What Homes Could You Buy Around the World?

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Early on in the property journalism game, you learn people are real estate voyeurs. They love peering into other people's homes, exploring the closets, checking out the kitchen cabinets. It's no accident that WPC has a launched a celebrity property column, joining many other publications offering readers a chance to tour the homes of the rich and famous. There is a vast audience of Lookie Lous out there who want to see how their friends and neighbors live.

Next to peeking in people's homes, people love to see how much homes cost around the world. They want to compare stranger's homes to their own homes, perhaps looking for some subliminal validation. They know what their home is worth and they want to know if it is a good deal compared to, say, a home in the Caribbean. In response, publications and Web sites churn out reports with headlines like, "What $1 million will buy in Portugal," knowing it's an easy readership draw.

The Guardian in the U.K. has developed an application which directly addresses people's fascination with other people's home values. Labeled the "Fantasy Property Finder," the simple application allows you to quickly and easily "find out what the value of your house would fetch you in far-flung climes." Readers can pick a price and the application instantly offers properties for that price around the world.

If nothing else it is fun, and strangely satisfying to discover your home is a bargain compared to a flat in central Paris.