Data Asset
One reference property, five markets: deposit, transfer tax, closing costs, holding costs, and process time. All figures illustrative — every rate carries its source on the linked pages.
The numbers below use each market's typical deposit band and current transfer-tax bands (SDLT for the UK, Ontario LTT for Canada, NSW duty for Australia, Dubai's 4% DLD fee for the UAE). Local variation is real — the USA row alone spans states with no transfer tax to New York's ~2% — so treat this as a screening table, then run the exact numbers in the calculator for your state, province, or emirate.
| Item | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇬🇧 UK | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇦🇪 UAE (Dubai) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference property | $400,000 | £300,000 | $550,000 CAD | $650,000 AUD | AED 1,500,000 |
| Typical deposit | $40,000 (10%) | £30,000 (10%) | $55,000 (10%) | $130,000 (20%) | AED 375,000 (25%) |
| Transfer tax / stamp duty | ~$0–8,400 (state varies) | £5,000 (SDLT at 300k) | ~$9,475 (Ontario LTT) | ~$28,220 (NSW duty) | AED 60,000 (4% DLD) |
| Other closing costs | $8,000–20,000 | £1,500–3,000 | $1,500–2,500 | $2,000–3,500 | AED 7,500–30,000 |
| Total cash-to-close (approx.) | ~$50,000–68,000 | ~£36,500–38,000 | ~$66,000–67,000 | ~$160,000–162,000 | ~AED 442,500–465,000 |
| Annual holding cost | ~1.2% of value (property tax) | Council tax + service charges | ~0.85% of value | ~0.6% + strata on flats | Service charges AED 10–25/sqft |
| Annual property tax | ~$4,800 | N/A (council tax instead) | ~$4,675 | N/A (council rates) | 0% |
| Typical process time | 30–45 days | 8–16 weeks | 30–60 days | 4–8 weeks | 4–8 weeks |
| Foreign-buyer surcharge | None national (FIRPTA on sale) | +2% SDLT | Up to +25% (Ontario NRST) | +8% NSW surcharge | None (freehold zones) |
The USA and UK typically need the smallest deposit share (5–10%), but the UK adds SDLT at completion and the USA adds PMI below 20% down.
USA hub →Dubai. No property tax, service charges aside — which is why gross yields look strong until you add the tower fee statement.
UAE hub →Australia and Canada. NSW duty on a $650k home is ~$28k, and Ontario LTT on a $550k home ~$9.5k plus municipal layers.
Stamp duty hub →Transfer-tax figures come from the stamp duty hub (gov.uk, ontario.ca, revenue.nsw.gov.au, dubailand.gov.ae). Deposit bands and process times are the site's illustrative country defaults, re-verified in the August 2026 review and recorded on the change log. Cash-to-close rows add typical closing costs to the deposit and tax — run the Closing Cost Calculator with your own numbers before relying on any figure.
