http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/18/properties-world-million-forbeslife-cx_fl_0918realestate.html

Quote :

"New York Manhattan New York's luxury housing market has remained largely insulated from the rest of the country's housing woes, but real estate agents say you can get slightly more for $1 million than you could a year ago in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. This one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea is only 670 square feet, but it has dramatic city views and amenities such as a doorman to its credit. The listing is at Brown Harris Stevens."

Quote :

"San Francisco Merced Manor Home prices in San Francisco began to dip this year, but there is enough demand to preserve a market for $1 million homes. That figure will nab you a three-bedroom stucco house in the tiny, desirable community of Merced Manor. It includes a wood-burning fireplace and is a spacious 6,246 square feet. Intero Real Estate holds the listing."

Quote :

"Chicago North Side Sales in Chicago have slowed as prices dropped. The silver lining is that investors can now find deals. Near Chicago's North Side, $1 million will buy a two-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom condominium in a luxury high-rise on Huron Street. The apartment features skyline views of Lake Michigan, and birch hardwood floors. It is listed with Prudential."

Quote :

"Los Angeles Hollywood Hills The sliding real estate prices in Los Angeles mean that a mid-century three-bedroom house nestled in the Hollywood Hills is available for around $1 million. The property has some dubious updates, like 1980s-era sliding-glass doors, but its retro-modern charm has been preserved. Sotheby's International has the listing. "

Quote :

"London Maida Vale Though the U.K.'s real estate bubble has burst, most homes are still not within the means of the average international homebuyer. A million dollars here won't get you as much as it once would. Today that figure buys a small-ish renovated three bedroom in a drab-looking apartment block. Knight Frank has the listing."

Quote :

"Toronto Housing prices in Toronto have just started to drop, following the rest of North America's lead. But $1 million still gets you far here. This three-bedroom house with bay windows and a pool is in the Eglinton neighborhood. It is listed with Slavens and Associates."

Quote :

"Dubai, United Arab Emirates In some parts of the world, $1 million is still just enough to grant you entry into the luxury class. In this sparkling Dubai development, one of many where expats live in the region, you get two bedrooms and the use of a pool, golf course and on-premises gym. It is listed with Halcon Real Estate."

Quote :

"Cape Town, South Africa This five-bedroom home has great views, a pool and a grand appearance. But in Cape Town, your $1 million also buys you a tennis court, pool house and computerized irrigation system to help manage its elaborate landscaping. It is listed with Knight Frank."

Quote :

"Paris 5th Arrondissement In crowded, high-priced Paris, a tiny two-bedroom duplex in the 5th is about the best value for $1 million. This 230-square-foot apartment includes a steel spiral staircase, wood floors and a narrow terrace that offers street views and the chance to eke out a precious few feet of extra space. It is listed through Agence de Betignolles."

Quote :

"Sao Paulo, Brazil Americans who choose to make Brazil their second home can get a lot of value for their $1 million. This 11-year-old home is perched on a mountainous three-fourths of an acre in a gated community. The property includes a pool, five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a home theater and maid's quarters. And if that weren't enough, the purchaser gets to keep all of the furniture and electronics. Costa Rica Luxury Estates has the listing."

Quote :

"Dublin, Ireland Churchtown Property prices have swelled in Dublin, and it shows in the available housing stock. This semi-detached 1950s house has three bedrooms, a garden and a fairly faded appearance. It is listed with Knight Frank."

Quote :

"Buenos Aires, Argentina Recoleta This four-bedroom 1960s duplex fetches just over $1 million. It has an oak staircase and, although it suffers from some outdated wood paneling, is tastefully appointed. For the price you get a coveted Recoleta address. It is listed by Maison Buenos Aires."

Quote :

"Sydney, Australia Though somewhat in need of modernization, this quaint three-bedroom has a good location and is zoned for combined residential and commercial use. But in Sydney, where house prices rose 0.3% in the second quarter even as the national average slid by the same amount, real estate is still overvalued. For $1 million, you must still put up with cramped space and a busy road out front. The listing is at Marquette Turner."

