PNT Reporter

22 Mar 2023

The citizens of Lucerne in Switzerland have voted in favor of limiting short-term rentals, such as those offered on Airbnb, to a maximum of 90 days per year. The measure was supported by just over 64% of voters in the central Swiss city. The initiative was aimed at curbing large-scale temporary rentals by commercial providers and making more housing available for Lucerne’s residents who are currently facing a severe housing shortage. The local government had proposed a weaker alternative that would have restricted the percentage of short-term rentals in non-tourist neighborhoods, but it did not receive enough support.Read more

PNT Reporter

22 Mar 2023

The Housing and Development Board of Singapore has released sample rooms of their new pilot public rental housing model for singles. Each room is slightly less than 100 sq ft in size and will come with basic furnishings such as a bed frame, wardrobe, table, chair, and a mini fridge. The bathroom and kitchen facilities will be shared by residents of the flat. The apartment buildings will have common laundry and activity rooms available. Residents will be required to pay a fixed monthly fee, which will be calculated based on their income and other factors.Read more

21 Mar 2023

Cash-stressed Kaisa Group, a property developer based in China, has finally released its overdue financial results for the fiscal year 2021 and H1 of 2022, revealing considerable losses and a notable decline in revenue. Along with other Chinese developers, Kaisa has failed to meet its offshore debt obligations due to financial difficulties and sluggish sales, prompting some to urgently seek restructuring deals with their lenders. International investors have been frustrated by the lack of progress in several long-term restructurings, and they have threatened legal action due to the resulting delays. The company is said to be holding meetings with investors in Hong Kong this week to provide updates on its progress.Read more

21 Mar 2023

Dubai Chamber of Commerce has announced the creation of six business groups that are specifically focused on the real estate sector. These groups are aimed at companies that operate in areas such as real estate development, real estate appraisal, real estate leasing, facility management, interior decoration, and engineering consultancy services. The goal is to help companies in the real estate industry to take advantage of new opportunities, overcome industry-wide challenges, and address policy issues that impact this thriving market.Read more

20 Mar 2023

The deputy ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, who is also the humanitarian envoy of The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), opened the ‘Home for a Home’ project in Kenya’s Kalobeyei Settlement during an official field visit organized by TBHF to the African country. The project, which is a collaboration between Arada Developments, TBHF, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to offer secure housing, sanitation, and clean water supply to more than 55,000 people in the settlement and neighbouring host community, adjacent to one of Kenya’s Kakuma camps.Read more

17 Mar 2023

Earlier this week, Irish Life, an insurance company, announced that due to a rise in customer withdrawals, they have implemented a six-month advance notice requirement for withdrawal requests from their 500-million-euro property fund called the Irish Property Fund. However, this new rule does not apply to their larger Exempt Property fund. The Irish office market, which has seen significant growth in recent years due to substantial investment from multinational tech companies, is currently facing challenges as a result of the increased adoption of remote work.Read more

16 Mar 2023

The Marjan Group, a prominent business conglomerate in the UAE and a major player in the real estate industry, has shown great interest in the eco-friendly and sustainable construction methods utilizing Canadian Wood. The CEO of Marjan Group, Abdulla Al Abdouli visited the MAK BTR sustainable Canadian Wood Project in Hyderabad to learn about this innovative initiative by MAK Projects. He was accompanied by Harshendra Goyal, Regional Sales Director, and Georgios Karaiskos, the Business Development Manager.Read more

15 Mar 2023

Singapore's newest town, Tengah, is taking shape four years after the first flats were offered in 2018. More than half of the 30,000 public housing units in the 700-hectare 'forest town' have been launched, with 18,555 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats across 18 projects available as of the February sales exercise. When completed, Tengah will offer 42,000 new homes, including 30,000 HDB flats and 12,000 private housing units. It is the 24th Housing Board town and the first to be developed since Punggol two decades ago.Read more

14 Mar 2023

Rightmove, a UK real estate website, reported that there has been a decrease in the number of people searching for properties on their platform, providing further indication of a slowdown in the housing market. Despite this, the company’s annual profit met expectations. As a result of this news, shares in Rightmove fell by up to 3.7% to a seven-week low of 540 pence during morning trading, making it the top percentage loser on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.Read more

14 Mar 2023

Blackstone Inc has failed to make payments on a bond worth 531 million euros ($562.5 million) that was secured by a collection of offices and stores owned by Sponda Oy, a Finnish company. This was due to the increasing interest rates that have negatively impacted the value of European properties. Although the private equity firm requested an extension to repay the debt, the bondholders rejected this proposal, according to an insider familiar with the situation.Read more