Hoping to add transparency to the real estate process, the Bulgarian government passed a new law this week banning cash transactions for property.

In addition to thwarting fraud and boosting municipal revenue, government officials hope the law will bring some stability to property valuations. Bulgaria is notorious for corruption and under the counter pay-offs.

“It is essential that the law enforces the notion that in the property disclosure form, the appraised value of the property reflects the actual price of the transaction,” coverage in the Sofia Echo notes.

Dubai

Prices in Dubai fell 47 percent in the last year, the largest drop reported in the latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index.

Overall, Knight Frank’s news was fairly upbeat, with 68 percent of the countries reporting upticks in the third quarter. However 57 percent of the countries were still lower than a year ago, led by Dubai, Bulgaria (down 28 percent) and Thailand (down 18.4 percent).

The report spotlights the rollercoaster in Asia, where Singapore is down 14.5 percent from a year ago, but posted a 15.2 percent jump in the quarter. Hong Kong prices are up 5.6 percent from a year ago.

Despite jaw-dropping declines in places like Dubai and Bulgaria, the latest data from Global Property Guide shows signs of recovery in many housing markets. Of the 27 areas surveyed, 16 posted increases in the latest quarter, indicating “the trend is toward recovery,” the analyst site concludes.

Some of the markets showing in uptick from the previous quarter included Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the U.K. For the year, Singapore and the U.K. are still down from a year earlier, “however the annual data is somewhat like a car’s rearview mirror,” considering the decimation of the later part of 2008, the report notes.