Australian property prices rose 4.8% in the three months to December from the previous quarter, bringing the national average property price to $525,524 Australian dollars or approx €347,414. According to Australian Property Monitors, they expect prices will rise by as much as by another 10% this year.

So what are the Australians doing that we aren't?
A lack of supply is helping keep prices high and construction of new homes across Australia will struggle to keep up with demand this year due to Australia’s land use regulations. Land use regulations are laws enforced by the ozzy’s which govern land use planning in order to manage urban growth. The land use planning system helps to establish the conditions needed to protect and create attractive and efficient urban environments. Therefore there is a restriction on the number of properties built in Australia every year.

Along with Land use regulations, sales of newly built properties doubled in the December quarter from a year earlier. The jump was driven by a first home buyers’ grant there, which favoured purchases of new properties. Not only that but higher prices for existing properties relative to land and building costs in some parts of the country also drove demand for new houses.

However while this might sound all very positive, reports from Australia say that the rise in property prices means that an increasing number of owners are now struggling to meet their mortgage payments. According to a survey from the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia about 16% of property owners are struggling to pay loans.

According to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor report from Lloyds TSB Scotland the housing market there seems to be recovering. Most areas are seeing property growth with average house prices increasing by 5.9% in the three months to the end of January compared with the previous three months.

The report also shows that although house prices are now rising once more, on an annual basis they have fallen by 6.8%. Following four quarterly price falls and two recent consecutive quarterly rises, Scottish house prices have regained the level last seen at the end of 2008. However, the number of house purchase transactions is still around half of the levels recorded before the onset of the recession.

Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist, Lloyds Banking Group Scotland commented, "The level of mortgage availability including for first-time buyers has increased while the cost of borrowing remains low for many mortgage holders. Although a house price recovery is evident in Scotland, it is based on much reduced levels of activity. Nevertheless, the Scottish housing market is now into recovery."

LOST, the final season with all its Lost mania is here. The last segment to the Lost saga is at last underway so hopefully we’ll all soon find out what is actually going on and how it’s all going to end… maybe?!

Well, whether we figure out what happens, follow the series or perhaps ‘lost’ interest along the way we can’t but admit that the island itself is gorgeous minus the whole parallel universe and mysterious happenings bit. Turns out, the island, with its white sandy beaches, lush tropical forest and mountains is not quite so hard to find or reach for that matter! Most of Lost was filmed on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, in particular on the North Shore.

While I’m making out that the luxurious surroundings of the island are obtainable as you can buy property there, a home on the famous North Shore could set you back a million or two!

• Check out property at North Shore, Oahu Island (home of Lost!).

The United Arab Emirates kicked off the New Year with a great start this week with the impressive opening of it’s and the world’s tallest building, the Buri Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 828 m and built at a total cost of $1.5 billion US Dollars.

The exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa consists of 1,528,000 sq ft of reflective glazing, and aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels. In total it has just over 26,000 glass panels in its exterior cladding with the spire of Burj Khalifa composed of more than 4,000 tonnes of structural steel. A cleaning system developed in Australia which consists of; specialist window cleaners and unmanned machines will be used to wash the 24,348 windows all at a cost of $8 million!

Inside, the Burj Khalifa can hold up to 25,000 people at any one time, has a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators. There is an Armani Hotel which will occupy 15 of the lower 39 floors and of course will all decorated by Giorgio Armani himself. Floors through to 108 will have 900 private residential apartments and an outdoor zero-entry swimming pool will be located on the 76th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 122nd, 123rd and 124th floor where the Atmosphere restaurant, sky lobby and an indoor and outdoor observation deck is located respectively. The outdoor observation deck, is also the highest in the world, at about 440 m.

Originally named Burj Dubai – the name was changed as a tribute to Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, head of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, which came to Dubai’s financial rescue in late 2009, was designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale ($20 billion US dollar) mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels such as The Address Downtown Burj Khalifa, 7.4 acres of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 30-acre man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.

The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as "the latest in a string of monuments to architectural vacancies" However the optimistic have said “monumental buildings — such as the Empire State Building, which was completed at the start of the Great Depression — have sprung up during economic crisis and have survived to become treasured works of architecture. The Burj Khalifa will become such a structure. These monumental structures last well beyond the particular economics of the time that they were built… they are an engineering and architectural achievement”

Why not take a look for yourself? The world’s tallest building, Buri Khalifa.

For €99,900 you could by this beautiful 1 bed apartment in Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote. The apartment is suited within a complex with not one but two pool areas. The apartment has been newly refurbished and comes with all new furniture including; a flat screen TV, a washing machine, a fridge/freezer, a hob and oven, a microwave and state of the art leather day bed/sofa  -basically the apartment is completely kitted out and ready to move into! The apartment also has a good sized patio and is located only a few minutes walk from the beach!

Take a closer look at Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote

For a little less than the €100,000 you could buy a 1 bed apartment in Budapest for €87,727! The apartment is part of a development complex which will be built in phases with a completion date of 2014. The apartments which are in their first phase of construction are ideally located on the banks of the Danube in the XIII district of Budapest, minutes from Vaci Street.

