Successful real estate investors are well aware that one of the fundamental keys to building a successful property portfolio is the careful timing of market entry; therefore investors always seek to buy ahead of an emerging trend and often take a national or international perspective when looking for the next big thing in terms of real estate.

In 2006 there are five countries that stand head and shoulders above all other nations worldwide in terms of the potential their real estate markets present property investors.

This article offers you an overview of each country so that you can choose where to make your next real estate purchase.

Costa Rica - The CIA World FactBook has recently begun listing Costa Rica as "a Central American success story" because the Costa Rican government have successfully established an economically and politically stable country in which more overseas investors are focusing their financial interests.

The retiree and second home markets in Costa Rica are growing as is tourism interest and the country offers visitors and expatriates a stunning climate, an abundance of rare and beautiful flora and fauna, it is bordered by both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean and the standard of living is both high and affordable.

The real estate sector in Costa Rica offers investors an affordable platform and the Costa Rican government offer investors certain tax breaks and incentives to commit to the country.

Ghana - Located in West Africa Ghana is a stunningly beautiful country with palm fringed, white sandy beaches and an incredibly forward thinking and progressive government.

The government of Ghana are committed to improving the economic conditions in Ghana and are targeting foreign direct investment and making significant constitutional changes to allow for freer flowing investment which will in turn attract greater overseas economic interest.

The country has a growing tourism sector which requires accommodation units to let out to visitors offering a real estate investor an immediate opportunity for rental yield. And the long term economic prospects for Ghana are positive which should give a property purchaser long term capital growth prospects from any investment made.

Malaysia - Economically speaking Malaysia is built on very solid foundations and is benefiting from closer export ties to China, low inflation, a small external debt and good foreign exchange reserves.

The country also has a growing tourism sector and a vibrant city based young executive market - either of which a property investor could target for rental income. Real estate in Malaysia is affordable and economic indicators suggest that property prices will continue to rise steadily over the medium to long term giving an investor the chance to reap capital growth from any investment made as well.

Qatar - Forget Dubai for she's a blown rose! The next big Middle Eastern real estate marketplace is Qatar where constitutional changes have been effected to allow for foreign freehold ownership of property in certain key geographic areas and where overseas investment is flooding in.

The Qatari government are actively targeting foreign investment into all business sectors and establishing an oil-independent economy that should be forever sustainable. The property sector is entirely secondary to the government's focus, therefore an investor can rest assured that demand for real estate in Qatar will remain strong as the majority of buyers are purchasing for long term accommodation not purely for investment gain.

Turkey - In 2005 Turkey finally began the process for EU accession and immediately received substantial investment commitment from Dubai. The real estate market is already doing very well in Turkey especially in Istanbul and along the Turkish Rivera, but this investment boost will help to raise infrastructure standards in Turkey and has also already boosted worldwide interest in this vast and impressive country.

Real estate investors buying today will benefit from a growing tourism market, increased foreign direct investment as Turkey moves towards EU membership and also a property market that is currently under priced and that has massive room for price expansion.

Hopefully these hot tips will give you some food for thought and assist you with your next real estate property portfolio purchase.