Beijing to scrap home purchase incentives
Beijing will scrap home purchase incentives following the surge in property prices, reducing the range of sales-tax exemption on the housing market and implementing the 40 percent down payment requirement for a second home.In a statement, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and...
Continue Reading • 25 Feb 2010
President Obama reveals US$1.5 billion housing crisis plan
US President Barack Obama has unveiled a package of measures amounting to $1.5 billion. This is intended to assist victims of the US housing crisis in the state of Nevada, where the collapse hit particularly hard.“This fund's going to help out-of-work home owners prevent preventible...
Continue Reading • 22 Feb 2010
Trendy lofts in HK creating an underground market
The escalating rental rates and prices of apartments in Hong Kong are helping to start a new trend of converting older commercial and industrial buildings into trendy lofts.According to property agents, lofts are the latest trend in HK and they are often created from old or unused offices and...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
CapitaLand's Beaufort project in China receives overwhelming response
CapitaLand said that its new condominium in Beijing has been receiving an overwhelming response, with 95 percent of Phase One units being sold in just over two weeks.The Beaufort condominium is situated on a 53,808 sq m land plot near the Beijing Chaoyang Park, one of the largest city parks in...
Continue Reading • 10 Feb 2010
HK real estate market due for correction
The real estate market in Hong Kong has escalated and buyers must watch out for a bubble forming, said Justin Chiu, Executive Director of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.“The rise is a bit unusual,” said Mr. Chiu in an interview. “There should be a correction at some point.”Low...
Continue Reading • 9 Feb 2010
KL office rents remain at a stable level
Kuala Lumpur remains one of the most competitive office locations in Asia and with more than one million square feet of new office space for the next three years, average rental rates are expected to remain stable, said one leading property firm.Over the next three years, more than nine million...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
Malaysian property market expected to see increased transactions in 2010
The Malaysian property market is expected to improve further this year in line with the recovery of the global economy. It is estimated to have had RM75.42 billion (US$22.1 billion) worth of transactions registered last year. Compared with the 340,240 properties valued at RM88.34 billion in 2008,...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
Australia's high-end property market picking up
The market for high-end apartments and units within the Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne is back, fuelled by a quick economic recovery and housing shortages.The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has released a median sales figure for the December quarter, showing that prices of...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Malaysia keen to draw foreign property investors
The Malaysian government is keen to draw more foreign property investors particularly from Singapore, UK and India.According to Malaysia’s Foreign Investment Committee, a comprehensive deregulation of investment guidelines has been designed to assist overseas buyers.“The most...
Continue Reading • 19 Jan 2010
Bangkok condo market still under pressure
Rental rates of condominiums in Bangkok are facing continued pressure this year, as a greater number of newer units appear on the scene.Research conducted by DTZ showed that in the final quarter of 2009, six projects with a total of 1,408 units were launched within Thailand’s Central...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2010
Average prices of UK homes rise back to above £200,000
The Communities and Local Government (CLG) released information showing that the average prices of UK homes have now risen back to above £200,000.While November figures showed that the rate of increase in the value of UK property has started to slow down, prices are still 0.6% above the...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2010
Commercial real estate in US to see growth in 2011
US commercial property investors may still have to wait until 2011 to see their returns grow, as returns are expected to stay in the negative this year, said CB Richard Ellis Group’s research arm.“The worst is behind us because (values) won't be dropping as fast,” said Serguei...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2010
Malaysian property market gaining momentum
Malaysia’s property market will have a good result this year, as the economic situation improves and prices become more affordable.A recent report from CIMB Research showed that due to moderate price appreciation, low interest rates and rising incomes, Malaysia’s residential...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2010
China formulates fresh measures to fight property bubble
China promised on Sunday that it will not allow foreign speculative investment to affect the local property market. This, as property prices in the mainland increase quickly.The directive from the State Council will guide ministries and local authorities, including The China Banking Regulatory...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2010
Speculative buying of Malaysian property still under control
Excessive speculative buying of properties due to various flexible home loan packages is not Malaysia’s major concern, said several industry players and analysts.SP Setia Bhd chief executive officer, Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, said: “Given that many of the buyers were first-time home...
Continue Reading • 8 Jan 2010
UK banks still unwilling to lend to commercial property
The first Lenders’ Expectation survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle revealed that only a few of the well-capitalized banks in the UK are able and willing to lend more than £100 million to commercial property.Since commercial property values experienced a huge drop of more than 40...
Continue Reading • 8 Jan 2010
KepLand to develop a waterfront residential township in Vietnam
Keppel Land, one of the premier property developers in Asia, said that it has acquired a third township site in the popular District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Through Flemmington Investments, KepLand’s wholly-owned subsidiary, this acquisition is a joint venture between Keppel Land...
Continue Reading • 8 Jan 2010
Pending home sales down in November by 16%
The volume of contracts to purchase previously-owned US homes slid more than the November forecast, as Americans waited for first-time buyer tax credit to be extended. According to the National Association of Realtors, the pending home sales index or signed purchase agreements dropped 16 percent...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Dubai launches world’s tallest skyscraper
Dubai opened the world’s tallest tower on Monday. The 828-metre-tall skyscraper will be renamed Burj Khalifa, to honour Abu Dhabi President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who pumped billions of dollars into Dubai last year, as it struggled from its enormous debt. The US$1.5 billion Burj...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Construction on Menara YNH to begin in six months
YNH Property Bhd is expecting to start work of its proposed Menara YNH project in the next six months.Although Kuwait Finance House Bhd (KFH) cancelled the plan to purchase one of the two office blocks at Menara YNH two weeks ago, YNH said it would still carry on with the development of the...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010