The WhiteIndex ranking of the best countries for real estate investment

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2025

1. 01Ireland
2. 02Bahrain
3. 03Oman
4. 04Slovenia
5. 05Costa Rica
6. 06Qatar
7. 07Austria
8. 08Portugal
9. 09UAE
10. 10Spain

Four Gulf states made the top of the 2025 ranking at once. In some countries, however, investment priorities are shifting away from the familiar centres — Dubai in the UAE, for one — towards regions where growth potential remains. Ireland leads the ranking, having been in the top for several years running.

2025 promises to be an eventful year for restrictive measures, which will inevitably affect the property market by cutting off investment flows into a number of countries and redirecting them elsewhere. Active migration of capital is likewise unavoidable. All of this was taken into account when the ranking was compiled — as were the risks of new military conflicts of varying scale. As always, we remind you that a place in the TOP-10 does not mean these are the countries where returns on property will be highest. The TOP-10 countries are those where return and risk are in a favourable balance. A number of countries outside the TOP-10 may deliver more substantial capital growth, but with higher risk.

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2024

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2023

1. 01USA
2. 02UAE
3. 03Portugal
4. 04New Zealand
5. 05Oman
6. 06Slovenia
7. 07Greece
8. 08Canada
9. 09Ireland
10. 10Spain

For several years now Türkiye has recorded one of the highest rates of property price growth in the world, covering almost the entire Mediterranean and Aegean coastline as well as Istanbul. The market will keep growing next year, but the Turkish market may soon become a trap for over-committed investors. The reasons are the hazardous policy of the Central Bank of Türkiye, which is accelerating inflation, and parliamentary debate signalling that harsh measures against foreign property buyers may be adopted. Such measures could hit demand and sharply reduce activity in the most popular cities, where the foreign share is very high. Antalya is the most exposed of them. If these political initiatives become law, a significant share of foreign owners will have to leave the country and an enormous volume of property will be put up for sale; combined with falling demand, this could trigger a deep market crisis in which assets bought at the peak would be extremely hard to sell. We therefore advise investors to give serious thought now to closing their positions and moving capital to other regions.

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2022

1. 01Türkiye
2. 02New Zealand
3. 03USA
4. 04Ireland
5. 05Australia
6. 06Oman
7. 07UAE
8. 08Spain
9. 09Bahrain
10. 10Portugal

Türkiye takes first place in the 2022 ranking, on the back of a range of economic, social and geopolitical factors. The lifting of Covid measures is releasing pent-up demand that will weigh heavily on resort property markets. Türkiye may also be the main beneficiary if relations between Russia and Ukraine deteriorate further, which raises the prospect of a mass outflow of capital into Türkiye, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia, Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Türkiye, unlike European countries, currently has lenient residence-permit rules. We nevertheless recommend treating the Turkish market as short-term, looking at projects completing no later than 2023: the growth may prove brief, and rapid market growth always carries the threat of a bubble.

We also strongly recommend signing contracts in Turkish lira with extended payment schedules. Given the instability of the currency, this reduces the total outlay: with each successive instalment the amount in dollar terms falls in proportion to the lira's depreciation.

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2021

1. 01USA
2. 02Cyprus
3. 03New Zealand
4. 04Ireland
5. 05Türkiye
6. 06Spain
7. 07Portugal
8. 08Oman
9. 09UAE

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2020

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2019

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2018

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2017

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2016

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2015

Top-10 countries for real estate investment in 2014