Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Real Estate in Europe Vs US (Best Place to Buy, Invest and Rent Real Estate)
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Are you considering buying real estate for your personal use, or as an investment?
00:00 Intro
01:25 Prices
If we take Western Europe and the US, prices per square meter are relatively comparable for cities with a similar profile.
The most expensive cities in Europe have very similar prices per square meter as the most expensive cities in the US. Some of the comparable cities are San Francisco and New York in the US with London and Zurich in Europe.
If we consider slightly more affordable similar cities, this comparison is still valid. MIami has pretty comparable prices with Lisbon in Portugal for example.
02:25 Rental Yields
This is probably the aspect in which we can see the sharpest difference between both real estate markets.
There are many large cities with rental yields above 6% or 7% percent in the US. Some even higher at 8% or 9%.
In Europe, almost all large cities have rental yields below 5%, and a good part of them range between 3% to 4%.
Of course there are areas in the US with low rental yields, like Manhattan or the Silicon Valley.
03:17 Ownership Rights
Many countries in the world actually restrict foreigners to buying property in their country. Some countries are more relaxed and foreigners may be able to buy some types of properties and other types not (which is often the case of agricultural land).
In most states in the US foreigners can buy property, even agricultural land. But, that is not always the case. In Europe, this varies wildly. Some countries may allow you to buy any kind of property such is the case in Portugal.
04:17 Financing
Getting a mortgage or financing any type of property in the US or in Europe.
This can range from extremely easy to quite complicated, and it is not actually easy either in the US or in Europe. It will depend on your personal situation.
If you are a non-resident and a non-citizen, it is quite difficult to get a mortgage.
However, in Europe you have some advantages here. In some countries in Europe it is possible to get a mortgage if you are a non-citizen and non-resident. Some examples are Portugal, Spain and Serbia.
05:25 Residence Permits
In the US, while nationals of most countries can buy real estate in the country, this does not lead to having the right to live in the US.
In some countries, you will face similar conditions as in the US. In the UK for example foreign nationals who are non-residents can buy property in the country.
In other countries like Portugal, Spain or Greece, there are golden visa options for real estate investors. If you buy real estate above a certain price point, you will get the right to live in one of these countries.
And finally, there are other countries where you can buy a property, and regardless of its price, you can use this as grounds to apply for a residence permit.
06:31 Liquidity
The next topic is liquidity. Having a high liquidity means that if you buy a property and in the future you will want to sell it, it will not be a long process until you find a suitable buyer.
There are many factors that impact liquidity, such as: how much a city’s population is growing, and how easy is financing a property in that city.
07:24 REITs
Now let’s talk about REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts. Investing in REITs can be a good option if you want to invest in a specific country but you don’t want to handle the hassle of actually managing a property.
If you own shares issued by a REIT, you will get dividends from how the fund manages their properties.
There are REITs both in the US and in many countries of Europe. And both US nationals or Europeans are allowed to invest in both of them.
REITs are an excellent option both in the US and in Europe, if you just want to invest the money and not actually have to do any work in your real estate investment or hire some management company. In different European companies REITs have different names. In Spain they are called SOCIMIs.
08:34 Crowd Investing, Peer to Peer
Another option you may want to consider is crowd invest or peer to peer investing sites. Some European ones are only available for EU residents, but some of them also accept investors worldwide. In the US crowd investing platforms are stricter, and most of them only accept US residents.
09:05 Verdict
So what is the best place to buy and invest in real estate, Europe or the US? The answer is it depends.
Real Estate in Europe Vs US (Best Place to Buy, Invest and Rent Real Estate)
😊 Best Travel Resources & Personal Consulting
https://linktr.ee/tomblakefinance
-----
💵 Join The Wealthy Traveler (FREE Guides!)
wealthytraveler.beehiiv.com/subscribe
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💸 Find Remote Work & Gigs
flexjobs.sjv.io/jrQQ1M
-----
💻 Top Laptop Side Hustles
thebudgetdiet.com/make-money-with-a-laptop
-----
Are you considering buying real estate for your personal use, or as an investment?
00:00 Intro
01:25 Prices
If we take Western Europe and the US, prices per square meter are relatively comparable for cities with a similar profile.
The most expensive cities in Europe have very similar prices per square meter as the most expensive cities in the US. Some of the comparable cities are San Francisco and New York in the US with London and Zurich in Europe.
If we consider slightly more affordable similar cities, this comparison is still valid. MIami has pretty comparable prices with Lisbon in Portugal for example.
02:25 Rental Yields
This is probably the aspect in which we can see the sharpest difference between both real estate markets.
There are many large cities with rental yields above 6% or 7% percent in the US. Some even higher at 8% or 9%.
In Europe, almost all large cities have rental yields below 5%, and a good part of them range between 3% to 4%.
Of course there are areas in the US with low rental yields, like Manhattan or the Silicon Valley.
03:17 Ownership Rights
Many countries in the world actually restrict foreigners to buying property in their country. Some countries are more relaxed and foreigners may be able to buy some types of properties and other types not (which is often the case of agricultural land).
In most states in the US foreigners can buy property, even agricultural land. But, that is not always the case. In Europe, this varies wildly. Some countries may allow you to buy any kind of property such is the case in Portugal.
04:17 Financing
Getting a mortgage or financing any type of property in the US or in Europe.
This can range from extremely easy to quite complicated, and it is not actually easy either in the US or in Europe. It will depend on your personal situation.
If you are a non-resident and a non-citizen, it is quite difficult to get a mortgage.
However, in Europe you have some advantages here. In some countries in Europe it is possible to get a mortgage if you are a non-citizen and non-resident. Some examples are Portugal, Spain and Serbia.
05:25 Residence Permits
In the US, while nationals of most countries can buy real estate in the country, this does not lead to having the right to live in the US.
In some countries, you will face similar conditions as in the US. In the UK for example foreign nationals who are non-residents can buy property in the country.
In other countries like Portugal, Spain or Greece, there are golden visa options for real estate investors. If you buy real estate above a certain price point, you will get the right to live in one of these countries.
And finally, there are other countries where you can buy a property, and regardless of its price, you can use this as grounds to apply for a residence permit.
06:31 Liquidity
The next topic is liquidity. Having a high liquidity means that if you buy a property and in the future you will want to sell it, it will not be a long process until you find a suitable buyer.
There are many factors that impact liquidity, such as: how much a city’s population is growing, and how easy is financing a property in that city.
07:24 REITs
Now let’s talk about REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts. Investing in REITs can be a good option if you want to invest in a specific country but you don’t want to handle the hassle of actually managing a property.
If you own shares issued by a REIT, you will get dividends from how the fund manages their properties.
There are REITs both in the US and in many countries of Europe. And both US nationals or Europeans are allowed to invest in both of them.
REITs are an excellent option both in the US and in Europe, if you just want to invest the money and not actually have to do any work in your real estate investment or hire some management company. In different European companies REITs have different names. In Spain they are called SOCIMIs.
08:34 Crowd Investing, Peer to Peer
Another option you may want to consider is crowd invest or peer to peer investing sites. Some European ones are only available for EU residents, but some of them also accept investors worldwide. In the US crowd investing platforms are stricter, and most of them only accept US residents.
09:05 Verdict
So what is the best place to buy and invest in real estate, Europe or the US? The answer is it depends.
