VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The housing shortage crisis in Britain, with a deficit of 4.3 million homes, takes precedence in the lead-up to an anticipated general election, prompting major political parties to address it while balancing concerns about landscape preservation and planning laws.

The new tax increase raises the taxable portion of capital gains exceeding $250,000 Canadian (US$181,000) from half to two-thirds.

Despite a slight dip in average interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, weekly mortgage demand remains stagnant, with fewer applicants seeking loans for refinancing or home purchases.

The National Association of Realtors has announced a $418 million settlement to address antitrust litigation, potentially leading to cost reductions for homebuyers and sellers.

The Toronto Real Estate Board released sales statistics that show an increase of 23% year-over-year on home prices in November. The Toronto region has experienced strong price gain, and TREB has urged the government to launch initiatives focused on alleviating the lack of supply.

New Zealand home buyers have the new option for home loan. On Tuesday Crown Finance Limited launched its Freedom Home Loans.

World Asset Management Inc increased its stakes in ICICI Bank Ltd thus increasing the bank’s fund. The bank will now have sufficient funds to lend to eligible borrowers who want to have their own business and houses.

The authorities expect more easing measures to help reducing home inventory excess. Developers are also encouraged to change marketing rules and reduce home prices as China's property investment growth hit the lowest rate since 2009.

Airbnb shelled out more than $8 million to stop an initiative in San Francisco that would limit short-term rentals. Reuters reported that the ballot, called proposition F, could threaten the growth of this giant international tech company.

Dismayed by the millions of unsold homes in China's troubled real estate market, the Chinese government is taking matters into its own hands: by buying some properties and turning them into public housing. Like a white knight riding to the rescue of distressed developers, a handful of local governments are snapping up thousands of empty homes at hefty discounts and re-selling them to the country's poorest households.

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose for a fourth straight month in April to a nine-year high, buoying the outlook for the housing market and the overall economy.

Sweden's financial watchdog may increase the amount of capital the country's banks must set aside as reserves in a bid to cool a red-hot housing market, it said on Tuesday.

U.S. housing starts rose far less than expected in March and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region grew modestly this month, suggesting the economy could struggle to rebound from a soft patch hit in the first quarter.

The euro and world shares gained on Tuesday as the dollar steadied before a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, where the Fed may edge closer to its first interest rate rise in almost a decade.

U.S. housing starts and permits fell in November, but remained at levels consistent with a gradually improving housing market. Groundbreaking declined 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.028 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. October's starts were revised up to a pace of 1.045 million units.