Many Americans dream of owning a home in Italy. Is it the food? The wine? Or the real estate prices?
Whether they’re looking to invest, own a vacation home or rental property, or looking for a place to retire, more Americans appear interested in buying property abroad.
In fact, 92% of high-net-worth Americans actively looked at real estate overseas last year, according to a report from Coldwell Banker. And two-thirds (67%) of those who were surveyed already own residential property outside the U.S., Mansion Global reports.
In 2022 surging prices for homes in the U.S. and the rising cost of living also encouraged more affluent buyers to look for opportunities overseas, according to Mansion Global.
There’s been a big uptick in the number of Americans buying homes in Spain, thanks to a strong dollar, more direct flights to the country, and the draw of the lifestyle, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Italy and Costa Rica are popular destinations for buying homes abroad, according to an analysis by MyDolceCasa.com, a research blog about moving, living and retiring abroad.
MyDolceCasa analyzed 1,290 real estate terms searched on Google from the U.S. between April 2022 and April 2023, for 86 countries in Europe and the Americas, to identify the countries where real estate is rising in popularity the most.
>> Related: Own a Home in One of These Gorgeous Italian Towns for Less Than the U.S. Median Home Price
The data analyzed focused on Google search terms such as “homes in Italy,” “Mexico real estate,” and “houses for sale in Panama,” totaling 1,290 country-specific keywords that indicate a high intent to buy a home.
The research also looked at the highest increases from a year earlier in the monthly number of searches to identify trending home-buying destinations. The data show that Croatia is booming, with searches more than doubling (up 121%) over the year.
Based on the research by MyDolceCasa, here are the most popular countries for Americans looking for real estate abroad, plus how much searches for each country have increased or decreased.
1. Italy
- Total searches in one year: 794,150
- Average searches per month: 66,179
- Change year over year: 21%
2. Costa Rica
- Total searches in one year: 706,840
- Average searches per month: 58,903
- Change year over year: 13%
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3. Mexico
- Total searches in one year: 580,530
- Average searches per month: 48,378
- Change year over year: -9%
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4. Portugal
- Total searches in one year: 429,940
- Average searches per month: 35,828
- Change year over year: 32%
5. Jamaica
- Total searches in one year: 414,500
- Average searches per month: 34,542
- Change year over year: 6%
6. Spain
- Total searches in one year: 410,700
- Average searches per month: 34,225
- Change year over year: 17%
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7. Bahamas
- Total searches in one year: 353,790
- Average searches per month: 29,483
- Change year over year: 29%
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8. Greece
- Total searches in one year: 349,400
- Average searches per month: 29,117
- Change year over year: 14%
9. Canada
- Total searches in one year: 343,580
- Average searches per month: 28,632
- Change year over year: 2%
10. France
- Total searches in one year: 298,380
- Average searches per month: 24,865
- Change year over year: 3%
11. Ireland
- Total searches in one year: 296,510
- Average searches per month: 24,709
- Change year over year: 45%
12. Belize
- Total searches in one year: 276,450
- Average searches per month: 23,038
- Change year over year: 4%
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13. Dominica
- Total searches in one year: 257,650
- Average searches per month: 21,471
- Change year over year: 5%
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14. Dominican Republic
- Total searches in one year: 215,880
- Average searches per month: 17,990
- Change year over year: 5%
15. Germany
- Total searches in one year: 178,600
- Average searches per month: 14,883
- Change year over year: 11%
16. Aruba
- Total searches in one year: 173,090
- Average searches per month: 14,424
- Change year over year: 11%
17. Switzerland
- Total searches in one year: 162,420
- Average searches per month: 13,535
- Change year over year: 37%
18. Panama
- Total searches in one year: 147,840
- Average searches per month: 12,320
- Change year over year: -14%
19. Sweden
- Total searches in one year: 143,660
- Average searches per month: 11,972
- Change year over year: 29%
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20. Iceland
- Total searches in one year: 143,070
- Average searches per month: 11,923
- Change year over year: 44%
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21. Norway
- Total searches in one year: 141,660
- Average searches per month: 11,805
- Change year over year: 59%
>> Related: The Cost and Affordability of Homes Around the World
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22. Colombia
- Total searches in one year: 94,560
- Average searches per month: 7,880
- Change year over year: 28%
23. El Salvador
- Total searches in one year: 91,460
- Average searches per month: 7,622
- Change year over year: 65%
24. Brazil
- Total searches in one year: 87,900
- Average searches per month: 7,325
- Change year over year: 14%
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25. United Kingdom
- Total searches in one year: 86,700
- Average searches per month: 7,225
- Change year over year: 18%
26. Malta
- Total searches in one year: 79,140
- Average searches per month: 6,595
- Change year over year: 26%
27. Barbados
- Total searches in one year: 78,970
- Average searches per month: 6,581
- Change year over year: 4%
28. Croatia
- Total searches in one year: 75,520
- Average searches per month: 6,293
- Change year over year: 121%
>> Check out: The Best Countries for Retirees
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29. Monaco
- Total searches in one year: 74,740
- Average searches per month: 6,228
- Change year over year: 9%
30. Poland
- Total searches in one year: 72,080
- Average searches per month: 6,007
- Change year over year: -11%
Read more about this ranking and the methodology at MyDolceCasa.com.
