LONDON: Ikea, best known for its cut-price furniture, is planning a huge development around the Olympic park in east London that will help regenerate the rundown area with hundreds of homes and new office space.

WASHINGTON: Pending sales of existing US homes dropped for a third successive month during September, a real estate industry group reported on Thursday, Oct 27, though a sales index was above year-ago levels.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in September, was down 4.6% to 84.5.

HONG KONG: Swire Pacific Ltd said on Thursday, Oct 27 that it has applied to the Hong Kong stock exchange to list its unit Swire Properties Ltd and will distribute 18% of Swire Properties shares to qualifying shareholders.

HONG KONG: Buoyed by solid buyer demand for a luxury development in Aberdeen, and a rebound in the stock market, a number of developers hope to cash in on improved market sentiment by launching pricey projects.

HONG KONG: The 200 or so mainland property developers listed on Hong Kong and mainland exchanges are tipped to have a tough time in the next few years, with some likely to shut down because of the squeeze on credit and the property market, analysts say.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government construction company Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd (PBLT), was generally satisfactory in terms of financial performance and management and corporate management, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2010. But the 99.99%-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Inc had to bear losses of RM80 million in consultation fees for postponed projects.

KUALA LUMPUR: With about two months to go till 2012, Zerin Properties Sdn Bhd CEO Previndran Singhe is expecting real estate transactions to slow down before picking up again in the middle of next year.Previndran said the market in 2012 will be stable. “I am of the opinion that 2012 will be a stable year.

SHAH ALAM: Setia City Mall has secured over 50,000 sq ft of international fashion brands, bringing its tenancy take-up rate to over 95% of its net lettable area of 740,000 sq ft.

LONDON: The Insolvency Service in the UK has issued another warning to the public to be on the alert against unscrupulous landbanking practices as these scams are on the rise. Since 2007, The Insolvency Service has closed down 49 landbanking companies in England and Wales that have collectively caused losses of over £30 million (RM150 million).

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: Property sales in Shanghai, the most populous city in China, have fallen by more than a tenth over the first nine months of the year, prompting developers to cut prices and in some cases sparking protests.