A working group within the Icelandic national association of pension funds has come to the conclusion that it is not worthwhile for the funds to invest money buying and renovating rental housing. Read the full story

The supervisory arm of the EFTA, the ESA, has given Icelandic authorities a six-week deadline to implement changes to the public sector Housing Finance Fund — the country’s biggest mortgage lender. A formal investigation could take place if the deadline is missed. Read the full story

Many more properties were sold in the Reykjavik region last month than in April last year. According to new figures from Statistics Iceland, the number of residential property sales in the capital region rose by 86 percent year-on-year and the value of property sales in the month also shot up by 86 percent from a year before.

According to a New York Times article, foreign investors are profiting from good house buying deals in Iceland because of the property market depression following the banking crash. Read the full story

Turnover of properties in Iceland increased by 16 percent last year compared to 2009 and there were a quarter more purchase agreements signed. However, the number of properties sold was still some four-times lower than in 2007. Read the full story

The Icelandic government today signed a declaration of intent with the country’s pension funds and loan providers aimed at tackling the problems of indebted householders. Read the full story

Finnish smokers may soon find themselves out in the cold, as more and more landlords insist on non-smoking rental agreements. The first tobacco-free block of flats was completed in the city of Espoo in April, but plans for another 400 similar apartments are already underway. Read the full story

Up to 10,000 activists will require temporary shelters when they travel to Copenhagen for the upcoming United Nations Climate Summit. Read the full story

Five times fewer property purchase contracts were recorded in Reykjavik in the first seven months of the year, compared to the same time in 2007, according to information from the Icelandic Property Registry. Purchase contracts have gone down by roughly half compared with January-July last year. Read the full story

Frjalsi Investment Bank won a house in a forced auction last November in the Reykjavik suburb of Alftanes. However, the bank still has not taken possession of the house keys and the former owner unilaterally decided to demolish the house yesterday. Read the full story