The Amazing Run of Gold
As of close on 15 December 2023, the price of gold stood at €1.853 ($2.089). The extraordinary rise in the price of gold – floating close to its all-time high throughout the year – begs the question of how the price of gold compares to other asset classes, such as real estate. What follows is a comparison of the price of gold to the typical house price in European countries. Before looking, how many troy ounces of gold do you think it costs to buy the typical two-bed flat in Germany? In France? In Denmark? Here’s a look.
First, Some Background
Before delving into the price of gold relative to the typical home, here’s the context for the price of gold. Gold has been on an extraordinary run, up on average 11 percent so far in 2023. Since 2019, gold is up 39 percent, much healthier than any savings account would have offered you over the past four years, and depending upon which stocks you owned, also offering a much healthier relative return.
The Price of a Two-Bed Flat in Europe
Affording a two-bed flat across Europe varies widely. According to research out of Finder, in Germany, the cost is £328.000. In the U.K., the cost is £263.000. In Switzerland, it will cost you an astonishing £772.000. In Luxembourg, the amount you will have to shell out is £547.000.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ukraine has the least expensive flat in Europe at just £70.000. Also on the less expensive side include Bosnia Herzegovina, Albania, and Romania all come in at less than £100.000 as well.
Prices of a Two-Bed Flat in Ounces of Gold
Now, shifting to gold. What follows is a look at the cost of a two-bed flat in ounces of gold. It will cost you around 400 ounces of gold to buy a two-bed flat in Switzerland. By comparison, it will cost you only 36 ounces of gold to get that same flat in Ukraine. Just a train ride away can make a world’s worth of difference.
Comparing 2020 to 2023
The 2023 figures – with their enormous gulf of difference between the countries – begs another question. How much would it have cost to buy a two-bed flat in 2020 compared to 2023? The following has that look for the five largest European economies. In all five countries (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain), getting a two-bed flat is cheaper today than in 2020 – that is, if you were buying your property in gold.
Summing Up
Overall, although buying a two-bed flat in Europe is expensive everywhere, it is a lot more expensive in some places compared to others. In a more interesting view, the price of a flat is down significantly when measured in ounces of gold. If only you had known that you could pay for your flat in gold as opposed to euros, you could have moved into your new flat for a lot less.