9/21/2008 9:44:33 AM

Quote :

"Heredia, Costa Rica To live like a king or queen, many Americans have sought out affordable vacation or retirement properties in Costa Rica, where $1 million buys much more. The décor of this three-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot house leans toward the grandiose, with faux-Roman columns and a waterfall. But recently, sales of vacation homes here have fallen as U.S. credit has tightened up. The property is sold by 2Costa Rica Real Estate."

Quote :

"Tokyo Chiyoda In one of the world's most expensive, populated and vertical cities, $1 million can carve out only 600 square feet of space. This one bedroom is situated in Chiyoda, a desirable upper-class neighborhood in the center of the city. It is listed through Sotheby's International Realty."

Quote :

"Prague, Czech Republic This duplex in Prague's Vinohrady district squeezes four bedrooms into 564 square feet. Located in an attractive brick building near one of the city's largest parks, it offers underground parking, an elevator and a rooftop terrace. Development continues to heat up in the historic city, which was judged in a PricewaterhouseCoopers report earlier this year to be a more reliable investment city than London. The property is available through For Arch Real Estate."

Quote :

"Singapore District 9 Although Singapore's housing bubble is coming to an end as it braces for its own financial crisis, residential prices are expected to remain steady this quarter. Luxury condominiums continue to go up all over the city, but few can be bought for $1 million. This two-bedroom condo is for sale by its owner. It is listed by its owner."

Quote :

"Mumbai, India In Mumbai, where real estate prices have soared, buyers have their choice of many not-yet-constructed luxury developments, like this five-tower complex with views of the Arabian Sea. But with its cheapest apartment being a two-bedroom unit priced at $1.1 million, the area resembles New York in prices. Listed with Axiom Estates."

Quote :

"Swiss Alps Loye, Wallis Affordable homes in Zurich, Switzerland, are hard to come by. But in the Swiss Alps, a charming log cabin like this one, on a large lot near two ski resorts, sells for $1.1 million. It is listed by its owner. "

Quote :

"Vienna, Austria This four-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse apartment in an art nouveau building near the city center offers two terraces and a walk-in closet. It is undergoing a gut renovation that will include under-floor heating and the chance to personalize the layout in consultation with the architect. Expat Consulting has the listing."

Quote :

"Guanajuato, Mexico Move outside of larger Mexican expat destinations like Mexico City and Guadalajara, and $1 million can fetch a luxury abode, like this four-bedroom 18th-century house on a colonial side street in Guanajuato. An interior stone patio with its original fountain, stone archways and pomegranate trees make the property unique. If that's not enough history, a chapel with a hand-painted ceiling and antique stone altar complete it. Sotheby's International has the listing."

Quote :

"Moscow Zamoskvorech'e district In Moscow, where prices are among the highest in Europe, many luxury apartment buildings like this one are under construction. Its apartments vary in size, but the smaller ones run about $1 million. Knight Frank has the listing."

Quote :

"Beijing Chaoyang Park In Beijing, $1 million will buy you four bedrooms in a fully-serviced complex with two pools and a gym. This development, called Palm Springs, also calls itself "green." Lihong Real Estate has the listing."

Quote :

"Hong Kong In Hong Kong, where prices are among the highest in the world, finding any piece of real estate for $1 million is a feat. This little 530-square-foot one bedroom, with hardwood floors and access to a pool, gym and spa in the building, would be considered a find. Knight Frank has the listing."

Quote :

"Namibia Swakopmund Namibia is one of the few countries in Africa where prices reach $1 million. It is popular with expats because of its real estate value and room for development. This sprawling four-bedroom ranch has a garage, three bathrooms and an additional one bedroom to let. It is listed with Seef Properties."

Very interesting, however, prices can vary widely within the same city in different neighbourhoods. For some of the cities, they have listed neighbourhoods or specific developments, but for others, they haven't.

