want to know what 150K will buy me in the greatest country God gave man. Geez–stop with other country BS–I dont want to live anywhere else.

The South African property just makes me homesick. It is small dorp but I would buy it for sure.

Maybe, but who wants to live in any of these places?

and to think what I paid for my home and what it is worth now! this was the most depressing article I have ever seen thansk a lot for make the pain even worse.

By the way, I can show you MANSIONS across the United States for 150K that look like the pictures above. Ashville, places in SC, inland FLA, etc. Too bad the socialist/communist scumbag who posted this article lives in America. If you don’t like it here, get the hell out.

Before moving to these beautiful places, crime and diseases carried by insects have to be considered and the laws and military problems. I would hate to go to someplace and be killed. Why are these places for sale???????

This article is absolute falsification. You will not find similar variants in a reality. For an example, I would buy “Chystye Prudy Area, Moscow ” property immediately for 200000 USD (please email me) Unfortunately, the real price will not less than 800000 usd in the center of the Moscow.

also, sometimes the taxes when selling are 50%, like in the country I live in now!

Don’t drool. Whoever posted pictures (at least for Moscow part) did not know the subjecg at all.
You have to be responseble of what are you saying. Condo in central Moscow in such condition for $150,000!!?? This is simply not true. Go to any russian websites and see for you self (rambler.ru).

Nice post about foreign properties. I’m looking to buy a small villa south of Paris, in a small town, not too far from Le Mans, yeah where they race cars, in a small
village called Thiron Gardais. You can get a decent house—not apartment between $130,000-$150,000. The bad part is there is no A/C in the humid
climate, nor central heating. Some spoiled Americans might have a problem
with that but being a native-born, who moved to the states when he was an infant, I feel my European roots coming out the older I get. I tell you, if I could earn the same money teaching in France and my wife could continue her studies in France, and i could take my parents with me, I would leave in a heart beat. In the meantime, I live in the Communist state called California. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

perfect! i already dont have money now i feel like even if i had a bit of money i could have been living in a mansion… JUST GREAT!!

p.s. great pix..

Yes but in the states you can buy a lot more house than any listed here for $150,000, Its still the cheapest place in the world to buy property,i just had a friend buy a 4200 sq ft property on 3 acres in Texas for less then $150,000

I wouldn’t get too impressed. No mention of property taxes, local crime rates, etc, etc. The US is still the best country in the world to live, thats why people want to come here.

What the heck? thats where I should be moving!!

Jessica,

If you look right beneath each listing, it makes it pretty clear whether you are looking at an individual home or an apartment. Also, common sense dictates that an entire apartment is not included in the price. The apartment is not for rent; it’s for sale; much like the walk-ups in NYC or Paris…

i think ill stick to miami thank you.

LOVE the Bali house, far and away the best of the group. I would not move to any of the other countries mentioned for any price or any house, as someone else said, USA is the best of all possible worlds. I live in South Florida and it is truly paradise.

The property in Bali looks so beautiful…but hmmm isn’t that were they had the bali bombing of a night club…i don’t think westerners are very appreciated there. And yes there are plenty of places just as beautiful, but safe that you can buy for that price here in the US. not to mention….there are no jobs available in those areas….unless you plan on opening a brothel.

No way in heck does the Moscow apartment sell for $150K Maybe somebody ought to actually know something before writing an article. Moscow is the most expensive city I have ever been in. I was there in 2007 and breakfast at the Marriot was $85. Cement shells in rundown buildings were selling for 300K. Absolutely the dumbest article I have seen in a long time.

Imagine what you could get in other second or 3rd world countries. I bet there will be some places in the US that will be better than that if not a match, as long as you are willing to deal with snow or the dessert.

Its sad that there are people who think so lowly of other countries, whereas there are places where there is virtually zero crime rate, better weather, and cheaper cost of living.

Do any of you here really have $500 in their pocket much less the $150K to buy a house, anywhere?
Jokers!

Dayum jigga!! Wunder if they got 140% financing and no closing costs too?!?
I could sure use another interest only note for some new rims for my used Escalade. And what the hell?? I don’t see no people of color in ANY of these pictures. Whassa brotha gonna do?

chris,,,,fyi the us dollar is terrible in most foreign countries!

Some of these places appear lovely. Cant even buy a doghouse for $150,000 in Los Angeles without the fear of getting shot by a gang.

Denillequin is a complete dust bowl with little to no job prospects and i would pay 150k just to get the hell out of there.

