Portofino (Italy)

Price: $2,692 per sq. ft.What you get for $1.5 million: 1 bedroomAnnual price change: 14%Although there's no beach, the harbor of this resort village on the Italian Riviera is packed with yachts owned by the world's rich and famous. The village is about 20 miles from the Genoa airport.

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Chubut, Argentina

Price: $12 million
Location: Chubut, Argentina

Although this property has a relatively modest home for the priciest in the continent, the estancia comes with plenty of extras. Nearly 59,000 acres of land with hills, canyons and ravines, for one. The property has been partly planted with wheat, barley and other grains. The Tecka River crosses the land, providing ample fishing opportunities. A 5,300-square-foot main house has four bedrooms, four baths and a study, plus a guesthouse, stables and staff houses. All the equipment is included, from trucks and tractors to lawn mowers and tools. For more information, visit www.patagonias.net.

Taupo, New Zealand

Price: $25 million
Location: Taupo, New Zealand

We might not have included Poronui Station in our list were it not for the estate home that anchors it. After all, it is so much more than a residence. The sporting retreat includes 16,000 acres of land crisscrossed by 25 miles of creeks and has wildlife, a fishing lodge, clays range and seven guest cabins. The activities complex features a gym, sauna, steam and massage area, billiards room, kitchen and equestrian facility. The main house was built in 2000 on a plateau overlooking the Taharua River. With five bedrooms and five baths, it is done in an elegant, rustic style, with hardwood beams, river rocks and slate floors. No need to worry about getting there—Poronui Station is equipped with a private airstrip and helipad. It is listed with John Goddard and Bill Leckie at Colliers International.

Florida Real Estate

Real Estate Transactions

The Florida House is moving forward with an aggressive tax break for first-time homebuyers that would offer thousands in up-front savings to lure reluctant buyers into Florida's ailing real estate market.
The break would give buyers who have never claimed a Florida homestead a 50 percent property-value exemption, which would result in about $2,000 in savings on a $200,000 home. The exemption would phase out over five years.
Pushed by Gov. Charlie Crist, supporters are promoting the proposed 2010 ballot measure as an economic stimulus plan aimed at whittling down the 300,000-plus unsold homes languishing on the market.
The 20-month backlog is eroding home values and feeding the foreclosure crisis, since people can't sell their homes, they said.
"Every new buyer makes one home disappear," said Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, the bill's sponsor.
If the Legislature passes the tax break this spring, it would go before voters as a constitutional amendment in November 2010 and require 60-percent approval to become law.
The measure passed a House committee with strong bipartisan support Wednesday, but critics point to a flaw in the measure: it gives first-time homebuyers a tax break not available to people who bought within the last three or four years, just before the market crashed.

Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy)

Price: $3,028 per sq. ft.What you get for $1.5 million: 1 bedroomAnnual price change: 22%The Northern Italian resort town is a popular second-home destination for ski buffs and Milan's business elite. Prices for prime European vacation homes have benefited from the growth of the world's population of high-net-worth individuals.

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Hong Kong

Price: $4,507 per sq. ft.
What you get for $1.5 million: Studio apartment
Annual price change: 21%

Hong Kong's real estate market has been driven by China's strong economic growth. Despite limited space, real estate demand on the island has started to slow, and prices are softening as the effects of the U.S. credit squeeze spread.