PETALING JAYA: The imposition of the 5% Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) is pouring cold water on plans by some people to acquire property next year. 

WELLINGTON: New Zealand house prices rose in October for the first time in 16 months as the economy emerges from a recession.

Prices increased 0.2% from a year earlier, the first annual gain since June 2008, Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd, the government valuation agency, said in an e-mailed report. Prices have risen 3.4% since falling to a low in April.

SYDNEY: Australian home-loan approvals rose in September by the most in six months, reinforcing the central bank’s decision to increase interest rates last week for a second straight month.

BEIJING: China’s central bank and banking regulator may “soon” issue measures to limit the use of debt in real-estate purchases after asset prices climbed, a Shanghai official said.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang chief minister's office has denied press reports that the Pakatan Rakyat state government had granted approvals for reclamation or hill development projects on the island.

In a statement, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's press secretary Cheong Yin Fan said such approvals had been granted by the previous Barisan Nasional state government.

The market is abuzz with the recent announcement of the imposition of a 5% real property gains tax (RPGT) from Jan 1, 2010.

She is only 23 and the youngest in the family, but with youth comes enthusiasm and fresh ideas. Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin leads Naza Group’s hospitality division, and since coming on board not too long ago, has already drawn up a growth strategy for the group’s hotel business for the next five years.

Though it is one of the older residential areas of Petaling Jaya, Section 5 retains a certain attraction and is still very much a coveted address. It is not hard to see its appeal after a drive round the neighbourhood. Bungalows sit on either side of hilly two-lane roads, cooled by the shade of the surrounding trees, giving it the quaint feel of a bygone era.

For many years, a “Home Sweet Home” sign could not be hung up in the apartments of Subang USJ19’s Rhythm Avenue as the development was abandoned in 2001. The project was 90% complete, but the financial woes of the then developer Sanjung Utama Sdn Bhd caused work to stop.

There is a saying that goes: invest in property investment stocks during a downturn and property development stocks during an upturn. While the general consensus is that the worst is over for the property market, which property stocks are analysts’ picks?