WASHINGTON: The US Federal Housing Administration said on Jan 19 it will raise the minimum down payment required to secure an FHA-backed mortgage for less creditworthy borrowers as part of a series of steps to shore up the agency's finances.

SINGAPORE: Shanghai and Hong Kong property prices may fall after being driven higher by speculative demand, said investor Jim Rogers, author of A Bull in China.

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd plans to build a theme park and hotel within the Iskandar region in Johor to complement the group’s Resorts World Sentosa attraction in Singapore, said its chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sun Hung Kai Properties, one of Hong Kong’s largest property companies, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first large integrated development in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, last week (Jan 15).

KUALA LUMPUR: CapitaLand Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, further increased its presence in China when it reached an agreement to buy the Chinese property assets of Orient Overseas (International) Ltd for US$2.2 billion (RM7.34 billion).

KUALA LUMPUR: Residential property prices in Dubai have shown an increase of close to 1% for property prices over 4Q compared with 3Q, according to Colliers International Dubai House Price Index for 4Q2009.

The index registered price rise in townhouses (10%) and villas (7%). Prices for apartments however, decreased by 4%.

KUALA LUMPUR: SunwayMas Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunway Holdings Bhd, is acquiring a 60% stake in Spanland Sdn Bhd for RM13.8 million.

KUALA LUMPUR: Overseas investors dominated the UK’s property scene, accounting for 34% of all UK commercial property purchases during the financial crisis which began in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to information released by Property Data, an independent market data specialist for the UK.

KUALA LUMPUR: Credit Suisse says infrastructure investment was the key driver of almost all the sales recovery in construction machines in 2009 in China. But in 2010, it believes infrastructure growth will slow down.

PUTRAJAYA: Parking woes in Putrajaya, which have been described as reaching a critical level, will be lessened once a 2-storey car park is built in Precinct 7 where the government offices complex is located.