WASHINGTON: Confidence among US homebuilders unexpectedly fell in October on mounting concern sales will retrench once government credits expire.

LONDON: Home sellers here raised asking prices to a record high this month and led gains across the UK as the shortage of properties for sale intensified, Rightmove plc said.

The average cost of a home in the capital rose 6.5%, the most since records began in 2002, to £416,157 (RM2.29 million), the owner of the UK’s biggest residential property website said on Oct 19 in a statement.

BEIJING: Property prices in good locations in core Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai won’t fall, although prices in areas outside central locations may decline, Liu Xiaoguang, chairman of Beijing Capital Land Ltd, said on Oct 20.

Prices of homes in good locations in second- and third-tier cities will steadily increase, he told a briefing in Beijing on Oct 20.

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,133 applications for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme have been approved in the first nine months of the year, according to sources from the Ministry of Tourism.

KUALA LUMPUR: Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd will be organising a seminar entitled “The Fundamentals of Globalisation and Liberalisation – It’s Impact To The Business and Real Estate Industry”.

KUALA LUMPUR: The most important thing prospective homebuyers should know is that protection from errant developers is not guaranteed, said homebuyers’ rights expert and author of Buying Property from Developers: What you need to know and do Robert Tan.

KUALA LUMPUR: SEG International Bhd (SEGi) will sell two pieces of land in Kuching, Sarawak, to Kenbest Sdn Bhd for cash consideration of RM10.5 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Oct 19, the company said the proposed disposal is being undertaken in view of the fair price offered by Kenbest.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Turf Club (PTC) is planning to embark on a RM30 million development project to build 25 bungalow units on the fringes of the PTC, which would be rented out when completed to generate income for the club.

PETALING JAYA: The country's property market is set to strengthen in the coming years if the strong comeback in the third quarter (3Q) of 2009 is any indication of its revival, said Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.He attributed the nascent market recovery to foreign investments and increased domestic demand, adding futher upside to home prices had been forecast,

PETALING JAYA: Local property developers have called for a lowering of personal income taxes for Budget 2010 to boost the property market. Budget 2010 will be unveiled on Oct 23 by Finance Minister and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.