Consultation India - Pune Real Estate/ Properties Investment, Property Management

Property / Real Estate Investment Opportunity for NRI's (Non Residence Indian)

2012-01-03T01:52:00.000-08:00

Pune: First would like to wish everyone very Happy New Year 2012 and again it has been quite a long gap that able to write something important on my blog as was thinking from last few months that NRI community will have chance and more opportunities to invest in india because of sudden appreciation of Dollar against Indian Rupee which is almost 30% therefore if any NRI from countries of US or any other middle eastern country have pegged currency with US dollar then they can avail straight 30% discount because of exchange rate in investing properties in India which is no doubt will give really handsome retruns or profit in near future........Ideal situation NRI's those have spare money to avail this benefit.......another suggestion that NRI's can look for investment in PUNE, Maharashtra in India as it's very fast growing city and having immense potential to give maximum profit/returns in coming years.....

It's always right or good time to invest in properties in rapidly developing INDIA

2011-08-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Dear freinds,
it has quite sometime that i am again writing as has been very busy in my core business of consulting property buyers to purchase properties in Pune, India.
here, just thought to write topic of right or good time for investing properties in India as from last few years or months, lot of ups & downs are happening in the world economy and indian economy so many people are asking this question continuously..
first i strongly believe that investing in Indian real estate will reap great appreciation for next 10 years, if investors can hold their investment till this period or till right time.
Now, here are reasons to back or support my point that indian real estate has great potential to give handsome returns are 1) One Of the fastest Developing Country 2) Real Demand 3) Inflation 4) Income Growth
1) India is one of the fastest growing country in world currently which makes it more attractive as when country is developing, it will never get fall in longer run as everything will be required ie. infrastructure, industries, residences, education etc.
2) Real Demand refers to huge requirement of Residential and commercial spaces in millions required in india's cities as already it's predicted that millions of units will be required for endusing in urban areas which gives great optimism that india's real estate market is based upon real demand and as we can now check and know with our past experiences of international market of dubai, europe and USA that if there is no real enduser demand then real estate growth will not sustain in long term so we can surely say that india with huge population and demand can surely will give great appreciation..
2) Inflation is one of the most talked phrase in india currently as it's affecting every aspect of life in india. i wish to highlight impact of inflation upon real estate investment because if even we say that there is no appreciation for next 3-5 years, still inflation will make it impossible for developers to offer any real estate property on same price what one can purchase it today..It is very valid point as whatever you can buy now for Rs. 1 will get you half in next 3-5 years so forget about appreciation, still whatever purchased today will get double in next few years due to inflation...another example is that money value is getting devalue everyday so keeping money in bank will not be good idea in current scenario.
4) Recently thanks to IT and corporate world where salaries are increased handsomely given lot of ready cash to young working professionals who are highly educated and understand very well that investing in properties will give them maximum returns in future and great financial support in future.
All above points and many more positive aspect of India and indian economy indicates one thing that it's time to invest in indian properties to get great appreciation in coming years..

Excellant Opportunity to invest at most happening area near Correnthan Club on NIBM Road, pune.

2011-04-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

Dear All, Very good day to you.... Here wish to share excellant investment opportunity in residential project very near to hot & most happening area of correnthan club as all wellknown name like Marvel, california, kolte patil & nyati's are having their projects going on and having best schools available like DPS, vibgyor & bishops schools and may management & engineering colleges and will be added up with upcoming proposed huge facilities of hospitals and shopping malls.. Government has suddenly taken fast track on development of infrastructure of this area and many new roads are coming up and making it better to live there very conveniently and comfortably in near future... Although people alaredy know the growth potential of this area and developer like marvel and others have already kept pricing as per very convenient living in this area.... Still there opportunity has come by wellknown developer with early bird offer for it's 2 bhk flat scheme very near to Marvel and bishops schools.........the flat sizes are 1000 sqft. for 2 bhk flat and will be in real demand for middle income group and will be ideal investment as mostly that area is having bigger size of apartment schemes... If you need to know more about this project then can contact me on my cell No. +91-9822052388 or email: deepaksundrani@gmail.com for detail discussion... Pls hurry as offer and price will not be attractive very soon for this investment opportunity..

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

------------------My Heartly wishes to all----------------

Wishing very happy new year 2011 to everyone...........more happiness, properity & good health is waiting for everyone in new year and many many coming years.............Keep enjoying.......................Deepak Sundrani & Family.

Right time to buy properties in Pune...

2010-10-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

Hi readers,
Very good day to all of you...
The time is again looking good for property or real estate investment in pune as also liquidity is more this time because of stock market & Metal market...
It would be right time to divest your funds from stocks & bullian and divert them in real estate of emerging promising locations of pune...
do't miss this opportunity as great deal can be taken rightnow which will give you real fruitful returns in future...

Summery of Residential Project coming up inside Hinjewadi IT park, Mumbai - Pune Expressway:

2010-06-19T00:32:00.000-07:00

Summery of Residential Project coming up inside Hinjewadi IT park, Mumbai - Pune Expressway:
1) Project Name: MEGAPOLIS
Location: HINJEWADI IT PARK PHASE III, NEAR MAHINDRA TECH CAMPUS.
Concept: 1, 2,3& 4 BHK Apartment, Penthouses.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: 17Lacs + Car park charges To 20 Lacs + Car Park.

2) Project Name: BLUE RIDGE
Location: HINJEWADI IT PARK PHASE I, NEAR INFOSYS CAMPUS CIRCLE.
Concept: 1, 2,3& 4 BHK Apartment, Penthouses.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: 27Lacs + Car park charges To 30 Lacs + Car Park.
Total Cost for 2 BHK : 40 Lacs + Car park charges To 50 Lacs + Car park

*we specialize in pune & also assist buyers to book or buy suitable property as per their requirements and budget and we do\'t charge any service charges to the buyer for any underconstruction booking from all recognized developers in pune....It\'s like saving time and getting our expertise & knowledge to search property for interested buyer\'s..

AVAILABLE 3 & 4 BHK APARTMENTS, NIBM Road, NIBM - Correnthan Road, Pune.

2010-06-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

Available underconstrution large & spacious apartments 3 & 4 bhk\'s on nibm road having one of the best highend residential segment surrounded with one of the best schools ie. Dps, bishops & vibgyor etc. Hotel management, engineering colleges, hospitals, shopping malls and one of the best club of pune hardly a distance from main location like mg road, railway station, camp, magarpatta it park, bibewadi, marketyard, ideal for investment.

Further, we specilize in pune & also assist buyers to book/ buy suitable property as per their requirments and budget and for that we do\'t charge any service charges to the buyer for any underconstruction booking....So it\'s like we search best option suitable to your budget, location and other requirements...

Affordable Housing Projects: Summery of New Residential projects in Kondhwa/NIBM Area, Pune.

2010-06-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
Affordable Housing projects: This information may have your interest to know about, Pls find Summery of New Residential projects in Kondhwa/NIBM Area, Pune as follows:

1) Project Name: Euphoria
Location: Kondhwa
Concept: 1,1.5,2 & 2.5BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: 19.67 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 1.5BHK: Between 23.50 Lacs + Car park charges. to 33.72 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 2.5 BHK: 37.20 Lacs + Car park charges.

2) Project Name: H&M
Location: Kondhwa
Concept: 1, 2 & 3 BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: Between 21.5 Lacs + Car park charges to 24 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 2 BHK: Between 33 Lacs + Car park charges. to 36 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 3 BHK: 58 Lacs + Car park charges.

3) Project Name: SUYOG LEHER
Location: Kondhwa
Concept: 1, 2 & 3 BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: Between 19.25 Lacs + Car park charges to 20 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 2 BHK: Between 30 Lacs + Car park charges. to 32 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 3 BHK: Between 41 Lacs + Car park charges. to 42.5 Lacs + Car park charges.

4) Project Name: KUL UTSAV
Location: Kondhwa
Concept: 1, 2 & 3 BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: Between 13.75 Lacs + Car park charges to 16.98 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 2 BHK: Between 21Lacs + Car park charges. to 22 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 2.5 BHK: Between 24.59 Lacs + Car park charges. to 25.50 Lacs + Car park charges.
Total Cost for 3 BHK: Between 29.81 Lacs + Car park charges. to 31 Lacs + Car park charges.

5) Project Name: GANGA KINGSTON
Location: NIBM
Concept: 1, 2 (Small) & 2 (BIG) BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: 20.98Lacs + Car park charges
Total Cost for 2 BHK (Small): 29.5 Lacs + Car park charges
Total Cost for 2 BHK(BIG): 41Lacs + Car park charges

6) Project Name: MAGARPATTA ANNEX
Location: MAGARPATTA CITY, MAGARPATTA IT PARK
Concept: 1 & 2 BHK Apartment.
Status: Underconstruction.
Total Cost for 1BHK: 26.5Lacs + Car park charges
Total Cost for 2 BHK : 34 Lacs + Car park charges
*we specialize in pune & also assist buyers to book or buy suitable property as per their requirements and budget and we do\'t charge any service charges to the buyer for any underconstruction booking from all recognized developers in pune....It\'s like saving time and getting our expertise & knowledge to search property for interested buyer\'s..

RARE OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST INSIDE MAGARPATTA IT PARK

2010-06-11T00:56:00.001-07:00

Rare opportunity to invest inside magarpatta it park which is only it park located in the heart of pune city, having the concept of living neartest to it companies & commercial places in a integrated township.

The location is surrounded with one of the best schools, hospitals, clubs & hotels. There is availability of 1 & 2 bhk apartments in underconstruction booking which will really reap great investment returns in future.

*we specialize in pune & also assist buyers to book or buy suitable property as per their requirements and budget and we do\'t charge any service charges to the buyer for any underconstruction booking from all recognized developers in pune....It\'s like saving time and getting our expertise & knowledge to search property for interested buyer\'s..

RARE OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST JUST TOUCHING TO HINJEWADI IT PARK, NEAR MUMBAI - PUNE EXPRESSWAY..

2010-06-11T00:32:00.000-07:00

There is rare opportunity has come to invest or stay just touching to it park first time as till date, all residential developments were in wakad, baner, aundh and balewadi area which are still quite far away due to traffic jams everyday on hinjewadi fly over, mostly it professional have got fed up by vasting many hours after working brainy works in there offices. The opportunity has arrived now as some very good residential developments are allowed just near to infosys campus circle in phase i, with the concept of studio, 1 bhk, 2 bhk, 3 bhk & 4 bhk flats & pentouses with commercial malls & shopping complex just round the corner, ideal for investment also as once these developments will come up, many many people will move to these accomodation from currently booming areas of wakad, baner, aundh, pimple nilakh, saudagar etc. One can expact real value for money for these projects as prices are rightnow lowest and can get maximum real returns also. Rental income can be really a great value for money also here....Also mumbaikars will find this area really a convenient as per distances from mumbai and can think for investing here for future. To know more about these offers, you can contact us. *we specialize in pune & also assist buyers to book or buy suitable property as per their requirements and budget and we do\'t charge any service charges to the buyer for any underconstruction booking from all recognized developers in pune....It\'s like saving time and getting our expertise & knowledge to search property for interested buyer\'s..

Latest Information of New launch & New Phases of projects on Akshya tritiya dated 16th May, 2010

2010-05-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
Wish you very happy Akshya tritiya celebrated on Sunday, 16th May, 2010.

This year looks quite promising for Real estate segment of Pune and pune builders & developers are looking very positive and proof of that is almost more than 25 new launches are just happend with last two days. the new launches are ideal for investment for all interested parties including NRI's, IT professional and investors who wish to wait to have longer payment terms and get the best suitable units at early stage and also rates will surely go up once projects will be ready to move in...

for the convenience and information for my blog readers, herewith providing you all launched project with last two days in differant locations all over pune as follows:

1) ALANKAPURAM - coming up at ALANDI - PCMC - with concept of 1,2,2.5 & 3 BHK flats ande 2 & 3 Bhk Rowhouses & Shops & Offices - Developed by RK Lunkad Housing.

2) a. DREAMS AAKRUTI - coming up at HADAPSAR - with concept of 1 & 2 BHK apartments (total No. 900 units) - Developed by Dreams Group.
b. DREAMS RESIDENCY - coming up at VISHRANTWADI - with concept of only Rowhouses - Developed by Dreams Group.
c. DREAMS ELEGANCE - coming up at HADAPSAR - with concept of 2 BHK Apartments - Developed by Dreams Group.
d. DREAMS RHYTHEM - coming up at BAVDHAN - with concept of 2 & 3 BHK flats (Ready to move in) - Developed by Dreams Group.
e. DREAMS SANKALP - coming up at WAGHOLI - with concept of 1 & 2 BHK Flats (500 Nos.) - Developed by Dreams Group.

3. SAI CANARY - coming up at BALEWADI - with concept of 1,2,3.5 BHK Terrace Flats (90% Compeleted) - Developed by Sai Erectors.

4. CALIFORNIA - coming up at NIBM - Correnthan Road - with concept of 3 & 4 BHK Luxurious Apartments (Ready or Under construction) - Developed by Ekta World.

5. SOBHA CARNATION - coming up at Off NIBM, Kondhwa - with concept of 4 BHK Duplex & Penthouses - Developed by Sobha.

6. PRIDE AASHIYANA - coming up at Dhanori - Lohegaon - with the concept of 1,2 & 3 BHK Flats - Developed by Pride.

7. PRESTIGE PANORAMA - coming up at Keshav Nagar, Mundhwa - with the concept of 3 & 4 BHK Rowhouses - Developed by Shah - Prathmesh Construction.

8(a). KUMAR PRIMAVERA - coming up at Off Magarpatta - Kharadi Road (Wadgaon Sheri) - with the concept of 2 BHK Apartments - Developed by Kumar Properties.

8(b). KUMAR PALMGROVE - coming up at Kondhwa - with the concept of 2&3 BHK apartments - Developed by Kumar Properties.

8(c). PARK INFINIA - coming up at SP Infocity, Phursungi - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK Apartments - Developed by Kumar Properties.

8(d). KUMAR SURUBHI - coming up at SATARA ROAD - with the concept of 2&3 BHK apartments. - Developed by Kumar Properties.

8(e). PRINCETOWN - coming up at NIBM ROAD - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK Apartments - Developed by Kumar Properties.

9. KUL UTSAV - coming up at Kondhwa Budrak - with the concept of 1,2,2.5 & 3 BHK Budget Homes - Developed by Kumar Builders.

10. HORIZONS - coming up at Wakad - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK Terrace Flats - Developed by ADI Realties.

11. PALM BREEZE - coming up at Pimple Saudagar, Aundh Nx. - with the concept of 2,2.5 & 3 BHK Flats. - Developed by Sukhwani Constructions.

12. SAI RESIDENCY - coming up at Indrayani Nagar, Bhosari - with the concept of 1 & 2 BHK Luxurious flats - Developed by Sukhwani Constructions.

13. VALENCIA - coming up at Nr. Narhe - Ambegaon Bridge - with the concept of 1 & 2 Bhk Luxurious flats.

14. TANYA APARTMENTS - coming up at Wakad - Developed by Vision Realtors.

15. LANDMARK MEADOWS - coming up at Tamhini Ghat, ROHA, DIST. Raigad - with the concept of NA Plots (1076 Sqft. onwards) - Developed by Disha Direct.

16. PARK ISLAND - coming up at Shastri Nagar - with the concept of 2 & 3 condominiums - developed by Raviraj Group.

17. OZONE VILLAS - coming up at Wagholi - with the concept of 2,3 & 3.5 BHK Palatial Villas - Developed by Raviraj Group.

18. CELESTIAL CITY - coming up at RAVET - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK Flats / Shopping Mall/ Office Spaces / Multiplex / Hotels - Developed by Pharande Spaces / Rama Group.

19. GREENS - coming up at Wakad Annex, Opp. Pudumjee Paper Mills, Thergaon - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK luxurious Apartments - Developed by Pudumjee.

20. VARDHAMAN TOWNSHIP - coming up at Sasane Nagar, Hadapsar - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK Terrace Flats - Developed by Subhash Builders.

21. DYNASTY - coming up at Wakad - with the concept of 2 & 3 Bhk Terrace Flats - Developed by Sukhwani Chawla Erectors.

22. GANGA CARNATION - coming up at Koregaon park Annex - Developed by Goel Ganga Developers.

23(a). SOLITAIRE ONE - coming up at Aundh - Developed by Chordia Group.

23(b). SOLITAIRE TWO - coming up at Aundh - Developed by Chordia Group.

23(c). SOLITAIRE THREE - coming up at Aundh - Developed by Chordia Group.
23(d). SOLITAIRE FOUR - coming up at Aundh - Developed by Chordia Group.

24. CITROENA - coming up at near Bishops school - Undri- with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK flat (Possession Oct. 2010) - Developed by Krome.

25. DECCAN GOLD - coming up at Kharadi - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK flats - Developed by Vijaydeep Associates.

26(a). MAYUR VATIKA - coming up at DAPODI - Developed by Bunty Properties.

26(b). MAYUR TRADE CENTRE - coming up at Chinchwad - Developed by Bunty Properties.
26(c). MAYUR Kilbil - coming up at Dhanori - Developed by Bunty Properties.