As an example, in Dubai, they found a 2-bed apt for $1 million. I can tell you that that is at the top of the scale for Dubai. Most can be had for much less. You can get a 2-bed apt for as low as $200,000 (typically, $300,000). Or a 3-bed for $250,000-300,000 (typically $400,000). Or you could get an independent 2-storey villa with 3-5 bedrooms, a garden, enclosed garage, and a pool for $1-1.5 million no less on one of the Palm islands! So what they found is absolutely towards the top, and I don't know why it is so expensive.

Another place where I am familiar with property prices is the UK. They found a 3-bed apt for $1 million. That's VERY cheap for London. In some part of London, a 1-bed apt will go for $2 million. In other parts of UK, you could easily get a 3-4 bed house/cottage for $600,000.

For those who are interested, here are 2 more slideshows:

World's Best Places To Invest In Real Estate
http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2008/07/10/best-property-markets-forbeslife-cx_mw_0710realestate.html

Where Home Prices Are Likely To Rise
http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2008/08/25/housing-prices-rising-forbeslife-cx_mw_0825realestate.html


[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 9:52 AM. Reason : ]

9/21/2008 9:46:11 AM

you forgot to mention places that we care about.... like Raleigh!

here's the first $1M place i found in Raleigh on Zillow. It's in N. Raleigh up near 540. not bad at all...
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Ravens-Ridge-Rd-Raleigh-NC-27615/2144103082_zpid



$1M in chapel hill.
a bit McMansiony
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/305-Westbury-Dr-Chapel-Hill-NC-27516/2142389152_zpid



$1M in Boone
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/photos/2146912892_zpid

9/21/2008 10:01:00 AM

i'm surprised that you can't get much more for the money in some of those places.

9/21/2008 10:07:37 AM

yeah, like what the hell is up with that place in Dublin?

9/21/2008 10:28:03 AM

Quote :

"yeah, like what the hell is up with that place in Dublin? "

I was thinking the same thing.

9/21/2008 10:55:33 AM

Dublin's expensive as hell. The whole city is. Since their economy started booming all of the high-paying jobs have moved there. To go along with that is the fact that there isn't much new construction in the city, everything's pretty old.

9/21/2008 11:14:21 AM

^^, ^^^

not only that, but i figured that $1 million would buy a house, not just an apartment in some of these places.

on the other hand, how in the hell did they find a 6200 sq. ft. house in San Francisco for that price?

9/21/2008 11:24:12 AM

^^^^^^ The second house there is bullshit. Looks less than a million all the way

That boone one seems to have a great view.


[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 11:43 AM. Reason : .]

9/21/2008 11:42:13 AM

Quote :

""Paris 5th Arrondissement In crowded, high-priced Paris, a tiny two-bedroom duplex in the 5th is about the best value for $1 million. This 230-square-foot apartment includes a"

uhh

FUCK THAT

9/21/2008 12:03:57 PM

6000+ sq feet in SF for $1,000,000 sounds like a steal.

that's only around $160 a square foot.

9/21/2008 12:18:34 PM

Real estate prices are fucking ridiculous. Do some of those really look like they're (construction-wise/size-wise/etc) worth $1 million? I blame economic problems on housing prices.

9/21/2008 12:20:25 PM

a novel concept!

9/21/2008 12:46:52 PM

Quote :

""San Francisco Merced Manor Home prices in San Francisco began to dip this year, but there is enough demand to preserve a market for $1 million homes. That figure will nab you a three-bedroom stucco house in the tiny, desirable community of Merced Manor. It includes a wood-burning fireplace and is a spacious 6,246 square feet. Intero Real Estate holds the listing.""

Damn, my parents are in the East Bay but there house was significantly more than $1.0M and it's only 4,500 sq ft...

9/21/2008 12:49:29 PM

there

glad your parents are rich tho, you should brag about it

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 1:10 PM. Reason : .]

9/21/2008 1:09:45 PM

in california, $1,000,000 homes are commonplace, especially in the east bay... i wouldn't classify that as wealthy in california.

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 1:22 PM. Reason : =]

9/21/2008 1:21:27 PM

even in raleigh, living in a million dollar house doesn't necessarily mean you are rich in my book.

you could easily do that and still be upper middle class.