Unfortunately you can’t buy in Australia unless a citizen or a permanent resident… but New Zealand offers GREAT properties as well and a bit better exchange rate if one is looking for a vacation house on the other end of the world (and an American CAN actually BUY over there)…

You can’t exactly buy a house for that money in Holland, you get a ruin for that. The amount of $150k gets you €111k. I’ve looked around in my village; nothing. In Alkmaar, a city of about 100.000 people I found only 1 house:

http://www.funda.nl/woningaanbod/koop/Detail/Default.aspx?id=307a4e63-ddcd-45f0-800d-78cc4ecb936d&objecttype=DetailKoopObject&hbx=1

And that’s a wreck. Also, you still have to pay an extra 10-20% on the price for transfering costs etc.

Hey David,

There is a typo on the real estate site where you got that listing per this condo in Moscow from. Its market price today is 1263750, not 126375 (the source of this number is evans.ru, with similar offerings no less than $1m available for immediate purchase). That is $1,263,750 which is ten times the amount you listed above. So uh. I dunno, that’s my two cents here regarding the “false claim”.

The South African one is perfectly plausible. 150K USD is about 1.4 million ZAR, and you could certainly buy a very nice house for that in J-Bay.

There are LOTS of houses in the US you can buy for that and they aren’t palaces, but they’re not too shabby either, and not in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Of course, they’re not in California or New York, but in Texas and all those square states in the middle of the country.

You can buy 3 condos for that in Tampa, FL

lol, Deniliquin

For people not familliar, this is a backwater country town with little going for it. It’s 754KM from Sydney (yes, 9 hours drive) or 308KM from Melbourne.

Australia is not as densely populated as the US. There are many satellite cities but they generally have no jobs, health care, etc and the vast majority aspire to move back into the capital cities (Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane or Darwin). If you look at the median prices for these areas…. Sydney median is around $550,000 AUD.

You could buy a lot more in the US for your money right now.

@Cheesus – my thoughts exactly! you need $500,000 for a nice 4 bed family house anywhere in the uk!

Cinco de Mayo, 2005, Delhi, CA: Drunken, illegal alien tears down my US Flag. I sell 1Ksqft house (2/2/2) I (bought for $95k in 1995) for $331k in July 2005 and move to Rockford, IL. Buy 3Ksqft 1964 Colonial with pillars (4/3.5/3, finished walk-out basement) on acre with view of Rock River and Sinissippi Park $147k. No mortgage, money in bank, no bills, teaching HS with IL Teachers’ Pension plus Navy pension. Life is good here. Go to Realtor.com and see what $150k will get you 1 hour from Chicagoland, 1 hour from Madison and Milwaukee. Minor league teams (Base Ball, hockey, football, soccer), boating on the river, skiing nearby, casinos, live theatre, nearly 100 public parks, and really nice people. You don’t have to move to Ethiosomaligeria to find a nice home in a nice place for $150k.

Why is it that so many Americans seem to take the attitude that the rest of the world is crap, lawless hell-holes filled with awful people and it is only in the good ole US of A that any semblance of life can be found?
The world is an amazing place filled with some pretty amazing people and things to see. There is as much lawlessness and corruption in your own country that you don’t need to point the finger at all the other ones. Yes America did fight in both world wars and did so heroically and to the global benefit. You did not fight alone no matter how your movies display it.
I have traveled throughout the US and I can say I have been more afraid driving in the outskirts of Boston than I have in a lot of other places. Watching your news I am as fearful of some of your police as I might be in Mexico.
Don’t paint yourselves and the world with such broad strokes. There is good and bad everywhere.
I love America, I love Americans. Mostly they are the most charitable, kindest and easy to get along with people you will ever meet.
However
They are also a nation surrounded by a two way mirror. They can see their own reflection, the rest of the world can see in, but they can never see out. Sadly most of them never care about really looking out.
After 9-11 almost every Muslim country had protests, in many cases supported by their governments, IN SUPPORT of the US and against the terrorists. Many French Newspapers ran the headline “Today We Are All Americans”. I am yet to hear of an American who knows these things.

And lastly to all the people who are busy screaming LIES ALL LIES. This is a basic article, not an in depth house buying guide. There are bargains and hells to be found everywhere. Where I live Near Toronto in Southern Ontario Canada you would find nothing you wanted to live in for 150k. Well, at least I assume so, I mean, I don’t know every single listing out there so maybe, just maybe there are fantastic deals available.

10 years form now we will be watching the news and some young guy will be sitting smiling. They will be talking about how he made his gazillion dollars by finding and buying these lost properties of today. We will all be sitting about muttering “Well I thought about doing that too”

Did I say “heretics”? Sorry: misspoke – meant to write “Republicans.” Still, it’s a synonym that means the same thing.