27. RAVI PARK PHASE II - coming up at Handewari Road, Hadapsar - with the concept of 1 & 2 BHK flats (60% work Completed) - Developed by Yash Associates.

28. CRIMSONDALE - coming up at Baner - with the concept of 2 & 3 BHK apartments - Developed by Nirmati / Balvalkar Housing.

29. SPRINGTOWN - coming up at NIBM Annex, Undri - with the concept of Luxurious 2,2.5,3, 3.5 Apartments & Rowhouses.

FOR DETAIL INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ABOVE PROJECTS, CONACT ME ON MY CELL NO. +91 - 9822052388 (Deepak Sundrani)

WE CAN ASSIST BUYERS TO BOOK SUITABLE PROPERTY AS PER THEIR REQUIRMENTS AND BUDGET AND WE DO'T CHARGE ANY SERVICE CHARGES TO THE BUYER FOR ANY UNDERCONSTRUCTION BOOKING....

Rare Opportunity to Invest or Stay Touching to Hinjewadi IT park, Pune

2010-03-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

There is rare opportunity has come to invest or stay just touching to IT park first time as till date, all residential developments were in wakad, baner, aundh and balewadi area which are still quite far away due to traffic jams everyday on hinjewadi fly over, mostly IT Professional have got fed up by vasting many hours after working brainy works in there offices.
The opportunity has arrived now as some very good residential developments are allowed just near to Infosys campus circle in Phase I, with the concept of Studio, 1 BHK, 2 BHK flats with commercial malls & shopping complex just round the corner, Ideal for investment also as once these developments will come up, many many people will move to these accomodation from currently booming areas of Wakad, Baner, Aundh, Pimple nilakh, saudagar etc.
one can expact real value for money for these projects as prices are rightnow lowest and can get maximum real returns also. rental income can be really a great value for money also here....
To know more about these offers, you can contact me on my mobile no. +91-9822052388 and see the developments in reality.......

France's Carrefour Negotiating with Indian Cos for its Indian Retail Venture

2010-02-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks you.....2009 & welcome 2010

2010-01-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

Property Registration To Be At Flat 1% In Maharashtra

2009-11-24T04:38:00.001-08:00

State Bank of India (SBI), India’s No.1 home loan provider, has decided to extend the availability of ‘My Home Campaign’ till 31st March 2009.

2009-11-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

Bankers expect interest rates to remain stable till March 2010

2009-10-30T00:02:00.001-07:00

Viman Nagar and Kharadi, Making of new Koregaon park and Kalyani Nagar

2009-10-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

PUNE: Real estate Investment will reap very good returns in upcoming areas of Viman Nagar and Kharadi which are surely replicating the successful development of Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar. IN Viman Nagar, already people know that it will be a one of the best living place and Kharadi will be the next place to invest in. so guys, do't miss the opportunity to invest in Viman Nagar and Kharadi area...................

Pune still holds its own charm in attracting investments and offering lucrative return on investments

2009-09-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Home Buyers Back In The Market - A Respite For Realtors

2009-08-03T23:05:00.000-07:00

It seems that realty sector is on the path of recovery, with developers reporting an improvement in apartment sales in the three months ended June compared with previous quarters, although there's no boom yet. Parsvnath Developers Ltd sold 400 apartments (600,000-700,000 sq. ft) across segments compared with sales of just 70-80 apartments during the preceding quarter. Sales figures in the residential market have picked up in Mumbai and the National Capital Region centred on New Delhi in recent months, with demand increasing for affordable housing. As per a 13 July report by Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd, developers such as DLF, Unitech Ltd, Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd, Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd and Puravankara Projects Ltd launched a total of 35 million sq. ft during the first quarter out of which they sold 15.8 million sq. ft, almost half of what was launched.

Source: livemint

Govt Sops can Revive Real Estate Sector

2009-08-01T01:49:00.000-07:00

Eyeing fresh signs of a revival in the economy, which should nudge growth back to 9% level by end-2010, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced fresh tax giveaways for housing and renewed the government’s commitment to more economic reforms and introduction of a single goods and services tax (GST) by 1 April.
The move, expected to further boost housing demand in the economy especially in tier II cities, also seeks to quell growing criticism that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is averse to second-generation reforms. Replying to the debate on the Finance Bill, which was approved by a voice vote by the Lok Sabha, Mukherjee renewed his efforts to strike political consensus on key areas of tax reform, including the introduction of a direct tax code.
The reply also calibrated a few of his 6 July Budget tax proposals, which are not expected to result in big revenue giveaways, thereby precluding the possibility of a marked increase in the Rs4 trillion fiscal deficit forecast for 2009-10. The stand out feature of Mukherjee’s calibration of tax proposals in the Finance Bill was the emphasis on boosting real estate through both budgetary support and tax changes. The budgetary support in the form of a 1% subsidy on the interest rates paid by people with a home loan of up to Rs10 lakh would cost the exchequer Rs1,000 crore in the current fiscal year, Mukherjee said.
Under Section 80 IB (10), income-tax deduction was given to real estate developers for housing projects approved before 31 March 2007. This has now been extended to projects approved between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008, provided these projects are completed on or before 31 March 2012. “We have been asking for an extension for a long time and I am happy that this step has been taken,” said Kumar Gera, chairman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India. “The extension will benefit only those projects that were approved during this period, so it may not have an impact on all housing projects in all markets. It could have an impact on certain micromarkets.”
Among other key tax changes was the removal of service tax charged by contractors repairing and maintaining roads, and extending tax benefits given in the Budget to firms producing natural gas under the new exploration licensing policy to those producing natural gas from coal-bed methane blocks. The finance minister admitted he had to ignore many other post-Budget representations, which came his way, as the tax proposals had to mesh with the broad strategy of providing fiscal stimulus.
“We must generate internal demand,” he said. The spillover of the fiscal stimulus provided last fiscal year and proposals introduced in the 6 July Budget have cost the exchequer Rs2.4 trillion, Mukherjee said. The fiscal deficit (extent of borrowings needed to bridge the gap between expenditure and revenue) is estimated to touch 6.8% of the gross domestic product in 2009-10.
The Budget estimates of the Centre’s net tax revenue in 2009-10 is Rs4.74 trillion, an increase of 0.19% over the previous year’s revised estimate. Economic growth, which received top priority in the Budget’s overall strategy, is showing signs of recovery, Mukherjee said, though he remained cautious about signals provided by an improvement in economic indicators such as May’s factory output.
“I would not say we are out of it. Situation is still difficult.” Mukherjee assured the House that the government would continue putting in place reforms, including tax reforms, to facilitate growth. In the area of tax reforms, Mukherjee said he was confident India’s indirect tax system could stick to the 1 April deadline for transition to GST, even though some states such as Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have said the deadline might be premature.
“On broad national interest, there is no discordant view,” Mukherjee said, explaining why he remained upbeat about meeting the deadline. GST is India’s most ambitious indirect tax reform, which seeks to dismantle tax barriers that fragment India’s market according to state boundaries. The transition requires cooperation between Centre and individual states. The country’s tax reforms could, however, be negatively affected by the Opposition’s displeasure with the way the UPA has directed policy in areas such as international affairs.
“A mere call for consensus is not enough. To have consensus on issues, the government should pre-consult the Opposition on issues of national importance. Unfortunately, the (government’s) conduct in the last two months does not reflect this,” said Prakash Javadekar, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Source: indianrealtynews

Govt Announces Bill to Regulate Real Estate Sector by Aug-Sept

2009-07-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

The minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation, Kumari Selja has announced a model bill for regulating the real estate sector by August-September timeframe. Talking about the 100 day agenda for her ministry, Selja said that the Model Bill would propose a regulator and aim to address the concerns of consumers as well as the real estate industry. The finer details of the Model Bill could not be ascertained.
She said, “We have initiated a dialogue with all key stakeholders including private sector, NGOs, and various States to prepare the model Bill for regulating the real estate sector.” Bangalore-based realtor Ozonegroup has announced the launch of its maiden township project — ‘The Metrozone’ — in Chennai. The project will be a joint venture between Ozonegroup, HDFC India Real Estate Fund and Urban Infrastructure Opportunities Fund and would involve an overall investment of Rs 2,500 crore and is likely to be completed in about 52 months. Spread over an area of 42.5 acres, the township offers apartments, penthouses and commercial space for hospitality, retail and offices.
Sudarshan KS, COO of Ozonegroup said that the first phase of the township is scheduled to be delivered by November 2010. Hospitality player Lords Inn has planned to invest over Rs 100 crore over the next three years to expand its business. The company, which operates in three and four star categories, is also looking at joint ventures and acquisitions. PR Bansal,
chairman and managing director of Lords Inn, announced, “We will invest over Rs 100 crore in hospitality across India to open 10 new hotels in three years. Currently, we are eyeing on cities like Bangalore, Jaipur and Delhi.”
The group provides management services to hotels in three and four star categories in tier II and III cities. Kumar Builders earmarks Rs 450 crore to develop residential tower Pune-based Kumar Builders has earmarked Rs 450 crore to launch a 30-storey project, 45 Nirvana Hills, spread over 79 acres, in Pune. According to Lalit Kumar Jain, chairman and managing director, Kumar Builders, construction for the first building of the project has already begun. There would be five to six residential projects that will also be 30 storeyed.
The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 450 crore. It is a self-funded project, finances for which are being raised through internal accruals. For decades, Pune’s buildings were limited to a maximum of 36 metres. It was only last year that construction of residential projects up to 100 metres high was permitted.
Source: indianrealtynews

Hike expected in Income Tax Exemption on Home Loans

2009-06-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

The government is considering a proposal to hike income-tax exemption available for interest payment on home loans to Rs 2.5 lakh a year, to boost demand and rebuild the slowdown-hit housing industry. The ministry of housing and urban development has urged finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to make an announcement to this effect as part of his Budget presentation in early July, a government official said on condition of anonymity.
At present, taxpayers taking housing loans are eligible for income-tax exemption on interest payment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh every year. Besides this, the repayment of principal amount is part of investments eligible for benefit under Section 80(C) of the Income-Tax Act, which has a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh. The government has already identified housing as one of its focus areas, a fact highlighted by President Pratibha Patil in her address to both the houses of Parliament. The existing tax exemption limit is considered inadequate at a time when a two-bedroom house in big cities costs at least Rs 25 lakh.
Considering a person takes a loan of Rs 20 lakh at an interest rate of 9.5%, he would pay Rs 1,88,493 towards interest alone in the first year. His annual interest payment in the first five years would be more than Rs 1.5 lakh.
If the exemption limit is hiked to Rs 2.5 lakh, then a person paying that much home loan interest in a year will save an additional Rs 31,000 in tax every year. This saving of over Rs 2,500 a month would be significant for most borrowers, making home purchases more affordable. However, as per existing norms, the tax benefits start flowing in only after the construction of the house is completed, which usually takes 2-3 years in case of builder flats.
The housing industry has urged the government to allow for the deduction as soon as loan repayment starts, as it would give substantial relief to home buyers and boost demand. The Budget documents do not provide an estimate of the revenue forgone on account of this exemption, but it is unlikely to be very significant. Of the total Rs 38,107-crore tax revenue forgone on account of tax exemptions to individuals in 2007-08, nearly Rs 30,000 crore is on account of Section 80C benefit, one component of which is principal repayment on housing loan.
The housing sector in the country has been hit hard by demand slowdown, following a rise in interest rates. Besides lowering of home loan interest rates, the industry has been continuously pitching for greater tax benefit, as it had the potential of stimulating demand.
Source: indiarealtynews

Pune metro train could be a reality by 2014

2009-06-11T00:38:00.000-07:00

PUNE: Suggesting the functional structure for the proposed Pune Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) final draft report envisages that the Pune metro project can be completed by 2014-2015 at a cost of Rs 8,401 (corridor -I) and Rs 9,534 (corridor II). The report says that the Pune metro, like the DMRC, can ask for concession on value-added tax as well as concession in electricity and other municipal taxes. "The PMC needs 64,435 hectares of land for the metro. Beside this, there is a need for another 4 hectares of land which could come from the Agriculture college land. This 1,04,435 hectares could be commercially exploited and developed by allowing 4 FSI. Around Rs 600 crore could come in this way," says the report.
In practical terms, however, this might not be so easy. The agriculture college has already announced that it will not give its land for the project. "The area, along with the metro corridor, could be commercially exploited by giving additional FSI. Rs 2,000 crore could be raised in this way within the first four years of implementation of the project," the report goes on to say. It suggests that a special purpose vehicle named the Pune Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC)' be formed as per the Company Act 1956 and representatives of the state and central government should be appointed as directors of the special purpose vehicle. The state nominee will be the managing director of the PMRC and the board of directors of the PMRC will hold the authority to implement the project. A high power committee should be also formed under the leadership of the chief secretary of the Maharashtra government. As per the DMRC model, funds could be raised where equity by the government of Maharashtra and the Government of India will be 40 per cent and other funds could come from property development, market borrowing and soft loans, states the report. The presentation was made by DMRC's MD, E Sreedharan. Corporators who were present expressed their reservation on the issue of 4 FSI and municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade said that all the recommendations in the report would be considered and debated.
Source: Times of INDIA, Pune Edition

Opportunity to invest in premium Residential project "Hills & Dales" at NIBM Road, Pune

2009-06-03T00:56:00.001-07:00

Dear All, The Good news is that real estate market is reviwing in india and showing positive upward trends and promising immense opportunities for investment. Eventhough there is a planty of demand and many home seekers are looking for investing in realestate of india but surely waiting for good buy for money. Now right time has come to take decision as have got premium residential project named "Hills & Dales" for offing in pune which is one of the best city of india with all parameters and the project "Hills & Dales" has all ingredients to be called true flavor of pune as having one of the fascinating location of upcoming NIBM Road, surrounded with hills and having all best addresses of schools, clubs and many more with easy proximity to heart of the city, railway station etc. The Hills & Dales project is having only spacious apartments of 3 BHK (Area 1675 Sqft.) and Penthouses (area 2030 Sqft.) of big size and looking to accommodate living lavishly at the very reasonable price or you can call it the price which is all the time very attractive for these kind of specifications and construction amenities.

The New tower is just going to be launched so having best offers and also the time for you to pay in 2 years time from now as per the construction stages. If you find interested to invest in the project, contact me to get best price offer for the bulk buying concept also.

Seasons offers 'long stay' homes:

2009-06-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Real estate firm Naiknavare Developers said ori Friday the company has launched, jointly with its hospitality arm Seasons, two-bed room to six-bed room luxury apartments for long stay customers under the brand name Seasons Luxury Homes. The intended users of the properties will be corporate managerial personnel who will be in Pune for long durations of even up to a couple of years. Hemant Naiknavare; director of the company, said the property will offer features and services such as fully furnished apartments, relocation service, house-keeping, residential assistant and meals on call. The customers - being long stay ones - will have the freedom to hire unfurnished apartments and use their own furniture and other interiors, Naiknavare said. The rentals for the apartments will range from Rs 35,000 per month for a two bed room house to Rs 140,000 for a six bed room one, he said.
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Source:The Times of India

Lull over, realty ready to roar again

2009-05-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

As developers cut debt, offload assets and push sales, investors start trickling back

