HONG KONG: Home sales in the secondary residential market remain sluggish because of a big gap in price expectations between buyers and sellers that has made negotiations more time consuming, Ricacorp Properties says.

PITTSBURGH: "Every crisis brings an opportunity". That is the motto of Paul Liang, a Taiwanese immigrant who arrived in the United States at the age of 12.

KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research is positive on the joint venture agreement between Mah Sing Group Bhd's wholly-owned unit Grand Pavilion Development Sdn Bhd and Asie Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Usaha Nusantara Sdn Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd has secured the development rights for a 4.08-acre (1.63ha) parcel along Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Pahang, which formerly housed the Pekeliling flats, with a potential gross development value (GDV) of RM900 million.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Building Society Bhd (MBSB) saw its net profit for 2QFY11 ended June 30 jump 58% to RM78.25 million from RM49.51 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher income from Islamic banking and conventional business net interest income.

IPOH: The Haven Sdn Bhd has appointed CB Richard Ellis Malaysia (CBRE) as its sole marketing agent for Malaysia and the rest of Asia for The Haven Lakeside Residences, located in Tambun.

CBRE Malaysia executive chairman Christopher Boyd said their role was to market The Haven Lakeside Residences as a five-star luxury eco condo-tel project.

SINGAPORE: Commercial properties in Asia will continue to perform well in the second half of 2011, said Asia real estate investment house Pacific Star Group in its biannual Asia Property Outlook and Strategy report.

KUALA LUMPUR: A property bubble burst is unlikely to happen in the Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, as there are no signs to indicate such a trend in the next two years, says AmInvestment Bank Group.

Director for retail funds Ng Chze How said real estate investment trusts (REITS) would also not experience a burst including those acquired by the group.

KUNMING (China): Nestled in a sleepy southern district of Kunming city in southwest China, is a 10,000 square metre, four-storey building that could make Swedish furniture giant Ikea uneasy.

BEIJING: Average new home prices in 100 major Chinese cities rose 0.2% in July from the previous month to 8,874 yuan (RM4,032.48) per square metre, with growth slowing slightly under the influence of official policy tightening, a private data provider said on Monday, Aug 1.