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Forbes comes up with less obvious places to invest

In compiling its list Forbes, famous for its rich list, looked at economic expansion, inflation rates, strength of individual property rights and access to lending in emerging markets. It does not come up with locations that are expected to explode in value in the next six to 12 months, but in the next five years. They are likely to be worthy investments over time rather than a fast buck.

It recommends looking at Tel Aviv. Israel's real estate market struggled in the late '90s and early 2000s as the country grappled with deflation. As late as 2006, market weakness had pushed prices down 4%, according to Knight Frank, a London-based real estate research company. But last year prices climbed 2%. That is expected to continue, given the country's robust 5.1% 2007 growth in gross domestic product and a 3.8% projection for this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Or consider Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and one of the biggest winners in global trade, where economic growth has kept up with neighboring Southeast Asian countries but where inflation and consumer prices are becoming some of the area's lowest. That means more money in the economy, and a bigger share of it in people's pockets. Home prices in some spots in Kuala Lumpur are going for 50% to 70% above initial asking price, according to Knight Frank, and builders are rushing to keep up with demand.

In an emerging market, perhaps more important than property rights is access to capital. If people can't find lenders, the market breaks down because no one, except those with deep cash reserves, can buy property. When a housing market stagnates and capital becomes tight, you get a situation like South Florida, where hundreds of thousands of homes sit empty on the market and lower the values of surrounding homes.

But in markets like Santiago, Chile or Amman in Jordan, where inflation hasn't been as out of pace with growth, economic expansion represents a greater value in the real estate market because it speaks to what people can afford in the loan market.

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