Investors and analysts have begun re-rating the realty sector on optimism that the worst may be over, as the efforts of recent months and a stable global environment will help developers attract funds and boost earnings.
Developers in the past year have restructured debt, sold non-core assets and tweaked product mix, helping to push up sales. This has encouraged investors to buy stocks of real estate companies and motivate analysts to revise price targets and upgrade the outlook on the sector.
"The stabilisation in the international market improved financials arising out of restructuring of loans and enhanced liquidity from banks have resulted in revision in the outlook for the sector," said Dipesh Sohani, an analyst with MF Global, an equity brokerage. "The real estate players are better placed now than what they were two-three quarters before."
Reflecting the positive sentiment, the Bombay Stock Exchange Realty Index rose 58 per cent in the past month, outpacing the benchmark Sensitive index's gain of 27 per cent. Stocks of Unitech, DLF, Indi-abulls Real Estate and HDIL have jumped 65 per cent, 41 per cent, 54 per cent and 146 per cent, respectively.
The turning point seems to have been the successful qualified institutional placement (QIP) of Unitech on April 16, at a time when very few companies dared to enter the market. The country's second-biggest developer raised Rs 1,625 crore from the sale at Rs 38.50 apiece. The stock is now trading at Rs 71.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The renewed faith of overseas investors stems from the series of steps taken by developers to improve their financial position. Unitech has cut debt by Rs 2,000 crore while DLF, the country's biggest developer, has repaid Rs 1,700 crore of loans in the past year. The two companies together have also restructured as much as Rs 4,100 crore worth of loans with commercial banks and mutual funds, avoiding short-term payment pressures.
Even commercial banks, which were hesitant to lend to developers, appear to be loosening a bit. According to Reserve Bank of India data, loans to real estate companies grew 61.4 per cent for the 11-month period ending February 2009, as compared to 26.7 per cent growth in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Home loan disbursements by the country's top lenders, which signal the actual demand for homes, is also improving. HDFC, the country's largest home loan lender, saw its dis-bursals going up by 17.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY09, at Rs 12,400 crore. While LIC Housing saw an increase of 42 per cent and 22 per cent in March and Q4 numbers, respectively.
"Liquidity has improved and their balance sheets are look-
While LIC Housing saw an increase of 42 per cent and 22 per cent
ing much better now," said Shailesh Kanani, an analyst with stock brokerage, Angel Broking. "They were able to raise money during the current market conditions at lower valuations, which they were unwilling to do earlier."
A general softening of interest rates has also helped developers to cut their borrowing costs by as much as 300 basis points. Some of the developers' average borrowing cost had risen to an astronomical 17 per cent.
"Significant loan restructuring and softening of interest rates have strengthened the balance sheet of real estate companies," said S Subraman-ian, head of Investment Banking at Enam Securities.
Developers have also tweaked their product mix to improve cash flows. A global economic slowdown had halted sale of homes, offices and shops in the past year, creating a severe liquidity crunch for developers, who had relied on excessive debt to expand operations.
"Real estate is nothing else but managing cash flows," explains Sohani. The exuberant demand for real estate in the bull-run had swayed developers into offering expensive products, for which there was no demand as the economy contracted.
To rectify the situation, developers have cut prices by as much as 40 per cent in key markets and also launched a series of residential projects, which were in the so-called affordable category. The change in strategy had a suitable impact.
DLF, which launched its new housing project in Gur-gaon/Noida, sold out almost 85 per cent of its residential units on offer in the first two days of sale. Unitech has sold out almost 2,100 homes in the past two months.
Overseas investors watched these developments with keen interest and lapped up stocks of realtors when they entered the market to raise funds. After the success of Unitech's QIP issue, which was subscribed more than two times, DLF increased shares it had put up for sale by 68 per cent after it got a strong response from institutional investors. Similarly, In-diabulls Real Estate's $553 million QIP issues was subscribed by only three overseas funds, including HSBC, Texas Pacific Group and Fidelity.
Analysts are now becoming more bullish. Many of them have begun re-rating the stocks of real estate companies which have cut debt and infused liquidity in the company either through asset sales or share sales to investors.
International brokerage Credit Suisse has changed its rating on Unitech to 'outperform' from 'underperform', with a revised price target of Rs 80, compared to Rs 26 earlier. Another brokerage, Alchemy, has also revised th price target of Unitech to Rs 80 from Rs 25 it set in December last year.
"Stocks were beaten down sharply due to negative sentiments in the market due to fall in realty prices and volumes. Now when momentum is up, I am not surprised if the stocks were revalued by two and two-and-half times," said Ra-mashraya Yadav, head of strategy at Mumbai-based Orbit Corporation.
Analysts are now watching the new year with optimism. "Unlike in the past year, survival of developers is no longer an issue in the immediate future. The focus has now shifted to earnings growth," Sohani said.
Adding to the positive sentiment was the return of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to power, which meant greater stability at the Centre and positive long-term policy measures.
"A stable government at the centre with a decisive mandate would encourage more FDI/FTI/ domestic investments in real estate. Continuation of policy measures should also lead to increased buyer confidence triggering a recovery in demand in the second half of FY10," international brokerage Credit Suisse said in a recent report.
The stability factor had a partial rub-off on the Indiabulls Real Estate QIP issue. The sale concluded in a day and some existing investors such as Fidelity and HSBC increased their stake in the company.
Taking advantage of the upsurge in the market, some investors such as Fidelity and JP Morgan, who had bought into the sector at higher levels, began partially liquidating their holdings. The FII sold Rs l25 crore worth of shares in Indiabulls Real Estate.
But a section of FIIs, who are bullish on the India, warn against the move. "The temptation of investors to sell shares in the rally is a mistake. The dramatic re-rating of the Indian market is set to continue," BNP strategists led by Singapore-based Clive McDonnell wrote in a report.

Source:Business Standard

Silver Lining

2009-05-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

WITH an upswing in the Indian equity market, the tide seems to be turning particularly for real estate developers. Realty stocks have recovered 50-60% from their 52-week lows. Recently, realty majors Unitech, Indiabulls and DLF came out with their qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue and it received a very good response. The three companies cumulatively raised a little over Rs 8,000 crore. The success of this fund-raising activity brings hope for this cash strapped sector when demand offtake is very low.
Indiabulls Real Estate issued 14.36 crore equity shares at Rs 185 per share to raise Rs 2,656.5 crore through QIP. It is believed that Indiabulls will use the funding for its projects in Mumbai. Unitech too raised $325 million through QIP. Part of the funds would be used to repay debt. The promoter's stake afterthe QIP has come down in both the cases. DLF's promoters sold 9.9% stake in DLF for Rs 3,850 crore to its existing institutional investors. This money is raised for infusing funds in DLF's subsidiary, DLF Assets Ltd (DAL). It is believed that DAL would partly use these proceeds to buy out the investment of private equity investor D E Shaw and the rest for reducing liability.
Things could begin to improve for the sector if the markets continue to rally. This will provide a good opportunity for other builders to follow suit and raise funds for completing the under-construction projects which are stuck due to lack of funds.
Source:The Economic Times

Kalmadi's poll promise: 1-BHK for middle-income grps

2009-03-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

PUNE, The bait is getting more and more attractive in these Lok Sabha elections. Rice at Rs 3 per kg and film star Chiranjee-vi's LPG at Rs 100 are passe. Now the Congress candidate in Pune, Suresh Kalmadi is promising cheap one BHK flats for the middle income group if he is voted to power ,apart from 350 square feet pucca houses for slum dwellers in the city.
"My manifesto will be declared soon and I will be giving out details in these. But there are many ceiling lands that could be used for such projects," he told reporters at his first press conference after being given the party ticket to contest the Pune Lok Sabha seat. What he plans to do is release lands in reserved zones that have been blocked for long because of the ULC and use these for such projects. The slum dwellers and the middle income group have always voted for me and I should not forget them, he said. Meanwhile, his rival, builder-turned-politician DS Kulkarni, who has thrown his hat into the ring and is contesting on a BSP ticket, has promised 450 square feet units to city slumdwellers.
Kalmadi, who claimed to have played an instrumental role in bringing Rs 2,500 crore worth grants to Pune under the JNNURM scheme said of this, Rs 395 crore had been sanctioned for rehabilitation and slum development. "Pune was the first city in the country to kick off the project. An additional Rs476crore will be coming for the first phase of the project," he said. Kalmadi is the Congress-NCP-RPI consensus candidate for the Pune seat. Besides slum rehabilitation, he said improving public transport would be a priority area. "We could not bring the sky bus to Pune but have brought BRT to the city. Now we plan to bring the metro and monorail projecthere,hesaid.
Denying any kind of faction-ism within the party, Kalmadi said he was very happy with the situation. "Everybody is entitled to ask for a ticket. Now that the party has given the ticket to me, I am sure, they will work with me," he said. Admitting to some ups and downs with district guardian minister Ajit Pawar in the past, Kalmadi said there had been no major controversies of late. I will manage things, don't worry, he told reporters. This time the city is headed for a six-cornered contest with independent Arun Bhatia, BJP candidate Anil Shirole, builder-turned-politician contesting on a BSP ticket and Ranjit Shirole contesting on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) ticket.
Source:The Financial Express

National Associations of Realtors Convention

2009-03-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
It's been a quite a busy time in both personal and business front eventhough in currnet market situation as we get more enquiries and there is real end user demand and again becoming investors parasise where good deals are concluded and show is going on.....
Further, i wish to thank first to my EAAP(Estate Agents' Association of Pune) to organize such a great, remarkable show of NAR (National Associations of Realtors) Convention held on 6 & 7th March,2009 at Correnthan Club, NIBM, Pune and brought us together to share vast knowledge of NAR-US real estate representatives and learnt quite an interesting aspects of improving business traits and improve quality/transparancy in our dealings and provide professionalism.

Specially i wish to thanks Ms. Gail Lyons (Chief Course Instructor) who is also realtor in US to share her vast experience with us and given great useful inputs to implement for betterment of real estate service profession.

I really personaly feel that these kind of interactions and implementation of vast knowledge what our fellow US realtors having, will be helpful for all related stakeholders of real estate in india.

Other Banks Can Follow SBI's Footsteps and Fix Home Loan Rates at 8%

2009-02-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

Following in State Bank of India's (SBI's) footsteps, other state-run banks may also come out with scheme offering home loan at a fixed rate of 8%. The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) would review the response of borrowers towards the SBI scheme after three weeks and if it finds that there has been a good response, other banks will follow suit, according to a top IBA official. "We would review the consumer's response (towards the scheme) and then take a decision accordingly," IBA chairman T S Narayanasamy told ET on the sidelines of a meeting here on Monday. Mr Narayanasamy is also the chairman of Bank of India (BoI). He said the review would be conducted after the completion of three weeks of the launch of the scheme.Last week, SBI had announced that it would offer home loans at a flat rate of 8% to all borrowers and would freeze this rate for one year. The chairman of one of the major banks, who asked not to be named, said SBI can afford to lend at such cheap rate as it has one of the best current and savings account (CASA) deposit ratio. CASA deposits are the cheapest source of funds for a bank and a high CASA deposit ratio brings down their average cost of funds. This in turn helps the bank in offering cheaper credit while maintaining their net interest margin (NIM). NIM is the difference between the rates at which banks borrow and lend.SBI has a CASA deposit of 39.71% as a percentage of total deposits of the bank. Other banks with CASA deposits in that range include Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and United Bank of India. All these banks have about 40% in their CASA deposits as at the end of September 2008 according to data available with the finance ministry. Another bank chairman, who also asked not to be named, said SBI has taken a very calculated step and there is a possibility that the move can be emulated by other banks. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said there was scope for further rate cuts by banks as the central bank has provided them enough cushion to do so. The RBI had expressed these views in its third quarter review of the annual monetary policy. Source: IndianRealtyNews

Pune buyers still eye luxury homes

2009-02-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

There are still buyers for the super luxury home segment in Pune. Developers claim that despite depressed market conditions, this niche segment continues to attract investors. However, some of them have had to bring down rates to lure customers.
Marvel Realtors, automated super luxury homes maker says that sales have picked up in the last one and half months due to correction in rates and banks easing lending. "Initially, buyers were holding decisions. With some correction in rat,es, they feel they are getting value for money. We have offered discounts of 10% to 15% less, than what we were selling at peak season rates," Vishwa-jeet Jhavar, CEO, Marvel Realtors said.
Marvel has sold around Rs 20 crore worth properties in the past one and half months. "The first phase of Marvel Diva of around 3 lakh square feet is ready for possession by May 2009 and we sold 2.40 lakh square feet. These flats are in the range of Rs 80 lakh to Rs 5 crore," Jhavar said. The super 1uxury housing market in India is 8% of the total market and just 0.1% to 0.2% is- the avail-able supply, leaving huge scope for growth, he said.
INC Developers, a group that claims to have designed estate homes in San Francisco and the Bay Area, is collaborating with Pune-based Amar Builders to build a Rsl50-crore project called Manhattan, which comprises 18 residential units at Baner. Amar Man-jrekar, MD, Amar Builders said his company had sold 50% of the project. These apartments are in the Rs 4 crore range and although there has been a slowdown in enquiries, there is not enough supply for such homes, he pointed out. But he claimed that his company had not resorted to any rate cuts
On the other hand, Vitoria Group, promoted by Nitin Bhosale of Bhosale Housing and Gaurav Gadhiya of Raviraj Grroup that has a 3.5 -acre pro-ject off Aundh Road in Pune called Vitoria Lagoon, brought its rates down. "The response has been good. But we had to cut down rates by 20% to 25% for the customer," Nitin Bhosale said. The company says it has sold 30% of the total of 66 units that are up for sale in the range of Rs 2.40 crore to Rs 3 crore. The 3 BHK and 4 BHK apartments are upwards of 3,500 square feet.
Source:The Financial Express

Realtors set free of service tax burden on sale of apartments

2009-02-03T23:43:00.000-08:00

PROPERTY developers building residential complexes will not have to pay service tax on sale of apartments now, as the tax department has cleared the ambiguity on taxability of these companies.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in a circular has said construction service provided by a builder to a person buying the apartment till the execution of sale deed would not attract service tax.
Usually, developers enter into an 'agreement to sell' with the buyer of the property. But the property remains under the ownership of the developer and it is only after the completion of the construction and full payment of the agreed sum that a sale deed is executed and ownership of the property transferred to the buyer.
"Therefore, any service provided by such seller in connection with the construction of residential complex till the execution of such sale deed would be in the nature of 'self-service' and consequently will not attract service tax," the circular said.
Also, if the ultimate owner enters into a contract for construction of a residential complex with a builder who himself provides service of design, planning and construction, and after such con-struction the owner receives such property for his personal use, then such activity would not be subjected to service tax. It is because this case would fall under the exclusion provided in the definition of 'residential complex'.
However, if services of any person like contractor, designer or a similar service provider are received in both the cases, then these would attract service tax.
The circular comes in the backdrop of various builders' organisations approaching the government seeking clarity over applicability of service tax in a case where a developer enters into an agreement to sell a dwelling unit in a residential complex at any stage of construction. A debate on this was split with a segment of service tax officers who operate on the field arguing that after an agreement of sale between a buyer and a developer, the buyer becomes the owner of the residential unit and subsequent activity of a builder for construction of residential unit was a service of 'construction of residential complex' and hence liable to service tax. However, the opinion was countered by another section of officials.
"The CBEC clarification unambiguously puts to rest all conflicting views emerging in case of sale of dwelling unit in a residential complex," Ernst & Young associate director Bipin Sapra said.
Source:The Economic Times

HCC set to build Rs 40,000 crore waterfront city

2009-01-21T06:05:00.000-08:00

Ahmedabad: After Lavasa hill city near Pune, construction and infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) is cementing plans to built a waterfront city at Dholera with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore.
The company has already inked an MoU with Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board to develop the city over 4000 acres in Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) located at the Gulf of Cambay about 129 km from Ahmedabad. Dholera is in the influence area of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
HCC chairman and managing director Ajit Gulabchand, who also made an announcement to the effect at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2009, said that project would involve creation of a economically self-sustaining city with tourism, hospitality, leisure, education and research at its core and would have an employment generation potential of 50,000 jobs.
"The concept of new urbanism is gaining momentum globally and we are happy to initiate this modern and sustainable water front city in Gujarat, based on this model. We will be replicating our successful Lavasa business model that has already established a large network of business partners," Gulabchand said.
According to the company, the actual construction would begin after various regulatory approvals like detailed project report, environmental impact assessment (EIA) study and development of the master plan of the region.
Incidentally, at Lavasa the company has already forged tie-ups with international and domestic institutions like ITC Hotels and Accor in the field of hospitality, Oxford University, Girls' Day School Trust (UK), Ecole hotelier de Lausanne (Switzerland), Symbiosis (Pune) and Christ University (Bangalore) in education and Apollo Hospitals in health and wellness.
Source:The Times of India

Indian real estate market a safe bet, say consultants

2008-12-30T23:49:00.001-08:00

Indian real estate market a safe bet, say consultants

Cash invested in the Indian real estate market "is safe", a property consultancy firm has insisted.Affinity Solutions said putting money into property was one of the most secure ways of protecting against the global recession.People now have become "quite sceptical" over investing and dealing with shares, meaning real estate was now seen as safer, the company added.Affinity specialises in helping investors buy and sell in Indian cities like Noida, greater Noida and Gurgaon.Company director A K Jain said:"One of the important reasons why people choose to invest in real estate over stock markets is that real estate is tangible - you can touch it."The recent crash of the Indian stock market is also thought to be the main reason behind changed investor attitudes, the company added.Confidence in Indian property was further boosted this week by real estate advisers Investment Square, which unveiled two "high potential projects".The company claimed Windmill Heights at New Mahabhaleshwar and ColorScape at Kasgaon offer property buyers an assured 50 per cent appreciation in value in 24 months.A Shyamsunder, Investment Square chief executive, said:"This scheme will enable investors to reap high returns in future if they opt to retain the plot."

