According to international real estate news service Propertywire, there are some 70 million tourists who visit Brazil each year, and about 5% of them want to buy a second home there. In the northeast part of the country, it is estimated that over the next few years there will be 80,000 new properties constructed, both homes and apartments, just for foreign buyers.   As the economy in the United States...

British architect Sir Norman Foster and his firm, Foster + Partners, are working on a new, mixed-use development for Moscow called Crystal Island. When completed, this city within a building will house the largest area within one structure anywhere in the world. It will hold apartments, hotels, an international school, movie theatres, sports complex and more. It is schedule to be completed by 2014 and will...

The Dubai Pearl, a self-contained living and working city within a city, has been redesigned and is now under construction once again. This project is one of the freehold developments with the Emirate near the coast at the entrance to the Palm Jumeirah Island and is the largest private development within Dubai.   The project was originally begun by Qatar’s Omnix International, but stalled and was taken...

9/6/08 -The emerging property hot spot Cape Verde sees the first true 6 star development on Boa Vista Island the furthest east of the Cape Verde archipelago. Cape Verde which is located, off the horn of Africa, are the closest tropical islands to the UK and are becoming a popular destination for holiday travelers and international real estate investors. The resort at Palm View is one of the world's few 6*...

Damac properties global expansion does not seem to be showing signs of slowing. The luxury property developer which started life in Dubai as a catering company announced its newest project in Kurdistan. The first phase of the project in the region will be Tarin Hills Development covering 170 million square feet in Erbil and estimated to cost $4.5 billion. The project will start by the end of this year and...

The Secret Valley Golf Resort is one of the most popular golf clubs on the island of Cyprus and is currently developing itself into a complete holiday resort. Located 18 kilometers east of Paphos, on the western end of the island, the resort is convenient to the city and international airport. It has one of the best courses on the island and will soon have another one to complement it.   Secret Valley...

The island of Ciova on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is quickly becoming a very hot area for international property investors. The island is 30 kilometers by way of road from Split, the largest city along the coast. It is near to the Split Kastela/Resnick International Airport (SPU), just a 15 minute drive, and has several popular resort areas for tourists. It also boasts a number of new developments, so...

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which serves as the country’s national housing agency, is predicting an 8% increase in home prices for the metro Vancouver area. That’s in comparison to an 11% increase for all of 2007, and will still leave the city with the highest prices in the country. "What we're expecting is a bit of moderation," said Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst with the...

Many old Berlin factories are being turned into residential properties and lofts are the designer’s choice. One of the largest conversions in the city has been the Paul-Lincke-Höfe project. This is taking an old factory in Kreuzberg, right in the heart of the city, and converting it into 116 lofts ranging from 80 square meters to 250 square meters.   Berlin has long struggled to find its identity, but...

In its most recent survey, Forbes.com has Spain at the top of its list for second homes in Europe. The Costa del Sol on the southeast coast along the Mediterranean Sea, centered around Malaga, provides a bit of everything and is the number one choice for second home buyers, according to Forbes.   European holiday homes are an important investment and Spain continues to lead the way for many. With a month...