With the global credit crunch spiraling into an economic crisis, here’s what $150k can buy you right now around the world.
Argentina: Centro, Buenos Aires
USD Price: $149,000
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: This place is fully remodeled and right in El Centro, 2 blocks from Teatro Colon.
Chile: Villarrica, Region 9
USD Price: $110,000
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Link: This house is in the town of Villarrica, and has world-class backcountry terrain all around.
Russia: Chystye Prudy Area, Moscow
USD Price: $152,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: Right in the center of Moscow.
South Africa: Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape
USD Price: $152,200 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Link: This pad has a barbecue, garden, and you’re close to one of the sickest surf spots in the world.
Australia: Deniliquin, New South Wales
USD Price: $144,400 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Links A full on 27-acre farm near thetown of Deniliquin. Extremely affordable Australian home loans are also available.
Portugal: Evora, Alentejo
USD Price: $150,500 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: in sweet village of Viana do Alentejo.
Indonesia: Lovina, Bali
USD Price: $107,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: A straight-up private villa on Bali with mature palms / banana trees and some kind of ’split level swimming pool’. Ridiculous.
Croatia: Porec, Istria
USD Price: $150,700 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: A 3-bedroom apartment with beach only 3 minutes away, along with the yacht marine of Cervar village.
Czech Republic: Prosek, Prague
USD Price: $144,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: A newly renovated apartment with 74 m2 of living space and a 6-minute commute via subway to the city center.
New Zealand: Foxton
USD Price: $125,500 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2
Funky designed4 bedroom home.
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Where did you find that apartment in Moscow for $150K? I will buy it now, but you have to guarantee it is true!
I think all the ads here are just scam as this one definitely is.↵ -
I think they missed a 0 in this one. Should be 1,212,610 euro.
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What a wildly inaccurate article. It would have been nice to have seen average offerings for each area.
If I were to pick out the specifically cheap houses in USA, I cold mention a 16 bedroom cotton mansion on 12 acres of land 4 hours drive to the nearest city I was considering for $60000 US. Maybe we can go buy houses in Detroit for $1? They are rare, but those prices are happening today in Detroit.
So don’t publish the rare exceptions, or the properties that are in seriously undesirable areas (distance from jobs etc.). If the same is done to USA, USA doesn’t come off looking so good.
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I live in Indiana and have a 3,000 square foot home for 101,000 USD
Beautiful town, good people, nice homes..and cheap!↵ -
Only idiots buy property outside the United States. Even in the United States, ownership is fraught with dangers. Did you someone can quite easily take out a loan on your property via identity theft? When they fail to pay that loan, the bank forecloses. Quite an expensive mess to clean up, and yet you have all the benefits of being an American citizen who speaks fluent english and is familiar with one of the world’s most efficient and honest legal systems. Now imagine something like this happening in Moscow, or South Africa, or even Mexico. You want to live in a foreign country? Rent and let someone else deal with all the hassles of ownership.
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I got engaged in Lovina, Bali … its on the far northwest coast … many hours drive from Ubud or Kuta, or the airport. Nice enough town for a few days (and we were en route to Menjangan) but not quintessential Bali and not a place where expats would normally want to plant roots.
I’d have to agree that this selection looks more misleading than representative.
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i read every single comment on this article. Zeke, CMM, Tim L, ieq, thanks for making intelligent, sensible comments. i, being someone who has lived in california for 15+ years, have one thing to add: why is EVERY comment saying that there is only one good country to live in the world coming from an american. there are argentinians, australians. south africans, kiwis and indonesians who feel the same way, but none of them came forward to put other countries down.
the US of A is best than any other country at one thing: marketing. and it shows.
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Found a link to this blog at http://www.patrick.net Go to patrick.net for a real mind-blower on the true state of the housing industry in the US. You think prices are great right now?? I wouldn’t buy a house now no matter what. Home prices won’t bottom until at least 2012, at the earliest. But thats just me.
Nice article. Great follow-up comments, a lot of great info on homes in your area, which gave me an idea for a website where people from all over the country could post the lowest priced houses in their neighborhood, listing only homes under 150K.
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Interesting list.. certainly shows the value of some of the prices at http://www.leptosestates.com
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What, no US?;-) $150k will buy you 4 or 5 decent homes in a decent area in some parts of the country. Or, will get you a farmhouse on 80 acres in the midwest.
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I just sold my 2200 sq ft home in Cuernavaca for 125,000. It was older but it was in paradise. 68 degrees in the evenings in December. Why did I sell it?
My job wouldnt give my kids the scholarship at school. That’s what ate into my salary. So if you dont have kids and want to live where English is spoken… Try Mexico. And you can forget the bull about the drug wars there… Its media hype. They’d rather report about little problems elsewhere to take your mind of the log in their eye here (metaphorically speaking).↵ -
CMM, Tim L, ieq, Zeke, and eddie – thank you for making sensible, reasonable and adult comments about comparisons between not only life in other countries and the US, but the people and personas as well.
