Mirvac has reduced the number of apartment settlements for 2016 by 50 due to delays at its Harold Park development in Sydney, but has sharpened its overall earnings guidance. Chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said residential conditions remain mixed.

Residential buildings in New York are rethinking, refurbishing or increasing their offerings in an effort to compete with the thousands of square feet in amenities in newly constructed buildings.

There are plenty of reasons why foreign investment may be perceived as being wrong. Many of them are spurious reasons, such as nationalistic pride or concerns over a country's human rights record. But there can be questions around the real economics of some foreign investments.