The New England economy showed clear signs of improvement over the past several weeks as employers began to gain confidence that a recovery is on the way, according to a survey of businesses by the Federal Reserve.
The survey, known as the Beige Book, reported rising home sales in the region and increased demand for temporary [...]

High-flying financiers are sweating a coming wave of mortgage defaults tied to office and apartments buildings. Unfortunately for them, too big to fail doesn’t apply to the $6.5 trillion U.S. commercial real estate market.
Unlike the multitrillion-dollar government intervention launched to keep the American housing market from cratering, Washington has done little to ease a [...]

China’s $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund is eyeing big investments in distressed U.S. real estate, according to people familiar with the matter. To finance some of the deals, China may rely on an old trading partner: the U.S. government.
In recent weeks, officials from China Investment Corp. have held talks with U.S. private-equity fund managers, including BlackRock [...]

Americans borrowed less for the sixth consecutive month in July, fueling concerns that strained consumers will stall an economic recovery.
People shed debt by choice and by force, reflecting a combination of the thrifty attitudes and tighter lending conditions that have defined the recession. Total borrowing, which includes most consumer loans except real estate, decreased at [...]

Inland Communications, Inc. announced today the auction of a model home located on the Ravine in East Highland Park, Ill. originally priced at nearly $4 million. The auction of the six-bedroom home, which will be sold subject to a minimum bid of $2.45 million, is part of the bank-ordered sale of a portfolio of foreclosed [...]

Home sales and prices in the Baltimore area fell in October, and experts said rising joblessness and tighter credit markets could further dampen sales in the months ahead.
The statistics released yesterday dashed hopes that a recovery had begun in Baltimore’s housing market, experts said.
Sales of previously owned homes in metropolitan Baltimore decreased nearly 15 percent [...]

Canada’s housing market showed some resiliency through September and October, as national new home prices unexpectedly rose two months ago while the rate of construction on new homes was higher-than-expected in October, a pair of reports said Monday.
Statistics Canada reported that new-home prices rose in September even as the year-over-year increase fell to its slowest [...]

If you’re a homeowner seeing property values plummet, look to the commercial real estate market for solace. It might tell you which areas will recover fastest – and which will likely remain weak.
The Urban Land Institute recently asked 700 real estate professionals to name the best (and worst) places to invest in commercial real estate [...]

British house prices fell slightly less sharply in the three months to October than in the three months to September, a survey showed on Tuesday, but home sales hit the lowest in at least 30 years.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house prices balance rose to -81.8 last month from -84.5 in September, [...]

In a sign of worsening lending conditions, a British bank announced today it had stopped granting mortgages for UAE apartments and is now requiring a 50 per cent down payment for villas, a spokesman said.
“Due to exceptional global market conditions, Lloyds TSB Middle East has altered some aspects of its mortgage product offering,” the spokesman [...]