Virtually every country in Europe has undergone a property boom since the late 1990s with prices doubling and even tripling in some key markets. Thousands of people have grown wealthy off the unprecedented increases in property values in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. More recently Baltic countries and Central and Eastern Europe have charmed investors.

But a bubble emerged in many states. Historically high levels of household debt coupled with higher interest rates caused the bubble to pop in some countries in the wake of the subprime crisis and ensuing credit crunch in the United States.

Though few property markets will escape the effects of a global slowdown, some experts are confident that some European countries still offer investment potential, particularly those that kept their cool during the boom years. Portugal and Germany are two possible examples of developed real estate markets that still have potential for price growth. In the eastern Mediterranean, meanwhile, Turkey and Cyprus continue to attract interest.