Experts at Deluxe Holiday Homes have recently conducted a study to find out the top cities where people are searching to buy homes in 2024. This research used Google’s Keyword Planner to calculate the average search volumes for phrases like “buy a house in “. The study also used Numbeo data for more insights, like average price per square meter, quality of life and living costs.
London leads as the most sought-after city for home buyers with 1.7M searches. This high interest is driven by the city’s high quality of life and a reasonable cost of living at $1,3K, despite having a very high price of nearly $9,7K per square meter.
New York ranks second with 932K searches. Home buyers are interested in New York thanks to its high quality of life index. Compared to London, the average price per square meter here is almost seven times more affordable. This relative affordability, despite the city’s generally high cost of living, secures New York’s prominent place in the list of desirable locations.
Dubai comes in third place, with 717K monthly searches. The high interest is primarily by the city’s affordable housing prices, offering the lowest cost per square meter at $428. This combination of affordability, along with a high quality of life and reasonable cost of living, has made Dubai an attractive option for homebuyers.
Edinburgh, with 457K searches, is fourth on the list. This interest is fueled by the city’s high quality of life and a fairly reasonable cost of living, estimated at around $989. These factors collectively contribute to Edinburgh’s prominent position on the list of sought-after cities for property buyers, despite its higher average price at $3,200 per square meter.
Sydney, ranking fifth with 313K monthly searches, captures the interest of home buyers. The city captivates primarily through its high quality of life index and relatively more affordable housing prices at $2,4K per square meter compared to some European cities on the list. This strong interest persists despite Sydney having the highest cost of living on the list at $1,8K.
Singapore claims the sixth position with 291K searches. Singapore’s appeal to homebuyers is primarily driven by its affordable average property price of $551 per square meter, which stands out despite a relatively high average cost of living at $1,5K. The city’s high quality of life further secures its place on the list, marking Singapore as an attractive destination for many prospective property owners.
Dublin, gathering 156K searches, holds the seventh place on the list. Dublin’s appeal to home buyers is mostly due to its quality of life index, coupled with a reasonable cost of living at $1,1K. Despite high property prices averaging $4,5K per square meter, the city remains an attractive destination.
Amsterdam, secures the eighth position with 110K searches. Its interest for home buyers is mostly due to its exceptional quality of life score of 194.8 out of 195 and a manageable cost of living. Even with a high average property price of $7,9K per square meter, the city’s remarkable living standards continue to attract buyers from around the world.
Barcelona earns the ninth spot with 99K searches. Barcelona’s draw for prospective home buyers is thanks to the lowest cost of living on the list at $831, along with its high quality of life index. These factors make the city stand out, even with the high average property prices at $4,2K per square meter.
San Francisco is completing the top ten with 87K searches and captivates global home buyers primarily with its reasonable average property price of $995 per square meter and a commendable quality of life index. These attractive features continue to draw attention, even amidst a higher cost of living at $1,6K.
