Property Investments...

Grapeshisha is advising people interested in investing in property in the UAE to invest in real estate in fantasy games like Second Life.

There are people in China who play these fantasy games all day long and then sell the stuff they earn for real money on e-Bay. In fact, there are even reports from China of people murdered for their virtual property.

Meanwhile, the alternatives in the UAE remain as terrifying as ever. From the time, several years ago, when Emaar starting selling empty sand while Nakheel sold empty Gulf for 30% down, and no history of freehold in the UAE, to today, when prices are up by more than 300% and the buyer must put 80% down before the villa is completed.

Since the actual costs were covered by the old prices, and since the UAE has lots of sand and lots of Gulf still available, it's hard to see how current prices can be sustainable. Emaar had to cut its dividend.

And, perhaps scariest of all, the local newspapers report that the demand for property is so great that prices can only rise, and the developers can only continue to mint money.

Meanwhile, the big developers have raised their asking prices by 50% just in the last four months; however, it is not clear if they are actually selling property at these prices.

So Grapeshisha is probably right, that, right now, fantasy real estate is probably a safer investment than UAE real estate.