AP Construction of new homes posted a solid increase in June, led by a surge of building in the Northeast and the West. The Commerce Department said that housing starts rose 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million from a revised 1.14 million in May. The June reading was the highest level since February, but …

  Bloomberg What’s the cost of having to raise money quickly by selling London real estate? Almost 15 percent based on the sale of two properties on Oxford Street, the UK’s busiest shopping thoroughfare, since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Aberdeen Asset Management Plc’s UK Property Fund accepted a 15 percent price cut to sell a building on …

  Bloomberg Developers now are making sure they reach a higher level of sales before they begin construction on Toronto condominium projects, contrary to the housing bubble that unfolded in the city in the 1980s, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. (CMHC) said. Work began on 79 percent of condo buildings only after developers pre-sold at least 70 percent of the …