Comments for India Real Estate Monitor

Comment on Omaxe’s Arm Bags Rs 907.1 Million Order From Hindustan Zinc by riathareja

riathareja — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:47:22 +0000

It’s not just fancy roads and buildings that make a city livable. There’s a lot more by way of amenities that add life to it. By focusing on infrastructure that enhances quality of living, like parks, play grounds and thoroughfares, a city makes the grade. A city is more about the people that live in it. And while planning a city, it’s the people that should be thought of first, then the infrastructure needs to be developed. Similarly, the relatively new areas of Gurgaon, New Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore may have witnessed a deluge of real estate investment over the last decade, but they have failed to create livable urban spaces that really work. Gurgaon, a flashy boom town that has emerged almost overnight with shopping malls, condominiums and swank office towers, despite it being touted as ‘planned’ development, is hardly people-friendly. This is because it neither has a meaningful municipal waste disposal system nor a proper public transport network. As a result, the city, still half-built, already suffers from serious traffic snarls, power shortages and water-supply constraints.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Realtors’ Advance Tax Payment Falls Down by riathareja

riathareja — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:18:26 +0000

Going through a phase of liquidity crunch, falling sales and delayed projects, real estate developers are now blaming the media. At a Ficci-conducted two-day real estate summit, developers took potshots at the media during a panel discussion accusing them of “trying to be stars at the realtors’ expense”. Developers such as Mumbai based-Kalpataru Properties, Bangalore based-Sterling Developers Pvt Ltd, Shriram Properties and Parsvnath Developers - all felt aggrieved by the ‘negative’ coverage in the media. “Journalists are blowing up the issue (of real estate slowdown) to become hot journalists and step into the limelight,” said Mr. Mufatraj Munot, chairman, Kalpataru Properties. He said negative publicity in the media was one of the reasons why properties were not being sold. But there are others who are enjoying the media attention. Mr. M Murali, managing director, Shriram Properties, said, “We (realtors) are now like film stars, journalists run behind us for quotes. We should feel like superstars.”For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Buy Flat Get BMW Free by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:54:02 +0000

You must have noticed the various kinds of discounts that many developers are offering to persuade buyers. Most of them are just marketing gimmicks. In actual there is no reduction in the real value of the flat. There may be various expenses that the buyer is forced to incur during the possession of such discounted properties.No Developer offers discount below the base cost, which includes the cost of land and construction. However, developers do offer value-additions and incentives to prospective buyers to speed up the willingness to buy. When looked at closely, these incentives do not have any significant monetary value. It’s observed in a falling real estate market, small developers start with such practices before going for distress sale. It’s also noticed that most of these practices are adopted by Dubai-based developers. For luxury apartments in the Middle East, developers tie up with car companies or offer other such discounts. Most of the products bundled with the house are either phased out or in the process being phased out.Such offers are from smaller realtors only. The bigger ones have sufficient holding power to await the natural progression of the property cycle.According to me a simple rate cut, perhaps, makes more sense than goodies.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Indian Realty Wakes Up To The US Meltdown by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:48:11 +0000

The collapse of the Lehman Brothers and the buyout of Merill Lynch have not become a reason to frown for Indian realtors, as they are putting up a brave front and maintaining that there will be no impact on the real estate sector of the country. Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy will impact those Indian realty operators who have not structured their agreement carefully, according to Mr. Sanjay Dutt, joint Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield. He does not foresee a situation where projects would get shelved. “Most of the funds that were committed have been delivered.” Mr. Dutt is of the opinion that if projects get shelved it is mostly because of changing market dynamics and not because of a lack of liquidity. Experts think that in a bid to de-risk, these investment bankers would trade their private equity placements. India is still a growth story and as far as the real estate investment is concerned it is very attractive from a long-term perspective.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Fall In Office Rental In Delhi Ncr, Mumbai and Bangalore by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:10:41 +0000

The rentals in grade A properties in Nehru place are down from Rs 280 per sqft to Rs 270 per sqft, while grade B properties’ rentals have seen a decline of 25% to Rs 150 per sqft. Property rentals in other markets in the NCR region have remained stable.

