As the year comes to a close, the data offers a moment to take stock.
While our selection of top charts for 2025 captures the broader forces shaping the luxury property market, this view focuses on a different dimension of the year just passed.
Based on buyer engagement, the listings below represent the properties that drew the strongest attention in 2025. Read individually, they are exceptional homes. Viewed together, they offer a considered snapshot of the assets that resonated most with buyers across the global luxury landscape.
French châteaux account for half of the most-inquired listings, joined by Italian palazzos and medieval borgos. Their presence highlights the enduring appeal of heritage properties, where architectural character, provenance, and sense of place continue to feature prominently among the year’s most sought-after homes.
Below are the 10 most-inquired listings of 2025. Before turning to the individual properties, our infographic provides broader context, placing this year’s most-sought-after homes within the wider global demand landscape.
The Geography of Buyer Interest
Buyer inquiries in 2025 remained concentrated in a familiar group of established luxury markets.
More than 45% of all inquiries focused on a small set of countries long associated with lifestyle appeal, accessibility, and depth of inventory. Italy led with 14% of total inquiries, followed by Spain (10%), the United States (9%), France (8%) and Switzerland (5%). The UAE (4%) and South Africa (4%) rounded out the top tier.
Italy retained its position as the most in-demand destination, reflecting the continued appeal of its architectural diversity and lifestyle-driven offering across regions.
France recorded one of the more notable shifts over the year, with buyer interest rising 33.3% year over year, aligning with the strong presence of French properties among the most-inquired listings.
Rising engagement across the UAE and South Africa adds further texture to the picture, highlighting continued interest in markets offering global connectivity and distinctive living environments.
On the buyer side, American buyers accounted for nearly one in four inquiries, more than double the share of the next-largest group. The UK followed at 10%, with Germany, Spain, and France each contributing mid-single-digit shares.
This distribution underscores the continued role of U.S.-based capital in shaping international luxury demand, particularly across European markets.
The Homes That Defined Buyer Interest in 2025
10. 16th-Century Palazzo Cattaneo
Location: Cremona, Lombardy, Italy
Price: 3,300,000 EUR
Published: March 6, 2025
Listed by: Century 21 Fides
Originally built in the 16th century and refined in the 18th century by Marquis Antonio Cattaneo to house his art collections and the Accademia Filarmonica, this protected cultural property features frescoed ceilings, a rare private garden, and 10 independent apartments. Renowned artists including Salvatore Accardo have performed in its halls.
9. 19th-Century Château with Glazed Roofs
Location: Near Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Price: 3,780,000 EUR
Published: October 7, 2025
Listed by: Kretz Real Estate
Built in 1870 by Charles Franchet, this château offers 1,600 square meters of living space across 16 bedrooms, distinguished by its glazed roofs and exceptional brightness. The 50-hectare single-block estate includes meadows, woods, a pond, pool, and motocross track.
8. Orchil Castle: Scots Baronial Residence
Location: Dunblane, Scotland, United Kingdom
Price: 2,399,213 EUR
Published: October 2, 2025
Listed by: Fine & Country Scotland
Listing no longer available
Commissioned in 1867 by Rev John McDougall and designed by renowned architect Andrew Heiton Junior, this Category B Listed castle is widely regarded as one of Heiton’s most ambitious country house projects. Boasting a commanding main tower, crow-stepped gables, and signature turrets with spires, the estate once hosted the Duke of York — the future King George VI — and George, Duke of Kent in the 1920s.
7. 9th-Century Medieval Borgo
Location: Umbertide, Comunaglia, Umbria, Italy
Price: 12,500,000 EUR
Published: October 7, 2025
Listed by: Coldwell Banker Best Properties
This complete medieval village encompasses 19 residential units across 4,200 square meters, nestled within 37 hectares including 1,200 productive olive trees, vineyards, and truffle grounds. Features include a historic church dating to 1126, infinity pool, and tennis court.
6. Neo-Gothic Castle on Private Island
Location: Ploumanac’h, Brittany, France
Price: 9,500,000 EUR
Published: April 8, 2025
Listed by: Bretagne Sud Sotheby’s International Realty
Built by Lithuanian-Polish mathematician Bruno Abdank-Abakanowicz, this castle once hosted Nobel Prize-winning author Henryk Sienkiewicz, who wrote Quo Vadis within its walls. The one-hectare island features over 200 species of flora, a swimming pool, two sandy beaches, and full mainland connections.
5. A Historic Gem in the Heart of Lunigiana
Location: Lunigiana, Tuscany, Italy
Price: 785,000 EUR
Published: March 26, 2025
Listed by: Portofino Property
Listing no longer available
Originally built as a castle by the Malaspina family, this recently restored estate comprises two buildings with over 600 square meters of interior space. The main entrance passes through a charming ancient chapel, now serving as an atrium, while historic elements such as the original doors, intricate carvings, coats of arms, and a 16th-century stone kitchen are preserved throughout.
4. Rare Neo-Gothic Château in the Hautes-Pyrénées
Location: Hautes-Pyrénées, France
Price: 1,950,000 EUR
Published: April 2, 2025
Listed by: Poncet & Poncet Christie’s International Real Estate – Montpellier
Listing no longer available
Built in 1257 as a hunting lodge and inhabited for 500 years by the Haget family, this château has been entirely restored to the highest standards. Set on more than a hectare of parklands in the heart of the golden triangle of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, and Haute Garonne, it received its distinctive neo-Gothic features during a major 19th-century renovation.
3. 18th-Century Olive Press Transformed into Coastal Retreat
Location: Northeast Corfu, Greece
Price: 13,500,000 EUR
Published: April 14, 2025
Listed by: Corfu Homes Real Estate Consultants
Set directly on the Ionian Sea with private beach access and a 10-meter jetty, this thoughtfully restored 18th-century olive press spans nearly 9,000 square meters of landscaped Mediterranean gardens. The estate features a 20-meter infinity pool, outdoor gym, and approved planning permission for additional development.
2. 19th-Century Renaissance-Style Château with Pond
Location: France
Price: 1,100,000 EUR
Published: May 9, 2025
Listed by: GB-IMMOBILIER DE PRESTIGE
This magnificent 19th-century Renaissance-style château opens onto a landscaped park of over 5 hectares, featuring a beautiful pond home to carp — perfect for swimming or boating. Built from schist rubble stone with two towers and limestone sculpted windows, the property spans approximately 1,200 square meters with 15 rooms including 9 bedrooms, most with en-suite bathrooms.
1. 19th-Century Château with Stud Farm
Location: Morbihan, Brittany, France
Price: 1,554,400 EUR
Published: June 14, 2025
Listed by: Denniel Immobilier – Antiquaires en Immeubles
This extraordinary neo-Renaissance château, completed in 1898, represents one of Brittany’s finest late 19th-century architectural achievements. Offered for sale for the first time in its history, the property spans 30 hectares and includes a stud farm, three original 16th-century pavilions, and gates believed to have come from Prince Jérôme Bonaparte’s Pompeian palace.
