If you're looking for where condo sales will trend upward in 2009, you may have to look outside the U.S. for such a forecast. Tokyo, Dubai and Newfoundland are all forecasting a rise in condo sales for 2009.

JapanEconomyNews.com reports the Real Estate Institute says that Japan should see an increase in condo sales of nearly 12 percent -- mostly because the market dipped so tremendously in 2008.

The website says, "The Real Estate Economic Institute must be looking at a combination of oversupply, heavily discounted prices and the chance that the economy will begin to turn around from the third quarter of next year -- or at least that consumer sentiment, wages and propensity to spend will be better."

Dubai, a hotbed of real estate investment for years, should see positive growth again in 2009, according to developers there. "The Chairman of Pearl Dubai, Abdul Majeed al Fahim, said, "As far as we are concerned there is no liquidity problem and our projects are on track," as reported on Dubai condo industry watcher EstatesDubai.com.

Closer to the U.S., some Canadian markets are also looking for growth in '09. St. Johns, Newfoundland has been one of the most stable markets throughout the international downturn. Realtors Stephen and Fraser Winters, a father-son team, report St. Johns will see another increase in sales this next year. "Seller's market conditions should prevail in 2009, with vendors commanding larger deposits and builders asking and getting at least five per cent down for new construction," they say on their blog stjohnsrealestateonline.com.

Published: December 29, 2008

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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of Real Estate Investing Made Simple. Got a personal real estate issue? Post your questions and comments at Anthony’s blog: commonsenserealestate.blogspot.com.