The house-price boom in the UAE and overseas before the onset of the financial crisis was an incredible period for the global property market. Investors believed there was only one direction for prices to go - up.
Up in smoke, more like.
The credit crunch of 2008-2009 sent property values spiraling downwards and the recovery since then has varied enormously in markets around the world.
The Economist, which has compiled data on the property sector since 2002, released its latest interactive guide to the world's housing markets at the end of last month.
According to their research, while the property markets of emerging economies are yet to be affected by the more dismal fortunes of their domestic economies as a whole, prices in more developed economies such as the US, the UK and Hong Kong appear to be on the rise.
To see more about how property prices are being affected around the world, click on this interactive graphic that analyses prices over the last 10 years in 10 markets including the US, Singapore and Australia.
The National staff
