It's an old one, but a good one that kitchens and bathrooms really do sell houses. If you want to add a surface sheen to your existing kitchen, try replacing cupboards and worktops. Alternatively a small new kitchen can start at £1,500- £2,000. Avocado suites might have been all the rage thirty odd years ago, but nowadays it's all about clean and crisp white minimalism. Tiling over the floral wallpaper is also advised, as is adding a shower room where there's space.

via findaproperty.com

The affordable housing scheme, which was previously only open to key workers and social housing tenants, allows buyers to purchase a share of a property – starting at 25% - with the option of buying up to 50% of the property using a shared equity mortgage. Housing Minister Caroline Flint also announced a new initiative to enable the Housing Corporation to allocate up to £200m of its resources to buy new properties on the open market, either to be made available to first-time buyers through the HomeBuy scheme or social renting.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

The Social Responsibility for Urban Transformation Conference, organized by Altınanahtar Magazine with the support of Urban Land Institute Turkey (ULI Turkey), will be held at Istanbul Grand Cevahir Hotel on May 22.

İNDER, an association for constructors, ÇEDBİK, an environmentalist association, the Spinal Cord Paralytics Society of Turkey (SCPST), Turkey Disabled Foundation (TSD) and ecological association Temiz Dünya are also supporting the event.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER), which was established in 1999 by the representatives of existing and founding Real Estate Investment Companies (REICs), organizes the Eigth Turkish Real Estate Summit on June 4-5 at the Swissotel Istanbul. Selecting the theme of �Turkey's Real Estate Potential for 100 Years,� members of Turkey's real estate sector will focus on the investment opportunities and the problems of the sector in participation with leading figures from the world's real estate sector during two days in seven sessions of the summit.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Politicians in Washington are busy arguing about the financial and moral hazards of coming to the aid of troubled homeowners. But overshadowed by the debate over a proposal to let the government back risky mortgages is one important issue - how the program would actually work. Who would qualify? What do borrowers and lenders have to sacrifice? How does the government get paid for its trouble? The House last week passed a bill by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that would allow the Federal Housing.

via money.cnn.com

HOUSE prices in some parts of Sydney have almost halved as battling borrowers struggle to keep up with increasing interest rates. Rising interest rates, both from the Reserve Bank and those imposed independently by the banks, have been blamed for tipping the market over the edge and "pricking the house-price bubble". Property auction clearances remained flat over the weekend too, with rates slipping below 50 per cent in Sydney and Brisbane.

via news.com.au

The House on Thursday passed a contentious foreclosure-prevention package, which still faces a veto threat from the White House and an uncertain fate in the Senate. In a 266-154 vote - with 39 Republicans voting in favor - lawmakers approved a proposal, sponsored by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., to let the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insure up to $300 billion in new loans over four years if lenders agree to reduce the mortgage principal.

via money.cnn.com

There can be pitfalls for the unwary, but tens of thousands of sun-seekers have bought safely under the blue skies of the Mediterranean and further afield.
If you need a little inspiration, here are some of the hot properties currently available with Shropshire’s own specialist independent overseas property agents,This stunning project on the coast of Morocco sits opposite the beach and enjoys breathtaking sea views from most properties. The complex includes one and two bedroom apartments and a host of on-site facilities such as bars, restaurants, boutiques, shops and sports facilities.

via shropshirestar.com

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has urged private-residential landlords to use a tax break allowing landlords to claim on their tax return against the cost of buying and installing energy saving items. Landlords are able to claim a maximum of £1,500 per property against the cost of installing draught proofing, loft insulation, floor insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation or insulation for hot water systems through the Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance (LESA).

via yourmortgage.co.uk

-- Can a couple coats of paint, some spackle and $15 billion keep foreclosed homes from bringing down the home market? A housing-rescue bill moving through Congress would allocate $7.5 billion in grants and $7.5 billion in zero-interest loans to states to buy foreclosed homes, rehab them, and resell them. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), passed committee last week and will most likely be taken up on the House floor this week. A Senate bill including a similar provision passed in April, appropriating $4 billion to the task.

via money.cnn.com

Real-estate agents, brokers, appraisers and other real-estate industries reported total operating revenues of $10.6 billion for 2006, an 8.1 per cent increase from 2005. Statistics Canada says high demand for real estate has boosted both sales and prices despite a slight increase in mortgage rates. The agency's New Housing Price Index grew 9.7 per cent in 2006, close to five times the rate of inflation.

via topix.net

Constructed by Ertaş Ulusoy İnşaat, a partnership of Ertaş İnşaat and Ulusoy İnşaat, in Gebze's Çayırova district, the Akse Yaşam Houses project offers apartments priced between YTL 92,000 ($73,000) and YTL 385,000 ($305,000) excluding VAT. The apartments, which can be purchased over a 14-month installments period upon the condition of paying at least 20 percent in cash, are to be delivered in May 2010.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The organisers of The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show have published a list of tips for homeowners looking to improve their homes with a view to selling in the near future. While recent research suggests that, this year, improving rather than moving is the focus, clever homeowners know that the right home improvements can add real value to a property - and often don’t require a big financial outlay or months to complete.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

Real estate researcher and property "hotspots" expert Terry Ryder faced the wrath of proud Bankstown residents after his report, The No-Go Zones: 13 Worst Places To Invest, named their suburb on his list. Mr Ryder, 52, who runs a website with advice on future lucrative property "hotspots" and has published four real estate books from his home in Maleny, south-east Queensland, told The Daily Telegraph: "I certainly wouldn't invest in those places and I don't think other people should buy there either.
"I'd call Bankstown one of the hard-luck capitals of NSW."

via news.com.au

The damaged housing and home construction markets will continue to take a beating at least through the end of the year, according to economists who spoke Thursday at a forecast conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. The economists said the deterioration of the housing market helped the U.S. economy slip into a recession that will continue through June. They said high oil prices will continue to hamper consumer spending, and the ongoing credit crisis will make home financing difficult, stalling a housing recovery until at least 2009.

via money.cnn.com