From Bloomberg: Pending sales of existing houses unexpectedly climbed in July from a record low, indicating the real-estate market is steadying following the end of a government tax credit. [more]

From Dailymail.co.uk: The US housing market showed unexpected signs of recovery as the number of contracts to purchase houses rose 5.2 per cent in July, while economists had been predicting a fall. [more]

From Reuters: Canada’s rapidly cooling housing market is robbing the nation’s economic recovery of one of its main drivers, but most industry watchers still think the once booming sector will avoid a U.S.-style crash. [more]

From Theglobeandmail.com: A New York Times headline caught my eye the other week: Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say. The article went on to report that, while most real-estate experts believe the U.S. housing market will recover from falling off the cliff, many also feel that home ownership will never again produce the rich rewards enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century. [more]

From BBC: Cocktail parties, with dozens of real state agents pitching their best offers, have become frequent events in big Brazilian cities in recent months. It has all come about because of a sharp drop in mortgage rates, which fell to single-digit figures last year. [more]

From Propertywire.com: ADIT Brasil, the investors’ gateway to real estate and tourism development in Brazil, has created an Investment Agency focused on presenting real estate projects correctly to overcome the obstacles of doing business between Brazil and the rest of the world. [more]

From Propertyeu.info: Many European real estate listed property companies appear to be more reactive than strategic in their major capital budget decisions when acquiring investment properties and undertaking development projects, the annual conference of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) has heard. [more]

From Bloomberg: European real commercial estate shares may rise as much as 20 percent over the next year as investors buy stocks currently trading more than 25 percent below the value of company assets, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. [more]

From Propertyeu.info: The European Public Real Estate Association (Epra) has launched a new drive to establish common standards in sustainability reporting for listed real estate companies across Europe. [more]

From BBC: House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society. Prices fell 0.9% last month, following a 0.5% decline in July, Nationwide said, adding that it was the first time that prices had fallen for two consecutive months since February 2009. [more]

From Telegraph: House prices fell further this month, leaving home owners fearful that the double dip in the property market has begun. Economists have already issued a warning that a second house price crash can be expected due to a bleak economic outlook and the continuing drought in mortgage finance. [more]

From Propertyeu.info: Germany is likely to be a ‘future major source’ of real estate IPOs, the European Public Real Estate Association’s annual conference in Amsterdam heard on Thursday. [more]

From Omanobserver.om: Oman is known for its friendly and welcoming nature, thanks to its natural borders, coastal access to the Gulf of Oman and historical interaction with different cultures. It is unique in its landscape with an awe-inspiring splendour. [more]

From Deccanherald: Real estate performance in emerging markets, such as South America and Asia, is leading that in more developed countries, according to the latest RICS Global Commercial Property Survey (GCPS). [more]

From Cityscapeintelligence.com: Indian real estate, one of the better performing markets across the world. Modest rise in tenant demand and lettings activity indicate possible strengthening of rentals in future [more]

From Business-standard.com: Traditionally, Indian investors have relied primarily on bank deposits, equities, mutual funds and real estate (personal use) for their investments. However, with an improvement in the regulatory environment and availability of new investment avenues, investors have started considering asset classes that were – until a few years ago – limited to institutional participation (eg, Commercial real estate investments, private equity (PE) and venture capital funds). [more]

From Bloomberg: China’s property market is in a “very big bubble” that may last until the government increases interest rates and introduces a real-estate tax to curb prices, according to StarRock Investment Management. [more]

From Telegraph: It is notoriously difficult to get a handle on China’s property market – the bears talk about imploding ponzi schemes, while the bulls cite the pace of urbanization and the comparatively low amount of leverage most Chinese have on their properties. [more]

From Bloomberg: Hong Kong’s home sales rose 33 percent in August to the highest in almost three years as demand outweighed government efforts to curb home prices by tightening mortgage rules and pledging to increase land supply. [more]

From Voanews.com: Governments in Singapore and Hong Kong - island cities with limited land - are trying to increase the supply of housing and keep it affordable. But as their economies improve, prices keep going up. [more]

From Todayonline.com: The prices of completed condominiums and apartments showed early signs of stabilising in July from the peak levels recorded in previous months. [more]

From Usnews.com: If you look around your neighborhood or the area where you work, you’ve probably noticed some vacant office buildings and empty windows. But what you may not have seen is commercial real estate’s latest rally—at least on Wall Street. [more]

From Usnews.com: Believe it or not, there’s a rally in real estate—commercial real estate, that is. So far this year, real estate funds, which invest primarily in real estate investment trusts (REITs), have returned about 17 percent. And over the past year, they’ve gained almost 40 percent, according to Morningstar. [more]

From Forbes: Why would a search engine (that also happens to be the one of the world’s most powerful technology companies) start sloshing around in the murky waters of real estate investing? And what impact will it have on the real estate market at large? [more]