Comment on HCC To Invest Thousand Crore Rupees In Townships by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:50:59 +0000

HCC, which has been traditionally into mega power projects and tunnels, has recently started giving more thrust to its real estate, roads and infrastructure projects. Over the years, the company’s margins have been declining due to the dwindling share of power in its order book, and rising cost of raw materials. “Construction is a large volume, low margin game? says Gulabchand, whose company at present has six hydro power projects in its portfolio. Real estate, on the other hand, presents an exciting opportunity, with higher purchasing power and an economy growing at a fast pace.

Comment on Controversy Over SEZ In Kerala by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:36:13 +0000

After dilly-dallying for several months, the Left Democratic Front Government in Kerala on Friday decided to allow special economic zones in the private sector with 12 conditions.

Following were the conditions proposed by the LDF: Seventy per cent of the land should be used for industrial purpose. Incentives in the SEZ would be limited for the industrial units only and the ancillary segments would not enjoy any benefits. SEZ would not be given any incentives on electricity. Government would not acquire land for SEZ. Sales tax rebates and their duration would be decided before the operation of the SEZ. Job security for employees should be ensured. While sanctioning SEZ, stress should be given for production units. Agricultural land should be not be used for SEZ

Comment on Corporates Float Money To Attain Assets In Property Market by riathareja

riathareja — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:49:26 +0000

Demand for real estate across office, retail, residential and hospitality sector is expected to cross the 1000 million sq.Ft. Mark by 2012, according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield.Despite the expected slow down in the office market the demand for commercial office space is projected to be 243 million sq ft which is 22 percent of the total demand projections for the next five years.The retail and hospitality segments are expected to constitute 95 million sq ft (nine percent) and 73 millin sq ft (six percent) of this total demand.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Real Estate Bank India Plans Sixteen Outlets In Orissa by riathareja

riathareja — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:18:34 +0000

Comment on Puravankara Projects Ltd In Talk With Overseas Private Equity For Affordable Housing Projects by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:57:24 +0000

The Puravankara Projects consolidated net profit for the quarter ended 30 June 2008 at Rs 61.89 crores was up by 41% compared to the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Comment on DLF Ltd Is Planning To Raise Rs 10,000 Crore By The Next One Year by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:05:54 +0000

DLF is looking at setting up a Rs 800-crore venture capital (VC) fund with a mandate to invest in companies engaged in equipment management and construction activity. This is being seen as a strategic move by DLF to support its rapidly expanding construction activity.

Comment on Investment In India’s Real Estate Sector continues to rise by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:03:58 +0000

Credit crunch and economic uncertainty have taken their toll on the global property market, with transaction volumes falling by 46% in the first quarter, according to a property report.

Investment throughout Asia and other emerging markets continued to grow, as sales of major commercial properties globally totaled $154 billion (Dh565bn) in first quarter against $283bn of property that changed hands in first quarter of 2007, New York-based Real Capital Analytics said in its latest report.

Comment on Income-tax Heat On Builders For Forged Claims On Waivers by vikas bamotra

vikas bamotra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:58:47 +0000

Income tax sleuths raided the residences and office premises of leading builders and investors to unearth evidence of irregularities in land deals.

Twenty-five premises were searched and Rs.10 million in cash was seized, statement from the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigations)

Comment on Sarda Group Enters Facility Management by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:12:19 +0000

Life is easy — when you have someone else do the cleaning up. “In commercial real estate, this aspect has garnered support in the last decade with the thought process: let the organization concentrate on its core business, and let someone else deal with day to day management of the premises. From just commercial properties to high-end residential, it was an obvious evolution. As ‘outsourced services’ become an integral part of the Indian Corporate lexicon, Facility Management has come in and occupied an important space. The role of facility management is ensuring that everything is available and operating properly for building occupants to do their work. The facility manager generally has the influence upon the quality of life within a facility. This business sector has matured considerably now from the earlier days, when facility management was little more than simple manpower supply. It now offers various value-added services, uses advanced levels of technology and offers many cost-saving measures such as energy conservation. Facility management companies now focus on being single-source solution providers to every requirement.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Vakil Latest To Jump Onto Affordable Housing Bandwagon by riathareja

