Being a new home owner is becoming a bit of a luxury nowadays, which has made window shopping a popular pastime for a lot of us millennials.
By window shopping I don’t mean peeking into someone’s home while they’re watching Love Island, but rather visiting realty websites – or in this case, a curated Instagram account. It’s all of the info with none of the heckling, commission-hungry realtors.
Ever wanted a charming villa in Italy or perhaps a quaint wooden house somewhere in Scandinavia? Most likely Cheap Property Europe (@ cheappropertyeu) has something for you. The account curates properties from agents across the continent, focussing specifically on affordable listings, with the odd splurge here and there.
Cheap Property Europe (CPE) started out by collating unique properties on their weekly newsletter before creating their now 220k-strong Instagram account.
You might think it’s easy picking a cheap property, but there’s a specific set of criteria each listing needs to adhere to. Combined with a unique eye for detail, CPE shows us only the listings that suit their followers’ attention.
What I found fascinating about these listings was seeing a slice of life of normal Europeans. It probably sounds like I’m romanticising the European lifestyle (well, maybe the Italian countryside one) but this is purely from an anthropological perspective.
The spaces on display obviously have a lived-in look as most of the properties are currently occupied, but you get a glimpse into a different culture and lifestyle.
Despite the objective being to look at the listing from a “I could afford this” viewpoint, we start seeing a “I aspire to have this lifestyle” point. Maybe I should become a real estate agent…
As a millennial, the chances of me ever owning property is quite slim – especially with the current state of the global economy. But romanticising your life is free, so check out this account for some truly down to earth, dream property inspo.