9/21/2008 1:25:36 PM

Quote :

"""Paris 5th Arrondissement In crowded, high-priced Paris, a tiny two-bedroom duplex in the 5th is about the best value for $1 million. This 230-square-foot apartment includes a""

That has to be a typo. You can't possibly have anything called a 2 bdrm apt with 230sq ft. Maybe a studio, but no way two tiny bedrooms and a common room.

9/21/2008 1:40:18 PM

Quote :

"my parents are in the East Bay"

my parents live out in sausalito. i dont know how much the houses run out there

and ^ i dont know how they can make 3 rooms out of 230sq feet. if i bought a 3rm/230sq ft place i'd knock all the walls out and turn it into a flat

9/21/2008 1:55:25 PM

the same way you

Quote :

""Prague, Czech Republic This duplex in Prague's Vinohrady district squeezes four bedrooms into 564 square feet. Located in an attractive brick building near one of the city's largest parks, it offers underground parking, an elevator and a rooftop terrace. Development continues to heat up in the historic city, which was judged in a PricewaterhouseCoopers report earlier this year to be a more reliable investment city than London. The property is available through For Arch Real Estate.""

9/21/2008 2:01:29 PM

now if only i had that kinda money

9/21/2008 2:11:43 PM

If I had that kind of money, I sure as heck wouldn't waste it on inflated housing.

9/21/2008 2:35:26 PM

^^ yeah, i assume it has to just be enough room for a single bed with maybe a tiny closet associated with each. very small living room/kitchen in addition.

9/21/2008 2:35:35 PM

How much quarried granite can be had with $1M?

9/21/2008 2:49:11 PM

^^believe me man, if its that small there's no closet.

and i call bs on that place in the Czech republic (bs on the description). a closet big enough for a twin bed isn't a bedroom.

9/21/2008 3:48:33 PM

around my neighborhood of san diego, it looks like it'll get you an old 2-3 bedroom house, maybe 2000 sq ft tops.

9/21/2008 5:13:02 PM

I like how for Manhattan they talked about Chelsea and Hells Kitchen. While neither's a horrible location neither is highly desirable.

9/21/2008 5:22:27 PM

Quote :

"glad your parents are rich tho, you should brag about it"

Actually my fathers company pays a significant % difference (that goes down each year) of the mortgage here versus what it was in NC before he transferred...

Regardless, it doesn't really matter if they have $$ because I'm still a broke ass grad school student..

And that is really not that much $ in this area (or in the NYC area).

** and joe, sausalito is MUCH MUCH more expensive than here... that part of Marin is crazy $$$

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 5:41 PM. Reason : x]

9/21/2008 5:40:53 PM

Quality thread. Good find.

9/21/2008 5:41:34 PM

This is reason #1 why I love living in the triangle. High paying jobs, low cost housing.

NYC, SoCal, and other trendy areas might sound awesome, but it's not worth having to pay a mortgage on a decent size house in the triangle just to live like a dormrat in a metro area.

9/21/2008 5:48:24 PM

^thats the conclusion I came to living in NYC, hence while I don't live there anymore

9/21/2008 6:08:18 PM

I got to admit, no one puts as much time and effort into creating a thread and formatting the post like OEPII1. If only other people took the same time to make good threads.

9/21/2008 6:41:04 PM

I hear 1 million will get you far in New Orleans...

9/22/2008 4:46:21 AM

oh awesome stuff.


Alright so If I wanted to move to the caribbean, which island should I go to for best scenery, calm lifestyle and low cost of living?

I'm thinking find a small decent home (electricity, running water, AC, fridge, bed, bathroom) on or very close to the beach and just kicking it for a few years


how much $$ would I need?

9/22/2008 10:17:46 AM

Hmm. The Cayman Islands maybe? Out of all the places I've been in the Caribbean, it definitely seems like the most livable. Very pretty place, and doesn't seem to have the sketch factor like some of the other places.

The cost of living might be a bit much though.

9/23/2008 1:04:53 PM

^^The cost of electricity is CRAZY high on most of the islands in the Carribean. Like $500/month for a 2 bdrm apt expensive on St. Thomas.

