Cuba announced a new property law, that promises to allow citizens and permanent residents to buy and sell real estate - the most significant market-oriented change yet approved by the government of Raul Castro, and one that will probably reshape Cuba's cities and conceptions of class. The new rules go into effect on November 10, reported The New York Times. For the first time since the early days of the revolution, buyers and sellers will be allowed to set home prices and move when they want. Transactions of various kinds, including sales, trades and gifts to relatives by Cubans who are emigrating, will no longer be subject to government approval, the new law says. The new law includes some provisions that seem aimed at controlling both speculation and the concentration of wealth. Owners will be limited to two homes )a residence and a vacation property) and financing must go through Cuba's Central Bank, which will charge fees, which have not been determined. And a tax of 8 percent will be split by the buyer and seller.

Google has thrown its weight behind Tech City, East London's fast-growing hub for Internet companies, by signing a lease for a seven-floor building that will serve as a launch-pad for new start-ups and developers, reported Reuters. The centre, due to open in 2012, will house advisers from Google and other organizations that support technology entrepreneurs. It will be located close to Old Street round about, dubbed "Silicon Round about", in an area of London that has already attracted hundreds of new Internet start-ups. The move supports British Prime Minister David Cameron's ambition, announced in November 2010, for London's East End to become a technology centre to rival California's Silicon Valley. The plan was backed by a host of technology companies, including Google, Vodafone, Facebook and Intel. Google, which will retain its central London offices, said the centre would be the first initiative of its kind for the company anywhere in the world. According to Bloomberg, Google will take on more than 2.323 square meters of office space near Old Street until at least 2022. The company will pay about US$ 7.8 million over 10 years in rent, which exclude costs for refurbishment, according to an online brochure for the site. "Finding a suitable building is the first major step, and we hope to announce more details about the organizations we'll work with and how they will use the space in the coming months," said David Singleton, Google UK's engineering director. "East London is already home to hundreds of innovative British start-ups, and has huge potential for economic growth and new jobs over the coming years", he added.

According to The National, several towers are scheduled to open on or near the Corniche in Abu Dhabi in the next few months, offering more than 1,400 apartments with rooftop pools, health clubs and all the modern amenities. For the first time, the capital will have the type of high-end apartment towers common in Dubai. "I see a lot of people moving back from Dubai because we have the quality now," says Almer Agmyren, the managing director of Rex Real Estate. The list of nearly completed projects includes Etihad Towers, the collection of five blocks near the Emirates Palace hotel. There is also the 47-storey Seba Tower, now known as Al Ain Tower and commonly known as the "wobbly building", near Spinneys market, and Nation Towers, which is next to the Hilton Corniche. "Anything on the Corniche is literally like a jewel in the crown," says Steve Morgan, the head of the UAE office for the property consultancy Cluttons. "They are filling a niche in the marketplace for people who can afford it." Prospective tenants have been told the first of the 885 apartments in Etihad Towers will be available on October 15. Annual rents in the Etihad Towers apartments range from a low of US$ 27 thousand for a 67-square meter one bedroom to US$ 265 thousand for a 732-square meter penthouse. A two-bedroom, 160 square meter apartment is listed at about US$ 61.3 thousand. Al Ain Tower, which is expected to offer similar pricing, is also scheduled to open by the end of October, agents have been told. Nation Towers is likely to open in the spring.

As reported by TheMoveChannel.com, Picasso's first workshop, in the heart of Montmartre, is up for sale in Paris by 1.5 million euro. The workshop, located in Montmartre, has been converted into an apartment and is now listed on the property market for art-loving investors. The modern conversion is divided into two 40 square meters studios, comprising a loft apartment with mezzanine bedroom and a workshop. On the top of a hill close to Sacre Coeur, it has views across Paris from the city's bohemian centre. Picasso arrived at the property in October 1900, aged 19. The artist lived there with his best friend Carlos Casagemas and fellow painter Manuel Pallares for several creative - and promiscuous - years. Together, they spent their nights attempting to work, but more often than not getting distracted by dance halls, women and brothels. Picasso produced several paintings in the workshop, including the famous Le Moulin de la Galette. In February the next year, while Picasso was away from home, his friend Casagemas shot himself at a nearby cafe, prompting the onset of the artist's "blue period", and a depression that lasted for years. In 1904, after travelling frequently to Barcelona, Picasso settled in Paris. Today, a small plaque confirms that the city centre property was his premier atelier (first workshop). It is currently owned by a well-known French photographer. Playing a fundamental part in forming the artist's abstract style, this unique Paris apartment is a rare combination of contemporary home and art history.

According to the report issued by State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre of the Republic of Armenia, compared to the last month real estate market of Yerevan get activated. In June 2011 in Yerevan were carried out 4.260 thousand real estate transactions. Compared to the previous month this index increased by 4,8 and compared to the same month last year by 6,8 percent. In contrast to that increase real estate average prices in the capital dropped by 9 percent (June 2010-$US755/ June 2011- $US685). On annual basis real estate prices significantly dropped, but the purchase considerably activated. At a stable economic growth, this fact may lead to a gradual increase in property prices. But today, as prices continue to go down and there is no attractiveness for profitable real estate investment, Yerevan property prices reach the non-speculative equilibrium state. It should be noted, that on an annual basis the largest decline in prices was observed in Arabkir- by 13.5 percent ($US1053/$US912), but the prices in the cheapest district of Yerevan, Nubarashen have even grew up by 0.3 percent ($US394/$US397).