Source:Offplanpropertyexchange

Banks Allure NRIS into Real Estate with New Schemes

2008-12-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

The booming real estate market in the country has prompted industry players to introduce a slew of innovative products to people willing to pay. From real estate developers to real estate fund managers, from banks to housing finance companies, it's a party time for all. But behind those euphoric times, some banks, with operations in India and outside, are offering innovative products to non-resident Indians (NRIs), which could turn tricky in case Indian real estate market falls into a trough, sources said. It involves the foreign and Indian operations of the same bank, the NRI and his friends, relatives and associates based in India. To start with, NRI, with the help of his friends and others, establishes an Indian company that could do business in the real estate sector. Now the bank in India gives some loan to the company to buy land in India. On the other hand, the NRI keeps a fixed deposit with the wealth management division or private banking arm of the same bank's overseas operation. Unofficially, the foreign branch of the bank, with FD in its books, stands guarantee to the loan given by the bank's Indian operation to the company set up by the associates of the NRI. But the same is not officially shown as a guarantee in the books of the two branches involved. As per current FDI rules in real estate, any residential project in which foreign money in invested, should be on a land measuring 25 acres or more. For commercial properties, the minimum stipulated area should be 50,000 square metres. However, market players said with the realty boom, NRIs find it tough to get land at market rate. Whenever the seller gets to know foreign money is involved, they demand prices higher than the market rates. The rates go up further when sellers get to know that the buyer wants adjoining plots which should aggregate at least 25 acres. In such a situation, the company established by the associates of NRI buys smaller plots of adjoining land without raising the rates much or even raising suspicion of the sellers that an aggregation is on play or even foreign money is involved. Once enough number of plots are bought, those are aggregated (to at least 25 acres) and the company then transfers the same to the NRI to comply with FDI rule. While the NRI pays back the bank in India, his FD kept in the bank overseas is also released at the same time.
Source:India Realty News

Vascon to build premium realty project in Pune

2008-11-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Pune: City based Vascon Engineers announced on Saturday a Rs 165 crore residential project, where it wants to build high-end homes of sizes 2500 sq ft and more.
The first phase of the project, Willows, is nearing completion and will be delivered in the next six months, R. Va-sudevan, MD, Vascon said. The project will have 80 flats of 2500 sq ft each and 8 penthouses with area of 600 sq ft. The pricing for the project is Rs 4250 per sq ft, he informed.
Asked whether the time was right to launch such a luxury residential project in a market stagnated by low demand, Vasudevan said the project is in such a niche that has not lost any demand, the demand for high end real estate is intact, though that for the 1200 sq ft-1600 sq ft bracket has suffered, he said. Each house in Willows has been priced at about Rs 1.2 crore.
Vasudevan said the company will announce mid next year the second phase of the project which will comprise three towers of 25 stories each. "We are waiting for the fine tuning of the regulation that now allows construction of high-rise apartments," he added.
Willows, designed by Ban-galuru based Total Environment, will be a zero discharge project, with its own bio-gas plant and water treatment system. Utmost care has been taken in the design to use maximum natural light and ensure maximum reuse of water, he explained, tnn
Source:The Times of India

US realty firm enters India with Rs 100 cr investment

2008-11-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

California based INC Developers has entered the heavily slowed Indian real estate market with a super luxurious apartments scheme worth Rs 100 crore, which it would jointly develop in Pune with Amar builders over next 24 months. The super luxurious apartments with 6,500 square foot size each, would be priced between Rs 5 crore and Rs 6 crore.
INC Developers, incorporated three years back in California, have completed more than 30 residential projects worth more than $ 400 million. The newly announced project titled 'Manhattan' is its first entry in the Indian real estate sector. Speaking to reporters, INC Developers executive director Jay Kinra said, "Although the Indian real estate mar-ket has slowed down, it will have a temporary effect. And we are building super luxurious apartments, which would be sold very easily." The Manhattan project would have 18 apartments altogether, which would be customised as per the needs of the buyers. "We have already sold ffour apartments as people prefer to buy a Rs 6 crore flat as against a Rs 10 crore bungalow," Kinra added.
The INC Developers are also setting up a 50,000 suqare foot huge commercial complex in Baner region. The complex would be launched in another six months and would be ready in 2011.
"The commercial complex would also be in the hi-' tech luxurious segment. Considering the services and IT sector growth in Pune, this project also would receive a good response," Kinra added.
Source:Business Standards

Morgan Stanley staysbullish on Indian realty

2008-11-18T23:11:00.000-08:00

To Invest $1 B In 5 Yrs, Forms Team For India Ops

THE global economic slump and downturn in the real estate hasn't deterred Morgan Stanley Real Estate from going ahead with its India plan. It's planning to invest an additional $1 billion over the next five years and has recently formed a large team for Indian operations.
These investment plans the company had earlier invested about $750 million in the Indiacome despite views that India could see fewer commercial investment transactions in the near term. There is an opportunity to develop asset management expertise in real estate to help grow the property industry, said Morgan Stanley Real Estate in India interim head Sean Williams, who is also MD of Morgan Stanley Capital KK.
The company has formed a 12-member team for this purpose and has also appointed Naresh Naik to head the asset management division. "Infrastructure is key to support new residential, industrial and retail facilities. Limited institutional ownership of property means little asset management expertise exists outside of individual owner-users of property," said Mr Williams. "As such growth opportunities exist...but more broadly, there exists a need to develop asset management expertise to help evolve the property industry's focus from growth to profitability," Mr Williams added. Banks and financial institutions across the world tightened lending to real estate after the subprime mortgage crisis in the US and other countries compounded into the ongoing liquidity crisis that has affected all economies including India.
A recent DTZ report, a global real estate adviser, says real estate capital market was about $12 trillion in 2007, including products in public and private debt and equity, although "this would have been compressed significantly in the last 12 months," said Mr Williams. "To date, the percentage of global cross-border inflows to India has been modest, and this is likely to remain a bit lower in the short term, with many investors focused on deals with lower risk-return profiles," he added.

Source:The Economic Times

Helping Hands for US Home Owners who have taken Home loan and finding difficult to pay

2008-11-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

As we all know the recent US Real Estate meltdown where lot of people are finding difficult to pay their EMI's on loan taken from various landers ie. financial institutions including banks and loosing their properties even though paid EMI's before. the stress will be enormous to cop alone with the current situation and everyone will be asking how to escape this crisis? who can give advise or suggestions? There is helping hands for them introduced by http://www.youwalkaway.com/ which is trying to come out with package & ideas to save people from loosing their homes in US and able to stressed out from mortgage payments.

The Site http://www.youwalkaway.com/ is quite useful is providing alternate solutions for following points:
A) if you are in trouble to sell your house in current difficult real estate market.
B) The current real estate steep fall which has shrunk the value of your property.And many
In technical terms the site provides solutions as:
1. Forensic Loan Document Review to http://www.youwalkaway.com
2. Home loan modification to http://www.youwalkaway.com
3. Foreclosure Protection to http://www.youwalkaway.com

more alternate solutions to support you in current crisis So folks try to visit this website to know more about how it can help you.

More latest development at NIBM, Pune

2008-11-07T03:22:00.000-08:00

Moreover to keep you posted N.I.B.M. ROAD would be soon having Himesh Reshamiya Music Academy , International Hotel Chains, International Wine lounge , Sports Bar and lot many DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE VICINITY…..

Foreign Investment inflows increase 259 per cent in September

2008-11-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India increased 259 percent in September to $2.56 billion, compared to the same month last year, wit h Mauritius being the largest investorFDI for the same month last year stood at $713 million.The FDI inflows during April-September stood at $17.21 billion, a growth of 137 percent over $7.25 billion witnessed in the same period last year, an official statement said. The services sector attracted the highest foreign investment at $2.34 billion. Construction activities including roads and highways attracted $1.64 billion, followed by housing and real estate at $1.62 billion, and computer hardware and software at $1.36 billion. The top investing countries in terms of FDI during April to August have been Mauritius having invested $5.27 billion, Singapore at $1.72 billion, the US at $1.15 billion and the Netherlands at $580 million.
Source: indianrealtynews

Let's Debate about Investment instruments of Real Estate Vs Sensex.

2008-11-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

i have been wondering from last one year to co-relate real estate and sensex (stock exchange) which are both major choices for investment as people's general views that sensex is falling sharply so the real estate will be also. that made me think more how people are relating the both investment instruments which have quite a big differance in basics and fundamentals. i would really like to share my all blog readers about it and that'y putting my point of view for further discussion:

About Sensex: the stock market is treaded with the valuation of piece of paper which has print value of Rs. 10 per share majorly of various companies and people buys it on the market value 0f 100 multiplications, now i have a question that if any one holds share bought at market value and keeps it and see sensex goes up and feels that price of share has risen to extent where there is huge increament in price but at that point also if someone keep holding it and expact return then let me tell you the only return without selling the share will be dividend and this dividend is paid upon that 10 Rs. value. tell me what is return of investment? now let me take scnerio if someone enter sensex market to sell shares which i believe all people agree that like a gamble to play and we have already seen the results in current fall of sensex. therefore investment in sensex is not a cup of everyone tea, it is most risky instrument where you lost your hardend money in few hours....

On the contrary, the Real Estate investment is dealt with buying properties where also we are seeing the sentiments are low so prices are falling but not to the extent of share market, top of it the most important point to be considered that to some extent there is a limit of land everywhere and specially the billion people country like india will always have demands for more property, now lets talk about return of investment, the major return of investment instrument of property is Rental Income, if people stop buying in current situation the rent price will go up and the rental income will continously rise.

My point is that the long term scenrio for investment in properties is always bright which is having very less risk compared to sensex and we should not stop investing real estate by seeing sensex crash even it should encourage more people to divert their investment from sensex market to properties for security of their investment and real returns.

Showcase time Times of India Group Organize Property Exbhibition in Pune

2008-11-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

The Times Of India Group has announced the winter edition of Pune's most prestigious property exhibition, The Times Property Showcase.
The exhibition will be held on November 22 and 23, 2008 at the Hotel Le Meridien, RBM Road in Pune.
The expo has been conceptualised with the aim of providing a transaction focused platform to the top builders and developers in Pune.
Select projects spread over the entire city suiting the needs of today's discerning home buyers and investors will be showcased at this landmark exhibition.
The exhibition will offer the perfect environment for leading promoters, builders and developers in Pune to display exclusive residences as well as high-end commercial spaces and reach out to then-niche customer in this proactive forum.
The exhibitor will get the opportunity to have a direct one to one interaction with potential property buyers and investors in Pune.
The Times Property showcase will be the perfect opportunity for you to check out premium projects, both residential as well as commercial spread over the city. It is aimed at the creme - de - la - creme clientele who have the need as well as possess the purchasing power to invest in premium real estate in Pune.

Pune to become 7th metro city in India : Assocham

2008-10-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Pune will soon acquire the status of being a metropolitan city in India. According to an Assocham report on 'The 7th emerging metro city in India' it owes its upgradation to a fast development pace in the area of infrastructural facilities, friendly business environment, education avenues and employment opportunities. Contributing factors include the high real estate prices and a large population base as compared to other upcoming cities. The study was carried out in four tier II cities including Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Chandigarh ranking them on eight parameters necessary for a metro city. They included social infrastructure, infrastructure availability, real estate cost and availability, transportation facility (connectivity), presence of quality educational institutes, employment opportunity, facility of financial services and business environment. Pune occupied first position overall though it needs to improve on transportation, social infrastructure and financial services. Ahmedabad was the second most potential city providing good infrastructure and facilities and connectivity. Lucknow was placed with third rank as it needs to pick up on infrastructure, business environment and social infrastructure. Chandigarh, the smallest city among the four in terms of area size and population was ranked at the fourth position though it was ranked foremost in financial services and business environment. Among the four cities, Ahmedabad occupied first rank on the parameter of social infrastructure. The city with literacy rate of 79.89% has high-grade institutes like IIM, NID, NIFT, EDII etc. The city of Nawabs, Lucknow with a literacy rate of 83.5% and presence of quality educational institutes including IIM, SGPGIMS etc was placed at second position. Both Pune and Chandigarh were assigned 3rd positions respectively on the social infrastructure parameter. Pune has a literacy rate of 80.73% and skilled population, the city is a place of high grade institutes including NIBM, NIC etc. However, 81.9 per cent is the literacy rate in Chandigarh with prominent institutes being Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Centre for Defence and National Strategic Studies (CDNSS) etc. The infrastructure parameter rank cities on the basis of sub parameters including number of entertainment avenues, malls and multiplexes along with the presence of star category hotels. The Queen of Deccan, Pune with maximum number of malls and multiplexes (26) and star category hotels (25) notched the top position. The second rank was occupied by Ahmedabad, with the city having 25 malls & multiplexes and 17 star category hotels. Chandigarh and Lucknow was placed at 3rd and 4th position respectively. The favourable location and smoothen process of acquiring land along with the high property prices are few sub parameters of real estate cost and availability that attracts corporate sector to expand their business. Pune has outpaced the other three cities on the parameter of real estate prices and availability. After Pune, Chandigarh is considered to be the next emerging real estate market. Ahmedabad occupied 3rd rank while Lucknow at the bottom position was considered as most time consuming city in terms of process for acquiring land. On the employment parameter, among the four upcoming tier II cities, Pune carved the maximum share of 32.74% in the total jobs tracked for the period January-June 2008. The prominent sectors attracting large number of aspirants include IT, manufacturing, engineering and academics among others. The four cities are ranked on the parameter of financial services, taking into account the sub parameters including number of offices of scheduled commercial banks (as on march 2007), density of offices of scheduled commercial banks per population, number of accounts of the scheduled commercial banks per population, presence of brokerage firms, presence of stock exchange, transparency in trading system. In terms of providing financial services facility to the natives of the city in respect of above parameters, Lucknow occupied first position. The second rank was grabbed by Chandigarh. However, both Pune and Ahmedabad occupied third rank.
Source: livemint

Silver Lining for NRI's to enter India's Real Estate market

2008-10-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

This will be little bit surprising to read my subject line in current market scenario however it is true that this is a right time for NRI's to invest in properties in india as the major factor will be Exchange rate of Rupee against the foreign currencies which has touched the peek and already given the way to get discount indirectly for buying any property in a of depreciating rupee for about 10% and along with the Real Estate developers are giving lot of soaps to their property to sell.

Proof of well organised Infrastructure towards NIBM from MG Road, Camp

2008-10-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

This is with reference to my previous article about Massive Development near about NIBM Area and very improved existing connectivity of roads with the centre location of city i.e. MG Road and Railway station.
The Proof to this is that recently the Road coming from MG Road to NIBM from Golibar Maidan side have been converted to one way to check traffic jams and the traffic has been succesfully routed through other roads coming from MG Road Pul Gate Busstand and Command hospital towards NIBM.
My reason to draw all readers attention is that it really show great potential for sustainability of growth for future real estate developments in NIBM area. if we have many roads parallely to connect Central location of city then the growth will never get any setback,
On the contrary, the today's hot spot like Koregaon and Kalyani nagar are already terribly suffering from regular traffic jams as there is no other alternate roads available to solve the problem now.
Hope you will consider this major fact before taking any decision to invest in pune.

Real estate developers see easing of home loan rates

2008-10-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Fall-out of Cash Reserve Ratio cut

Kolkata, Oct. 13 While banks do not anticipate an immediate decrease in lending rates after the 150 basis-point cut in Cash Reserve Ratio by the Reserve Bank of India, real estate developers expect the measure to soften home loan rates for its consumers.
Demand for real estate property has decreased by nearly 25-30 per cent in the country over the last 18 months, when home loan rates soared from an average of 7 per cent to as high as 12-13 per cent.
"The home loan rate in India is among the highest in the world and we expect it to be reduced by at least 100 basis points after the cut in CRR," said Mr Pradip Kumar Chopra, Chairman, PS Group.
Mr Abhijit Das, Regional Executive Director, JLL Meghraj, said, "The recent move by RBI is expected to enhance liquidity to the primary and secondary real estate funding, while arresting further de-growth in real estate investments in the country."
SUSPENDING LOANS
While banks had been reducing disbursements to the real estate sector over the last one and half years, the loans extended to "risky" projects dried up after banks fell short of liquidity, following the global financial crisis, said Mr Sujit Kanoria, Managing Director, Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation.
"We have temporarily suspended loan disbursements towards real estate projects," said an official at the United Bank of India on condition of anonymity. The bank's total loan outstanding with different real estate projects was Rs 2,500 crore as on March 31, he said.
GENERATING LIQUIDITY
The cut in CRR may now generate some extra liquidity to be extended to the sector, he felt.
"Our exposure to bank loans is only 5 to 15 per cent, making us less vulnerable to a
liquidity crunch," said Mr Sushil Mohta, Director, South City and Merlin Projects.
Mr Chopra said only rent-based commercial projects such as IT parks and shopping malls require bank loans, while funding for residential projects largely depend on advance bookings.
Mr Pradeep Sureka, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India and Managing Director, Sureka Group, said, "Banks are funding real estate sector with caution only after a project is sanctioned and construction has started. Time will say whether the cut in CRR will have any positive impact on the sector."

THE TEAK COUNTY - FARM HOUSE Project, Pune

2008-10-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

Wherever you throw the look and find a new shade of green. This is Teak County. Being true to its name, the site has a thick plantation of Teak woods. Keeping its natural greenery untouched, we just added the luxury to the project. A Farm House plots project, where you can build your home as per your choice or you can even choose us to build it for you. Full of opulence and modernity wrapped in the natural green terrains. Take a plunge in sheer marvels spread on sprawling 120 acres.
Location:
This Farm House project is located on 3 Km from Pune - Banglore Highway which goes towards to Mahabaleshwar, will hardly take driving time of 25 - 30 minutes from NIBM as it is just 22 Km away from NIBM, the ideal location to enjoy weekends and vacation holidays, the project is surrounded scenic beauty of hills looks like a heaven valley.

