With some houses on the Australian market today selling for tens of millions, does it make you wonder what the once-grand sum of US$1 million will buy you around the world? For the curious, Forbes magazine has compiled a list.
While the purchasing power of $1 million is much less today than it was five years ago, a `million dollar property' can still actually look the part, depending on the market and type of property you are looking for.
For US$1.1 million in Buenos Aires, Argentina, you can buy a 694-square-metre home on just over one-half acre, featuring four bedrooms, including a master suite with a dressing room and a bathroom with a whirlpool tub.
In San Jose de Pinilla, Costa Rica, $1 million will find you a Spanish Colonial-inspired home with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a solarium and spacious kitchen as well as maid's and guest rooms and an outdoor pool.
Chicago offers a three-storey Victorian for $1.025 million with four bedrooms, two baths and 10 rooms including a host of fireplaces and a two-car garage, while Paris has a three-level townhouse on a quiet lane for $1 million. Your French pad features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living and dining rooms and a study which faces a 260-square-foot private garden. Oh, there's also a cellar to store those bottles of wine from the Loire Valley.
A little closer to home, US$940,000 will get you a contemporary suburban home in Sydney, featuring built-ins in the five bedrooms and a study that can be converted into a sixth, along with three bathrooms, a living room, dining room, garden with an entertaining area and a two-car garage.
And last but certainly not least, US$1 million will find you the proud owner of a "top quality two bedroom, two bathroom apartment" located in the heart of Queenstown, New Zealand.