Comment by Chad — March 26, 2009

You guys need to move to Texas, Houston preferably. You can get a house like this or better for 150k. Texas > all other states.

Ugh. I love Texas, but there’s no way I’d ever live in Houston. Somewhere further down the bay, maybe.

I’m from Munich, Germany, and at the moment $150k would be €113k. Which would get you a tiny 2-room apartment in a suburb or a very, very small 3-room apartment in a sub-suburb, one without train connection. You might even get a 1-room apartment in the city. No chance whatsoever for a house closer than 50 kilometers to a city, at least not in Bavaria, and if so, it will be in bad condition.

My 12-year-old son was looking for an article for his Current Events paper in Social Studies. We came across this article and took the past 2 hrs to read through all the information on each property and also the comments left by the readers. This was a very interesting article and really gave a new perspective on the housing market across the world.

As for Jessica and her comment I have to agree with all the other comments left to her and add one of my own. WOW… Reading this article might have given me a new perspective on the housing market, but reading your comment, Jessica, and knowing, that even my 12 yr old boy, knew more about what was going on than (I am assuming) a grown woman, put the intelligence level that is, was, and should be being taught into a new perspective for me. Also, Good luck Jessica and remember you are never to old to go back to school.

I absolutely agree with CMM and Tim L – I’ve lived in 4 continents (not Australia, sadly), enjoyed all the differences they had to offer, and in NY for years (where I saw 2 women being stabbed in Central Park, one after the other, by a crazy man)) and I can say that Americans are afraid and very ignorant of the rest of the world. Yes, USA is a great country, but so are other countries for their own people, so, nothing really especial about liking your country, good for you, keep your cool, K (March 26), no need to be SO agressive, and nobody is asking you to leave your country, Paul (March 26), and let’s not talk about corruption and governments,Ihan Cohen, the USA has done its share of harm to the world, as well as good, no doubt. I think this is an article about property outside the USA, since the editor is from Seattle, which is in the USA , (that’s propably why there’s nothing about property in the USA ,I could only see the first page, don’t know if there are other pages), whether or not the prices are accurate, whether or not you would like to live in thoses places for whatever particular reason, that’s what this article is about, not about American nacionalism or patriotism.

Why would you want to live anywhere other than the US? Maybe to experience another culture. Maybe to do some traveling. Maybe for work. Maybe to get away from the US. There are a million reasons why someone would want to live abroad, and to read so many ignorant, dumb comments from a bunch of retards who’ve never left their home state just illustrates the point even further. Why would we want to move? To escape the hoards of morons in this country who don’t know anything about the world, and yet insist on characterizing it as bug infested, crime ridden and moments away from a coup. You all can slave away the rest of your lives to afford your poorly made,vinyl-sided house in a featureless subdivision, fighting it out with everyone else to prove how much you have and just how good of a consumer you are. I’ll be sitting on my porch with my feet up, a drink in hand, listening to the sounds of nature and enjoying the simple life.

And if you want to see bug infested, take a trip to the midwest or south in the summer. You want to see crime ridden, go spend a few days rolling around South LA, Detroit, East St. Louis, South Chicago, etc etc etc. I’d love this country if it weren’t populated with total idiots…

Very nice article. Got some useful information on buying property around the world during economical crisis. You can check out more here: http://go-to-spain.info.

FYI, many countries such as Argentina only deal in cash when buying a home. This is beginning to change but what I have been reading you have to bring cash to the table.

If anyone has any other info on this let me know?

Jeff
motionPHR your traveler’s health record for the iPhone.

I dont know about most of these locations but at least Bali should have an asterisk next to it. I was interested in buying property there but was put off by their ‘lease only policy’. You can never truly own the land as a foreigner. It would still be sweet to have a place there though, i love it. I am in Thailand now and it has the same policy… would definitely never consider it here after hearing all the horror stories.

Don’t get angry at the morons who post here and try and convince them that there is something better out there. Encourage their fear of the unknown and let them live in their self contained jails of ignorance because in the end, do you really want them as your neighbors?

@ Fred: “Only idiots buy property outside the United States.”

I wish that some American idiots did not buy houses in the US, and some more American idiots did not approve their mortgages, and then we, the rest of the world would be in a better financial state. Thanks for the recession, you American examples of universal respect, intelligence and geographical knowledge!

Nice counterpoint to the NY Times: “What you can get for 1 Million Dollars.”