WASHINGTON DC (Nov 29): Commercial real estate markets in the US have been relatively flat this year, but improving fundamentals mean a more positive trend is expected in 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

HONG KONG (Nov 29): Hong Kong has proposed a new law that will slap fines and jail terms on developers that mislead buyers of new homes.

The government on Tuesday kicked off a two-month consultation period on the new law, which it hopes to introduce to the Legislative Council in the first quarter of next year.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT), a unit of Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd, is considering a rights issue to boost its coffers as it seeks to bulk up on more retail assets here.

SINGAPORE (Nov 29): CapitaLand Ltd and CapitaMalls Asia Ltd, together with Singbridge Holdings Pte Ltd (SBH), have been awarded a prime site for a landmark mixed development in the heart of Yuzhong District in Chongqing, China.

The site, measuring 91,783 sq m, was awarded at a price of 6.536 billion yuan (RM3.27 billion).

WASHINGTON (Nov 29): According to the US Commerce Department, sales of newly-built single-family homes in October rose 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 307,000 units compared to the previous month's downwardly revised rate. The gain marks the best pace for new-home sales activity since May of this year.

SYDNEY (Nov 29): Retail rents in Melbourne surged 32.3% in the year to September, the third-fastest growing market behind Hong Kong and Beijing, fuelled by international tenants tapping the market, property services firm CBRE said on Tuesday.

HONG KONG (Nov 29): Thousands of jade vendors in a city in southern Guangdong province confronted riot police during a protest over a sharp increase in shop rents, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

HONG KONG (Nov 29): China's largest property insurer PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd expects proceeds from a planned rights issue to help it meet its business needs over the next one to two years, company board secretary Zhang Xiaoli said on Tuesday.

Hayman Great Barrier Reef

Bandar Sri Sendayan in Negri Sembilan may not have been a familiar name to many. But that changed earlier this year when the government announced that the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Sungei Besi would be relocated to the township.