SYDNEY: Sales of new homes in Australia fell 5.1% in June, the second straight month of sizable falls, as higher mortgage rates hit demand while tight credit restrained supply, an industry survey showed on Monday.

SHANGHAI: International real estate development and investment company, Star Mall Group, plans to expand its shopping mall portfolio rapidly across China over the next few years.

ShanghaiDaily.com reported that the company is focusing on second-tier cities, and plans to open its first property in the Liaoning province.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dijaya Corporation unit Nagasari Cerdas Sdn Bhd has entered into a shareholders' agreement with Global Corporate Development Sdn Bhd to manage a newly incorporated joint venture (JV) company, namely Goldhill Quest Sdn Bhd (GQSB).

Property Sector

New EPF withdrawal scheme

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).