Real Estate

  AFP Alfama, one of the oldest and most picturesque areas of Lisbon, is becoming a victim of its own charm. Short-term lets to tourists are driving up rents and driving out old residents. “They want to throw me out to rent my home to tourists,” complained retired salesman Antonio Melo, 70. His house has changed owners four times over ...

  Bloomberg Skanska AB, the Swedish construction company that built the City of London’s landmark Gherkin building, lowered its outlook for U.K. non-residential construction after the country voted to leave the European Union. “Ahead of the Brexit vote, private developers were in a wait-and-see mode and refrained from starting projects — that cautiousness has continued after the referendum,” Chief Executive ...

  Bloomberg Sales of London homes under construction slumped 34 percent in the second quarter as the prospect of a vote to leave the European Union damped demand already hurt by higher taxes. The number of residences sold before completion fell to about 4,600 from 6,974 a year earlier, according to data compiled by researcher Molior London . A spokesman ...

  Shanghai / AFP China’s property giant Wanda, owned by the country’s richest man Wang Jianlin, has signed an MOU to sell a historic Madrid skyscraper to a Spanish developer for €272 million, the company said. Wanda plans to sell all shares of Wanda Madrid Development, which holds the 25-storey Edificio Espana, to Spain’s property developer Baraka Global Investment, its ...

  Bloomberg A group led by US real estate investor Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, said second-quarter profit rose 2 percent as it earned more from real estate sales and its credit portfolio gained. Economic net income, a measure of earnings that reflects both realized and unrealized investment gains, increased to $520 million, or 44 ...

  DETROIT / AP A two-storey, wood-frame house became the 10,000th vacant building torn down under Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s massive plan to eliminate blight as the city continues dealing with abandoned properties following a population decline. An excavator was used to quickly tear down the house on Marlowe Street on Detroit’s northwest side. The demolition of 10,000 buildings is ...

  Bloomberg US home prices rose 5.6 percent in May from a year earlier as buyers competed for a scarcity of listings. Prices climbed 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said in a report from Washington. The average estimate of 18 economists was for a 0.4 percent gain, according to the ...

  Bloomberg Tengda Construction Group Co., which builds municipal infrastructure projects in China, plans to form a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) hydrogen industry fund to finance fuel cells and vehicles powered by the gas. The Taizhou, Zhejiang-based company, agreed to partner with Chang’An International Trust Co., Oriental Patron Financial Group and Bestone Asset Management Co. for the fund, it ...

  AP Americans bought more homes in June, the fourth straight monthly gain as the sales rate reached its highest level in more than nine years. The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes rose 1.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million, the best performance since February 2007. Buyers are quickly ...

  AFP Vancouver’s city council launched a review of the municipal regulations on short-term rentals like Airbnb, a platform accused of driving up real estate prices. “We’re working to better understand the economic benefits of short-term rentals, as well as the potential impact of short-term tourist rentals on the supply and price of long term rental housing for Vancouver residents,” ...