riathareja — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:19:35 +0000

Increasing interest rates and rising construction costs are changing the mood of many aspiring homebuyers, because of which real estate developers are changing their strategy to keep their business going. They are now switching either to so-called affordable housing projects or high-end customers, who mostly buy cash down or with limited amount of borrowing. Many developers are opting for low-cost housing - the latest to come on board is Bangalore-based Puravankara Projects, which is planning to build 65,500 low-cost flats in five southern cities over the next five years. Realty major, Omaxe is building 1 lakh houses across cities in northern India - the flats would be priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,100 per square foot. “Most large developers have now woken up to the fact that affordable housing projects have the fastest absorption rates and are focusing on this,” said Mr. Anuj Puri, chairman of realty consultancy company, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on A Residential Project By Sobha Developers by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:09:03 +0000

Considering the drop in sales of apartments and inflationary trends, realty firms are planning to foray into joint developments for construction projects by selling land parcels to other builders. Mr. Pankaj Jaju, head-real estate practice, Enam Securities said, “Metros and Tier II towns having a huge pipeline of projects have witnessed a 60% drop in sales of apartments in the last six months.” Selling land parcels to other builders for joint development will enable land owners to invest in buying more land bank and increasing the supply of properties, he added. According to industry experts, real estate prices in Navi Mumbai and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are expected to shoot up further by about 10-15% within the next six months if developers are not able to complete their projects on time. Besides this, raw material input costs for construction constitute 40% of total project cost. Since input costs are expected to rise further, the real estate market will witness a further dip in sales of apartments across the country.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Realty Outlook Positive In Mid-To-Long Term by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:11:50 +0000

At a point of time when the real estate graph is going downwards, a FICCI-Ernst & Young survey reveals that the sector would embark on a high growth trajectory in the long run. The report gave several pointers of the developments slated to happen in the sector. The full report would be released on September 10 at a real estate summit, which would have the presence of all stakeholders. The segments in which significant growth is expected in the Indian real estate sector include healthcare infrastructure, logistics and warehousing and affordable housing formats. The FICCI-Ernst & Young Real Estate Report is based on the qualitative survey conducted by Ernst & Young across six prominent cities comprising Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Affordable Housing Is The New Choice by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:53:33 +0000

Provident Housing and Infrastructure, the wholly owned subsidiary of Bangalore-based real estate company, Purvankara Projects, is planning to raise Rs 750 crore through private equity funds. The funds would be used to acquire land for its affordable housing projects. “Total project cost is Rs 8, 000 crore. Of this, Rs 750 crore will be raised through private equity funding at the project level. While one is an Asia-based fund, the remaining three are from the US,” a source close to the development said. The remaining Rs 7, 250 crore would be raised through a mix of internal accruals, debt and customer advances. He added that the company could also dilute between 30 and 40 percent stake in each of the affordable housing projects.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Chandigarh Attracting Realtors by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:51:46 +0000

Chandigarh known as ‘The City Beautiful’ is an architectural wonder of modern India. It’s the best residential venture by the Indian Government after freedom and is the prime location to buy properties along with its twin satellite cities. That’s why real estate Chandigarh is on boom.Chandigarh is the shared capital city of Haryana and Punjab and therefore is the seat of government for both. Chandigarh itself however is a UnionTerritory and is under direct administrative control of the Union Government of India. Being a well planned and modern city, buying Chandigarh properties is like making a dream come true for most of the people.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Comment on Tishman Speyer Plans To Raise 1 Billion Dollar by riathareja

riathareja — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:50:35 +0000

The world is now looking at India as the nation of the future. More significantly, India is well on its way to emerging as a first-world economy in the fields of information technology (IT), biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and the automotive sector, pushing the thrust now on to the retail sector to facilitate the creation of a new surging modern India. The real estate boom in India will not only propel the economy to sustainable heights, but will also generate employment for several millions. It is strongly expected that the growing Indian economy and growing opportunities will ensure that the foundation is laid for India’s tryst with destiny and for it to be fully integrated into the world economy.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com