Despite the draw of property in glamorous distant Anglophone nations such as the US, South Africa and Australia, new advice published by property investment specialists Assetz suggests that those considering ploughing their cash into property would do better to look a little closer to home.

2007 is set to be a big year for two countries in the eastern Mediterranean: Turkey and Cyrpus but the UK is also offering very high returns for those who can afford the initial investment.

The Cypriot market is well-placed to be one of Europe's top performers in 2007. A major factor in future of the Cyrprus property market is its accession to the eurozone on January 1st next year.

Adopting the euro means that the republic's government will surrender interest rate control to the European Central Bank, which has set rates for the eurozone at a much lower level than Cyprus'.

This will mean that borrowing on the island is cheaper and so those financing their property purchase with money from Cypriot lenders should be able to fix their loan at a more favourable rate.

Indeed, politically things seem to be looking up for an island that has been divided between the Turkish north and the Greek south since 1974.

Earlier this week, Turkey offered to open a port and an airport to sea and air traffic from Cyprus. Although this may seem like a small compromise, the move has massive political implications as Turkey's relationship with the country has been one of the major sticking points over its proposed entry to the EU.

If the Turks continue to dance to the EU's tune then property investors may have a burgeoning market on their hands in one of the UK's top holiday destinations. Assetz says that capital growth in the country is strong at 20 per cent and there is a high demand for property due to a strong internal demand.

However, Stuart Law, managing director of Assetz, argues that many investors may be tempted to keep their cash in their homeland as the UK is offering some of the best returns of late.

"There has been a slight lowering in the rate of growth in many countries during 2006 and the UK is the first to bounce, but I suspect many others will follow next year including France, Spain and Bulgaria," he said.

"With the UK performing so well, many investors will be opting for the low-risk approach and keeping their money in UK property, now it offers strong returns that can compete on the international stage."