A report from the Wall Street Journal. "For five years, European nations have been trying to jump-start their ailing economies with what was supposed to be a radical, short-term remedy—negative interest rates. Instead, central banks haven’t been able to wean their economies off them. The policy threatens pensions, creates the risk of real-estate bubbles and doesn’t fully quell the specter of deflation."

"In Switzerland, some individuals are putting cash into real estate, prompting fears of overbuilding. 'Holding cash,' said Swiss Bankers Association chief economist Martin Hess, 'is simply more expensive than building an empty house.'"

The Sierra Leone Times. "The oversupply of real estate in Gulf countries which has seen a collapse in property prices, commensutate with similar falls in rents, has hit across the region, none worse though in Qatar. Like all Gulf countries, Qatar has pushed the envelope, building far more villas, apartments, commercial office towers, hotels and malls than there is demand for."

"Ratings agency Fitch says rentals in Qatar have fallen 20% over the past 3 years, again similar to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and echoed around the rest of the region."

The Business Report on South Africa. "MC du Toit Chief Executive of Property Sales for BidX1 South Africa said, 'Now acquiring property for sale on auction via an on-line platform is rapidly becoming a convenient and secure way of transacting.'"

"Due to variations in browser and connection speeds, bidders are advised to make a bid with at least 10, 15 or more seconds remaining on the clock. He said, 'In the current buyers’ market, where stock is abundant but purchasers are in short supply, there is downward pressure on property prices, creating a situation which empowers buyers to negotiate strongly on price.'"

From Newshub on New Zealand. "The Government may have to purchase KiwiBuild homes in Canterbury because they failed to sell after being listed three months ago. It's a government promise to either purchase them outright from the developer or top up any shortfall should the developer sell them at a discounted price."

"None of the first seven Canterbury KiwiBuild houses first marketed on February 20 have sold - houses that ranged in price from $459,000 to $480,000. 'There is little-to-zero demand for houses in this price bracket in Christchurch, despite Mr Twyford's assertion to the contrary. It shows just how little thought was put into his KiwiBuild policy, which has been a spectacular failure,' said The National Party's housing spokesperson Judith Collins."

The Daily Telegraph in Australia. "A report provided exclusively to The Daily Telegraph revealed inner suburbs in Brisbane and Perth, along with emerging Sydney hubs, had the worst balance of supply to demand in the country, suggesting declines in prices were imminent."

"'An oversupply of housing is the main issue in most of these suburbs,' said Group analyst Jeremy Sheppard. 'Developers have built too many (dwellings) and in some areas there’s too many of the same type of dwellings such as two-bedroom units … cookie cutter type homes rarely appreciate in value quickly.'"

"Property prices were also being heavily discounted in most of the nominated areas, with Haymarket and Bentley vendors typically slashing about 10 per cent off their original prices before selling. This suggested buyer demand was weak and there was little chance of buyers absorbing the excess housing supply."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "Readers are responding to The Globe’s weekend read: Bubble trouble: In Vancouver’s housing market, pain has set in. With falling sales and prices, patient buyers are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for sellers to face reality."

"'As a 32-year-old, I am definitely feeling the schadenfreude here. Housing prices are unrealistically high across much of the country, and I would like few things better than to see that market crash so that I can have a shot at buying a decent house myself.'"

"'We can thank the BC Liberals and the Federal Government for the housing bubble. They both knew it was fuelled by organized crime and cared little and did nothing to protect the hard working families in Greater Vancouver. Hopefully this inquiry will get some of the regulators and gate keepers under oath to see why everyone but them knew what was happening to inflate prices.'"

"'I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone who allowed themselves to get so caught up in the bubble that they thought even $7 million is a reasonable price on anything. And better that someone who could come up with that kind of financing get left holding the bag than your average Vancouverite, the ones who have been totally left out of the market for the last decade or so.'"