The current economic slowdown has brought many a business and retail activity to a slow grind in Penang. However, at one shopping mall that was facing high vacancies last year, the proactive effort of a retail unit owner to change things around caught the attention of many.The Pan Palace Plaza in populous Taman Lip Sin was completed in 2007.

For 28 years, Nestle House has been a familiar fixture in Petaling Jaya. Fronting the Federal Highway and sitting behind PJ Hilton hotel, the appeal of the building has long been eclipsed by the crop of newer, sleeker buildings in the city over the years. All that is about to change.

There have been several sales in recent days at the top end of the Singapore property market — the multimillion-dollar Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) in the traditional prime residential districts. They were sealed at S$20 million (RM49 million) or above, with one even hitting S$38 million.

HONG KONG: Despite both the local and global economic uncertainties, property sales in Hong Kong were active in the first half of 2009, according to Colliers International in its mid-year review and forecast (May 2009 - May 2010) report.

Land & General Bhd (L&G) has kept a low profile since Malaysia Land Properties Sdn Bhd (Mayland) emerged as a key shareholder in the company two years ago, but that is set to change soon.  One of the oldest property developers in the country, L&G was founded by Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah four decades ago and it made a name for itself with the development of the 1,200-acre freehold

Carey Real Estate’s Ampang branch director Avtar Singh is familiar with both Bandar Sungai Buaya and Lembah Beringin. The townships, he recalls, were launched in the early 1990s and the general population profile comprised young working families or retirees. “When the Klang Valley market was booming, highways, interchanges and cheaper homes began to emerge.

When Sri Damansara was established, it provided an alternative “Damansara” address for homebuyers, recalls Metro Homes Sdn Bhd’s director See Kok Loong.

Setia Sky Residences, located near the intersection of Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, is S P Setia Bhd’s maiden luxury high-rise condo development. It comprises four 40-storey blocks on a six-acre freehold commercial plot between Wisma Selborn and Yayasan Selangor.

Since its groundbreaking ceremony in November 2007, little has been heard about the serviced apartment project coming up on the site of the former St Mary’s School in Kuala Lumpur.  It was recently that some units of the project, called St Mary Residences CBD, was put on the market by developer Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O).

The commercial property sector in the Klang Valley, having slowed in 1Q2009 in the wake of the global economic crisis from late last year, appears to be showing signs of a rebound.A number of estate agents City & Country spoke to, confirmed that sales in the secondary office market started going up from early April to May.