After two years of double-digit growth, the luxury sector is expected to see more declines.

The old brick warehouses that once received cargoes of cane sugar, spices, furs, rice, cloth and wine are becoming some of Antwerp's most desirable residential properties.

Beit Zayit, located in the hills just outside of Jerusalem, has transformed itself from a chickens-in-the-backyard neighborhood of simple stucco homes to a suburban enclave of more luxurious, pool-in-the-backyard houses.

With its intimate link to the worlds of fashion and design, few would connect Milan to the Bohemian life. But Elinor Schiele's living space does bring to mind the home of a struggling writer or artist.

No man is an island. But plenty of people fancy the idea of owning one.

New developments near the medieval walled city of Óbidos are aiming to avoid mistakes made in the Algarve, on the southern coast, and in Spain.

There are few properties for sale along the rugged Amalfi Coast of Italy - and little chance of building anything new. But patient buyers can find beautiful villas surrounded by lemon groves and terraced vineyards.

The renaissance of the Palais Layadi - from ruin to regal palace in 18 months - is a 21st-century tale of "A Thousand and One Nights."

When PJ Doherty Construction had trouble selling houses in its development in Ireland, the developer came up with a special offer: Buy a house and the developer will throw in a new, furnished apartment in Bulgaria.

Fulvio Di Rosa does not agree with the recent trend of creating lavish, over-the-top projects for fractional ownership. "The cultural experience matters more than how many stars a place has," explained the Tuscan-based architect and developer, whose latest venture, Borgo di Vagli, has emerged from the ruins of a medieval hamlet near Cortona, Italy.

Nguyen Qui Duc wanted a weekend retreat from Hanoi and he found it in the mountains of Tam Dao, Vietnam.

• Photos: In Vietnam

The trend of buying up entire properties that had been chopped into apartments and restoring them to their original size and grandeur as single-family homes has become rarer in today's tough economic times. But some - especially the very wealthy - still see value in "deconversions."

John and Cynthia Hardy have created a 33.5-meter-long traditional Balinese longhouse that stands among their vast expanse of coconut and frangipani trees, manmade and natural ponds, and even vegetable gardens.

• Photos: In Bali