Property investment in Moscow.

A whisper has it that an increasing number of residential property investors are looking at investment opportunities in Moscow, where it is apparently easy to find tenants, while some forecasters are predicting capital growth of 20% pa.

So what's the catch? Well for starters, no UK mortgage firm will lend on Moscow property, while the Russian mortgage schemes aimed at foreign buyers involve interest rates of 11-19% plus a "loan tax". Effectively you will need cash or have to use the equity from your principal home or property portfolio.

"They should come and tell us what they want," says Vladimir Ostashkevich, deputy director of [a Moscow property] firm. "We're sure there's a deal to be done. After all, this is Moscow." Exactly what we fear!

France best for residential investment.

New research from investment company, Assetz, finds that residential investments in France outperformed those in the UK, Spain, Florida, Bulgaria or Cyprus.

Using an analysis of how much money must be put in, rental yields, capital growth and mortgage costs - the total return on investments in France stand at a staggering 92%.

Cyprus also faired well - with investors receiving returns of 72%. However Assetz warns caution with regards to investing in Bulgaria; and Florida.

"Investors should be cautious in Bulgaria's immature market. Property prices are growing significantly in the more established areas such as the Black Sea coastline and the major ski resorts, but many of the apparent 'bargain' deals citing properties for under €30,000 will be located in the more rural areas and are unlikely to enjoy such high growth rates and certainly not high rental yields," said Stuart Law, managing director of Assetz.

He adds: "With interest rates rising fast in the USA and a widely forecast faltering in property price growth, Florida is a risk for investors who would gain on rental income alone and would therefore be forced to consider only a long-term investment strategy."

Spain travels towards progress.

The Spanish government has launched a E249bn Euro transport strategy that will link provincial towns through a network of rail and freeways. This is expected to lead to a major new wave of development.

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero says the 15-year plan will pave the way for high-speed travel between the country's provincial capitals by road or rail without having to go through Madrid. He adds that the program would give Spain one of the "most advanced" infrastructure networks in Europe and would in turn boost the domestic economy.

The objective of the plan is to ensure that 94% of the country will be within 30 kilometers of a freeway and 90% of the population will have access to a high-speed rail connection within 50 kilometers of their homes when the programme is complete in 2020.

Nearly half the funds will go to railways, including expanding and improving links with Europe. A little more than a quarter of the marked capital will be spent on expanding the road network. The biggest improvements are expected in the regions of Teruel, Ciudad Real, Salamanca, Cuenca, Soria, Zamora and Cáceres.

A government spokesperson said that the infrastructure program will "open up provincial capitals for development. Most of the major development in Spain has been in Madrid. This will open up the possibility of spreading the country's wealth to smaller cities."