Its much-vaunted lifestyle, wealth of talent, explosive population growth, economic diversity, relatively low cost of living and its ability to crank out college graduates are driving Austin's growth.

Underwriting structuring and due diligence risk management for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or HUD financing vary greatly, as with government money comes a host of requirements.

Munich is now the city most vulnerable to a property bubble, according to UBS Group AG’s annual Real Estate Bubble Index.

Hines says the move was in response to demand from some of the firm’s institutional investors.