The new moon of the lunar month of Kartika marks Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, when Hindus across the country worship the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. But divinities know full well the laws that govern finance and Lakshmi may not be a little tight-fisted about circulating her riches amid the ongoing global credit crunch.

Mohamed Al Hamidani, Chairman, UAE-based real estate developer, who is putting in Dh1.5bn in a freehold property in Ajman

Last December I wrote an article analyzing the current state of the real estate market in which I stated, “Market corrections happen. Market recoveries happen. It’s all a matter of degrees.”

Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), recently, hosted a workshop for Riyadh’s leading real estate developers to highlight the development opportunities in the 168 million sq m mixed-use mega-project.

As Los Angeles continues to feel the effects of the down market, Beverly Hills-based residential real estate brokerage Teles Properties maintains its growth with the addition of two top-performing agents with a combined 40 years experience.

Banks in Bahrain have been told to restrict lending on real estate to 30 per cent of their total lending book by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).And the CBB is also imposing the amount financial institutions can lend on specific properties in a directive to all local banks.

Toronto's slumping real estate market has had little effect on revenue from the city's new land transfer tax, according to city manager Joe Pennachetti.

To An Wei, a white-collar migrant worker in Shanghai, China's tax exemption on house purchase and mortgage deposits reduction announced on Wednesday night were a real stimulus for home buying.

After years of soaring real estate prices, the Chinese government now finds itself in the rare position of lowering taxes on the cost of buying a house in China as the domestic property market begins to fall victim to the negative economic trends now affecting the globe.