I have traveled quite a bit, but have lived in California all my life, and I think it sad that many people can be so close minded and make such unreasonable comments without experiencing what they are talking about or even doing a bit of research.
I think the point of this article was to open our eyes that there are beautiful and reasonably priced places if you do your homework, get off the couch, and find them. No matter, if it is outside or inside the US.
I found my current home, under $150k, in Orange County, and I love it. Granted it is not a house on the beach or anything, but it is in a good size in a good neighborhood, and I can’t ask for more. You just have to be open-minded and anything is possible.↵ -
David, thanks for the post. Even if the prices aren’t entirely accurate, it’s good inspiration to think about what’s possible in other countries.
Better question: Who invited all the xenophobes? “Why’d y’all wanna live anywheres but the good ol’ Yoo Ess of Ey? S’a best country ever invented inna histry of countries!” If you’ve got the gall to ask an ignorant, short-sighted question like that, you’re on the wrong site. Last I checked these articles were written by and for open-minded people who see value in other countries beyond just making Happy Meal toys.
Seriously, open question, I’m genuinely curious: Why is the United States so much better than any other country? I’d be interested in specifics, not vapid Fourth-of-July flag-waving ” ‘Cause we invented freedom!” zealotry.
Example: The U.S. ranked 34th on the Reporters Without Borders Free Press Index (http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11715) — beat out by a bunch of “Third World” (read: “inferior,” as implied by some of the other commenters) countries. At least in that regard, the U.S. is not “the best” or “the freest.” Good, maybe — but not the best. Get off your soapbox and look around.
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…and by “34th” I meant “23rd,” but the argument stands.
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Well done – very interesting! Median home price in the eastern part of Texas is about $120,000 – less in rural areas, and more in established cities.
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Hi there,
Great post. I am very taken with the property in the Czech Republic as I have some investments there – none as good as this I imagine!! Central and Eastern Europe are fascinating to visit and there are some great investment opportunities available there if you know where to look!!↵ -
These places are amazing! I hope to be in a position to pick up and move to one of these exotic places some day …
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Wow Buenos Aires is a beautiful place! It is the Paris of South America and I love Paris!!!! Unfortunatly it will not get anything in Paris… Bali is also a nice idea eveyrthing else is just not interesting Eastern Europe is OUT!!!!
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some of the american posts above are incredibly close minded and insulting. Try leaving your state, opening your mind, and cutting down on the overblown patriotism and xenophobia please. Sandals and Eddie well done for talking sense.
I’ve got some mates living in Florida, I liked it and they love it, but surf wise its complete balls compared to where I live in South Africa. The point is, most countries in the world have a lot to offer, and beauty abounds, so why put other places down?
As for me, Jeffreys Bay is a far second to St Francis Bay 15 minutes drive away, and Bali looks too good to be true. Nice article, even if the prices are unrealistic, it still makes you think about other options, which can only be a good thing. Any beautiful place in Cape Town, Jeffreys, or the KwaZulu Natal coastline is going to cost a wee bit more than 150K though, but its still for free compared to Europe.
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I once sold a piece of real estate in Calgary for $150,000. It was roughly ten feet long by five feet wide.
A crappier house than any shown here will go for $500,000.
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Great article. I spend a lot of time in Thailand and you can get a house for $30,000 there. But, you are in the country and hardly anybody nearby speaks English…but it can be done…and they are not that bad.
Yes, Americans are very closed minded. One reason is it is so far to travel to other countries. We are not as lucky as Europeans who have other cultures sometimes only minutes away. And the US is a great country. Lots to see and great infrastructure.
But it gets old hearing everybodyy rag on Americans. Generalizations are to a certain degree true, but obviously don’t apply to everyone.
And as for the USD, right now it is kicking! I travel full time and so far, the dollar is king. At least so far. I have been to many countries where it is the only currency that is widely accepted.
68 countries so far and full time traveling for the past 5 years.
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Housing is still cheap in Utah! I just bought here.
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but you have to live in utah. snow, mormons, conservatives, sounds like paradise, not. don’t want to bash but that hardly sounds like an attractive alternative to bali, good luck.
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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…
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This kind of appartment in Moscow, Russia costs at least 2 millions dollars. Its absulutly impossible to bye anything at the price listed in Moscow.
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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.
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@ Fred: “Only idiots buy property outside the United States.”
Yeah, only idiots. Oh, and all those millions of people who were born outside of the United States.
Another American who thinks that only Americans have the internet!