Take a look at Danubia Residence,
Budapest XIII apartments

Despite rumors of possible amnesty to be declared for illegally built properties in Spain it seems that they are powering ahead with demolitions of some buildings and developments there. They had called for amnesty because the demolition of the massive volume of illegally built properties was impractical but local authorities did state at the time that where properties are built on protected lands they will be demolished eventually.

Well unlucky for some, actor Antonio Banderas and his wife Melanie Griffiths have a Spanish holiday home which has been found to have been built on what is a public beach. Their beach front property which is located near Marbella and which is estimated to be worth £5million will now face losing a good chunk of its garden as part of the Spain’s tackle on illegally  built properties. Once the local authority there repossess the land the public will be able to access the beach in front of their home!!

Actor Charlie Sheen and his wife, Brooke Mueller have put  their gated villa located in Los Feliz, California, up for sale for $3,697,000 (or in our money, approx €2,624,982).

The 4,179 sq ft 4 bed property is a 1927 Mediterranean style home and according to the LA Times the property is thought to have undergone extensive renovations over the past year.

• Take a look at the property ad

Slightly under our budget of €100,000 this week you could buy a 2 bed Villa for €98,658 in the amazing Oasis do Mar residential development in Brazil.

Oasis do Mar is located above the beachfront city town of Jacuma on the East coast of Brazil and practically beside the city of Joao Pesso which is thought to be the most eastern city of the Americas.

The development has been described as a piece of paradise which overlooks fields of palms, stretches of un-spoilt coastline, the Atlantic and beyond.

Take a close look at Oasis Do Mar Villas, Joao Pessoa, Brazil

In the traditional and popular fishing village of Burgau located in the western part of the Algarve you can buy a 1 bed apartment for €95,000.

The 1 bed which is an open plan apartment is only a couple of steps down to sandy beaches, local water sports, activities and all local amenities. This property is ideal for any one looking for a holiday home in the Algarve or for those looking for an excellent rental opportunity in a great holiday destination.

Take a closer look at Burgau, Algarve

In the south of Portugal, Praia da Rocha, Portimão, Algarve to be exact there is a 1 bed apartment on the market for only €98,500.

The apartment is in immaculate condition, it practically on the beach and has fantastic views of the sea.

Check out Praia da Rocha, Portimão, Algarve

The well known Ennis House in LA which has been used in the movies of "Blade Runner" and "House on Haunted Hill" and also in the TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Twin Peaks" has been put on the market for $15 million or €10,673,612.37 to be exact!

Ennis House was designed and built by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924 for Mabel and Charles Ennis. The property which is built of textured concrete is owned by the Ennis Foundation and in mint condition after surviving the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and extensive flooding in 04/05.

Check out the Ennis House, 2607 Glendower Ave, Los Angeles

Les Parretts, once own by the legendary singer, Edith Piaf, is on the market for £7.171 million, or when converted into 'yo yos' totals €8.5million.

Located in the hills behind Nice and Cannes the extensive grounds of the property have been renovated by its present owners and include a tennis court, swimming pool, summer kitchen, guest annexe and gym.

The French singer bought the house in the fifties and moved here from Paris for a more peaceful life. She remained here until she died in 1963.

Les Parretts is on the market with Savills: www.savills.co.uk/abroad

This week, for €55,900, just over half of our €100,000 budget you could buy a one bed apartment in Calabria. This one bed is the last one in the resort on the market - all others have sold!

This apartment is in a great location on the East coast of Calabria. The resort has a selection of facilities including restaurant, bar and swimming pools, its only 15 minutes walk from the beach and with views like this I wouldn’t mind buying it myself!

Check out €55,900 1 bed apartment Calabria, Italy

For €91,056 you can buy a 1 bed apartment in the capital city of Bulgaria, Sofia. The apartment is part of new development which has been recently built and located in the south side of the city in the Vitosha district. Not only is Sofia city centre within easy reach but the apartment is a short 5 minute drive from the Vitosha Mountain and its ski lifts.

Check out €91, 056 apartment in Sofia

Rock star Lenny Kravitz 12,000 ft sq waterfront Miami Beach is on the Market with an asking price of $2.85 million.

Lenny Kravitz paid $725,000 for the house back in 1996 and reportedly spent $1 million on the décor. He hired the A list interior designer Michael Czysz to kit out his house and bring it up to rock star status.

The property has its own recording studio and has a "sleek, throbbing James Bond-esque den of seduction” complete with four-inch-thick red shag carpeting, black patent-leather walls, a metal-grill catwalk lit from below, a mirrored white-fur tunnel, red glass doors, red lacquered floors, and a white handstitched padded patent-leather bar – all normal.

The designer, Michael Czysz, even picked out a silver Ferrari to match the house and designed a special chrome Flying V guitar for the recording studio – However I don’t think the Ferrari or guitar are included in the sale.

Figures released from Turkey's Ministry of Public Words and Settlement shows that about 65% of buildings in the country do not comply with its zoning laws. In a bid to clamp down on properties without title deeds in Turkey, the government there threatened to fine foreign property owners with incomplete deeds 10,000 Turkish lira (or €4,617).

