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

With the property market in turmoil, especially in the United States, real estate agents around the country are ratcheting up their efforts to woo the Russian oligarchs, Korean industrialists and other international buyers who have been making headlines with splashy top-dollar purchases.

• U.S. credit crunch frustrates some overseas buyers

This city, at the center of the Rhine-Ruhr industrial region, is jumping aboard the luxury housing bandwagon -- and so far its prices are holding steady.

Opinions are split on whether Dubai can sustain its real estate boom, with some saying there is too much housing being built but others noting that the region's population is continuing to grow and will need places to live.

• Photos: In Dubai

In stark contrast to the sumptuous villas that line the streets of the Zehlendorf neighborhood, the Friedmans' home is a modern, two-story building in white. A boxy room that juts out from the first floor is in the Bauhaus style, Friedman said.

• Berlin: Where the funk lives on
• Photos: In Berlin

While real estate in much of the world's developed countries is struggling, the sale or long-term rental of residential parking spaces is generally doing just fine.