KUALA LUMPUR: The anticipated increase in demand for construction raw materials, with the rollout of major construction projects this year, will not lead to spiralling prices, said Master Builders Association of Malaysia (MBAM).

MBAM president Ng Kee Leen said the country’s liberalised cement and steel sectors would help improve supply to meet any demand surge.

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Talam Corp Bhd is on track to emerge from its PN17 status, even as its debt regularisation plan was being delayed by prolonged negotiations on assets disposal, said its executive director Chua Kim Lan.

KUALA LUMPUR: The former KL Plaza shopping centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is getting the final touches to its makeover. Renamed Fahrenheit 88 (pictured), it aims to offer a new retail experience to complement the retail belt of Jalan Bukit Bintang.

The newly refurbished shopping complex will be opened to public on August.

BEIJING: China said it will step up guidance on property lending and seek to counter speculative capital arriving from abroad amid mounting risks of asset-price bubbles in the world’s third-largest economy.

PETALING JAYA: Crest Builder Holdings Bhd is taking the road less travelled as the niche construction firm bids for some RM3 billion worth of private and public jobs in the country in the current fiscal year.

The move is deemed crucial as the company aims to secure a higher value of projects to boost annual revenue growth by at least a tenth.

We can expect a steady recovery of the property market in 2010, although challenges remain for certain sectors. Last year began on a cautious note due to the global financial crisis, but we saw established developers rising to the occasion by offering innovative financing schemes to boost sales.

On Christmas eve, Mah Sing Group Bhd announced that it was selling en bloc the East Wing of The Icon@Tun Razak, this time for RM226.5 million or RM860 psf (based on net lettable area of 263,435 sq ft), to TS Law Realty Sdn Bhd.Under the deal, TS Law Realty, an investment holding company, will enjoy a monthly rental guarantee of RM1.3 million, which works out to RM4

Watching the glitzy opening act of the world’s tallest building in Dubai on Jan 4, one could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting that this deeply-indebted emirate faces immense problems.

The city's major brokerage firms reported that prices in 4Q2009 in the Manhattan property market had decreased from a year ago while sales had risen. I expect this trend to continue into early 2010. Prudential Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel reported that the median sales price of an apartment in 4Q2009 was US$810,000 (RM2.7 million), down 10% compared to a year ago.

For some, Seri Kembangan in Selangor seems like a sleepy backwater — an under-developed area dotted with buildings that are inferior both in type and design to those in better-known addresses in Kuala Lumpur.