LONDON (Jan 25): HSBC said it will make £15 billion (RM72.04 billion) available for UK homeowners to borrow this year, potentially providing 150,000 mortgages and likely to increase its share of business in a shrinking market.

HSBC said its planned lending includes £3 billion for first-time buyers, potentially for about 27,000 borrowers.

WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 25): Would-be American home-buyers can take heart: US housing is more affordable than in other English-speaking countries, according to a study of metropolitan areas around the world.

DUBLIN (Jan 25): The decline in Irish residential property prices accelerated last year to 16.7% from 10.5% in 2010, data on Tuesday showed, as a weak domestic economy and low mortgage lending continued to hit demand.

Irish property prices rocketed before the property bubble burst in 2008, leaving banks with huge losses and homeowners with hefty mortgage repayments.

DUBLIN (Jan 25): An unemployed Irish artist has built a home from the shredded remains of €1.4 billion (RM5.59 billion), a monument to the "madness" he says has been wrought on Ireland by the single currency, from a spectacular construction boom to a wrenching bust.

WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 25): Pending sales of existing US homes fell more than expected in December, industry data showed on Wednesday, pointing to a moderation in home sales after recent hefty gains.

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in December, dropped 3.5% to 96.6 after surging to a 1½ year high the prior month.

KUALA TERENGGANU (Jan 25): The Terengganu government is now using Google services to detect illegal occupation of government-owned land in the state.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said said this was the state government's latest approach to overcome the problem.

IPOH (Jan 25): The Perak state government has urged the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to review its ban on construction of tall buildings in Ipoh as it would affect development, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

He said the regulation enforced since the 1950s obstructed the state government's efforts to develop Ipoh into a modern city.

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 25): Fifty of the more than 1,200 buyers of abandoned housing projects in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, Selangor on Wednesday filed a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) here for alleged corruption.

However, only two were allowed to enter the office to lodge reports on behalf of the other victims.

Time to buy or sell?

Consumer confidence remains the key