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.

PETALING JAYA: Wisma Time, an office building on Jalan Tun Razak, in the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, is up for sale. According to an advertisement by Knight Frank Malaysia, which is handling the sale, the property can be an asset-enhancement opportunity for the new owner.

HONG KONG: Office sales are showing signs of improving, with more than 260 deals recorded last month, the highest level since August last year.

And following the strong start to sales so far this year, the outlook for further growth is positive, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.

HONG KONG: Dongguan hotel worker Annie Qing is desperate. Over the past few months she has watched in despair as flats in a popular project in the city came up for sale and were all taken before she got a chance to get one for herself.