Spanish soccer super-team Real Madrid have announced plans to construct a US$ 1 billion luxury resort in the United Arab Emirates - and to ensure a truly unique location, the sports company plans to construct an archipelago of artificial islands upon which it will be located, reported The National Post. The resort, which has also been described as a theme park for the soccer obsessed, will include five-star hotels, luxury villas, a 10 thousand seat ocean-side football stadium, a marina and a hi-tech museum devoted to the history of the Team. Real Madrid has announced that the 430 thousand square meter project will be constructed in partnership with the UAE government, and they hope to open by 2015. Executives of the investment group behind the project, the RAK Marjan Island Football Investment Fund, said its location, 45 minutes from Dubai airport. In recent times due to a lack of coastal land there are more and more artificial islands designed and constructed for ambitious projects like this. Azerbaijan recently released designs for the World's Tallest Tower "Azerbaijan Tower" on an artificial archipelago located over active oil pipelines, while Qatar is at work on their own man-made island resort the "Amphibious 1000". Dubai, on the other hand recovering from the embarrassing sinking of its island resort "The World".

According to Knight Frank company research, luxury house prices in Paris rose by 22.2 percent in the year to march 2011. Prime property in Paris recorded the strongest price growth of all the cities monitored within the Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index. This increase is driven primarily by supply constraints and growing interest from overseas buyers. As mentioned in research, overall, the cities recorded an average annual price growth of 6.6% compared to 12.7% a year earlier. A year ago there was a clear continental divide when it came to the performance of the world's prime property markets. Asian cities occupied the top rankings for price inflation while Europe and the US trailed far behind. A year on and the global picture is less clear cut. According to research, the second place is Hong Kong by 15 percent and the third is Helsinki by 12.2 percent. First five places are concluded Shanghai and Beijing respectively by 11 and by 10 percent increase. In London and in Singapore luxury house prices increased by 8.6 percent. Moscow's prime residential market recorded the weakest performance, with prices declining by 8 percent. However, the rate of decline is slowing, with 0.7 percent recorded in the last quarter.

As reported by Regnum news agency, according to A-Realty Group real estate agency, the cost per square meter in the center of Moscow is reaching half a million rubles ($18,000). The average price per square meter in the center has reached 412 thousand rubles ($14,800) in April and an average cost of luxury apartments has already run up to 56 million rubles ($2,000,000). In total, there are 2.6 thousand flats offered for sale in the center of Moscow today. Average price per square meter for economy-class apartments is 197 thousand rubles ($7,000) in the center of Moscow, for business-class apartments - 258 thousand rubles ($9,250), and for luxury apartments is 475 thousand rubles ($17,000). The price for studios (with an average area of 34.4 square meters) in city center is 7.7 million rubles ($280.000) and one-bedroom apartments are sold for 13.4 million rubles ($480,000), while an average area of these flats is 54 square meters. Two-bedroom apartments in Moscow cost 18.8 million rubles ($670,000), and an average area of these apartments is 76 square meters. Overview of real estate market in the categories of the cheapest and the most expensive apartments shows that the cheapest apartment is sold for 5.4 million rubles ($193,500), and the most expensive one for 923 million rubles ($33,000,000). Apartments in luxury new developments are offered by 714 thousand rubles ($25,550) per square meter. The most expensive luxury apartment is proposed for 1 million 112 thousand rubles ($39,800) per square meter.

On April British Chesterton consulting considered the world's property markets and has estimated how many years need a family to buy a luxury apartment. The first was Hong Kong. Here on the luxury housing an ordinary family has to save 205 years. The average cost of real estate is $ 3.6 million and an average annual household income is $ 17.5 thousand. In ranking the second place was Moscow, where to buy luxury housing family will have to make money for 113 years. "Chesterton" Analysts also estimated, that the average annual income of family in Moscow is $ 35.2 thousand, while the average price of luxury apartments - $ 3.9 million. It is more difficult to purchase luxury housing in London and in New York. Here the figures are 65 and 55 years respectively. In Kiev, with an average annual household income of $ 23 thousand and the price of luxury apartments in the $ 900 thousand, the rate of availability is 39 years. In Paris and Geneva for the purchase of luxury housing families have to spend 32 years. One of the lowest indicators (11 years) is observed in the United Arab Emirates in the Abu Dhabi. In addition to a high standard of living (annual income is about $ 144 thousand), experts attribute this to the fact that here house construction sector is very advanced. If we bring such rough calculation for Yerevan, we'll have following results; with the average annual income of a $7.0-$8.0 and an average cost of a luxury apartment of $250-300 thousands, an average income family living in Yerevan will have to pay for it about 35-40 years. However, as we see, Chesterton's calculations didn't assume other expenses, such as food, education, utilities, healthcare and so on, and surely, including all these costs will postpone apartment buying, and for an average Yerevan family the outlook for getting luxury apartment is almost unreachable.

Famous Russian composer Igor Krutoy bought a luxury apartment in New York, at a famous Plaza Hotel with a panoramic view over Central Park. The apartment has about 557 square meters and cost more than $40 million. As Wall Street Journal reported, this is the second most expensive townhouse or apartment sold in New York since the start of financial crisis. But this estate is not the first real estate purchase of Krutoy in New York. In 2003 he purchased half of the 28th floor at the Chatham condominium (a 34-story condominium tower) for $6.1 million. Three years later he paid $7.4 million for the larger apartment next door. In April 2009 Krutoy put both apartments on the market together for just under $20 million and in June he sold the larger one for only $7 million. Note that a luxury apartment in New York is not the only "shelters" of Krutoys' family; they also have apartments in Moscow, houses in Miami and Yurmala.