A picture speaks a thousand words, and sometimes a good photo does a better sales job than any sales pitch by a real estate agent.

Property stocks have gone into a tailspin as the boom years have come to an abrupt halt. Although valuations have eased, developers are still out of favour with investors because of a lack of earnings catalysts for the medium term.

Buoyed by increasingly upscale developments such as Sunway Nexis and Cascades, capital values have appreciated moderately.

Property market cycles come and go, but with prolonged weakness, the current slowdown could point to a much larger economic issue.

From its trendy restaurants to its art and culture centres, Melbourne has long presented itself as one of the most desirable places to live and work. Unsurprisingly, Australian developer Salta Properties is banking on the city’s appeal for the success of its latest project, The Park House, not to mention the latter’s location.

Among the other pricey projects were Casa Residenza (RM510 psf) and Cova Villa (RM432 psf), which are located in Taman Sains Selangor.

This comes as a pleasant surprise given that the amount is not due till end-2017.

The property segment could see an improvement on the back of asset disposals.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Tham is effectively the single-largest shareholder of E&O, followed by Sime Darby with a 12% stake.

Penang-based developer Ideal Property Group plans to launch RM2.723 billion worth of condominium projects, with more than 3,600 units in total, on the island this year.