International briefs

Eden Gardens, a six-story residential and retail project in downtown Beirut, being developed by Lebanon-based A&H Construction & Development.From the New York January issue: A real estate surge in Beirut that led to prices in some neighborhoods more than tripling over the past five years has peaked, yet values and rents remain among the highest for the region, recent reports and industry insiders said. That flattening, however, is not due solely to the global financial downturn. Regional brokers blamed uncertainty between Lebanon and its neighbors such as Israel and Syria for some of the loss in momentum. Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents are moving to the water to get more square footage for their money, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. There are essentially no open spaces for new boats in Hong Kong’s three live-aboard marinas, and the managing director of Saffron Marina, Gary Smith, estimates that 350 residents of Hong Kong live on a boat as their primary home. Click here for more.