KUALA LUMPUR: Australand has acquired a 5.5ha site in Clemton Park in Sydney, 15km south of Sydney's CDB, which is slated for a joint-venture with LaSalle Asia Opportunity Fund III LP, a fund managed by LaSalle Investment Management. The site has a masterplan approval for the development of a mixed use medium density residential project called Clemton Park Village.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dijaya Corp Bhd's Tropicana Grande luxury condominium development recently picked up two accolades at the 2011 Asia Pacific Property Awards and is now in the running for the World's Best Title at the International Property Awards.

KUALA LUMPUR: Credit Suisse Research said 79% of the property stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia are below book value with Pasdec Holdings Bhd is trading at the steepest discount of 76% while S P Setia Bhd is trading at the highest at 235%.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) cancelled its RM500 million Islamic debt notes (2007-2022) ahead of the scheduled maturity date of Oct 8, 2022.

RAM Rating Services Bhd said on Wednesday, June 15 it had received confirmation about SunCity's cancellation of the the Murabahah commercial papers/medium term notes programme (2007/2022) (CP/MTN).

WILMINGTON (Delaware): Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share US$55 million (RM166.65 million) in a deal that also accuses a global drywall maker of lying about the product's safety, according to court documents.

SHENZHEN: Transaction costs on sales of flats in Shenzhen could rise next month when the municipal government begins levying an alternative tax aimed at tackling sellers evading taxes on gains from their flat sales.

HONG KONG: Developers may put the sale of new projects on hold to gauge market sentiment after the announcement last week of new measures to curb speculation in the property market, some agents say.

Others, though, say the measures may speed up the release for sale of new flats.

LONDON: Hong Kong investors grabbed a growing share of newly built homes in London over the past 12 months, consolidating their ranking as the biggest group of overseas buyers in the market.

The strength of demand today is greater than in the 1990s, when the first great wave of Hong Kong property investment hit London, estate agents say.

HONG KONG: The cost of renovating a flat has risen by 30% in a year as a result of the appreciation of the yuan and pay rises for workers.

"The daily salary paid to workers increased from HK$700 (RM272.63) last year to up to HK$900 this year, and the prices of materials from the mainland have risen by between 20 and 30%," said interior designer Kelvin Chan Lai-sin.

KUALA LUMPUR: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its industry outlook for China's real estate development sector to negative from stable, as credit conditions in that country have become increasingly challenging.