U.S. real estate prices, particularly Southern California, have adjusted much lower than global real estate prices. I had the opportunity to travel to Australia for the Holidays and - wow, what a great experience. The plane ride was, well let's just say long but hey 15 hours non-stop San Francisco to Sydney was fun? The best part of any long trip is the fact that the destination feels exotic and far from home. Landing in Sydney was no exception and definitely worth the effort.

Southern California has some of the highest priced real estate in the U.S., and I was looking forward to comparing values in a foreign market. Although flying through Sydney, it was not my destination, Port Douglas, Queensland was. The arrival airport for Port Douglas is Cairns - and the landing, scenery, weather, and small town feeling was wonderful. I had a great time exploring and enjoying the tropical location. For anyone who loves the desert like I do, this type of getaway is really appreciated, and the grass really is greener in the rain forest than in the Colorado Desert (Palm Springs). In addition to being the jumping off point for the Northern Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas was clean, beautiful, and oh what a surprise - expensive!

Kamal Sehgal

The real estate prices all over Australia (for the most part) are currently experiencing large amounts of appreciation. Some of the Real Estate in Port Douglas was more expensive than here in beautiful Southern California. Palm Springs real estate is on average $350/ sq ft - with the range being $100 to $1,000 sq ft. Port Douglas seemed to be a bit more expensive than this - I was very surprised, but on the other hand, what a beautiful spot. My experience tells me that there might be an adjustment for our Australian friends, based on the global credit contraction. I would recommend anyone interested in weather, fitness, food, exotic locales and real estate - visit Australia, Port Douglas in particular. My choice as a sister city to the beautiful desert here in Palm Springs - oh and don't forget to buy Real Estate.

This is certain to become more important over the next few years as energy and water become more expensive and green taxes are levied by governments. I expect the Australian government to be at the forefront of this type of initiative. Getting a visa to live in Australia is not easy and you need permission as a foreigner to invest in real estate, however once that is done the processes for buying property in Australia are relatively straight forward. The economy in the circumstances is good with low unemployment and certain sectors, especially mining doing well. The healthy outdoors lifestyle is another thing people often cite as the reason for moving to Australia.

In the buy to let sectors, student accommodation should also be considered with an ever increasing amount of young people flocking to the big universities in the cities. However, whether it is students, workers or families one thing you should ensure is that your letting agent is a good responsible one.