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Bloomberg Confidence among US homebuilders plummeted by the most since 2014 as the highest borrowing costs in eight years restrain demand, adding to signs of a cooling housing market that will weigh on the Federal Reserve’s debate over how far to raise interest rates. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped eight points in November to …

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping’s mantra that homes should be for living in is falling on deaf ears, with tens of millions of apartments and houses standing empty across the country. Soon-to-be-published research will show roughly 22 percent of China’s urban housing stock is unoccupied, according to Professor Gan Li, who runs the main nationwide study. That adds up to …

DUBAI / WAM The UAE has been ranked as one of the world’s top Islamic fintech hubs with the country home to 12 start-ups specialising in this field, a new analysis from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed. The analysis, based on recent data from IFN Fintech, ranked the UAE fourth globally as an Islamic fintech hub. …

Bloomberg Publicly traded landlord Equity Residential is marketing two Manhattan apartment buildings, and just completed the sale of a third, as it seeks to reduce its holdings in a rental market that’s softening. The Chicago-based real estate investment trust is looking to sell 800 Sixth Ave., a high-rise tower in Chelsea, and 505 W. 54th St. in Hell’s Kitchen, according …

Bloomberg Developers in Hong Kong are offering perks such as free rail tickets and early move-in dates in a further sign one of the world’s hottest property markets may finally be cooling. In a bid to shift apartments, CK Asset Holdings Ltd. is giving away high-speed rail holiday and travel packages, including accommodation, worth $35,700 for people who agree to …

Bloomberg Londoners are buying more homes outside the capital as prices remain too high, even after the end of a decade-long housing boom. In the first half, Londoners bought more than 30,000 homes outside the city, a 16 percent rise from a year ago and 61 percent more than in the same period a decade earlier, according to research by …

RAS AL KHAIMAH / WAM The total value of real estate transactions in Ras al-Khaimah rose to AED2.7 billion in the first half of 2018, an increase of 33 percent compared to the corresponding half of 2017, according to a report issued by the Lands and Properties Sector at the emirate’s municipality. The bi-annual report indicated that 2,632 real estate …

Bloomberg Oil fell to the lowest in more than a week amid a surprise jump in US crude inventories and an escalating trade dispute between the US and China. Futures in New York fell as much as 1.4 percent. The American Petroleum Institute was said to report US stockpiles rose 5.59 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, the US will propose …

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), has called on persons dealing with commercial real estate to apply the basic Value Added Tax, VAT, rate of five percent on all sales and rent of such properties, urging buyers to pay the due VAT before proceeding with the transfer of ownership. The Authority had organised an awareness tour for …

Bloomberg OPEC and its allies gave the final sign-off to an oil-production increase, sealing a victory for Saudi Arabia and Russia. Major producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — including Mexico and Kazakhstan — met ministers from the cartel on Saturday and endorsed a nominal output increase of 1 million barrels a day, said Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons …