If you’ve decided that you want to purchase your own private island, either as an investment or your personal vacation paradise, you have a lot of decision-making ahead of you. In many ways, purchasing an island is very much like buying a home, but there are plenty of additional factors that need to be taken into consideration before you decide on a purchase.

As with all property, the first step is to figure out what your budget is. It is better to spend as much as you’re able to rather than settling on an island of poorer quality just because it’s more affordable. You will end up with both a better investment and a more attractive purchase.

Location is also important–one of the most important factors in choosing to buy, really. Take the surroundings into account, not just the island itself. The local infrastructure is essential. Make sure that you will have access to an airport and a town or village where you will be able to purchase needed supplies.

While most of the celebrity real estate listings that catch the public eye are for properties in Southern California or New York, not all of the stars out there limit their holdings to these two popular locations. Actress Anne Archer, nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in Fatal Attraction, has listed her luxurious condo in the unassuming city of Portsmouth, RI for sale. The two-bedroom unit was built in 2003, according to records. It is located on Narragansett Bay in the Carnegie Abbey Sporting Estate golf and yachting club development and features both waterfront and golf course views. The condo offers two-and-a-half bathrooms, a wet bar, and two living rooms. Measuring in at 1,592 square feet, the property has been listed for $1,100,000. Archer and her husband Terry Jastrow do own a home in one of the more popular celebrity haunts: the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, while many people dream of seeing their ideas for a custom home brought to life, not everyone gets to actually live in the house that they’ve built. Kristin Cavallari, best known for playing herself in the reality TV series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County has placed her custom-built home, located in the titular city, on the market for a pricey $13.95. Tucked away inside the gated community Three Arch Bay, this home took eight years to build. Over $2 million was invested into just the masonry, with hardwoods also being heavily featured in the construction. Measuring in at 7,100 square feet, the home has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. The 3.25 acre property has beautiful views of the coast and Catalina. The property also features almost an acre of professional landscaping, an infinity pool, and enough parking for up to 25 cars.

While we are definitely in a buyers’ market these days when it comes to real estate, not everyone is doomed to watch their property sit unsold for weeks or even months on end. Melanie Brown, better known as Scary Spice from the hit 1990′s pop group the Spice Girls, managed to sell her home after it spent only seven days on the market.

Purchased in 2007, this “ultra chic” home is located in the Hollywood Hills and recently had $1 million worth of remodeling done. The home measures 3,476 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The property also features an entertainment area, waterfalls, and a saline pool.

While the MLS said that the original listing price had been $2,999,999, the house closed at $3.14 million, proving that even in a buyers’ market, there are hot properties to be found.

If you’re a fan of Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman or her actor husband William H. Macy, perhaps you’d be interested in sending them a rent check each month. There might be a slim possibility of this for a few SoCal residents, as the couple recently closed on a million dollar property in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. This residential building measures 3,924 square feet and sits on a 0.15 acre lot.

According to public records, this four-unit building has four bedrooms and four baths. The entire building is actually smaller than the actors’ principal residence, which is located in the Hollywood Hills. Purchased over a decade ago, records show that that home measures 4,717 square feet. There is no word of what they have planned for their new purchase, but we seriously doubt it’s going to replace their current house.

The quarterly numbers for real estate sales in Manhattan were released this week, painting a dark picture of the current market.  While even the most uninterested layman could probably tell you that housing sales have fallen, the latest reports indicate that sales of Manhattan apartments and co-ops have fallen by as much as 58%.  This is a dramatic drop, especially when one takes a look at the deeply troubled auto industry, where sales are off by approximately 45%.

New construction and luxury apartments on Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Central Park West in particular have been hit hard by the housing slump.  Compared to a year ago, sales of apartments that are priced over $10 million have plummeted by a whopping 87%.  While there
were eight co-ops that closed for over $20 million in the first quarter of 2008, only one managed to close for that amount in the same quarter of this year.

A representative from Advantage Home Rates says: “Not only have the price dropped and there are very few buyers in the market now, but out of those few buyers, very few actually qualify for mortgage loans, as the requirements for mortgage loans have tightened, often requiring minimum down payments of 30% or more.”