WASHINGTON: Permits for future US home construction rose to their highest level in nearly 5½ years in October, suggesting the housing market recovery remained intact despite recent signs of slowing down.

GEORGE TOWN: In what is seen as an unprecedented move, the Penang government says it plans to buy up unsold low-cost housing units in the state for the purpose of leasing them out to low-income families.

KUALA LUMPUR: The orang asli community in Peninsular Malaysia wants the government to stop giving approvals to developers that encroach into their ancestral land until the report by the government’s task force into the matter is released.

KUALA LUMPUR: Johor property developer Daiman Development Bhd closed 10% higher yesterday from its previous closing

price after a report in The Edge Financial Daily noted that shares of the property firm were undervalued.

The counter rose to its 52-week high of RM3.44 yesterday before closing at RM3.41 for a 10% increase from last Friday’s close of RM3.10.

BEIJING: China has reinforced a ban on selling property built by villages or farmers on rural land, state media reported yesterday, dashing hopes for a quick policy change after a top-level party meeting.

SHANGHAI: Major Chinese property developers owe 3.8 trillion yuan (US$623 billion or RM2 trillion) in taxes, the state broadcaster said, raising a storm of controversy amid huge sensitivity over high housing prices.

KUALA LUMPUR: The consortium comprising S P Setia Bhd, Sime Darby Property Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) involved in the redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station in London may consider extending the project from its proposed eight years to 12 to increase shareholder value.

LONDON: Luxury home developers plan to build more than 20,000 properties in London over the next decade, ramping up the pace of construction even as price gains slow, consulting firm EC Harris LLP said.