The most beautiful homes around the world

Whether it’s the first day of your new job, or the first look of your new home, we all know that first impressions count. And when it comes to properties, the first thing they’ll lock eyes on is the exterior of the house. Something as simple as a property's front door could be the reason potential buyers fall in love with a place. It could also be the reason they never want to step through it!

If you’re selling your home, it’s really important to take good care of the exterior of your property all year round. After all, it could be the final element that makes or breaks your sale.

That’s why we wanted to find out which property styles caught people's eyes the most. Is there a most beautiful home in the world? A most popular style that gets a sale over the line?

Our study

Using eye-tracking software, we conducted a study to reveal which house types around the world caught people’s gaze the most. Participants were presented with images of 60 picturesque properties around the world and AI technology tracked their eye movements, revealing which images they found the most captivating.

We then analysed the results, creating a score based on the average time spent looking at each image, plus the time it first took participants to look at the houses. This in turn revealed to us the most eye-catching homes around the world.

The podium of beautiful houses: Victorian, Tuscan, Rumah Adat

It was the UK’s Victorian properties that caught the attention of our participants most, with an average time of just 1.38 seconds before people’s gaze was drawn to the traditional British property style. Characterised by high pitched roofs, bay windows and ornate gable trim, the UK Victorian style of property clearly catches eyes, sneaking past second place house style Italian Tuscan by one point.

Famed for their rustic, rough-cut stone look and terracotta floors, Italian Tuscan houses took the silver for the most beautiful house types in the world, while traditional Indonesian houses (also known as Rumah adat) snatched the bronze.

Simple elegance wows watchers

Other European styles including France Bastide and Greece Traditional made the top ten most beautiful homes in the world. Most widely used to describe fortified medieval towns built in the 13th and 14th centuries, ‘bastide’ buildings boast a simple, practical layout with tiled flat roofs. Greece Traditional buildings also boast a simple elegance, with their white and blue exteriors proving to dazzle our participants.

Other eye-catching properties included the USA Spanish Revival and Contemporary styles (ranking in 5th and 7th places respectively), UK Mews homes, and Modern New Zealand houses, which are commonly characterised by sleek designs and pitched roofs.

Take a look at the full results of our study:

Gorgeous Grecian properties prove to offer the most beauty

As well as beautiful house types, we also took a deeper look into which countries offered the most beautiful houses: Greece took the top spot scoring an impressive 79.5 out of 100 for its picturesque properties. Traditional Greek architecture is known for its simple forms, tall columns and use of local and natural building materials, with the blue domed island homes in particular being lusted after by admirers from all over the world.

France took second place, receiving a total score of 78.5 out of 100 as many participants were drawn to the French Bastide and Provincial architectural styles.

Renowned for their unique and traditional building styles, houses in Asia also proved popular, with Thailand and Indonesia ranking in the top five.

Unfortunately, houses closer to home didn’t rank so well. Despite UK Victorian houses being the most beautiful house type, the UK ranked towards the bottom half of the top ten countries with the most beautiful homes, scoring just over 65 out of 100.

Here’s a full list of our findings:

Queens, castles, and witches: a fairytale country!

Unsurprisingly, the Victorian architectural style took the top spot as the most eye-catching property in the UK. With a total score of a huge 91 out of 100, this traditional, quintessentially British style of property was a clear favourite with homeowners. Clearly, these properties are fit for a queen!

Characterised by their low doors and small rooms, the second most popular were the stable-like Mews houses. Georgian houses and cottages followed in third and fourth positions, each with a total score of over 60.

And coming in at fifth were the Scottish Baronial homes. Easily identified by their ‘witches’ hat towers’, these homes resemble mini castles, completing the fairytale feel of the country!

Check out our full list below:

The USA’s Top 5 Most Beautiful House Types

Across the pond, we also wanted to discover which types of properties commonly found in the USA were considered most beautiful. With a score of 85 out of 100, it was the cool Spanish Revival style which proved most popular with onlookers. Houses built in this style are renowned for their low-pitched, clay tile roofs, and stucco exterior facades, giving them that cool, mediterranean feel that property lovers are drawn to.

Following as the second and third most popular types of house in the US were Contemporary and Ranch properties, scoring 84 and 78 out of 100, respectively. Unique to the UK, ranch houses are single-story properties with an open-concept layout and low-pitch rooflines, providing an open feel and plenty of space for anyone living in one.

Greek revival and Mid-century modern homes followed to make up the top five most popular styles of home in the US.

Here’s our complete list of USA house style rankings:

If you’re thinking about selling your property in favour of a more beautiful house, our friendly team of experts are here to guide you through the process. Check out our Estate Agent Comparison Tool to find the right agent for your needs!

Methodology

A list of 60 properties from around the world were compiled using desk research. A sample of 30 participants were shown a series of images of the houses, and eye-tracking software was used to record the number of times people looked at each image and the duration spent looking at them. The average fixation time was then used to rank each house according to how “attractive” it is. All data correct as of October 2023.