BEIJING: If housing prices in China plummeted by 60%, there would be no noticeable increase in the default rate on loans issued by China Construction Bank (CCB), a newspaper report reported on Monday, Aug 23.

SHANGHAI: Sales of new homes in Shanghai fell 48% during the first seven months of the year from the same period a year earlier due to the government's efforts to cool the property market, the Shanghai Daily reported on Monday, Aug 23.

New home sales reached 9.11 million square metr4s, the newspaper said, citing data from the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.

Like most young couples, Betty and her husband were looking for an affordable landed property as their first home in 2008. “It took us a few months to finally decide on one and I must say the developer’s 5/95 package was most attractive,” she tells City & Country. Their pick is a 2-storey terraced unit in S P Setia Bhd’s Bandar Setia Alam in Shah Alam.

Perfect Eagle Development Sdn Bhd may not immediately ring a bell but it is a name to watch. The eight-year-old property developer is unlocking the value of its landbank, comprising more than 650 acres in Ampang, Shah Alam, Puchong and Melaka.Regular users of the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) in Kuala Lumpur would pass the Tesco hypermarket near the highway on the Kuala Lumpur side of Ampang.

SummerGlades, situated in the exclusive Perdana Lakeview West in Cyberjaya is the culmination of the vision of one man — Suntrack Development Sdn Bhd project director James Tan. “I often see my friends’ children stuck at home with the computer and TV when they should be outdoors getting some fresh air and sunshine,” says Tan.

While the landscape in Norway is hardly ugly — with magnificent mountain ranges, staggering peaks, vast plateaus and plunging waterfalls — its beauty is largely defined by its vertical topography.How does an architect surmount this challenging landscape?“When faced with a difficult task, pass it to a lazy person and he will figure out the easiest, most efficient way to solve it,” said Borre Sko

The main Balestier Road has retained some of its charm with the presence of the Tua Peck Kong temple, Balestier Market and Food Centre, shophouses selling lighting fixtures and other home fittings, as well as popular eateries such as the famous tau sar piah shop, the Founder Bak Kut Teh Restaurant, the bak chor mee stall and Boon Tong Kee chicken rice restaurant.

In 1H2010, 10 collective-sale sites were sold, with the amount totalling close to S$500 million, according to Credo Real Estate.

Datuk Ling Keak Ming enthusiastically describes one of his more astute investments — a Siberian Husky.