SHANGHAI: China is requiring a down payment for land purchases equal to 50% of a plot’s price and prohibited the supply of land for villas as the government sought to increase affordable housing.

The down payment must be paid within a month of signing the purchase contract, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in a statement on its website late Wednesday March 10.

BEIJING: China will conduct a five-month-long campaign aimed at reining in illegal land speculation and development, state media reported, adding to government efforts to cool the country's heady property market.

KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Vickers Research, which recently hosted the DBSV annual property talk by CB Richard Ellis (Malaysia), says demand for niche residential products still strong, but weak for high-end condos.

It said on Friday, March 12 that new office space coming in next two years should be absorbed, but potential overhang beyond 2012.

KUALA LUMPUR: S P Setia’s foray into Vietnam gets an added boost with the announcement on March 11 that the People’s Committee of the Binh Duong Province issued the Investment Certificate for the establishment of Setia Lai Thieu One Member Company Ltd with a charter capital of US$6.5 million (RM21.58 million).

KUALA LUMPUR: Far Eastern buyers, especially those from Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia have been back in force in the London residential property market over the past 12 months, according to London-based Knight Frank LLP head of residential research Liam Bailey in a statement on March 10.

HONG KONG: Resales of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats hit a 12-year high, as new entrants to the housing market turned to the government-subsidised units because of sharp increases in private sector property prices.

HONG KONG: Sun Hung Kai Properties, Asia's largest developer by market value, reported a 44% rise in first-half underlying profit, beating forecasts, on higher rental income and strong sales fuelled by China's economic stimulus programme.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Green Solutions Property Conference 2010, touted as Malaysia's first carbon-neutral real estate conference, will bring together developers and industry professionals, namely architects, project managers, green technology inventors and taxation officers, to share their views on the implications of the green movement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Jones Lang LaSalle is anticipating a 30% to 40% rise in direct commercial real estate investment volumes globally in 2010. The global real estate services firm in its Global Market Perspective February 2010 report said the Americas, because they are coming from a low base, may be poised to see the fastest rate of growth at a projected 50% to 60%.

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corp Bhd's balance sheet remains constrained by its hefty debt load, says RAM Ratings Bhd.

The ratings agency said on Thursday, March 11 that for the purpose of company-level analysis, it included some RM2.18 billion of corporate guarantees, which YTL Corp had extended to its acquisitions in Singapore.