FARM HOUSE LAND UNIT SIZE : 10,000 SQFT.With Optional 1BHK, 2 BHK or 3 BHK Bunglow Construction.
Amenities:
1) Internal tar roads with street lights
2) Waterline & Electricity line provision up to each plot boundary
3) Tree plantation along internal roads
4) Grand entrance gate
5) Club house with well equipped Gymnasium, Steam, Sauna & Jacuzzi, Various indoor games, Meditation Hall, etc. Resort with well appointment guest rooms, Cafeteria etc.
6) Swimming Pool
7) Children's Play area with play equipments
8) 24 hours security arrangements
Highlights:
1) The scheme is set in 120 acres of picturesque locale in the 1st phase. Just 20 minutes driving distance from PMC limits,5 minutes from Bangalore Express Highway ( Section of the ambitious Golden Quadrilateral connecting Kashmir to Kanyakumari )
2) Collector N. A. And sanctioned lay-out plan
3) Beautiful landscaping throughout the scheme with Pathways, Water bodies, Sculptures, Lawn patches & Variety of Flora &Fauna
4) Project approved by major financial institutions Rightnow the rates are very much affordable and for your information this is first ever project which is so near to pune city towards Mahabaleshwar and surely have potential to catch up Lonawala as the huge high end development near NIBM which will boost the demand and appreciation of this type of project.

For Booking & more info, you can contact me anytime.......

Home land gets closer for overseas

2008-09-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times

PIOs May Get To Buy Property In India Without RBI Approval Visa

THERE'S good news for the people of Indian origin (PIO). The government is planning to allow them to buy property in India without mandatory RBI approval and without the hassles of producing a valid visa. The current Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines are also being amended to remove a 'gender bias' where non-residents whose mothers or grandmothers were citizens of India will also be allowed to buy real estate in the country. The existing rules permit only those PIOs to buy property in India whose father or grandfather were Indian citizens.
The proposal mooted by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs seeks to make buying of real estate by over-seas Indians hassle-free and comes as a breather for real estate firms who can now expect more buyers from abroad at a time when domestic demand is low. Current laws restrict investments by PIOs in real estate, causing delays extending to over a year. A source said the finance ministry, the RBI and the home ministry have given in-principle approval to the proposal. It needs to be vetted by a committee of secretaries now.
A government source told ET that the Indian diaspora living in Sri Lanka, China, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan will be allowed to buy real estate in India without obtaining any permission from the RBI.
At present, regulations under FEMA provide for mandatory clearance by the RBI for overseas Indian citizens residing in these six countries to buy property in India. However, PIOs based in Pakistan and Bangladesh would still be required to seek mandatory RBI approval before buying or transferring property here.
The issue of variation in the definition of PIOs in the FEMA notification of 2000 and the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) scheme was discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting comprising senior officials from the ministries of finance, home affairs, law and RBI.

NIBM Road: Emerging location in Pune

2008-07-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

NIBM (National Institute of Banking Management) is become a centre point of lots of big real estate development from last few years with the support of well improved infrastructure, the place has transformed completely however still some people think differently about the location and does not even think about it as their perception about the location is not updated. here i would like to put more light upon why Area near NIBM is and will become one of the best prime location in near future.
The major factor which fuels Real estate growth in particular area are:
1) Infrstructure 2) Road Connectivity 3) Schools & Institutes 4) Hospitals 5) Commercial Malls & Multiplexes 6) Upcoming Developments Residential & Commercial.

I would like to summerize above factors in one paragraph as they intermingaled each other or batter to say that they complimant each other. the Infrastructure of Roads has been improved a lot on all sides of NIBM which makes easy access and transportation, we can see this in realty if someone comes in this area, the second factor which is most important in a long run is connectivity of roads to the location where you stay let's say example of today's most happening place of Kalyani Nagar which is connected with only 2 bridges, now in a long run, there will more traffic which is already heavy but in future situation will gets worse and people who stays in kalyani nagar will have to spand long hour in traffic whereas NIBM location has got this liberty because it is not having any river to connect it to major city locations like MG Road and railway station, NIBM has connected with almost 4-5 full developed roads which goes directly to NIBM. that make diffrance! Is't it? another advantage NIBM has got that behind of it is Katraj Bypass which connects it to Mumbai Express way to one side and another side hill station of Mahabaleshwar. top of it the another side of road goes to Hadapsar, Sholapur Highway & famous Magarpatta IT Park. what else connectivity we can get from the location, It's Amazing to become prime location. now another facor of Schools & Institutes, the all big school names are just near to NIBM ie. DPS, Bishops, Vibgyor & Eingeering institutes and lot more small names in the area. Regarding Hospitals the names are Noble Hospitals, Shyadri Hospitals and famous Command Hospitals at a very short distance, apart from them there will be lots of clinics are avaialble to serve you anytime. the one more important and neccessary factor is commercial malls with added flavour of Multiplexes, yes these all things are going to be realty here very soon, imagine you do't need to go pune central, SGS Mall and multiplexes like Inox & Adlabs, it is true that the big malls & multiplexes will be a realty soon here. just watch out the developement. the last factor which really affects the emarging location is the kind of residentail & commercial developments taking place in the area, here you will be surprized to here that developments are coming with very highend concept majorly where you talk about apartments than the sizes are 2000 + Sqft. and we talk about beautiful bunglows & villas with all state of art amenities, so all these big developments will be here, all big names of developers will be here.

Folks it's better to invest now to live a location which will become one of the milestone in near future.............

Dubai housing market overheating

2008-07-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

United Arab Emirates: Thursday, July 24 - 2008 at 09:35
Standard Chartered Bank is warning that Dubai's housing market is becoming overheated, particularly in the off-plan sector. The signs of overheating, it said, are related to the 'ultra loose monetary conditions which distort economic incentives and encourage risk-taking behaviour'. It says the government needs to address speculative behaviour.

How best to tackle inflation

2008-07-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

The inflation fire is now an inferno. It singed wallets on its way from 4.7 per cent in July 2007 to 8.86 per cent in May 2008. It did not stop there, but shot up to a 13-year high of 11.42 per cent for the week ended 14 June. Much of this recent rise is being attributed to the pervasive impact of the increase in the state-administered prices of oil products on 5 June. That looked inevitable after international oil prices rose to an all-time high, up to $140 a barrel last fortnight. Worse, this inflation is not expected to go south anytime soon. Says Shuchita Mehta, senior economist, Standard Chartered Bank: "We expect inflation to remain high for some time and to average 8.72 per cent this fiscal year."Why high inflation is here to stayOil aftershock. With little chance of increasing global supplies, higher extraction costs, production cuts and export taxes in some oil producing countries, and speculative investments in oil by large international investors has buttressed price pressures due to continuing high demand for oil.Rising food prices. A worldwide shortage is driving up food prices. In India, oil seed prices are 20 per cent higher than a year ago. While food supplies are expected to increase over 6-8 months, higher costs of inputs (diesel, fertilisers, and seeds, among others) would likely continue to keep prices high.High commodity prices. High prices of commodities such as iron and steel and edibles have been responsible for about a fifth of the spike in price rise. With stockmarkets worldwide falling, large international institutional investors are buying commodities, further pushing up their prices and inflation, a trend unlikely to change soon.Expensive funds. On 24 June, the Reserve Bank of India [Get Quote] hiked the cash-reserve ratio and the repo rate (rate at which it lends to banks) by 50 basis points each to reduce liquidity and weaken inflationary pressures. This has raised banks' cost of funds and, thus, making cost of production higher. With limited policy options, it could do so again.Weaker rupee. With a rapid price rise you need more rupees for the same amount of imports, making imported products or those with high import content such as edible oils, costlier. Expect more of the same.Money shockThe immediate impact of high inflation will be pressure on household budgets, and lower savings, both for now and the future. Higher interest rates are pushing up EMIs. Inflation-adjusted returns from fixed income options, be it fixed deposits or pensions, have gone negative.Five-year term deposits paying 8.5 per cent when inflation is 11.5 per cent are giving real returns of -2.69 per cent. So, the value of what you get back is lower than what you put in. The future's not rosy either. Higher costs due to high inflation is likely to dent corporate profitability, putting downward pressure on stock prices.Some sectors, such as aviation, could see layoffs, while fewer people will be hired by IT, BPO, and banking and financial services companies. A recent services employment report for April-June 2008 by staffing company TeamLease said ITeS lost the most (-24 points) on its index of increasing employment.Your action planAs always, to tackle the situation, you will have to keep existing outflows down, skip new large expenses, bump up your savings, and invest in higher return options at, perhaps, marginally higher risk.Enhance emergency funds, life and health covers. The 3-6 months' worth of expenses that you keep aside in liquid assets such as fixed deposits for emergencies will need to be increased. Life and health covers may need to be augmented. Bridge the gap with low-cost term plans and family floaters.Avoid large savings account balances. Drain your bank account into short-term debt funds such as fixed maturity plans. Sanjay Prakash, CEO, HSBC Asset Management, says: "At 9-10 per cent returns, the real rate of return for FMPs may be negative in the short term. But, we expect inflation to lower by the last quarter of 2008 after which returns will turn positive."Prepay your home loan. As home finance rates are set to climb higher, prepay your floating rate loans. No investment option will currently give assured returns to match the higher interest outgo.Opt for capital gains and dividend instead of interest. Interest income is taxed at your income tax rate while capital gains taxes are lower or zero. Also, short-term capital gains are taxed at higher rates than long-term gains, which can even be zero. Dividends in your hands, whether from stocks, equity or debt mutual funds, is tax free.Continue with equity investments. "The only way to beat inflation is to keep investing in equity," says Rajen Shah, chief investment officer, Angel Broking. Carry on with your existing systematic investment plans in equity funds. For fresh investments, seek larger cap funds from OLM 50 - they are likely to rebound first, along with the blue-chips they primarily invest in.If you want to pick up stocks, invest in stages and go for value buys. History is on your side. If you had invested in the Sensex after the markets recovered from the tech bust in 2004, you would be sitting on gains of about 150 per cent even now. Avoid interest rate-sensitive stocks such as real estate and auto. Go for large-cap pharma and FMCG stocks, which are more stable.Diversify in international funds and gold. Over the last six months, while the Indian market was falling by over 30 per cent, international funds fell by a little over 13 per cent. As before, we will yet again recommend that you invest 5-10 per cent of your portfolio in gold exchange-traded funds and gold mutual funds as periods of high inflation witness a surge in gold prices.This will shore up the minimum long-term growth of your overall investments.High inflation has terrible repercussions on the future of our money. Luckily, we have enough weapons in our arsenal to fight and win the war against it. Time's come to pull out all stops. Prices on fireWhy inflation rose to a record high...Rising oil prices. At an all-time high of $140 per barrel, oil prices have more than doubled from $64 a barrel in April 2007, fuelling inflation.Rising food prices. A global shortage of foodgrains, such as wheat and rice, has made the food prices index shoot up by about 10 per cent, pushing up inflation.High commodity prices. High prices of commodities such as steel and cement due to their less-than-adequate supply has made industrial production, housing, roads, airports and other crucial infrastructure more expensive.High cost of funds. To combat inflation, the central bank is sucking out excess money from the economy by increasing cash-reserve ratio and increasing repo rates so that less money chases the limited supply of goods and services. This, however, is also driving up the cost of existing funds, that is interest rates, adding to inflation.Rupee's eroding purchasing power. Rising prices are eroding the value of what the rupee can buy vis-a-vis other currencies such as the dollar. The rupee's fall of around 8 per cent in the last six months has made major imports like petroleum and edible oil costlier, fuelling inflation....and why it will continue to remain highNew era of high oil prices. With little prospect of increase in international oil supplies, production declines in some oil producing countries, increasing oil production costs, taxes on oil exports by producing countries and speculative investments in oil by large international investors, besides continuing high oil demand, oil prices are expected to remain high.No respite from high food prices. While the situation of shortfall in supply is likely to improve in the next 6-8 months, higher input costs in the form of costlier diesel, seeds, fertilisers and the like will neutralise the impact of enhanced food supply.Uninterrupted rise of commodity prices. As most stockmarkets across the world test lower levels, investments by institutional investors pouring into commodities is expected to keep commodity prices high. Also, with no sign of demand for commodities from high-growth countries like China tapering off, no relief seems to be in sight.High interest rates to continue. As long as high prices remain, with limited fiscal policy options, the Reserve Bank of India will either make attempts to suck out money or ensure status quo. This will mean continuing high interest rates and inflation.continued pressure on the rupee. Various domestic and international macroeconomic factors are expected to keep up the pressure on the rupee, which will make imports more expensive.How high inflation will affect youHigher Budgets. Get ready to pay more for vegetables, groceries, especially soaps, detergents, packaged food, personal and public transport, as well as for services such as couriers.Costlier loans. You can expect costlier loans, especially car and personal loans. New home loan rates are likely to go up even as the tenure or EMIs of existing home loan rates go up.More expensive recreation. Higher airfares along with lower purchasing power will make international travel more expensive even as domestic leisure becomes costlier.Dent on returns. Fixed income options such as bank fixed deposits and monthly income options will give negative returns after adjusting for inflation, impacting senior citizens, single parents and risk-averse investors such as those with many dependents. Impact on corporate profitability via higher costs will bring down stock prices.Higher taxes. To raise more money to cushion vulnerable parts of the population the government might impose higher taxes, cesses and surcharges on goods and services.Lower infrastructure growth. Upcoming road, airport, power and port projects will witness cost escalations and might see slow downs.Some layoffs and lower pay hikes. Hard hit sectors such as aviation could see some layoffs while most sectors are likely to witness lower pay hikes. This may be especially true in the IT and the BPO sectors.More austere workplace. Expect fewer office parties and conferences, reduction in amenities, office travel and allowances as employers try to cut corners to save costs.How you can fight backReview your emergency fund requirement. Keep six months' expenses as emergency funds, mostly in short-term debt funds such as inflation- and tax-efficient FMPs.Examine your health and life cover. With costs going up, you need to bump up your life and health covers. Go for low-cost, high-cover term plans and floating health covers to bridge the gap. avoid large idle savings and bank balances. Invest in short-term debt funds like FMPs.Defer large loan-based purchases. Avoid large EMIs that will stretch your finances more. Go for your first home if you can afford the down payment and EMI.Prepay high-cost loans. Start with your floating rate home loan. Remember, no investment option will provide guaranteed returns that equal the higher interest payout.Seek capital gains and dividend instead of interest. Interest income gets taxed at your income tax rate. Long-term capital gains and dividends from equity and equity MFs are tax-free, but taxed at 10 per cent without indexation and 20 per cent with indexation if coming from debt funds. Dividends from debt funds are tax-free post dividend distribution tax.Continue staggered investments in equity and equity MFs. Carry on with your systematic investment plans (SIPs) in equity funds. For fresh investments, seek large-cap funds from OLM 50 that are likely to benefit from a rebound along with blue chips they predominantly invest in.Diversify into international funds and gold. Gain from the upsides in well-performing equity markets in other countries by investing in international funds. Investing in gold (up to 5-10 per cent of your corpus) will give your portfolio a stable growth.Avoid interest rate-sensitive stocks. This includes sectors such as real estate and auto. The best bets would be large-cap pharma and FMCG stocks currently available at attractive valuations.

Inflation rise will not allow any price fall in real estate:

2008-07-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

the fact is that prices of each and every construction material has been increased many times and the future suggests that it will rise more, this will affect the construction cost and the cost will be increasing continuously. that means if future the new construction project will be having more construction cost and can not able to offer lesser prices even the case of reduced land prices.

So folks, it is better to invest now..

Real Estate Market: Which way heading?

2008-07-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

This question is in mind of everybody who is somewhere or somehow relates to Real Estate industry either a developer, investor or common man, The Global economy cycle affected by unprecedented hike or rather say unacceptable oil prices created a panic in world biggest economies like US, Europe and affected growth of developing giants like China & India. the rise is inflation is affecting each and every corner of economy and does not give any respite in current scenario, now in this situation if someone looking to buy properties is worth or not as you can feel that having liquid fund will be more secure rather investing in buying real estate.

NRIs home in on India, account for 10% of sales now

2008-07-08T00:08:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Home sales in India might have turned sluggish but sales to non-resident Indians (NRIs) are booming. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), residential sales to NRIs have tripled over the last six months, from 3% to about 10% of the total sales. "What would happen when one loses his job in the US? The downturn is scaring many NRIs who fear job cuts," says JLLM's Raminder Grover. "There is a renewed interest in selling abroad," says Lodha Group senior VP R Kartik. Many NRIs have been thinking of coming back to India and "many of them are making safety investments," explains Mr Kartik. Over the last few months, Lodha has seen a 25% increase in its sales to NRIs. Sobha Developers has seen the share of NRI sales go up from 5% to 10% of its sales. "In the last six months, we have been selling about 25,000 sq.ft. a month to NRIs," says Sobha Developers MD Jagdish C Sharma.

