Investing

Nature to the Rescue of U.S. Real Estate

For years now, man has been exploiting nature. Several reports on how man-made factors affect the environment surface every day. Nature has its own way of unleashing its wrath and letting off steam in the form of disasters and catastrophes.

China Home Sales Rise 24 Per cent Despite Slow Growth

The total home sales in China rose 24 percent in June on a month on month basis, making it the biggest rise in the past year, according to Bloomberg. However, economic growth and real estate investment in the country slowed down slightly in the first half of the year which is expected to bog down the sales in the near future.

BlackRock Selling Seattle Office Buildings Worth $70 Million

BlackRock Inc, a renowned asset management firm is selling away two of its major downtown Seattle office properties to a unit of Morgan Stanley for about $70 million.
EDITOR'S PICKS
  • Fannie Mae Selling Mortgage Bonds Worth $1 Billion
    U.S. Mortgage financier, Fannie Mae is reportedly planning to sell mortgage bonds worth $1 billion in an upcoming private auction slated to be held on Thursday, July 11. The lender will be selling these bonds without any involvement or backing from the government, according to several media reports.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • US Office Property Market Growth Slow; Vacancy Rate Stagnant
    U.S. property market growth remained sluggish in the second quarter of 2013 with rents climbing little and vacancy rates remaining stagnant. The slow growth is attributed to the lack of improvement in the government employment sector of the country, according to several media reports.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • Vacancies in the US Retail Sector Lowest in 4 Years
    Vacancies in the retail sector of the U.S. fell to its lowest in four years in the wake of a rebounding economy and commercial property market. Average vacancy rates fell to 10.5 percent, the lowest in more than the past three years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • The Effects of Government Curbs on Hong Kong’s Real Estate Market
    Hong Kong’s property sector is the most expensive real estate market of the Asia Pacific region. Home prices have been high since 2009 due to lack of steady supply, low interest rates and the influx of Chinese buyers in the region. To cool the conditions down, the government had introduced various measures in the past few months. But has the government actually achieved its target with these curbs? How have these measures affected the market?
    By Rapti Gupta
  • Kensington Palace Garden the Most Expensive Street of UK
    In a recent survey conducted by real estate website, Zoopla it was revealed that Kensington Palace Garden is the most expensive street in Britain. The average property price on the street is something around $46.9 million; about 156 times more than the value of an average home in the country.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • Crown Estate Annouces Record Profit; Portfolio Value Goes up to $12.3 Billion
    The Crown Estate, a property portfolio owned by the Queen of England has reported record profits for the year ended March 31. Its portfolio value went up 7.2 percent to reach $12.3 billion, according to several media reports.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • Hines Teaming Up with Asian Investors to Finance Manhattan Luxury Tower Project
    Hines, the famous commercial property developer is reportedly in talks with a group of Asian banks and a Singaporean real estate firm to develop a luxury high-rise project in central Manhattan, New York.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • Thomson Reuters Launches Two New Investable Real Estate Indices in Asia Pacific Region
    Thomson Reuters, a leading business intelligence firm has teamed up with Global Property Research (GPR) and Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) to launch two new investable real estate indices that are a part of its larger composite family launched in January 2013.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • US Mortgage Rates Fall After Two-Month Increase
    Mortgage rates in the U.S. fell slightly after inching up for the past two months. However, experts believe that the fall is only brief and rates will surge depending upon the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut down its bond purchasing scheme, according to several media reports.
    By Rapti Gupta
  • US Home Mortgage Rates Up Slightly
    The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage climbed to 4.01 percent, while the number of applications for purchases dropped by 3 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which publishes the results of a weekly applications survey on Thursday.
    By Staff Reporter