What If Real Estate Agents Bought & Sold Countries

As a real estate agent, you are constantly comparing apples to oranges to help your clients make the right decisions about real estate. Buy, Sell or hold – and at what price?

Due to several world leaders saying that their countries were not for sale recently, it got me thinking. What if you could just buy a country, as if they were actual real estate properties? Rather than square foot, location and beds baths, I started using metrics like population, GDP, landmass, and population growth trends.

After looking at the data, some of these “properties” look like fix and flip investments, while others seem like long term holds.

Just for fun, let’s take a look at some of the world’s real estate from a global perspective. I picked a handful of countries that are in the news currently. The scope and scale of these properties vary wildly, and the outcome was surprising to me.

United States – The Prime Urban Condo

•GDP: $29.17 trillion (2025)

•Population: ~347 million

•Landmass: 9.15 million km²

•Status: BUY

The U.S. is the luxury high-rise in the heart of downtown—stable, high-demand, and constantly appreciating. With the world’s largest economy and strong population growth, it’s a proven performer. Yes, the HOA fees (read: politics and debt) are high, but it remains a top-tier property. Real Estate agents would recommend that we buy the U.S. not just for current value but long-term strength.

China – The Massive Mixed-Use Development

•GDP: $18.27 trillion

•Population: ~1.42 billion

•Landmass: 9.6 million km²

•Status: HOLD (Watch closely)

Think of China as a sprawling, fast-growing complex on the edge of a booming city. The potential is undeniable, but construction cracks are showing—demographics are shifting, and debt is a growing concern. Keep this one on your radar, but don’t over leverage.

India – The Fixer-Upper With Sky-High Potential

•GDP: $3.17 trillion (nominal), rising fast

•Population: ~1.46 billion (now #1 globally)

•Landmass: 3.29 million km²

•Status: STRONG BUY

India is that undervalued neighborhood that suddenly gets a subway line. Rapid population growth, a tech-savvy workforce, and democratic stability make India an incredible long-term play. Infrastructure and governance challenges persist, but the potential upside is massive.

Russia – The Historic Mansion in Disrepair

•GDP: $2.08 trillion (nominal)

•Population: ~145 million (shrinking)

•Landmass: 16.38 million km²

•Status: SELL

Russia owns more land than any other “property” in the world. But it’s isolated, poorly maintained, and geopolitically complicated. Sanctions, declining demographics, and overdependence on energy exports make this a tough hold. It’s a majestic structure—but one that may be crumbling from within.

Canada – The Beautiful Suburban Estate

• GDP: $2.23 trillion

• Population: ~40 million

• Landmass: 9.09 million km²

• Status: BUY

Canada is that pristine, well-kept estate in a quiet, safe neighborhood. It’s not flashy, but it’s attractive—politically stable, resource-rich, and increasingly popular thanks to immigration. The growth isn’t explosive, but it’s steady. Think of it as the Toyota of global properties: clean, future-focused, and reliable. Real Estate agents will be able to show this one easily.

Greenland – The Undeveloped Acreage

GDP: $3B (not ranked globally)

Population: ~56,000

Landmass: 2.16 million km²

Status: SPECULATIVE BUY

Greenland is that enormous plot of land on the edge of town that no one knows what to do with—yet. As climate change alters global trade routes and reveals untapped natural resources, Greenland could become a geopolitical hotspot. But for now, it’s a gamble.

Overall Take aways that shocked me:

GDP – Showing the U.S. as the VASTLY dominant economic “property”. Greenland, as you would guess, is not even visible.

Population – The demographic weight of India and China is intense. Similarly, the insignificant population of Russia compared to China is incredible.

Landmass – Highlighting Russia’s and Canada’s vast size. Shocked to see that India was actually larger than Greenland.

Make A Move:
So, If you, as a real estate agent had to choose, based only on this data?

Buy: India for growth, Canada for stability, U.S. for long-term power

Hold: China, watch for shifting trends

Sell: Russia, high risk and low upside

Speculate: Greenland, for visionary investors only

At Revaluate, we love to turn data into insight—whether we’re helping real estate agents spot the next mover in their database or imagining the world’s nations as investment properties. It’s all about seeing patterns, predicting trends, and making smarter decisions. Because when you understand what’s happening beneath the surface of your database, you’re better positioned to launch the right conversation at exactly the right time.

Sources & References

GDP Data (Nominal, 2025): International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025, World Bank Global Economic Prospects, Forbes India – Top 10 Largest Economies in the World (2025), Wikipedia – List of Countries by GDP (Nominal)

Population Estimates (2025): Worldometer – World Population by Country United Nations – World Population Prospects (2022 Revision), projected to 2025

Landmass / Land Area:CIA World Factbook, United Nations Statistics DivisionWikipedia – List of Countries and Dependencies by Area

Russia GDP (PPP): Wikipedia – Economy of Russia