Property investors with interests in one US city suddenly saw the value of their stocks rise this week thanks to statistics from the FBI. The bureau has revealed Irvine, California, is the country’s safest big city for the fourth year in a row.

Officials use uniform crime reporting figures to name the most trouble-free metropolis, with records showing Irvine has less violent incidents per capita than any US location with more than 100,000 residents.

Real estate firms from the area were understandably delighted.

Tom Veal of the Irvine Community Development Company said safety is one of the “most important considerations” when American families are choosing a place to live. His firm is an affiliate of The Irvine Company, a 140-year-old real estate planning, development and investment business.

The group is best known for the Villages of Irvine, the “balanced, sustainable communities” it has planned and built in Orange County, California. A ‘master plan’ of future developments is still being followed by the firm, which is planning to build Laguna Crossing of the county’s Laguna Canyon Road.

Units are set to go on sale in 2010 and are expected to prove popular with families as 90 per cent of children in the area go on to college after finishing high school.

Work has begun on an exclusive gated community in Saudi Arabia which straddles a picturesque lake in Eastern Province. Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Bin AbdulAziz Al Saud, governor of the area, broke ground on the project, named Al Khobar lakes.

Described as a “master plan community”, the development will feature more than 2,000 villas in a series of nine villages. Eng Alaa Abdullah Saed, of developers Emaar Middle East, said:

“Al Khobar Lakes is the first lake front gated community and the largest in the region, and will contribute to socio-economic prosperity by creating new job opportunities for the local population.

“The various components of the project will also support local industries and the service sector in general.”

The 4.3 million sq metre project also features 11 mosques, schools, a shopping centre and healthcare facilities. Eng Saed added:

“The launch of the first residential village in the first phase was a sell-out success, and we have launched the second village, Al Ghadeer, ahead of schedule.”

Hand overs are expected to start before the end of 2010, with Prince Mohammed, a member of the Kingdom’s ruling dynasty, reportedly confident it will contribute to his region’s growth. Eng Saed also said Al Khobar lakes was a “path breaking” development for the country as it bids to become one of the world’s top ten economies.

UK property investors will be able to report estate agents to an ombudsman scheme following a landmark ruling from a consumer watchdog. The Office of Fair trading has given the go ahead to a system devised by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Company Limited (OEA).

Property sellers will also be able to complain to the scheme and it will be compulsory for estate agents to comply when it becomes active on October 1st this year. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is currently examining applications from parties interested in operating other redress systems and will announce its decision “as soon as possible”.

OFT chief executive John Fingleton said:

“House buyers and sellers will soon have access to a free, easily accessible and speedy estate agents redress scheme that will ensure independence, fairness and transparency. ”

“We are also actively considering other applications to operate similar redress schemes.”

The ombudsman will have the power to make a range of awards and will even be able to order estate agents to pay compensation. Decisions will be binding on the agents, although complainants will be able to choose to reject the rulings and pursue their grievances through the courts.

The new ombudsman system is possible thanks to the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act, passed last year.