It was feared that homeowners of holiday villas and apartments in Turkey would face significant fines after been issued with a warning that if failed to convert a transitional title deed obtained in 2007 to a full title deed within two years, they would be fined.

However it has come about that homeowners will now not be fined as the government has come to a realisation that it was a failure on the developers’ part to meet planning regulations and not the current homeowners.

Although the Turkish Government has been forgiving to foreign property owners this time round, speculation is now rife that the government will compile new measures to tackle property deeds and construction issues.

A 4 bed apartment in the centre of Elche, close to both cities of Valencia and Alicante is on the market for €95,000. Although the apartment could do with some modernisation it is close to the airport and most importantly the beach! With a lick of paint and some new furniture this could make for a very nice holiday home.

Check out the 4 bed apartment in Elche

Last week Nationwide Building Society in the UK reported that house prices rose by 1.2% in May sparking rumours the end maybe in sight to the property market doom and gloom.

Despite warnings by Nationwide that any recovery from the current depression that we are in would be a gradual slow change (if any!), a UK house price index report released late last week further contributed to the idea that the property market in the UK is improving.

The house index report which is based on the volume and activity status of 'For Sale' and 'Sold' boards across the UK showed that Sold signs rose to their 2nd highest level since last year and that there was an increase of 2.1% in 'For Sale' signs being erected. 

Halifax then added to the hype by releasing their property report that showed an increase of 2.6% in property prices.

It seems that even celebrities can’t avoid the depressed property market.  Britney Spears' 6 bedroom house in Beverly Hills is proving hard to sell. She bought the house in 2007 for €7.1 million and put it on the market last September for a mere €7.9 million dollars! Since then the listed price for the property has dropped $1.4 million and now has a price tag of €6.5 million – still a little bit too expensive for me tho! Pity.

20 cities around the globe have been picked and deemed to be the best in the world to live in. 420 cities were assessed in total and I’m not quite sure where exactly Irish cities (if any) ranked on the list. The criteria of assessment was detailed, long winded and hard to live up to. Cities were rated on things such as; politics and social environment, the strength of the economy, the quality of health care as well as exposure to infectious diseases, school quality, recreation, theaters and sports activities.

A few reasons as to maybe why Dublin, Cork, or any other Irish city did not appear anywhere close to the top 20 could be due to the fact that the Mercer list also ranked cities on the cost of housing, their climate, public transportation and traffic congestion – a few items that might have cost us a few brownie points!

For all you wanting to know what cities made the final 20, here you go;

20. Stockholm
19. Luxemburg
18. Melbourne
17. Berlin
16. Ottawa
15.Toronto
14. Brussels
13. Amsterdam
12. Wellington
11. Copenhagen
10. Sydney
9. Bern
8. Frankfurt
7. Munich
6. Düsseldorf
5. Auckland
4. Vancouver
3. Geneva
2. Zurich
1. Vienna

Nationwide Building Society has reported that UK house prices rose sweetly by 1.2% in May bringing the average house price there up to £154,016 (€178,110). This is the second time in the past three months that UK prices have risen causing an outburst of excitement and spurring on rumours that the depressed property is coming to an end.

Due to low house prices and historically low and attractive interest rates Estate agents in the UK have recently witnessed floods of potential buyers arriving into their offices. However Nationwide has warned it maybe to soon to pop the champagne, as any recovery of the property market is likely to be gradual one.

1 bed apartment up for grabs in Berlin for only €63,950!

As it says in the property ad, €63,950 = 'bargain price'! The apartment is in a beautiful, renovated period building dating back to 1900 and is located close to Berlin city centre – What more do you want.

Take a look at 1 Bed Berlin Apartment

Estate Agents in Dubai made their first stab at trying to get their depressed property market off the ground and into a better mood this week. While they expected a great news story the auction turned out to be a complete flop and not one property managed to sell. While the attendance was not so bad only three bids were made during the entire auction.

Reports earlier in the week said the auction would help give an indication of how much cash people were willing to hand over in the ‘current economic climate’. It couldn’t be clearer that obviously Dubai property is still way over priced and in order to get the bidding wars started the guide prices will have to be dropped as low as possible.

However they are not giving up just yet. Agents in Dubai are hoping that buyers will warm to the concept and well, lets hope they have learnt a lesson quick enough in time for next week where 50 properties will go up for auction.  

Have you ever fancied living on an island, perhaps even on an island in Australia's stunning Great Barrier Reef? Look no further than Hamilton Island. The island not only offers a wide range of properties to suit various budgets but there are no restrictions to foreign ownership of residential property! Brilliant! Also no need to fear that your panoramic views might be spoilt by property developments as they keep a close eye on the building regulations in order to preserve the surrounding environment & stunning views.

Interest in property on Hamilton has been strong over the past few years and investors are said to experience excellent returns on their investments especially in the area of holiday home letting. Current investors of Hamilton have seen an average of 15% capital growth per year for the last 4 years! Nice! 

So what can you get for your money? Holiday let accommodation, permanent rental accommodation, vacant land sites and luxury villas with prices ranging from mid $200,000 to $7million (Aussie dollars that is) for luxury apartments and Villas. 

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