Knight Frank Picks World's Best Places to Buy a Home

MUSCAT, OMAN
Property Type: Apartments, villas
Buyer Type: 40- to 50-year-old corporate/trader
The Wave (pictured), Muscat, is Oman’s premier expatriate community. A 6-km beach and marina separates you from the azure of the Gulf. It has an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman and is just 7 minutes from the new international terminal.

Specs: 1,900-sq ft 3BHKs (bedroom, hall, kitchen) start at Rs 2.3 crore; 2,400-sq ft villas from Rs 2.9 crore have rental yields of 5-6 percent across the board.

Image: Jason Hawkes
LONDON
Property Type: Apartments
Buyer Type: 60-year-old industrialist, 50-year-old corporate
Once a pensioner’s paradise, Chelsea is now just as popular with Russian billionaires. Chelsea Creek has the advantage of being in a secluded area on the Thames and being close to the fashionable West End theatres, Knightsbridge shopping area and the South Kensington museums.

Specs: An 800-sq ft 2BHK will set you back Rs 7.7 crore but with rental yields of 4.5 percent in a strong pound sterling will outperform a similar property in India by a long way. A similar apartment at One Tower Bridge (pictured) will be about the same but put you bang under London’s most iconic bridge.


CYPRUS
Property Type: Apartments
Buyer Type: 30- to 40-year-old expatriate
High View Gardens gives you that Mediterranean-holiday feel all year round. Think ‘gated community on the Amalfi coast’. Apartments come furnished, ideal for letting during peak season.

Specs: A 2BHK duplex (936 sq ft living area and 527 sq ft veranda) will go for Rs 1.7 crore (€257,000).


SINGAPORE
Property Type: Apartments
Buyer Type: 30- to 40-year-old corporate / trader
The Tanjong Pagar district is being redeveloped into the next ‘Marina Bay’. Sky Suites (pictured) will be the tallest condominium in the central business district when it is completed in 2018 and will boast a 7th floor sports club, a 56th floor spa and a 72nd floor sky deck to top it all off.

Specs: 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments are available for 400, 670 and 980 sq ft, respectively. Projects start from Rs 6.7 crore (SGD 1,507,000).



DUBAI
Property Type: Serviced apartments
Buyer Type: Company, 40- to 50-year-old trader
After a long day in the markets, traders and businesspeople know the value of convenience. Fully serviced apartments near the Burj Khalifa-like Burjside Boulevard (to be completed by March 2013) come furnished and offer 24-hour concierge, gym, pool and spa. 

Specs: A 1,400-sq ft 2BHK starts at Rs 4.95 crore with Rs 300/sq ft per year maintenance.

WATAMU, KENYA
Property Type: Villas
Buyer Type: Company, 40- to 50-year-old corporate / trader
Medina Palms (pictured) is a bit of beachside decadence at a bargain price. You’d be forgiven for thinking Watamu was a Windows desktop wallpaper.

Specs: Villas up to 10,000 sq ft are available, with 4,747 sq ft ones starting at Rs 4.7 crore and a 3,000-sq ft penthouse at Rs 2.8 crore. Rental yields are 8 percent.