SYDNEY: Australian housing and construction data on Oct 7 added to evidence of economic recovery that spurred the central bank to raise interest rates on Oct 6 and is expected to bring more tightening in months ahead.

WASHINGTON: US office vacancies rose to a five-year high 3Q, as job losses deepened and employers abandoned space in the recession, property research firm Reis Inc said.

PHOENIX: The US, criticised for holding illegal immigrants in overcrowded and poorly run jails, on Oct 6 announced plans to convert hotels to detain some non-criminal immigrants.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said illegal immigrants ranging from criminals to newly arrived asylum seekers would be held in different facilities according to the risk they pose.

SYDNEY: Australia, the first Group of 20 (G-20) nation to raise interest rates since the height of the global financial crisis, has signalled further increases in coming months.

KUALA LUMPUR: The retail industry in Malaysia is expected to see a marginal growth of between one and three per cent by year-end as consumers continue to spend despite sluggish economic conditions.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pantech Group Holdings Bhd is buying more industrial land from Johor Corp Bhd for RM12.85 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Oct 6, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pantech Corp Sdn Bhd, has entered into a new sale and purchase agreement for an amalgamated leasehold lot known as PLO 809, measuring 20.66 acres, in the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area.

PETALING JAYA: Dubai is ready to regain its competitiveness in the real estate industry amid a landscape of cautious investors and developers, said Cityscape Dubai managing director Rohan Marwaha.

KUALA LUMPUR: Property advisory firm BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNP REIM) announced on Oct 5 its intention to expand its international investment management work to Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain and two new office funds in Europe.

HONG KONG: Luxury home registrations here almost tripled in value in September from a month earlier, according to Land Registry figures released on Oct 5.

The listing of residential units worth more than HK$10 million ($4.48 million) rose to 1,351 from 500 in August, the government said on its website.

SEATTLE: US apartment vacancies rose to 7.8% in 3%, the highest since 1986, as rising unemployment reduced rental demand, Reis Inc said.

Actual rents paid by tenants, known as effective rents, declined 2.7% from a year earlier, the New York-based property research firm said in a report on Oct 6. Asking rents, or what landlords sought, fell 1.8% from a year earlier.