How Florida Home Prices Compare to Mexico, Canada and China
Written by
G. Brian Davis
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Comparing home prices in different countries often feels like apples and oranges, given the different local home sizes, land acreage and income variations. It’s also hard to find single data sources.
Fortunately, Numbeo provided consistent data for the average housing price per square foot and local monthly incomes. And where Numbeo’s numbers end, real estate experts can help fill in more color and texture. Here is how Florida’s home prices compare with Mexico, Canada and China.
Florida
- Average Price/SF (city center): $313.50
- Average Price/SF (outside urban centers): $262.40
- Average Monthly Salary: $4,105.08 (ZipRecruiter)
Numbeo doesn’t provide state-specific data — just country- and city-level data. But the average home price in Florida ($384,811 per Zillow) is 4.2% higher than the U.S. as a whole ($369,147), so by boosting Numbeo’s average U.S. home price per square foot by 4.2%, we can keep the numbers consistent based on Numbeo data.
Of course, even at the state level, there are wild variations in home prices. “In the outer suburbs and more rural areas, you can buy houses for around $200,000,” noted Mark Sanchez, Senior Real Estate Manager at Florida brokerage Gator Rated. “Buyers can expect to pay over $1 million in desirable neighborhoods in cities like Miami and Orlando, however.”
Canada
- Average Price/SF (city center): $582.52 (all prices in USD)
- Average Price/SF (outside urban centers): $423.81
- Average Monthly Salary: $2,877.64
Much of Canada has an affordable housing problem that makes the one in the U.S. look trivial. Despite salaries in Canada being 33.4% lower than those in the U.S., home prices are significantly higher.
Jeremy Savory founded Millionaire Migrant to help Americans move to more affordable and lower-tax countries. He warned Americans to beware of Canada’s housing markets, however. “Property prices have become unaffordable in some cities, especially in Vancouver where they’re incredibly elevated.”
Mexico
- Average Price/SF (city center): $186.34
- Average Price/SF (outside urban centers): $132.64
- Average Monthly Salary: $727.66
Mexico homes cost less per square foot than those in Florida — but local incomes are disproportionately lower still. That makes housing in Mexico less affordable for locals than in Florida, or the U.S. at large.
Mariana Lange helps Americans and Canadians move south of the border with Mexico Relocation Guide. The average American transplant pays far more for housing than the average Mexican, since American expats tend to cluster in more expensive pockets of the country. She lists Rosarito, La Paz, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen and Costalegre as the top five destinations.
“In Rosarito for example, you can find nice two-bedroom oceanfront condos in the $200,000 to $400,000 price range,” she said. “If you’d rather live in town and forego an ocean view, you can find homes starting at $150,000 USD.”
China
- Average Price/SF (city center): $582.13
- Average Price/SF (outside urban centers): $277.39
- Average Monthly Salary: $919.71
In China, home affordability remains even more skewed, even after a real estate bubble burst. Urban homes cost 93.6% more than their U.S. counterparts, while Chinese incomes average 78.7% less than Americans’.
“In first-tier cities like Shanghai or Beijing, prices per square foot easily reach $800 to $900 USD,” explained real estate expert Ben Mizes with Clever Offers. “Affordability in major Chinese cities is a significant concern, to put it mildly.”
Savory added that the real estate crisis in China — and perhaps the political regime — has driven many wealthier Chinese to leave. “China is now experiencing the second largest exodus of wealth behind the U.K.”
For Floridians looking for more affordable housing and pleasant climes, look south to Mexico rather than north to Canada or east to China.
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