American buyers eye Europe for cheaper homes and a laid-back lifestyle

Demand from international homebuyers has increased across Europe, brokers said in an August 3 market report from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

In interviews and market reports, brokers have said that Americans are more willing to uproot their lives in the US for new ones in Europe.

France, Italy, Greece, and Portugal are capturing the most attention from US buyers, according to a 2022 report from Sotheby's International Realty.

"I would never have looked to buy in Italy if the market in the US hadn't been so crazy," Synclair told Bloomberg.

Sotheby's told Bloomberg that Americans were responsible for 12% of the brokerage's Italian real-estate purchases in the first quarter.

Sotheby's also told Bloomberg that requests from Americans looking to move to Greece jumped 40% between April and June 2022 compared with a year prior.

The number of website visits from international users to Sotheby's Paris site jumped 40% in early 2022 from the year prior, Paulo Fernandes, the managing owner of Paris Ouest Sotheby's International Realty, said in the Sotheby's report.