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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 don’t want to comments other location but price for land villa in Porec- Croatia is ridiculous, maybe they’ve ment to say 1,5 million $ and still it is low rates for north of Adriatic sea
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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?
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Hey now, not all Americans are idiots. It’s just that American idiots are more likely than a lot of other countrys’ idiots to have computers and internet access in their homes.
Makes the whole country look bad. Well, them & George Bush. Anywho – the pics were nice, the prices I would doubt, and I like living in the US though I by no means claim it’s the most fantastic place in the known galaxy for everyone.
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@ 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!
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nice! the american dream and greed in the US was at a fever pitch. it’s pretty scary, the brainwashing that we can all afford a home and the banks let us do it. i’m an american and the materialism that this country is caught up in is pretty frightening. sadly if we don’t spend we crumble. bali sounds wonderful.
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Great post, i have been checking out property in Nicaragua, and there are some unreal deals, right on the beach in front of some of the best waves in central America. Thanks for keeping us grounded, living in So Cal will jade you!
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150K in Moscow? No way.
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I absolutely agree with Roberto. Real estate in Croatia are way more pricey. Especially a luxury villa like that one on the picture. And taking it’s location into consideration the price of one apartment could easily grow over 350k $.
Červar is one of the nicest places on the north Adriatic sea on the Croatian coast. Just visiting as a tourist is incredible let alone having a real estate there and the locals are aware of that.
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$150K can go a long way in other countries. You can buy great houses out of it.
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I have travelled to many countries all around the world and one place I wouldn’t ever live is the USA. Nothing against the Yanks, but they need to go get a passport and experience life in other countries. The Yanks are so blind that they don’t see that they are one of the most corrupt and morally messed up nations on the planet.
I recently lived in Barbados for 9 months and one of the many good things about the place was that there isn’t one fucking McDonalds or Starbucks on the island and I never seen that piss water Budweiser once, PARADISE!
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Another USA basher. Great. Very narrow minded post. I am from the US and do agree that I don’t really want to live there either (I don’t now). But it is for sure no where near the most corrupt nor the most morally messed up. Do some traveling and you will see…come on over to Africa if you want to see messed up. Somalia is a great country, not corrupt at all. Same with DRC…where I had to flee for my life not long ago…into that morally correct country Rwanda….
P.S. I just bought a house for less than $150 USD 1/2 kilo from the beach here in Thailand. 200 square meters, well built, Private swimming pool, gated community, on 800 SM of land. I can walk to the beach and eat great Thai seafood for less than $5. A beer is a little over a dollar while I watch the sunset…
P.S. I have traveled to over 65 countries so far…
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i’m so happy i found this article today. it gives me hope that i can take my retirement and live abroad. it’s likely i won’t buy a place, but it points out that there are inexpensive places to live. i live in los angeles, and it’s extremely pricey. i’ll have to work the rest of my life if i want to stay here. i’m not willing to move to arizona, nevada, mid-west. this country is too conservative unless you are on the west or east coasts. maybe the listings aren’t 100% accurate but i’d like to believe there’s a place where i can live a quality life without killing myself and still have some culture.
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Lily, what you do is rent out your vacation throughout the year and pay a management company to keep up the place while you’re gone. If you charge
enough and even with the management company fees you should still come out slightly ahead or at least break even. Thats what I’m looking into now, and I’m in the process of getting something in Southwestern France, in the city of Bayonne, which is about 3 miles from the beach. I can get a decent villa for about $250,000
US. The more I looked at those cheaper homes in the northern city of Thiron Gardais I decided this was a better deal. $150,000 sounded good at the time but I didn’t have anybody to look after it the 11 months of the year that I wouldn’t be there.↵ -
It is amazing how cheap that great houses are in other countries. I would love to get a summer home somewhere.
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If u can buy property overseas in your own name as an expat then it’s a very attractive proposition. I for one have no problems buying overseas.
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I agree, the price for that Croatian villa is either in euros or missing a “0″ or both.
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I lived in Uruguay and you can buy a nice ranch house there for under $100,000.
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I think you missed the whimsy in this whimsical article. It’s not like this is the New York Times…
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Very interesting article. One point made is the environment that one would have to live in. Many of these homes are located in countries that might not be considered safe. They’re beautiful locations but cant compare with the safety and ease of accommodations that America can provide. It really just depends if you NEED those things or not. I, personally, would rather take the beauty and freedom from these other countries over the false security of a failing economy.
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Sorry people but if you think you can just walk in, flash some cash and buy property in Asia then think again. For instance, Bali (Indonesia) – a foreigner cant own the land, only lease SOME types of property. Similar story in Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei…
I am talking from experience having lived in Asia for the past twenty years.
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I was in Malaysia for six months and from what I learned it seems to be one of the few places in Asia where you can own the land. Can someone verify this?
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