According to Adrian McDermott, managing director for escapes2, Panama, known as the "paradise of Latin America," is already at the top of American investors' list, and is now attracting interest from European investors.

"Property prices in Panama City are less than half that of American cities such as Miami, and coupled with the fact that the US Dollar has been Panama’s currency since 1904 and given its current weak state, Panama looks a good bet for 2007," he said.

McDermott also pointed out that Panama's low cost of living and its numerous incentives for retirees has helped the country to become the most popular choice for Americans looking to purchase property outside of their own country.

In Turkey, rapid migration to the city of Istanbul from within the country has pushed up demand for housing there, McDermott observed. He also noted that the purchasing power of Turks is about to expand because of legislation that’s being passed to make land titles more secure, opening up the opportunity of loan to value mortgages. Furthermore, the high cost of borrowing from banks and a culture of raising capital by alternative means has caused developers to reduce their profit margins substantially in order to raise the required capital to get their projects off the ground. "For this reason Istanbul now represents great potential for Western Europeans as off plan development prices are considerably less than the completed projects' local market value," said McDermott.

Jersey in the Channel Islands currently has a strong rental market owing to a high proportion (27%) of residents living in rented accommodation and enjoys high rental yields compared to mainland UK, McDermott said. He also noted that contrary to popular opinion, there are no restrictions on non residents buying property to let on Jersey, and with the government aiming to boost its tax revenues by allowing more licenced workers into the island, property for purchase or rent will be in even shorter supply pushing up rental yields as well as increasing capital growth. "Unlike the UK mainland prices in Jersey have been almost static for the last six years, and only recently have property prices started to move upwards, (6% in the first 9 months of 2006) so we believe there is plenty of room for growth in 2007," noted McDermott.

McDermott's final choice is Slovakia, and in particular the ski resort areas in the Tatras mountains which have seen heavy government investment in recent times. The area is also served by an international airport and the country as a whole is enjoying a period of stability and economic growth, with GDP estimated to have expanded by 8% last year - the fastest in Central Europe. "Growth in the property market has been sustainable – due to the fact that it is Slovakians who are currently purchasing, although as the country becomes more widely known to outsiders, demand for property seems bound to increase," he concluded.

Founded in 1999 in Manchester, UK, escapes2.com Ltd initially sold property in the Costa del Sol area of Spain. Over the last few years the company has expanded to cover other areas of Europe and further afield, establishing relationships with property developers and partner agents from around the world.