New York Times
6 April 2009
The spring 2009 Reomac conference for professionals selling repossessed property has attracted nearly 3,000 real estate agents and property managers to the Desert Springs JW Marriott resort in California. As many as 700,000 bank properties are now on the market nationwide, and in February they accounted for nearly 45% of home sales in the USA. There were just 100,000 in 2006.
National Post (formerly The Financial Post) (Canada)
6 April 2009
A luxury hotel for dogs and cats – Hotel Balto in Vaudreuil-Dorion, a suburb west of Montreal, which charges pet owners up to C$99 a night – has announced an 80% occupancy rate for its 36 rooms. Hotel Balto, owned by Diane Levesque, has 27 rooms and nine “lofts” ranging in size from the equivalent of conventional residential bathrooms to standard shower stalls.
New Straits Times (Malaysia)
6 April 2009
The auction of a prominent commercial property in Kuala Lumpur is likely be put off for the third time after its owners placed a restraining order against any action by its creditors. Putra Place, which houses the Mall, the Legend hotel and an office tower, was meant to go under the hammer on 16 April, but this was stalled after owner Metroplex Holdings went to court. CIMB and RHB Investment Bank are agents to the banks that gave a loan to Metroplex.
The Australian
7 April 2009
The Jim Raptis-backed Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast has been placed in receivership after a marketing campaign launched last year failed to attract buyers. The 293-room hotel has been on the market since last year, with an expectation that it would fetch more than A$100m. But offers have been around A$80m, less than Raptis paid for the hotel in 2006.
China Post
7 April 2009
The Taipei authorities have torn down an old residence they own on Roosevelt Road, signalling their determination to beautify the metropolis by replacing old, publicly owned buildings with new ones that are practical and more aesthetically pleasing. The plan, named tai bei hao hao kan (beautiful Taipei), calls for the city to tear down all publicly owned buildings that do not have any architectural or historical value justifying their preservation.
