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Pace of housing starts slowed in April says CMHC

The Canadian PressMay 8, 2013 09:38
OTTAWA - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts slowed in April, mainly because of a decline in urban multiple starts. The agency estimates there were 15,390 actual starts in April and extrapolates that to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 174,858 units, down from 181,146 in March. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts was down 2.5 per cent, led by a 3.5 per cent decline in multiple urban starts. Single urban starts remained relatively unchanged from March.

Greater Toronto realtors report two per cent dip in April home sales

The Canadian PressMay 3, 2013 12:15
TORONTO - Home sales dipped two per cent in the Greater Toronto Area in April, but selling prices were also up, according to the latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board. The board said Friday that area realtors reported 9,811 sales last month through the Multiple Listing Service, down from 10,021 in April 2012. Meanwhile, the board said average prices advanced two per cent to $526,335, while the MLS HPI composite benchmark prices were up 2.9 per cent, even as both new and active listings also grew on a year-over-year basis.

US home prices jump 9.3 per cent in February from a year ago, largest amount since May 2006

The Canadian PressApril 30, 2013 10:00
WASHINGTON - U.S. home prices rose 9.3 per cent in February compared with a year ago, the most in nearly seven years. The gains were driven by a growing number of buyers who bid on a limited supply of homes. The Standard Phoenix led all cities with an annual gain of 23 per cent in February. Prices jumped nearly 19 per cent in San Francisco. In Las Vegas, home prices increased 17.6 per cent and in Atlanta they rose 16.5 per cent.

US existing-home sales slip in March; supply tight

Agence France-PresseApril 22, 2013 13:01
US existing-home sales slipped while prices gained in March as the number of homes on the market remained tight amid rising demand, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Sales fell 0.6 percent from February to an annual pace of 4.92 million units, with condominium sales falling more strongly than single family homes, NAR said. Sales were up 10.3 percent from March 2012. Home prices jumped from February; the national median stood at $184,300, up $11,100 from February and $19,500 higher than a year earlier.

Lack of affordable housing forces India's poor into death traps

April 11, 2013 17:31
By Aditi Shah MUMBAI (Reuters) - Aslamkhan Bhikankha sold his wife's jewellery and used all his savings to buy a flat in a Mumbai suburb which he now fears will soon be razed, leaving his family homeless. The flat is in one of numerous illegal buildings in Mumbra that house poor migrant workers and face demolition by authorities over safety concerns after the collapse last week of a 7-storey block nearby in which 74 people died.

Vietnam jails official over 'hero' farmer eviction

April 10, 2013 04:15
A Vietnamese local government official was jailed for two and a half years Wednesday for the destruction of the home of a farmer who became a national hero for resisting eviction, state media said. Doan Van Vuon become a symbol of rising public dissatisfaction over land rights after arming his family with homemade shotguns in an attempt to keep their fish farm east of Hanoi.

Luxury homes fuel Miami's latest real estate boom

April 7, 2013 20:17
Miami, Apr 7 (EFE).- Miami is entering a new real estate "boom," fed mainly by the investments of Latin Americans which have transformed the face of the city and, with its luxury homes, become one of its greatest draws. Miami and its surroundings, according to the latest report on the luxury real estate market by Christie's, in 2012 burst into the group of the world's main markets of this type, thanks to the general recovery in demand and low prices.

Capital govt flats, houses in poor condition

April 6, 2013 15:31
Several government flats and houses in various sectors of the Federal capital were in poor conditions, which posed a serious threat to the lives of the inhabitants. As the CDA was reluctant to renovate the flats, their condition had deteriorated with each passing day. Residents appealed to the concerned authorities repeatedly for renovation of the flats, but to no avail. These flats and houses were generally located in the old sectors of Islamabad such as in sectors F/6, G/6, G/7, G/9 and G/11.

Vietnam 'hero' fish farmer jailed for five years

April 5, 2013 08:16
A Vietnamese farmer who became a folk hero after using homemade weapons to resist eviction was handed an unexpectedly lenient sentence of five years Friday for attempted murder. Doan Van Vuon and his family rose to prominence after arming themselves with makeshift shotguns to hold off local officials trying to remove them from their fish farm in Tien Lang district, 90 kilometres (55 miles) east of Hanoi. The January 2012 incident, in which seven policemen were injured, quickly became a symbol of rising public dissatisfaction over land rights.

Spaniards protest evictions on lawmakers' doors

April 4, 2013 01:45
A man in a white wedding dress flanked by two others in striped prison uniforms is outside the office of a Spanish lawmaker, pushing for changes to the country's tough eviction laws. The unusual-looking protest is the latest in a wave of such demonstrations -- dubbed "escraches", the Argentine slang word for denunciation -- staged outside the homes or workplaces of lawmakers from Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party in recent weeks by campaigners who blame the eviction laws for forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes during a deep recession.
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