Reports and Insights
10 Most Popular Countries for British Homebuyers
- Brits currently most interested in relocating to Canada, USA and Australia
- A 2-bed apartment in a UK city is £238,812 CHEAPER than in Japan
- A 2-bed apartment in a UK city is cheaper than in France, Germany and Australia
- Brits can SAVE £150,444 by relocating to a 2-bed city apartment in the USA
- Brits can get MORE VALUE for money by moving to a city in Canada, Italy or Spain
The housing market grinded to a halt in March, as a consequence of the Coronavirus. But since then, buying activity has picked up. In fact, according to Google trends, ‘relocation’ searches have spiked +500% in the last 90 days. One factor driving this is the desire to work remotely – with incentives like the ’12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp’ teasing Brits to make the jump.
But where in the world do British homebuyers want to move to? And what can they get for their cash?
Bankrate analysed Google search volumes and the average price of 2-bed apartments around the world to find out.
Search Volumes
To find out where in the world British homebuyers are currently most interested in moving to, Bankrate inputted “move to” in the keyword analytics section of SEM Rush. The top 10 countries, ordered by highest average search volume, are:
- Canada – average search volume per month 26,720
- USA – 25,780
- Australia – 25,660
- Ireland – 8,740
- Spain – 7,960
- New Zealand – 6,540
- France – 5,790
- Germany – 4,180
- Italy – 3,500
- Japan – 3,270
Keyword analysis revealed Canada is the country British homebuyers are most interested in moving to. In fact, an average 26,720 people have searched this on Google in the last 30 days. Followed by the USA (25,780 monthly searches) and Australia (25,660 monthly searches.)
Average Price of a 2-Bed Apartment
After analysing search volumes, Bankrate calculated the average price of a 2-bed apartment in the city centre of each of the 10 most-searched locations. Why a 2-bed apartment? Generally speaking, apartments are more likely to be found in city centre regions, if you are moving for work, it makes sense to be near amenities – even if you’re working remotely!
The research shows Japan is the most expensive country to move to, with the average price of 2-bed city centre apartment being £601,020. Followed by France (£515,088) and Germany (£395,304). A 2-bed city centre apartment in the USA is the cheapest, at an average £211,764.
Comparison to the UK
Finally, Bankrate calculated the average price of a 2-bed city centre apartment in the UK and compared it to the 10 locations Brits are interested in moving to.
The average cost of a 2-bed city centre apartment in the UK is £362,208.
Therefore, a 2-bed apartment in a UK city is cheaper than:
| Japan | £601,020 |
| France | £515,088 |
| Germany | £395,304 |
| Australia | £387,156 |
But more expensive than:
| New Zealand | £342,468 |
| Ireland | £314,832 |
| Canada | £297,696 |
| Italy | £273,672 |
| Spain | £234,780 |
| USA | £211,764 |
For more detail, including more locations Brits want to move to, a comparison of 2-bed apartment costs outside of the city and methodology, head to the blog: https://www.bankrate.com/uk/mortgages/relocation-nation.
