KASHGAR: Buying an apartment in the remote desert town of Kashgar is a little like playing Russian roulette. Developers and their agents don't offer price lists, nor do they bother to show flats to home buyers.

Purchasers — whether they are end-users or speculators — are entirely at the mercy of vendors.

HONG KONG: It's a club whose members include many of the city's richest people - men like Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Li Ka-shing, Cheng Yu-tung, Lee Shau-kee and Gordon Wu Ying-sheung.

And they want to know what you really think of them.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's obsession with the shiny and new is not a universal truth, at least on the property front.

Even early in his career, Joseph Chong Wan Ping was not your regular contractor. After clinching his first big project building 1-storey houses in Penang in 1983, Chong did something unconventional — he approached the developer of the project for access to the homebuyers. The developer was initially reluctant but finally relented.“I wanted to ensure their needs were met.

Up in Kemensah Heights behind Zoo Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Kenoza Sdn Bhd is building a boutique development called Rimba, offering 16 bungalows the design of which harks back to the style of planter homes. Kenoza is no stranger to boutique developments.

To create a home that refreshes the soul and takes away the stresses of life is one reason the six winners of the haven/The Edge My Dream Home Awards 2010 stood out for the judges. This is the fourth instalment of the awards organised by haven and The Edge in association with Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) and Institut Perekabentuk Dalaman Malaysia (IPDM).

There is a rising interest in condominiums and serviced apartments in Johor Baru, says KGV Lambert Smith Hampton director Samuel Tan.

The serviced residences market will be seeing 1,200 new units from eight developments over the next four years. As at 2Q, the Singapore market already had more than 4,600 units in 50 developments.However, there will be no worries of oversupply, because demand is expected to grow at a faster pace relative to supply as more MNCs rent the apartments as temporary accommodation for their employees.

Make small talk with someone in China and eventually the topic will get around to property.

An increasingly audible outcry in China over soaring home prices, at a time when millions still live in shanties, has prompted a search for solutions to make housing more affordable for both the poor and the growing middle clas