Swap your London flat for a South African mansion

If Londonproperty prices are getting you down, you might want to consider moving out - and we're not talking about the Home Counties.

International money transfer firm Foreign Exchange says that homes in ten cities around the world offer far better value for money and are far larger than London homes.

For the £473,073 price of a one-bedroom flat in Zone 3 of the capital, for example, you could be enjoying a seven-bedroom mansion complete with swimming pool elsewhere.

Cape Town, in South Africa, gives you the best deal overall. A seven-bed detached house here, with seven bathrooms, two garages and a pool, is £4,030 cheaper and over six times the size of the 385-square foot London flat.

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See also: What will the average property price buy you around the UK?

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Melbourne in Australia has property values nearest those of London - though it's still a good bit cheaper. A three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city is £18,000 shy of the London one-bedder's price.

"Some of the findings were quite surprising to us: we were expecting homes abroad to be cheaper, but we were not expecting huge size differences and the savings that could be enjoyed from buying abroad," says a Foreign Exchange spokesperson.

Before you rush off to the sun, though, it's worth considering that you won't be getting quite the bargain that you might have done a year or so ago.

The research also examined how the vote to leave the EU has affected the purchasing power of the pound abroad. And, the team found, the foreign homes would have been £23,633 cheaper last year.

And of course there are very good reasons why London is so expensive: it's considered one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

"A four-bed detached house is considerably better than a one-bed apartment, but the London lifestyle is so unique, creating an appealing lure to many," says the spokesperson.

"It just goes to show, with London being one of the most important cities in the world and with so much going on, it's no surprise that demand for property is high, with prices that reflect this."

Average property prices and sizes around the world

London, UK: £473,073 (385 square feet)
Toronto, Canada: £463,726 (1,100 square feet)
Melbourne, Australia: £454,581 (291 square feet)
Cape Town, South Africa: £469,042 (2,368 square feet)
Madrid, Spain: £418,898 (1,291 square feet)
Turin, Italy: £504,817 (1,506 square feet)
Marseille, France: £454,561 (1,797 square feet)
Faro, Portugal: £450,146 (5,651 square feet)
Nicosia, Cyprus: £435,903 (3,337 square feet)
Wellington, New Zealand: £444,610 (2,077 square feet)
Sacramento, US: £424,233 (3,887)