A report from the South China Morning Post. "Two of China’s top three leading property developers saw their November sales plunge even after cutting prices by nearly a third at some of their projects, as fears of a housing recession grows larger. China’s property market has seen a U-turn in the second half of this year after a long period of growth, forcing developers to come up new marketing strategies, including price discounts and compensations to drum up sales."

"In July, the Communist Party Politburo, China’s top decision-making body, issued a stern statement after the housing market showed no signs of cooling. It said 'rises in home prices should be firmly curbed,' removing the word 'excessive' from the phrase used in its previous policy stance, showing that it was determined in controlling the rapid home price increases."

"Moody’s Asian Liquidity Stress Indicator in October showed tight liquidity conditions for rated Chinese property developers because of their high refinancing needs. This will force cash-strapped developers to lower prices to unload their units to collect money as quickly as possible."

The Daily Telegraph in Australia. "Property listing numbers have risen to a decade high across Sydney as panicked homeowners rush to sell their homes before the end of the year. Total listings rose by 7.5 per cent over November, pushing the volume of homes available for sale to nearly 40,000 — the largest number recorded since 2009, SQM Research figures showed."

"Current listing levels are also 20.4 per cent higher than those recorded a year ago. The surge in sales has added to an already large backlog of unsold properties — many listed months ago. The glut of sales has put sellers increasingly in competition with each other to attract a dwindling pool of buyers and many are now dropping their prices."

"'The market … is now flooded with stock. Vendors who do not price their properties realistically will not sell in this market,' said SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher."

From CBC News. "An association of Alberta home builders says the economic downturn and government policies are crippling its industry. Building Industry and Land Development Alberta Association (BILD Alberta) represents 1,800 land developers, home builders and renovators in the province."

"The organization says new mortgage rules and proposed provincial legislation are creating uncertainty and higher housing prices. It's resulting in layoffs in the industry and new homes sitting empty while Albertans are losing out on home ownership opportunities, the association says."

"BILD Alberta says there are more than 5,000 completed but unsold new homes in Alberta, leading to a significant reduction in housing starts."

"The Realtors Association of Edmonton reported this week that residential housing sales in the Edmonton area were down more than 10 per cent in November compared to the same month last year. The average price of a single-family home in Edmonton in November was $421,715, down 4.55 per cent year over year. New listings and inventory were both up nearly 10 per cent year-over-year."

"BILD Alberta CEO Carmen Wyton said some builders have been forced to reduce their staff by up to 20 per cent to survive the slowdown."

From News in English."Norway’s real estate brokers’ organization (Eiendom Norge) reported another price decline in the housing market on Wednesday, with figures showing prices to be down another 1.5 percent on average in November. It was even weaker than normal for the month, but widely viewed as another correction after years of price hikes."

"The brokers stressed that what they call 'price development' is often weak in November. The numbers this past November were negative in all of Norway’s biggest cities: Oslo prices were down by 0.7 percent compared to October, while Stavanger prices fell 1.1 percent. Bergen and Trondheim both logged price declines of 2.1 percent."

"While some sellers are now nervous, the CEO of the brokers’ group claimed that moderation was healthy. 'It’s good, because it contributes to less accumulation of debt and lower risk for financial imbalance,' Geving wrote in a comment to state broadcaster NRK. Others feel the market has become more 'reasonable' and may flatten out in the months ahead."