London retains the number one slot as the most expensive office market in the world, with occupation costs reaching as much as $329 per square foot in the West End and $181 per square foot in the City. Rents at the top of the market have been inflated by demand from hedge funds and financial boutiques competing for the best buildings.

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Stefan von den Driesch, the CEO of Ourbania.com; a unique Web 2.0 community for architecture, real estate and construction enthusiasts is our guest this week. Mainz/Germany based Ourbania.com has been creating a buzz in the blogosphere. We asked Stefan to share a few thoughts with us, and he was kind enough to oblige.

What exactly is Ourbania.com? Can you please expand more on its concept?

Ourbania.com is built upon two cornerstones: First, it’s a vivid online directory of outstanding commercial real estate property worldwide. It’s based on the contributions of its users and taps relevant online resources (e.g. Flickr photos, Google maps).
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• ING Global Real Estate Fund launched [Sify]
• Billionaire Brits feel pinch from property [thisislondon]
• Abramovich searching for Tel Aviv home [ynetnews]
• Europe’s property sector hardest hit by the global credit market turmoil [Finfacts]
• Shenzhen property sales cool due to mortgage freeze [China Knowledge]
• The U.K.’s Billionaires [Forbes]
• GE Real Estate Acquires $4.1bln Portfolio of U.K. Commercial Loans [CPN]

The upcoming CityScape Asia exhibition in Singapore promises to be a spectacular event, with a golf tournament, cocktail parties and a number of conferences and workshops organized to allow visitors the opportunity to claim, “It was all work.” Last year’s event was a resounding success, attracting 4,600 industry professionals from 53 countries, showcasing 125 exhibiting companies.CityScape Asia will be held in Singapore, between 15th and 17th April, 2008. According to CityScape, Singapore was chosen as the venue for the following reasons:

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French property prices are set to increase dramatically since the introduction of a new high-speed Eurostar link from St Pancras station in London. The high-speed rail line, launched on Wednesday, promises to cut most Eurostar journeys by 20 minutes, making Paris a less than two-and-a-half hour train ride away from London.

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A luxury flat in Hong Kong has set a new record as the most expensive apartment in Asia. The price was a whopping US$36.3 million. The penthouse in Hong Kong’s upscale Mid-Levels district sold earlier this month for a record US$5,142 per square foot, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.

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• Amlak International to fund Saudi real estate [gulfnews.com]
• Gulf construction projects hit $2.4tn [AME Info]
• HK$283m buys Asia’s most expensive flat [scmp.com]
• Greenspan Has No `Regrets’ as Housing Slump Deepens [Bloomberg]
• Singapore’s CapitaLand to take 10 pct stake in assets of Russian developer [Forbes]
• Property on the Isle of Man: Man alive[Telegraph]
• China property fund raises $400 mln in AIM listing [Reuters]

As more and more well-developed overseas property markets reach saturation point, British property investors are starting to look further and further afield in the search for likely investment opportunities. South America, despite some political and social issues still to deal with, offers those opportunities. South America, like many other emerging markets sees the benefits of foreign investment and the governments are taking steps towards creating a more hospitable investment environment.