Buy your dream home now

2008-07-07T07:05:00.001-07:00

Experts suggest that investors willing to buy residential properties should not wait. It is better to invest at current levels. The inflation rate is ruling at quite high levels (above 11 percent) and is expected to remain high in the short to medium term. This means the rise in input costs of properties will continue and builders will be forced to raise the property prices in future. Also, home loans attract income tax incentives for the borrowers. This means it is good to invest early in property. However, investors should factor in some variables while going in for a home loan. As a home loan is a longterm commitment from the borrower, it requires proper financial planning. Typically , a home loan tenure is 15 to 20 years. Some factors to consider while availing a home loan: Scheme First of all, a borrower needs to decide on whether to go in for a fixed or floating interest rate home loan. Usually, the rate of interest is 1-1 .5 percent higher in fixed interest rate options. Borrowers with stability of income can go for the floating rate option while the riskaverse should opt for the fixed interest rate loans. Plan finances Due to the higher inflation rates ruling globally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is bound to take tough monetary policy measures. As a result, interest rates might go up in the near future. Investors should factor in some interest rates hikes while calculating their equated monthly installment (EMI) outgo . Usually, banks absorb small interest rate increases by increasing the tenure of the loan. However, in case of sharp rises in interest rates (seems unlikely from current rates) investors can look for partial pre-payment and partial increase in the EMI outgo. As a thumb rule, the EMI should not be more than 40 percent of the borrower's take-home income. Also, since a home loan EMI is a long-term issue (usually 10 years or more), investors need to plan other expenses like child's education, marriages in the family etc and adjust their outflow accordingly. EMI Repayment of home loans is through EMIs (equated monthly instalments). EMIs are the fixed instalments a borrower needs to pay over the tenure of the loan - to repay the debt as well as the related interest. Usually, the EMIs remain constant over the tenure of the loan. The loan amount plus the interest for the loan tenure divided by the tenure of the loan (in months) gives you the equated monthly instalment. The amount of EMI to be paid depends on and varies with the amount of the loan, tenure of loan, rate of interest, and mode of calculation of interest. One of the important parameters governing the amount of EMI is the tenure of the loan. Nowadays, you can avail loans for various tenures - between five and 20 years, and in some cases upto 25 years as well.
DETERMINING TENURE Here are some factors that go into deciding the tenure of the loan: Age of borrower: If you decide to borrow early, at a younger age, you can opt for a longer tenure loan - like 15 to 20 years. This way, your monthly EMI payments would be less. Although the amount of interest paid would be higher as compared to other options, you can have the benefit of availing the loan for a longer period of time. However, if you are borrowing at the fag end of your career, you may have to opt for a shorter tenure. Income of borrower: This would include the present as well as the expected future income of the borrower. The borrower should be able to repay his EMIs without compromising drastically on his quality of living. The cash flows available after repayment of EMIs should not entail a dent in his living standards. As such, a judicious planning of cash flows is required. Tax benefits A borrower should try to avail the maximum tax benefits available under the Income Tax Act. Presently, interest upto Rs 1.5 lakhs per annum paid for housing loans is deductible from the taxable income of the person. The borrower should structure the housing loan amount and tenure so that his annual interest component paid in the near future is Rs 1.5 lakhs per annum. Of course this would be contingent on other factors as well, like annual income and savings potential . TENURE AND INTEREST RATE The longer the tenure, the higher will be the interest rate. This is due to the increased risk taken by the bank. The interest amount in absolute terms is higher , in case of longer tenures. However, the EMI is lower because the loan and interest are spread over a longer span of time. The shorter the tenure, the lower will be the interest rate. This is because, in this case, the risk taken by the bank is reduced. The interest amount in absolute terms is lower because of the smaller tenure. However, the EMI is higher because the loan and interest are to be repaid over a lesser span of time. As the tenure of the loan increases, the interest rate also increases (to compensate for the increased risk element). Simultaneously , the EMI goes on reducing. The last few quarters have been quite tough for the people dreaming of buying a home. The interest rates on housing loans have gone up from the 2004-05 levels. Many people thought that property prices will come down significantly due to the rise in home loan interest rates. However, contrary to expectations , property prices have never come down significantly, and in fact, have gone up in many areas.
So what affects property prices? Some factors that dictate property prices: Rise in input costs With the inflation ruling high globally (especially here), the prices of all basic commodities has increased quite significantly over the last few quarters. For example, the cost of labour, steel and cement has gone up quite significantly in the last few quarters. Due to higher input costs, builders cannot reduce property prices in their newly-launched projects . Investments by foreign investors Many foreign investors believe that there is huge potential in real estate and the returns will be quite attractive. Foreign direct investments in realty projects has increased quite significantly over the last few quarters as more foreign players are investing in real estate projects here.

CREDAI / MCHI Proposed International Property Exhibitions Calendar - Year 2008 - 2009

2008-07-06T01:23:00.000-07:00

Please click this image to view proposed International Property Exhibitions Schedule to be organised by India's Premier MCHI / CREDAI

HILLS & DALES, NIBM ROAD, PUNE

2008-07-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

MEGA LAUNCHING OF HILLS & DALES PHASE III
A RESIDENTIAL PROJECT SITUATED AT UNDRI, PUNE.
Product Size : 3 BHK Flat
Product Area : 1600 sq.ft. to 1700 sq.ft.
Product Budget : Rs.60 Lakhs to Rs.80Lakhs

Review: Bramha Emerald County, NIBM Road, Pune.

2008-07-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

These 3 & 4 BHK Penthouses are in underconstruction project named "Bramha Emerald County" Developed by wellknown Developer named "Bramha Builders", The possession is due between march - Dec. 2008, the detail about the project is as follows: "Bramha Emerald County" (British Life Styles, Indian Values) is the latest address in pune. Nestle atop a hill, Bramha Emerald County is England revisited. Everything about it is oh so British! the ambiance, the architecture, the rolling hills....as if you are in England, even though in Pune. A Residential Township "Bramha Emerald County" Coming up at Off NIBM with the concept of spacious 2,3 BHK Apartments & luxurious 3 & 4 BHK Penthouses. A complete package to those who are looking a place with scenic beauty of pune with hills surrounding it, however just 5 Kilometer away from Main City MG Road & Railway Station. Neighbouring Wanwarie area. The Project is bringing exclusive design of British style elevation with state of the art amenities. Some additional features like Wooden flooring to Every Master Bedroom for each apartment, Cubical in Bathroom, Plastic Paint to all Internal Walls and Terrace equivalent to Bedroom sizes makes it very spacious. The Project is bringing exclusive design of British style elevation with state of the art amenities.

Along with the host of state of the art amenities, gardens, club house & swimming pool, jogging tracks,barbeque's, skating rink with lots of indor games, additional inclusive with price Special features of the penthouses are-
1. 2 split AC's.2. Wooden Flooring in 2 Master Bedroom. 3. 1 Bath Tub in Children's Bedroom. 4. Top terrace with landscape garden.5. Cubical shower in 1 master Bedroom.6. Full Moudular kitchen cabinets.7. Marbel flooring in living And Dining room

Magicbricks.com is the mega brand of Times Group, Organizing a Property Bazaar 2008.

2008-07-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Magicbricks.com is a high end property portal, which is on an aggressive growth path of showcasing properties to a global market with its sound presence across India as well as across the world. Magicbricks.com 2nd time in a row, achieved Real Estate Excellence Award in May 2008. After the grand success of the our international exhibitions: --India Property Show – Dubai, March, 2007 --India Property Show – Singapore, April, 2007 -- India Property Show – London, June, 2007 -- India Property Show – Dubai, September, 2007 -- India Property Show – Singapore, November, 2007 -- The Luxury Show- Bangalore, January, 2008 -- South India Property Show - Bangalore, April 2008 After the grand success of South India Property Bazaar’08- April 5th & 6th, this time coming up with new horizons of your hopes and your dreams. MagicBricks.com is all set to provide property-seekers in Bangalore with the amazing experience of a landmark Real-Estate Property Fair - Bangalore Property Bazaar 08 slated for the 19th & 20th of July 2008! At The Hotel Grand Ashok - Kalinga Hall Bangalore

GERA GREEN VILLE, Kharadi, Pune

2008-07-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

GERA GREEN VILLE:The complex is of 81 Bungalows of 3 types spread across 13 acres. TheMaster Plan is conceptualised by Singapore based City Planners HelberHastert & Young and the landscaping by Belt Collins International, Consultants from Hongkong. The complex has spacious Club House with alarge Swimming Pool, Playgrounds and gardens.
Some of the common amenities include - Independent remote controlledentry for owners, piped LPG, Water Treatment Plant, Security Systemsetc. The Bungalow also comes with a 5 years warranty from Gera which include Preventive Maintenance, Repairs and Re-Painting.

Discuss: No automatic residency for property buyers in Dubai

2008-06-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Source: AME INFO
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, June 24 - 2008 at 08:00
Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), said there is no direct link between property ownership and residence visas in the emirate, reported Gulf News. Noting that it is 'not a must' that those who buy a property can get a residence visa, he said that even if an investment company applies for a residence visa for a buyer, the residency department could reject it.

Asia's realty market on a roll

2008-06-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Dominic Whiting
SINGAPORE
I N THE property world, the momentum appears to be with Asia. Funds designed to buy offices in Tokyo or build homes in China and India are sucking up money from Western investors eager to enter a region so far only grazed by the global credit crunch. But is the easy money to be made elsewhere?
Maybe in the ravaged London market in the United States in a few months if price declines slow, or even in undervalued Asian property stocks rather than in bricks and mortar? At this week's Reuters Global Real Estate Summit, fund managers ING Real Estate and LaSalle Investment Managers, the property arm of British insurer Prudential and Dubai's ETA Star Property Developers all said they were raising new funds this year to invest in Asia.
Hailing strong regional growth and a more mature investment landscape in Asia, where the advent of real estate investment trusts (REITs) has brought more transparency to the murky world of property development, the funds are aimed at pension funds and insurers. And many investors are buying it. Property investment in Asia reached a record $121 billion last year, up 27% from 2006. While the credit crunch took its toll in Europe and North America in the second half of the year, pushing down global transaction value by 8% from the same period of 2006, investment in Asia surged 22 % in the last six months.
Much of the flow from the West to Asia is about balancing portfolios. For example, German open-ended funds such as Union Investment Real Estate and grundbesitz global are starting to buy in Tokyo to diversify away from Europe. "Among institutional investors, there's incremental appetite for Asia," said Richard Price, Asia head of ING Real Estate, as he told Reuters about plans for a $750 million fund for China and another of up to $500 million for Japan. "But the question is, as their home markets reprice, will Asia be as compelling?"
Funds raised for Asia are excited about the prospect of Japanese landlords selling offices at discounts and of a potential shake-out among Chinese developers that could release cheap land and unfinished projects.
The credit crunch has made Japanese banks more conservative in their lending for property deals, threatening to soften prices of small and second-grade buildings. Yields on Grade B office blocks have risen by 50-100 basis points in the last year. In China, government attempts to cool the economy include cutting back loans to developers, who now are starting to struggle for finance because of a dismal market for public share offerings. Firms with little cash on hand and few other funding options will be under pressure to sell assets.
But many Asian office markets are slowly approaching cyclical peaks, and are then expected to hold steady. Meanwhile, in Britain, office values have slumped 18% from their peak last year, and investors believe they are free from the headaches of red-tape, corruption and dodgy land titles of some emerging markets. "I'd be a buyer of London offices now," said Asieh Man-sour, chief strategist at Deutsche Bank's property investment arm, RREEF. In Europe, fund managers and analysts are putting their faith in the continent's inflation-linked rental contracts to boost yields, which are already widening because of falling values. US commercial buildings are also starting to attract interest from around the world, with prices seen dropping a further 10 percent in the next year after a roughly 5% fall since mid-2007. The credit crunch has dried up the type of big private equity deals common in 2006 and the beginning of lastyear, helping suppress prices, but long-term fundamentals are considered healthy.
"Because the dollar is so low, the US is up for sale," said Mansour, adding that she had talked to several Japanese pension funds that were keen to snap up assets in the United States. "If you can see beyond the current weakness, this could be a good vintage year to buy." Even for those investing in Asian property, securities fund managers are questioning the rush to private equity funds that buy buildings, while shares of Japanese office REITs are trading at discounts of 40-50% to their net asset values.Reuters

Real estate FDI inflow up nearly five-fold

2008-06-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu Business Line
New Delhi, June 24 The Indian real estate and housing space emerged as the darling of foreign investors in 2007-08, clinching FDI equity inflows of about Rs 8,749 crore, a near five-fold increase over FY07.
"The investors have seen that the real estate potential in India is huge. The returns are quite attractive. In fact, we see the trend picking up even further this year as the prices are getting more attractive for investors," Mr Ra-mesh Sanka, Chief Financial Officer at DLF said.
Late last year, DLF Ltd had sold 49 per cent stake in eight residential project SPVs to private equity investors for a total consideration of Rs 1,675 crore.
A Merrill Lynch & Co entity had bought 49 per cent equity in seven residential projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore for Rs 1,481 crore. The company headed by Mr K.P. Singh - has also diluted 49 per cent stake, in another middle-income housing project in Panchkula, Haryana, to Brahma Investments for Rs 194 crore.
According to data released by the Government on Tuesday, the real estate sector, thrown open in 2004-05, saw the FDI picking up significantly between FY05 and FY08; it was Rs 171 crore in 2005-06 surging to Rs 2,121 crore in 2006-07.
"Over the last three years, there has been a build-up in investor interest. We saw the impact of that interest and euphoria for FY07 and FY08 as new townships and projects were announced. Depending on the asset class within real estate sector, the average rate of return stood at 25-35 per cent for India, against a global average of single digit return," Mr Sanjay Verma, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, of Cushman & Wake-field said.
"However, at the beginning of the current year we have seen some asset bubble deflation. With prices moving southwards, choppiness in the stock markets, pressure on interest rates and global issues, while deals will still happen, pricing will be the question," Mr Verma added.

Demand for Housing set to grow: NIBM

2008-06-25T00:47:00.000-07:00

Source: The Financial Express
At least 68 million Indians will require independent housing by 2015 and add to the housing demand of nation due to age-demographic effect. Inthecase of urbanpopu-lation, the additional need for housing would be 31 million, a report on the 'Study of Residential Housing Demand in India prepared by the Nation-al Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) for National Housing Bank (NHB) said.
NIBM has forecasted additional demandforhousingfor 2012-13 at around 6.79 million, a figure that has been projected by the 11th Planning Commission. Studying the linkages between housing demand and other sectors like steel and cement production, NIBM has estimated a 10 % increase in realised demand for houses (proxied by number of loans disbursed by HFCs and banks) resulting in a 4.59 % increase in steel produc-tionand 4.67% in cement production.
A typical borrower, according to the study, would most likely to be a male in the age group of 40-50, a significant 25% were below 35 years of age. There is a falling trend in the average age profile of those purchasing houses. . Urban citizens have a greater demand for bigger houses in comparison to their suburban counterparts and the demand for houses in terms of size in the rural area is lesser than the population in suburban areas, the study said.
Studying the risk analysis in housing, the sti dy found that when the ;i;:e of the house increased, the risk of default was lower, the monthly income was higher which thereby lowered the chance of defaulting in payments. The security value as proportional to the original loan amount was an important determinant or risk of defaults in housing loans. The study also maintained thathigherthe security margin available to the bank, lower was the chance of defaults in home loans. The likelihood of defaults in housing loans decreased significantly with the presence of additional collateral and the presence of more number of co-borrowers reduced the risk of defaults, the study concluded.

INVEST, SELL AND THEN BUY

2008-06-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Properties in the metros are literally going out of the reach of common people, the latest is to invest in affordable houses on the periphery, and later on encash these assets to purchase another house in the city. ET Realty explores the idea of buying property in the peripherals.
M eet the new home buyer, who is actually a medium-term investor with a long-term end-user perspective first, an investor on the outskirts of the city, and later, a buyer in the city.
Take a look at the case of Sanjit Baijal, a guy in his late twenties who works with a retail company. He wanted to own a house in Delhi itself. Anything which can be called a decent accommodation comes for nothing less than Rs 50 lakhs, whereas, he had only Rs 15 lakhs to spare. The result- he explored options in this range and combed the projects across Delhi NCR.
The projects in affordable range were all on the periphery of Delhi, further away from the suburbs. He finally invested at the Ansal Town project at Karnal where he bought a plot of land measuring a little over 200 sq yards for Rs 16 lakhs. "I think I got a good deal -I am happy with the corner location of this plot. I hope to sell it off for good returns, in the next five years, and then buy a decent three bedroom flat within Delhi," he says.
As affordable housing becomes the key to sales in a slowing market, key Delhi real estate developers are developing affordable residential property along the National Highway No 1, 2, 8, 10, 24, 58, 65 - left, right and centre! So whether it is Kundli, Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Chandigarh or Faridabad, Mathura, Agra on National Highway No 2; or, Manesar, Dharuhera, Bhiwadi on NH-8, they all abound in projects in a price range of Rs 15-30 lakhs. What's more, they come with add-ons of lifestyle living.
Says Radha, "Delhi is now beyond end users. It is only when one gets lucky with a lottery or a windfall of ancestral property that one can afford to buy a decent accommodation here. The rising interest rates are also not helping anybody." She adds that there is hardly anything available for the middle and the lower middle classes. Most of the affordable properties being launched now are in the peripheral areas where infrastructure is yet to come.
Meet another investor-buyer Parikshit Satija, a banker with a private company. He invested with the Ashiana project at Bhiwadi. Parikshit expresses, "How much can a middle class person afford to shell out more than Rs 25 lakhs, today? When I saw Ashianas tag line middle class budget, world-class living, I said this is it." On an average, a 3BHK covering 1275 sq ft area costs Rs 23-25 lakhs and this includes lifestyle features of a landscaped large central lawn, internet enabled apartments, club house along games room, TV lounge and party hall, besides other regular features.
But on second thoughts, he was not very happy with the location of the project at Ghaziabad. And since it was only an investment, he surfed more options and the Ashiana Angan project appealed to him immensely. This one was at Bhiwadi, a better destination and at lesser price - a 2BHK of 1200 sq ft was going for Rs 20-22 lakhs. Developers have an interesting take on the new buyer. According to Ansal APIs Kunal Banerjee, President Marketing, "In all these peripheral real estate projects, the client-mix earlier comprised a ratio of 70% speculators or
short-term traders in real estate and only 30% long-term investors. The latter would hold on to the property for 2-3 years, just as they would treat their blue chip account or FTC shares. But this was the scenario two years back, when real estate investment reaped immediate returns. In the current situation there are zilch speculators and 50% long-term investor and 50% actual buyer. The affordable properties on the periphery are certainly driving and acting as revitalisers in a slowing down real estate market.

