SYDNEY: Australian mortgage rates are still 50 basis points below the average of the last 15 years, a top central banker said on Thursday (March 25), after warning speculators against betting on fast rising house prices.

LONDON: The British government scrapped tax for around 90% of first-time homebuyers on Wednesday (March 24), boosting housebuilders' shares as analysts predicted further house price gains.

For the next two years, first-time homebuyers will be able to buy properties worth up to £250,000 (RM1.25 million) without paying stamp duty.

WASHINGTON: Sales of newly built US homes fell for a fourth straight month to a record low in February, but another rise in new orders for durable goods offered assurance the economic recovery was on course.

The mixed data on Wednesday (March 24) underscored that while growth continues, laggards such as housing and the labor market are standing in the way of a full recovery.

WASHINGTON: Bank of America will on Wednesday (March 24) announce plans to start forgiving mortgage loan principal for troubled homeowners who owe more than 120% of their home's value or are battling ever-expanding "negative amortisation" loans.

PETALING JAYA: Selangor Properties Bhd recorded a Group profit before tax of RM12.3 million for the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2010 (1Q2010), compared with RM5.6 million in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter ended Jan 31, 2009.

UK Housing Market Update: March 24, 2010

IPOH: Property developer Superboom Projects Sdn Bhd has unveiled The Haven (pictured), a high-end lakeside residences located next to a lake and 280 million–year-old limestone formation in Bukit Tambun, Ipoh.

PETALING JAYA: Mutiara Goodyear Development Bhd recorded a 46% rise in group revenue for its third quarter ended Jan 31, 2010, to RM44.5 million from RM16.763 million in the preceding year's corresponding quarter ended Jan 31, 2009.

The Group's profit before tax for the quarter increased to RM6.3 million compared with RM3.16 million in the preceding year's corresponding quarter.

KUALA LUMPUR: S P Setia Bhd is hoping to see its overseas developments contributing more substantially to its bottomline in the next five years as it expands in Vietnam and China. Currently, overseas projects contribute about 5% to the company’s revenue and profit.

DHAKA: Some 72,000 buildings in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka have been classified as earthquake-prone structures, the Bangladeshi Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzak told the Parliament.