WASHINGTON: A US House of Representatives subcommittee on housing issues will hold a hearing on home foreclosures when lawmakers return from recess after the November elections, the panel announced on Monday, Oct 18.

ATLANTA: Home Depot Inc thinks home is the best place to improve sales in the near-term, the retailer's chief executive said on Monday, Oct 18.

KUALA LUMPUR: A framework on developing green townships will be ready by end of the year, Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's senior undersecretary for green technology sector Mohd Rosli Abdullah said.

MECCA: The Mayor of Mecca, Dr Osama Al-Bar, who is also a member of the Central Haj Committee and Chairman and Chief Excecutive of the Mecca Development Authority, has promised that a number of large projects currently underway in the city will be completed by 2012.

CHINA: The Chinese government plans to impose property tax in Shanghai and Chongqing by the years' end to curb property speculation, according to a report by online news portal soufun.com.

PETALING JAYA: Mitraland Group plans to launch the second phase of The Cascades @ Kota Damansara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor within the next two months.

The developer said that indicative prices for the second phase, which comprises apartment units, are between RM550 psf and RM600 psf.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah Gerakan Youth urged the state government to fulfill its pledge to stop the increase of the Bumiputra quota for housing development.

In a media statement on Monday, Oct 18, the youth division said the state government made its pledge in Decemeber last year to stop the increase of the Bumiputra quota from 30% to 50% for housing developments.

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Tambun Indah Land Bhd has been given the nod by the Securities Commission to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

In a statement Monday, Oct 18, its managing director Teh Kiak Seng said it was timely for the company to come to market to be listed in view of the increasing demand for properties on mainland Penang.

HONG KONG: The controversial rent-to-buy scheme — supposedly a short-term relief measure for better-off home hunters — could be expanded if the response is good, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has hinted.

SHANGHAI: Despite the central government's attempts to cool the property market, a Shanghai district government last Thursday, Oct 14 released seven sites for sale.