Food for thought.

9/23/2008 1:38:53 PM

Quote :

"Home prices in San Francisco began to dip this year, but there is enough demand to preserve a market for $1 million homes. That figure will nab you a three-bedroom stucco house in the tiny, desirable community of Merced Manor. It includes a wood-burning fireplace and is a spacious 6,246 square feet. Intero Real Estate holds the listing.""

That's a pretty big 3-bedroom house.



[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 3:39 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2008 3:39:11 PM

3 bigass bedrooms + 3.5+ bathrooms (probably 3 full and 2 halves) + bigass kitchen + bigass dinning room + bigass living room + bigass family room (or as is popular today the blended kitchen/family room for twice the bigassness) + any other number of rooms (movie, billiards, rec, library, office) and you easily can get 6k+ sqft....

9/23/2008 3:45:56 PM

i was expecting them to show a GINORMOUS estate in like Nigeria or some shit at the end of the list. With like a waterpark and helicopter pad attached

9/23/2008 4:13:03 PM

or in china, in the middle of their steppe or a rice paddy...

9/23/2008 4:20:05 PM

^, ^^ haha yeah. but they only looked at market/areas where people from overseas would consider buying.

otherwise, for a million, you can have a sprawling mansion in a cheap place, like rural india, africa, vietnam, and other poor countries/places. but you will have to have it built yourself.


[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 4:23 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2008 4:22:34 PM

i love that

9/23/2008 4:26:48 PM

Quote :

"around my neighborhood of san diego, it looks like it'll get you an old 2-3 bedroom house, maybe 2000 sq ft tops."

Where? Prices are down like 20% since I left there ~3 years ago. I had a condo in Carlsbad and then a house in San Elijo Hills/South Carlsbad. I was just there two weeks ago and prices were way down from when I left. The house I sold 3 years ago was foreclosed on a few months ago and the bank ate about $120,000 from the SALE price.

I looked at a couple places and heard that lopping 10% off the asking price was a start in most areas. We found a 3/2 on .25 acres, on the sand at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas for $699,000 and it was done up nice.

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 5:02 PM. Reason : d]

9/23/2008 4:42:26 PM

this is interesting...

heres some brooklyn stuff thats around 1 mil.



http://brooklynproperties.com/house134.htm
sunset park row house. Mediocre area that will take you around 30min to get downtown. Not much crime but unless you like mexican food your options are limited. About a 10min walk from brooklyn Chinatown which makes your options alittle better. Grocery stores are limited. The area is mostly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans so unless you know spanish you may have trouble buying stuff at stores. -------995k


http://brooklynproperties.com/house153.htm
Bed Stuy brownstone. Another mediocre area. Ive only been to north bed-stuy which is about a 20min walk away so I have no personal experience with the area. Historically African American, where Do the Right Thing was filmed and were every 90's east coast rapper is from.
1.2 mil


http://www.halstead.com/detail.aspx?id=1599684
A few blocks from where I live. Not sure what building this is but its a new construction so could be fucked up and ugly on the outside. A few good bars and places to eat and some 24 grocery stores that kinda suck. Close to Park Slope which is filled with white families with gigantic strollers if thats your thing. About 20 min to downtown. 950k (dropped 50k on the 19th after the whole wall st destro thing)

chances are all these prices will drop about 20% because of Wall st shitting its pants.


[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 8:04 PM. Reason : ! nyc real estate is nuts]

9/23/2008 7:58:12 PM

^^the further out you get from central san diego (carlsbad, oceanside, escondido, etc), the more prices have dropped and the more foreclosures happen.

i currently live in Mission Hills, which is about 2 miles north of downtown, pretty close to Hillcrest. it's kind of a historic section, the house we rent was built in 1912. its like 900 sq ft but still probably worth 450k or so. when we moved in here 2 years ago, it was probably worth like 600k though.

9/23/2008 9:13:43 PM

man, i love san diego

to include carlsbad

9/24/2008 1:15:56 AM