According to the latest official data released, the housing prices in Chinese cities continued to rise during the month of August.

The data showed that out of the 70 major Chinese cities, 66 cities recorded a rise in prices of new as well as existing houses on the monthly basis. The figure of 66 is higher than 62 cities recorded in July, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that was released on Wednesday. The report also showed that 58 cities reported month-on-month price increases in existing and second-hand homes in August compared to 57 in July.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned that the government's schemes to boost the property markets will lead to an increase in the property prices and may even lead to a property bubble.

The Liberal Democrat minister warned over a possible property bubble as the property prices rise rapidly in the country. Mr Cable is expected to show a more cautious assessment of the economy than Chancellor when he speaks to the business leader today. He will say that there are encouraging signs of recovery but it can only be sustained through investments by businesses that have remained lower than other countries.

According to a new survey, the housing prices have risen by 5.4 per cent during the year till August in the UK as the economy shows signs of a strong recovery.

The Halifax's latest house price survey showed the rise is the highest annual rate since June 2010. The average price of a house also rose beyond the £170,000 mark for the first time in five years as the housing market continued to recover backed by government schemes and growing economy. The figure is still below its highest level in August 2007 when the average price was around £200,000.

Chennai, Aug 30 : City-based housing loan company Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance Ltd Friday announced a hike of 25 basis points in its prime lending rate (PLR) from next month onwards, owing to tight liquidity conditions and increased borrowing costs.

In a statement issued here the company said the rate of interest on all variable rate loans of all existing customers will go up by 0.25 percent.

"The increase in PLR rate has been driven by the tight liquidity conditions in the market and an increase in borrowing costs of the company," managing director Srinivas Acharyasaid in the statement.

London estate agency, Foxtons has said that it is planning to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange aiming to raise up to £500 million.

Foxtons has indicated that it could share a windfall of up to £100 million from the offering. The announcement of the IPO is a major turnaround for the BC Partners, the estate agency's private equity owner that recorded a sharp fall in Foxtons during the recent financial crisis. The IPO also indicates that the general London property market is recording a strong recovery.

According to a new report, about two out of every five home buyers could face a stamp duty land tax within five years in the UK as the house prices picks up in the country.

The new report said buyers might be forced to pay as much as £7,500 in "punitive" stamp duty costs by the year 2018 as the property market continues to recover in the UK. It said that four out of every five homes sold in 2012-13 in England and Wales will include stamp duty land tax during the coming five years.

In a sign that the nation's property market is reviving, a franchiser of real estate brokerages, Re/Max Holdings has launched its initial public offering aiming to raise about $100 million.

Re/Max Holdings, which is based in Denver, has more than 92,000 real estate agents globally. The company said in a filing that it is aiming to raise as much as $100 million from the stock markets. The real-estate franchise operator will use the funds raised for offering to increase its regional rights in the central Atlantic and south-western United States.

Bovis Homes has said that it has recorded its best performance since 1997 when the company was floated in the country.

Chief executive David Ritchie said that the demand for homes backed by a recovering economy as well as the Government’s Help to Buy scheme and easier mortgage lending conditions allowed the company record strong growth during the year so far. Bovis has already achieved 90 per cent of its targeted sales for the year in August.

Indiabulls Real Estate on Sunday announced that it had purchased back the entire stake of US-based Farallon Capital's reality subsidiary FIM in seven joint ventures for Rs 1,172 crore.

FIM exited the seven the seven Indiabulls JVs with an impressive gain of 42 per cent in six years.

The American reality giant had acquired 49 per cent equity stake in JVs in question in the year 2007 with an investment of Rs 847 crore.

Politicians in the UK have said that the government's schemes to help stabilise the housing market will not result in a housing market bubble, as suggested by some in the previous few days.

Madrid, Aug 13 : House sales in Spain fell by 5.5 percent in June 2013 compared to a year ago, the National Institute of Statistics (or INE) said.

The INE said 23,966 houses were sold in June, reflecting a month-on-month fall of 8.6 percent, reported Xinhua.

New house purchases accounted for 43 percent of all sales, 13.7 percent less compared to last year and a 10.9 percent decrease on a monthly basis.

A total of 13,665 resold houses were purchased, representing 57 percent of all transactions.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac has said on Thursday that the 30-year mortgage rate increased to 4.40 per cent from 4.39 per cent in the previous week, indicating some stability in the market ahead of the proposed liquidation by the government of two major mortgage firms.

According to the latest data released, the total average house prices have reached their all-time high in England and Wales.

The prices have crossed the previous record set in 2008 due to strong demand in London. The new report from LSL Property Services showed that the average house prices in the two countries are now at £232,969, which is£5,796 higher than the previous year and £1,140 higher than the previous record set in February 2008.

Experts have said that if the plans to liquidate government-controlled mortgage guarantee giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implemented, and the mortgage rates are expected to up in the US economy.

According to the latest figures released, the housing prices in Australia have continued to rise for the third straight quarter.

The data released by the Bureau of Statistics showed that the housing prices in capital city increased 2.4 per cent during the three months till June, 2013. The growth of 2.4 per cent is the highest for the established housing sector in more than three years. The prices rose 0.8 per cent in March and 2.1 per cent in December 2012.

US President Barak Obama is working on measures to ensure that the 30-year mortgages are widely accessible to the US public, which is not generally available in other countries.

Washington, August 2 : US fixed mortgage rates edged up for the first time in three weeks, but were still low by historical standards, according to the primary mortgage market survey released by Freddie Mac.

The US mortgage giant Thursday said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 4.39 percent in the week ending Aug 1, from 4.31 percent in the previous week.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.43 percent this week from 3.39 percent last week, Xinhua reported.

According to a new report released, the housing prices in the UK are expected to rise by about 40 per cent during the coming seven years making difficult for the so-called `Millennium baby boomers' to buy their first property.

Beijing, July 18 - Prices of both new and existing homes continued to rise in most Chinese cities in June, according to official data released Thursday.

Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, 63 cities saw month-on-month home price rises. However, the number was down from 65 cities that reported higher prices in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement on its website.

U. S. homebuilders have indicated that they are increasingly optimistic about strengthening sales in the housing markets.

The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo builder sentiment index increased to 57 during the month compared to 51 in June recording its third monthly gain. High sentiment indicates that the builders are expecting high sales and would increase construction of homes in the country. A rating of more than 50 on the index indicates that more number of homebuilders expect good sales conditions.