China will further curb mounting house prices according to the National Bureau of Statistics spokesman, Zheng Jingping. However, he does not believe that such a move will effect the country's economic growth,

He says: "House prices roes 12.5% year-on-year in the first quarter and this price increase is indeed a little bit too fast. The central government is aware of the problems in the property sector and is taking measures to tackle these problems, curbing investment and speculative behaviour in real estate."

Amongst the array of British property investors and holiday home buyers in Spain, some Brits have chosen to become Spanish residents.

At the end of June 2004 there were 117,322 British residents in Spain (registered with the Spanish authorities as resident in Spain and in possession of current residency papers), up from 105,479 at the end of June 2003, an 11% rise.

British residents in Spain tend to favour the provinces of Alicante and Málaga, and the autonomous regions of the Canaries and the Balearics (66% of all British residing in Spain live in these regions). Andalucia or the autonomous region of Valencia is also popular amongst Brits, while there are also a significant number of Brits in Almeria, Granada, Murcia and Cádiz.

British investors and holidaymakers have been buying property in Estonia for years and prices, particularly in some parts, have consequently increased rapidly. Last year, average property prices rose by 12%, yet Estonian property prices remain well below the European average.

With tourism levels rising, thanks partly to an array of cheap flights now available, rental rates are good. For example, a two bed flat in Viimsi or Piritia, both located next to the beach, can be purchased for in the region of £50,000 and offer a rental yield of around 8%.

Furthermore, there is little complexity involved in buying a property over in Estonia. As an EU citizen there are no restrictions or limits.

After what has been nearly a four-year slump in the US apartment market, the industry sector has started to show real signs of improvement.

The vacancy rate for the top 64 metropolitan apartment markets in the U.S. fell to an average of 6.6% in the first quarter, from 6.7% in the fourth quarter and 7.1% in the same quarter, a year-earlier. This is according to new quarterly statistics from Reis Inc., a New York-based property research firm. Rents also rose in the quarter.

"While absorption [during the first quarter] may seem modest, it's important to remember that the apartment market has been plagued by negative absorption during the first quarter of each of the past few years," says Lloyd Lynford, chief executive of Reis. "Coupled with effective rent growth of 0.6%, [the results] represent good news."

New Spanish government to get tough

The recently installed socialist government in Spain has announced that it plans to clamp down on tax cheats and money launderers within the country's property industry.

Many Spanish property purchasers commonly break the law by under-declaring the actual price paid for a property, which consequently allows for lower tax gains.

"In the short term you can save money by under-declaring because of the transfer tax," suggests Mr Blasco. "But you run a very real risk of losing in the long term. That is why I cannot advise my clients to do that."