Emaar MGF plans $3bn expansion in India

2008-06-06T23:36:00.001-07:00

Emaar MGF Land, a joint venture between Dubai's Emaar Properties and India's MGF, is to develop 31 million square feet of area in 10 locations in South India with a planned investment of $3bn. The first of these developments to be launched is Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club, a leisure and residential community in Hyderabad. The $1.4bn project features an 18-hole championship golf course, luxury residences, large format retail facility, luxury & boutique hotels and IT park.

Small flat owners may get property tax relief

2008-06-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

Source: The Times of India
Mumbai: Small flat-owners across Mumbai could expect greater relief in their property tax assessments. All party MLAs on Tuesday proposed that no changes will be made in the tax structure for flats with an area up to 500 sq ft for an initial five-year period.
Put simply, lakhs of middle-class residents in chawls in the island city and those living in old buildings in suburban Mumbai could be spared any increase in the property tax which would shortly be levied on the basis of the market value of a property as against its rental value.
The proposal was discussed at the joint select committee meeting of the state legislature which met on Tuesday to seek an all-party consensus to shift to the capital value system of determining property tax while protecting the interests of the middle-class. At present, property tax is calculated on the basis of the rents determined in 1940.
Minister of state for urban development Rajesh Tope chaired the meet. While the MLAs unanimously agreed to the state government's proposal to determine property tax as per the ready reckoner rates, it was proposed that any increase should be restricted upto 1.5 times of the existing property tax in case of residential
premises and three times in case of commercial premises.
"In other words, if a resident of Dadar is presently paying Rs 100 as property tax, he will pay upto Rs 150 with the shift to capital value system. Similarly, in case of a commercial gala at Chembur, the owner who pays Rs 1,000 now will pay a maximum of Rs 3,000 after the rental value-based system is done away with. Though the property rates would be higher, we have proposed a cap on how much tax can be levied," a city MLA said.
For those renting their residential or commercial premises, the new capital value-based system of assessing property tax promises to be a boon. "Presently, the flat-owner has to pay 110% of the rent as property tax to the BMC. We have now proposed that property tax would now be levied on same formula which is 1.5 times of the existing tax in case of residential premises and three times of the existing tax in case of commercial premises," the MLA said.

NCR project hits new price high

2008-05-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

Source: Business Standard
SIDDHARTH ZARABI
New Delhi, 18 May
S etting a new benchmark for apartments in the super-luxury segment in the national capital region, a local developer is offering 7,672 square feet of super area at a basic prices ranging between Rs 13,500 and Rs 14,750 per square foot (sq ft), the highest in the region.
The property is attracting keen interest in the market and analysts said it indicates the market for luxury properties remains strong as ever.
The 240-apartment property is being developed by Ambience Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, a company promoted by Raj Singh Gehlot. Located 800 metres from the toll gate on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway of national highway 8, the 150-acre site borders the vast Rajokri greens.
The smallest apartment in the Ambience project - The Caitriona - has a basic sale price of Rs 9 crore, while the largest carries a basic tag of Rs 11.31 crore.
There are others charges that buyers have to bear: for preferential location, an open terrace with the penthouse apartment and two car parking spaces for Rs 6 lakh each.
Adding these up means the acquisition cost works out to Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore, de-pending on the size of the apartment. Buyers also have to pay an interest-bearing maintenance deposit of Rs 200 a sq. ft.
A buyer, however, gets Italian marble everywhere, central airconditioning, an unhindered view of the Rajokri green or a nine-hole golf course, rooms fitted with LCD televisions, a reception, waiting lounge and business centre in each tower.
Other standard features include Jacuzzis and sauna equipment in each bathroom. All of this comes with a functional one-year warranty after possession.
Analysts say at this offer price (a 10 per cent down-payment rebate on the basic sale price) is available, the apartments are the priciest that the NCR has seen to date. But if you thought that buyers would be scarce given the current real estate slump, a reality check is in order.
Sold by invitation only for some time now, buyers of these still-to-be constructed flats include a famous Bollywood star with a penchant for bear hugs, executives with multinational telecom companies and ultra-rich businessmen.
Asked about the buyers, Gehlot does not take names, but said his clients are people who "have arrived in life". "It is easy to sell these apartments. Such properties are always in demand, whatever the state of the economy is. There is no competition to this property. Its location cannot be matched by any other developer," he added.
This is certainly not the first luxury apartment of its kind in j the NCR. Around the same time last year, DLF Ltd had launched 5,000 sq ft apartments in Greater Kailash II in New Delhi priced at Rs 8 crore and more.
The company has another project - The Magnolias, a 410-apartment complex on an 18-hole golf course in Gurgaon - that sold for around Rs 7500 a sq.ft.
In Noida, Unitech has the Grande project, where top-of-the-line apartments sold for Rs 4.5 crore last year. Today, prices are up for these properties also.

RIL sets up $1 b realty fund with US biggie Vornado

2008-05-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Co Also In Talks With Canada's Four Seasons & France's Accor To Set Up Hotels
Chaitali Chakravarty & Boby Kurian
NEW DELHI/BANGALORE
I N WHAT could be mark the beginning of Reliance Industries' foray into real estate and hospitality, the Indian conglomerate has sealed a Si-billion joint venture with the New York Stock Exchange-listed Vornado Realty Trust to set up a real estate fund that will develop a network of mega malls and highway shopping centres in India, not just for Reliance Retail (RRL) but also for others. Reliance is also in talks with the Canada-based Four Seasons Hotels and French group Accor to set up hotels at some of its properties in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The RRL spokesperson, however, declined to comment.
The joint venture with Vornado (ET reported about the two being in exploratory talks in February) is Reliance's fifth global partnership in three months�the other four being with Marks & Spencer, Vision Express, Miss Sixty and Office Depot. However, the latest partnership is seen as important as it would deal with real estate acquisition and management, crucial for the viability of any retail company. Most retailers are bleeding because they have acquired properties mindlessly to cash in on the consumer boom. While some like RRL and AV Birla Group have the staying power, others want quick returns, which are dearly not coming through.
Meanwhile, a source said the group's big buck real estate foray may also see it tapping a synergistic foray into hospitality. "The group is looking at the possibility of setting up hotels to take advantage of the excess floor space index (real estate space) available at some of its existing properties," a source explained. But it is leamt that the group has not yet tak-en a final call on the hospitality project given the vastly different skill sets required for the same.
At Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC), Reliance is developing an integrated project, including corporate office, shopping mall and five-star hotels, on a 2 5 -acre plot. However, it is not clear whether the real estate joint venture with Vornado would extend to hotel projects even though the US realty major has an asset like Hotel Pennsylvania in its portfolio.
Reliance, averse to global partnerships in the past, has now adopted a more pragmatic approach to form joint ventures with the world's best to capitalise on their domain expertise and brand power. Since the group is a green horn in retail and has never dealt with a consumer business on such a large scale, it wants to learn the systems and processes from experienced global companies so that it can apply them on its own retail venture.

'The real estate sector will touch the $50 billion mark by 2010'

2008-05-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

Source: Hindustan Times

Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman, DAMAC Holding speaks to Nuzhat Aziz on DAMAC's recent venture in India and the investment opportunities in Dubai

DAMAC Properties has recently tied up with 60 agents in India across metros and tier I cities. What is going to be the strategy and how will DAMAC sell regional properties to the Indian investors? India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The purchasing power has also gone up accordingly If you look at the recent developments with regard to real estate industry alone in India, the picture is quite positive and that has also grown due to the buying power of the consumers in India.
We are currently in the feasibility study stage and will share more details as things unfold.
Are there any particular cities that DAMAC will focus on? Which are they and why?
We are currently looking at Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. We are in the evaluation phase. However, we feel that the growth is more or less uniform across India at this stage. Definitely the Tier 1 will command a premium but overall the country is on a great growth path.
How easy or difficult it is for investors to invest in properties abroad? What are the norms for NRI and foreigners?
It is extremely easy for Indians to buy a property in the UAE. However, it has to be in the freehold area. The major property boom in Dubai started in May 2002, when Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE issued a decree to allow foreigners to buy and own freehold property in selected areas of the city.
There is no restriction in the kind of properties one can buy � apartments, lands or even in terms of maximum or minimum size of the property one can hold.
One can also sell the property at any legal system is absolutely transparent.
The documents required for an investor a passport copy, communication address and the token deposit. It is as simple as that.
What is DAMAC'S next venture?
We have recently announced the launch of Harbour Heights, an iconic residen-tial development at Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. The launch of the unique project comes close on the heels of the unprecedented success achieved by DAMAC in its various properties across the UAE and Middle East.
A 40-storey tower, Harbour Heights will comprise one, two and three-bedroom apartments with penthouses and duplexes on the higher levels.
The apartments will be equipped with state-of-the-art accessories, thoughtfully planned space and utilities and elegantly designed interiors.
How do you perceive the real estate industry with the slump in the stock markets and also with inflation?
The real estate industry will definitely grow as the demand for the same is quite high across India despite the inflation and the stock market slump.
Which cities in India are likely to be real estate gold mines in the future?
Definitely Tier I cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi are likely to have larger scope with respect to the real estate sector.
Do you see a change in the realty sector in the next five years?
The Indian real estate market is expected to touch the $50 billion mark by 2010 and is a very important market for DAMAC Properties. DAMAC foresees a good investment portfolio in this region and has plans to invest $5 billion in India over a period of three years.

A swimming pool in the sky

2008-05-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

Source: The Times of India

Taking a lifestyle plunge in your swimming pool on the 40th floor brings the ultimate outdoors, indoors . What does it take to make this aquatic statement? reports

What makes the exclusive penthouse a coveted segment of premium real estate? Several things. It could be a rooftop terrace or a private clubhouse or your very own swimming pool in your high rise pad.
"It translates into a lifestyle experience with the added advantage of privacy," says Vinod Thakkar, CEO of real estate Square Feet "A swimming pool at ground level puts every swimmer vulnerable to peeping toms. A pool on the terrace is off-limits to anyone looking out the windows," he explains. Putting another spin to it is real estate professional Sunil Bajaj. "In space starved Mumbai, real estate requirements at times can be quite complicated. You need to have maximum open space on ground level for car parking, this means you have to move the garden and swimming pool 'upstairs'. Having a podium usually translates into increased prices for buyers, so it makes sense if you shift the garden and pool to the terrace," he says.
Consumers pondering high rise swimming pools often ask about the safety aspects. Having experienced this, Jagdish Ahuja, CMD of Ahuja Group explains that the pool, imported from U.K. with an in-built filtration system, was incorporated with proper load distribution at the designing stage and raised from the floor level. "In terms of struc-planning stage itself," he says. "But the advantage of having all these amenities on the rooftop meant that more parking slots were available for residents, while the added advantages were privacy and a feeling of being on top of the world,"
A home in Kalpataru Horizon, Work has been preferred by an NRI client of realtor Prashant Puri because the swimming pool came with a sea view. "The first residential floor at Kalpataru Horizon starts on the 14th level, so almost every flat has a view of the ocean. But the best part for a water-loving home-seeker is that both towers sport swimming pools on higher floor levels, with a view of the sea, which makes them perfect for pool parties under moonlit skies," adds Puri.
Percy Chowdhry -Director (Rustom-jee) prefers to err on the side of caution though. "Practically speaking, this is viable but certain precautionary measures are needed to be addressed during the initial stages of planning. The structural design of the building should be chalked out taking into consideration, the size of the pool and the tonnage of water being uiicd," he adds.
High rise pools come with their own sets of maintenance levels. Regular chlo-rination of water and if possible having a retractable cover being drawn on the pool while not in use can keep the mosquitoes at bay.. Regular filtration and siphoning also keeps the mosquitoes away. Having a private pool gives a sense of privacy and hygiene, says developer Ashok Mohanani. "A well-maintained filtration plant keeps the pool clean," he points out. For those looking at an 'in house' pool, Mohanani estimates the cost of a 180-200 sq. ft. pool, with 4 ft depth and a filtration plant, as being approximately Rs.3 to 4 lakhs. "Such a pool can store upto 20,000 liters of water," he adds.
A swimming pool on the terrace is still a shared amenity unless it is part of the penthouse. In such instances, the double height sit-out can have a splash pool or a wading pool, says Thakkar. Abhisheck Lodha, director, Lodha Group says he's already incorporated this aspect in a project underway at Mum-bai's Juhu, the Lodha Palazzo. "We have designed a 'lotus pond' within the flat," he says. From the terrace to your double-height sit-out, a wading pool or a splash pool is another option, and Pune-based Marvel Group has a sunken splash pool in every flat, so designed that once you are in the pool, the river seems to be an extension of the pool.
Viewed in terms of Vaastu principles, a high rise pool would appear to be one of the 'less positive' ones," says Pankaj Kapoor, CEO of real estate ratings and research agency Liases Foras. He's had an NRI send in a specific enquiry on this aspect, and Vaastu experts said it wasn't such a good idea. "But the positives compensate for the negatives. It depends on whether you opt to listen to the Vaastu expert or to your family .," concludes Kapoor.

Work afoot for Pune's third township

2008-05-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu Business Line
Our Bureau
Pune, May 1
While two townships are already under construction in Pune, the third Metropolis, a 150-acre township is also taking shape. The township is coming up at phase III of Hin-jewadi where Blue Ridge township, a Paranjape Scheme, is also getting ready.
Pegasus Properties, a joint venture between Avinash Bho-sale Group and Kumar Properties, has announced the launch of Megapolis at an investment of Rs 1,400 crore . Talking to presspersons, Mr Manish Jain, Joint Managing Director, Kumar Properties, and Mr Amit Bhosale, Director, Pegasus Properties Pvt Ltd, said the property is under construction and would be completed in the next five years.
PROJECT DETAILS
Mr Jain said the township would have 58 high rise towers with 21 storeys each. The options would include studios, one to five BHK (bedroom hall kitchen), and senior citizen blocks. He said the phase I, which was launched on Tuesday, would give the consumers the options of two, 2.5 and three BHKs. The rate would be Rs 3,250 a sq ft for a two BHK, and Rs 3,300 for a 3 BHK.
PLANNING STAGE
He noted that the studio apartments and the rest were still in their planning stage. The township would offer multiple pools, gymnasium and club houses with indoor games, outdoor sports activities, dedicated bus service, Wi Max, bank/ ATM, polyclinic, private schools, themed restaurants, hypermarket, and tax collection centres. He noted that it would also be providing guest room apartments for visitors, with a nominal charge for its use. It would also have about 60 service apartments, he said.
Mr Bhosale said that phase I would have about 900 apartments and would be completed within two years. The total township would have about 5,800 apartments, and would be completed in five years. He noted that it was looking at promoting the 'walk to work' culture as all the major IT companies in Hinjewadi were within walking distance.

Why Invest in Nagpur?

2008-04-08T00:35:00.001-07:00

Why Invest in Nagpur?

Nagpur stands second in the overall tally of most developing cities of India as per Knight-Frank report. 4,00,000 (Four Hundred Thousand) employment is estimated to be generated. The city has shifted from Tier III to Tier II status. Mind blowing appreciation of 500% in the land prices of Nagpur in the year 2006-2007.Around 20 to 30% shrewd NRI investors are already proud owners of this land.

MIHAN CITY NAGPUR:- The MIHAN (Multimodal International Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur) + IT Park + Health City + SEZs project rising over 4055 acres.- Multi Million Doller Investments and land purchasees in Nagpur: - FDI: Rs. 1500 Cr. - Ascendas: US$ 185 m. - HCL: Rs 500 Cr. Satyam & Maytas: 1018 acres - KSL Group: Rs. 450 Cr. - Mantri Realty: Rs 2350 Cr. - Gati Ltd: Rs. 100 Cr. - Jagdamba Realtors: Rs. 2000 Cr. - CIDCO & NMC: Rs. 5895 Cr. - NDF Govt: Rs. 5000 Cr. - L&T: 120 acre. - Wipro: 117 acre. - DLF:150 acre. SAHARA City-106 acre - Rahejas. - Holiday Inn. - Reliance. - Taj. - Oberoi. - Orchid.- Growth in No. of Millionaires:769%

- Air Flights up from 6 to 74 plus daily with all major airlines operating.

