LONDON: Property returns in the UK rose to 6.2% in 1Q2010, according to the latest Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) UK Quarterly Property Index.

Returns were boosted by the 4.5% increase in capital values, which were driven by falling yields across all three major sectors, said JLL.

HONG KONG: Will the trend to virtual workplaces empty office properties and lead to owners going downmarket to find new tenants?

Prospects of a sea change in the commercial property market are real, judging from the report by business centre operator Regus and research firm Unwired.

New technology will have a dramatic effect on how and where work is done, the report concludes.

HONG KONG: The redevelopment of old buildings in Hong Kong is cutting down the supply of "cage homes" in centrally located areas and forcing up rents for the unemployed and underemployed who can least afford to meet higher living costs.

HONG KONG: Home sales in the secondary market here fell 25% last week as buyers turned cautious and the government announced cooling measures.

There were 377 preliminary sales and purchase agreements signed at 50 major housing estates in Hong Kong from April 15 to 19, according to Ricacorp Properties. That was 25% fewer than the previous week.

HONG KONG: Swire Properties, which aims to raise up to US$2.7 billion (RM8.65 billion) from a Hong Kong initial public offering, has tapped Bank of China Group Investment for US$100 million worth of shares, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday, April 28.

BEIJING: China will place a moratorium on capital raising by real estate firms as part of a broader campaign to rein in property price rises, state media reported on Wednesday, April 28.

HONG KONG: Wheelock and Co Ltd said late on Tuesday, April 27, it plans to take its property arm, Wheelock Properties Ltd, private for HK$6.9 billion (RM2.85 billion).

The company said in a joint statement that it plans to offer HK$13 per share, or 143.9% premium over the previous close, for all outstanding shares it did not already own in Wheelock Properties.

* feedback from conference was positive

* hunky environmental projects in the pipeline; solidifying KL Sentral presence

WASHINGTON: The conduct of Goldman Sachs Group Inc during the financial meltdown was assailed on Tuesday, April 27, by a US Senate panel, which accused the Wall Street powerhouse of inflating the housing bubble earlier this decade and then profiting from its collapse in 2007.

KUALA LUMPUR: Institutional investors are expected to pump more money into commercial real estate across Asia as  the global economic landscape improves, prompting the anticipation that commercial property transaction volume  in the region will rise by up to 50% this year.