WELLINGTON: Confidence in New Zealand's housing market eased in the three months to October, but prices and interest rates are expected to rise as the economy shows cautious signs of emerging from recession, an ASB Bank survey showed on Nov 16.

PETALING JAYA: The site of the former headquarters of Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd in Section 13, where Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) Petaling Jaya campus is located, may soon be redeveloped from industrial to commercial usage.

Every great journey starts with one small step — this aptly describes the journey undertaken by developer Hua Yang Bhd.

The word spa immediately conjures up visions of luxury and relaxation, and one may have noticed some recent developments incorporating some spa elements in homes.Jumping on the bandwagon is Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB), which has set aside 80 bungalow lots for its Lotus Spa Villas.

As expected, there was no lack of interest in the five commercial buildings put up for sale by tender by real estate investment trust (REIT) Amanah Harta Tanah PNB2 (AHP2), which is managed by Pelaburan Hartanah Nasional Bhd.The tender submission closed on Nov 5 for the sole property  located in Penang and on Nov 6 for the other four properties — three in Kuala Lumpur and one in Ipoh.

Third-quarter Manhattan market reports recently released by the city’s top brokerage firms showed a slowing rate of price decline while the transaction volume increased. The question everyone is asking is when Manhattan would hit bottom. Nobody knows because when we find out about it, the bottom would be over.

The secondary luxury housing market in Sydney, one of Malaysians’ favourite overseas property investment destinations, is showing signs of recovery with rising demand and improving consumer confidence, according to Australia-based real estate experts.“As the economy begins to show signs of further recovery and business confidence improves, as has already been the case in Australia, we anticipat

After the haphazard overnight queuings during the last two launches by I&P Group Sdn Bhd, the developer has resorted to the balloting system in its latest launches in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, on Oct 10 and 11, respectively.

MK Land Holdings Bhd has sold Wing C (Block B) of Armanee Terrace Condominium — a luxury condominium in the Damansara Perdana township in Selangor — to Hong Kong firm Whamp Group (International) Inc for RM180 million.