- “0” mile city of India. Hence well connected via roads & rails.

- Midpoint of S-E Asian aviation route. Cleanest & greenest city of India

- Cosmopolitan culture with peaceful ambience. Highest student populated city after Pune.

- Second capital of Maharashtra. Evolving Medical Tourist destination.

Boom in the 'Orange city' - NAGPUR

2008-04-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

Source: The Times of India
The proposed International Cargo hub (MIHAN) has made Nagpur a real estate hotspot, says Shilpa Sachdev
It is one of the fastest growing Tier III cities in India and believed to be India's future IT and Aviation city Nagpur is India's second capital and third big city in Maharashtra. It is famous for its oranges and hence is known as the 'Orange city'.
Recent developments have fuelled the growth of real estate in Nagpur. One of them is the proposed Multi-modal International Hub Airport that has suddenly spurred the interest of investors in commercial and residential spaces in the city Located in the centre of India, Nagpur is a strategic location for the Multi-modal International Hub Airport. Boeing's maintenance base is another development that has added to the real estate growth in the city
The upmarket zones of the city include areas like Dharampeth, Ramdaspeth, Gokulpeth, Ramnagar, ShivajiNagar, Byramjee town, Gandhinagar and Ravi Nagar. These places mostly have bungalows and large apartments. Reports say that some of the bungalows in these places have been sold for almost a crore. The demand on the residential side is huge. Developers are taking the opportunity with both hands and developing a string of residential projects for investors.
As a result, the residential supply in Nagpur has grown by almost 100 per cent over the last few years. The upcoming residential locations in Nagpur are on Kamptee Road in the northeast, Khamla and Hingna Road in the south-west and Besa and Wardha Road in the south. Majority of the new supply is concentrated in the southern zone (Wardha Road) near the upcoming Cargo Hub. Traditionally having more bungalows in the territory, local developers are now coming up with new apartment projects in Nagpur to meet the increasing demand for housing. Township projects too are getting a good response from local residents and investors.
Premium residential projects (catering to MIG and HIG) are predominantly coming in the west and southern parts of the city, while ordinary residential projects (catering to LIG and lower MIG) are coming in the north and east parts of the city. Development of MIHAN project consisting of International Airport, SEZ and Cargo Hub are the key reasons for projecting Wardha Road as the growth response from local residents and investors.
Premium residential projects (catering to MIG and HIG) are predominantly coming in the west and southern parts of the city, while ordinary residential projects (catering to LIG and lower MIG) are coming in the north and east parts of the city. Development of MIHAN project consisting of International Airport, SEZ and Cargo Hub are the key reasons for projecting Wardha Road as the growth corridor. Real estate development is likely to pick up along this road in the short and medium term. The target would be more towards middle and upper middle income segment population. Amrawati road, Kampte road and Katol road are the other growth corridors. Current prices range between Rs. 3000 to 5000. The response to MIHAN will decide the future prices in the city
On the commercial side too, Nagpur has shown impressive results. The commercial property market in Nagpur has witnessed steady growth in the last few years. There is a demand for quality commercial space across the city. The main commercial centers in Nagpur are Sitaburdi, Dhantoli, Sadar, Civil Lines, Gokulpeth, CA Road and Mahal. These areas have seen maximum appreciation. The appreciation in the rentals has been steady across Nagpur. IT and ITES are showing a lot of interest in Nagpur. The upcoming SEZ at MIHAN will have an IT park spread over 400 hectares that will house IT majors like Satyam Computers, TCS, Patni Computers as well as Microsoft. Dell too has evinced interest in Nagpur. Shapoorji Pallonji & Co has got 100 acres and L&T Infocity has got 120 acres for IT parks.
More is being built on the commercial front, as the existing supply is not enough. A cumulative 1.19 million sq ft of commercial office spaces is expected to come into the market by 2009.
Manan Bhondekar, MD, Grace Realities says, "Nagpur has a very strategic location as it lies in the centre of India. It is well connected to every part of the country After Chandigarh, Nagpur stands to have best infrastructure ratings. A Knight Frank report has given second position to Nagpur for infrastructure. The city is free from congestion. It is ready for development. With the International Cargo hub coming up here, it is set to be the logistics hub of the country Nagpur will be the aviation mode of the country and hence will assume great importance. National and international cargo will be accumulated and distributed from here. The amount of business generated will increase and it will become a business centre. There will be a lot of employment generation. It will soon become a metropolitan city Growth has just started to take place. This is the right time to invest in Nagpur; the returns will show after one and a half years. And the investments will give attractive returns to those who invest in Nagpur. We are hoping that it will become India's second commercial city after Mumbai."
The time is right for those who are looking beyond Mumbai and Pune. Nagpur has already begun to show up on the list of real estate fraternity The growth story has just begun!

Budget Bonanza: Real estate sector shining

2008-04-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times.
The Union Budget, may not have done wonders for the real estate developers but has certainly proved to be a blessing in disguise for the industry with both the movers (builders) and shakers (buyers) sounding equally enthusiastic about it. To explore this Budget bonanza which the real estate sector is about to witness, Times Property takes a look at the new tax breaks on spending and investment avenues of the potential home buyers. A city based young couple, which together fetches an annual income of Rs 10 lakh per annum sound really enthusiastic about the entire tax break provision. Shikha, who works in a bank herself is happy about the fact that her additional spending power would not only make her feel liberated to shop but also help them save better for the prospective property that she and her husband will soon be buying in the Hazratganj area. She expands, “Rishi, my husband and I had zeroed down on a house last year itself, but since we didn’t have the paying capacity then, we decided not to indulge in the house buying, while now since its an absolute wow situation as we have more disposable income, we surely can fulfil this dream of ours.” On the same note, Niranjan Hiranandani, Director, Hiranandani Constructions, believes that those thinking of buying a 1 BHK can now plan for a 2BHK flat through this increased affordability. This will specially help those in the income bracket of Rs 2.5 to 2.9 lakh, he says. While, Assem Vivek, Branch Head HDFC Home Loans, adds, “Certainly the budget which directly didn’t affect the realty market is going to move it in totality. Since the tax bracket has changed for both men and women, at an average a person with 30 percent bracket would save Rs 40,000 more.” He further expands, “Real estate has always witnessed growth and this rate sensitive industry which now to a common man assures no further hiking of interest rate is surely a treat to the potential buyers and of course the investors.” Gaurav Agarwal, Fortuna Builders (P) Ltd opines, “In my opinion the budget has not done any particular wonders to the realty sector yet the tax break sounds like a boon to the middle income group. It certainly provides them a possibility of better housing facilities.” Rahul Agarwal, Tirath Builders adding his views to the same avers, “The budget on the large has not been pro-realty , as no special mentions were made in its regard. Though like all would agree, the tax break would benefit, though only the upper middle class segment.” He also adds that it’s not just going to be the budget which will affect real estate in the coming months but largely the very buoyant stock market. For sure all this upheaval will inject a sudden competitiveness amongst the builders especially the so called branded builders and the local Lucknow builders and to meet the same competition, some new selling concepts would have to be floated.

NAGPUR,INDIA THE HOT NEW INVESTMENT DESTINATION

2008-04-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

Nagpur is South east asia's and India'sone and only cargo hub cum hub airport which willtransform it into a world trade city.
The combined investments committed as of date invarious projects is more thanRs.50,000crores.Additionally,Nagpur MunicipalCorporation is pumping another 6000crores intodeveloping the metro city infrastructure.
MIHAN project will give direct employment to close to1,50000 people and indirect employment to another4,50,000 people.The various SEZ's in butibori willprovide equal amount of Employment.
All these adds up to a huge population migration intothe city resulting in current housing demand of500,000 new homes.
Nagpur is expected to have a population of close to75lakhs by 2015 when majority of the projects will beon or nearing completion.
All this is putting pressure on land prices which isslated to rise @100% plus for the next 4-5yearsatleast.

Nagpur, the center of India is fast becoming the center of attraction for global investments due to the following reasons:
Mihan International airport cum cargo hub(MIHAN):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF1s6rKqv00
http://www.madcindia.org/
Spread across 10,000Acres,MIHAN project will transform this tier 2 Indian city into a world trade city .In addition 7special economic zones are being setup:
Health City:
A 2500bedded hospital with 11 different specialties will boost medical tourism and will provide employment to more than 25000people directly and 100,000 people indirectly.
Textile SEZ:
Already a famous cotton producing belt, Nagpur will experience a huge growth in production and export of textile and allied products. The employment opportunity provided by this sector will be in 100’s of thousands.
IT and ITES:
The IT SEZ’s of companies like HCL computers, MANTRI,Satyam, Raheja, Dell, IBM, Hexaware will provide huge employment opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of engineers in the area.
The IT sctor will provide direct employment to more than 150,000 highly educated, highly paid employees.
Manufacturing SEZ:
Butibori, Asia’s second largest Industrial estate which already has large export oriented units like Indo Rama synthetics and Morarji Brembana will be boosted further with the opening of MIHAN.
Gem and Jewellery SEZ:
A huge processing zone 2500Acres by Gitanjali gems will bring unprecedented economic prosperity o the region.
Food processing SEZ:
Famous for its oranges, Nagpur will experience a huge growth in food processing and agro based industries due to the proximity of the consumer because of MIHAN project.
This particular sector will provide direct and indirect employment to millions of people in the region
Travel and tourism/hospitality:
Nagpur is home to the famous Indian tiger and is surrounded by mega tiger reserve forests, which will attract foreign tourists. Already 11 5/7star hotels are under construction to satisfy the demand for the upper crust of international tourists about to arrive in the area.
Real estate:
Immediate demand for 500,000 new homes has prompted many big construction houses to launch their mega projects in the vicinity of MIHAN.
The construction boom will provide employment to hundreds of thousands of skilled and semi skilled people.
Result? The land prices have started jumping up and have already appreciated by 300% near MIHAN project within the last one year alone. But it’s nearly 1/50th of Metro realty price levels which leaves scope for tremendous future appreciation, thus fetching best return on investments ever, anywhere in the world.
The land prices in the vicinity of MIHAN, Nagpur are expected to keep rising on an average of 100% over the next 4-5years due to emergence of Nagpur as South East Asia’s Hub airport cum Logistics hub from where goods can be transported to anywhere in the world within 12hours.

This is the right time to capitalize on the ground situation and take a position in Nagpur Real estate. There is huge potential for all kinds of projects in this part of the world where a whole new international metro city is being built from scratch.
Companies In Nagpur, Mihan:
Reliance Industries
DLF
SATYAM computers Services Ltd.
Hcl Computers Ltd
DELL
IBM
HEXAWARE
ASCENDAS Pte. Ltd
BOEING International Corporatio
SHAPOORJI PALLONJI & Co. Ltd.
L & T Infocity Ltd
RMZ Corp
Max Aerospace & Aviation Ltd.
Wipro Ltd
Vipul Karamchand Group
TATA Consultancy Services Ltd
TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd
Reatox Builders and Developers Ltd
Ispat Industries Ltd
Dr.D.Y.Patil University
Ambuja Realties Ltd
Gitanjali Gems and Jewellery

HOME STATE Maharashtra has taken a lead in providing houses to its residents

2008-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Source: The Indian Express
OVER the years, Maharashtra has paid a great deal of attention to housing. In fact, it was the first state in India to declare its independent housing policy. According to Lalit Kumar Jain, chairman, Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP), Maharashtra is a national leader in housing and real estate.
When it comes to housing, Maha-rashta has many firsts to its credit. It implemented the Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act for flat holders in the state. It was also the first state to construct houses for low-income groups at subsidised rates. It was the first state to incorporate modern features in construction, facilitate online design plans, online development and contracts and online booking. In fact, the computerisation initiatives undertaken by Pune's engineers for the housing sector have even received national recognition.
"Housing in Maharashtra has always been a flourishing business and will remain so. Construction is now an industry. Builders have come together and designed a system to solve conflicts between builders-flat owners and developers," says Jain. "The state is witnessing a boom in service industry, information technology, automobile industry and health services. This has created ample career opportunities along with an increase in income. As a result of this, the demand for houses and builders providing the houses is increasing. This industry is growing at a rate as high as 40-50 per cent. This is a sign of prosperity for the state," he adds.
Along with making profits, the construction industry has also nurtured social commitment. Plantation, initiatives to create skilled workforce for the industry funding for fresh entrants in the construction business and a number of other initiatives have been implemented by builders.
Says Sanjay Deshpande, founder of Sanjeevani Developers and chairman of Environmental Department, PBAP: "Urban Maharashtra offers a number of opportunities to the construction business. Urbanisation has reduced the dependency on agriculture. It all started because of the changing lifestyles as people from rural parts of the state started coming to cities like Mumbai and Pune. Water problems, power cuts, lack of career and social opportunities contributed towards people shifting their base to cities," he says.
"Twenty years ago when 20 per cent of the population in the state was staying in urban Maharashtra and 80 per cent in rural, it was predicted that within the next 20 years, the urban-rural ratio in the state would become 50-50. Few years ago, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chen-nai were the only metropolitan cities in India. Today Pune, Nagpur, Nasik, Sangli are also experiencing urbanisation with some of them even becoming metropolitan cities," he adds.
So, what factors help a town become a big city? "Availability of water has been the major driving force behind the development of these cities and the construction industry as well. Earlier too, this was the major reason why settlements happened around rivers and lakes. This is the same reason that brought urbanisation in areas like Nashik, Sangli, Satara and not in Vidarbha," explains Deshpande.

Is commercial space driving real estate?

2008-04-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Source: Hindustan Times
This week, we try to dispel some myths regarding commercial real estate by answering some frequently asked questions.
How well is commercial space doing vis-a-vis the other real estate sectors?
The market for office space in India has witnessed a compounded annual growth in excess of 30 per cent over the past seven to eight years. The growth has been highest in the met-ros, and there is an overall annual addition of approximately 58 million square feet of office space.
Is commercial space the primary driver? Does retail count in it?
For all practical purposes, retail counts as commercial space - meaning that it is used for commercial purposes, and that a different set of parameters from those that apply to residential space comes into play. However, the IT and IT-enabled services industry does lay claim to a pretty significant chunk of the overall demand. Retail, in the form of shopping malls and multiplexes falls in a comparable league.
There is also a huge demand for township-related spaces, owing to the benefits attached to such projects.
In which cities have office properties seen the highest appreciation on a year-on-year basis?
The cities where real estate prices have risen most sharply are metropolises such as Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai. They almost doubled over the last three years. In fact, the rates for commercial space have nearly doubled in these cities over the past three years.

With such an onus on the IT/ITeS sector, do you feel that the international demand for such spaces is sustainable? One keeps reading of the fact that Indian IT/ITeS infrastructure is NOT among the best in the world. Indian IT/ITeS space is gearing up to meet global standards, and each year sees further improvement. At the moment, however, there are certainly problems with communication infrastructure in many instances.
The Indian data communication infrastructure does not yet match up to global standards - it is far from cost-effective and there is not enough going round. The problem lies in the fact that there is an institutional stranglehold on Indian telecommunications. The Internet cannot yet deliver in India , what it does in more advanced countries. This numbers among the reasons why certain international companies are still cautious in their inquiries for IT/ITeS space in India.
For those who intend to invest in office space in any of the major cities - what are the prevailing capital and rental values in each of them?
The rates in Chennai range from the highest in Radhakrishnan Sallai at Rs. 12,000-14,000/sq, ft. to the lowest at Ambattur at Rs. 3,000-4,000. In Bangalore, they range from MG Road at Rs. 9,000-15,000 to Rs. 2,000-5,000 at White-field. In Mumbai, they range from Rs. 25,000-55,000 at Cuffe Parade to Rs. 7,000-17,000 at Kalbadevi. In Kolkata, the range would be from Rs. 7,000-15,000 at Park Street tq Rs. 3,000-5,000 on Dum Dum Road.
One can roughly arrive at the annual rental rates for any sector by dividing the capital values by 100.

Multiple FDI projects may give relief to realty players

2008-04-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times.
NEW DELHI: Real estate companies, who are bound by strict conditions for bringing in foreign direct investment (FDI), can now look forward to a breather. Companies developing several projects simultaneously are likely to get a waiver on meeting FDI conditions on some if majority of the projects are FDI-compliant. Realty companies are subjected to conditions such as three-year lock-in period and a minimum development of 10 hectares for bringing in FDI. The move will particularly benefit real estate companies that take up expansion plans from time to time. Under the proposed waiver, such expansion schemes/projects would be eligible to get foreign funds even if they do not comply with the required conditionalities separately on their own. “Many a time, the developer faces difficulty to hive off projects that are not FDI-compliant. The industry’s main grouse is that if some of the projects are taken in isolation it negates the purpose of the whole project,” a senior government official said.
Officials in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) said some developers have sought permission to retain projects that do not comply with FDI guidelines laid down under Press Note 2 even after infusing foreign investment. The department is in discussion with the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) to firm up new guidelines for easing investments in such projects. A meeting on the issue is expected next month. Experts are of the view that the government’s move would help real estate developers mobilise FDI. Many of these firms are otherwise left in lurch due to non-FDI compliance in one or two projects. “There have been many instances in the past where real estate companies have faced rejection from the government for bringing in FDI owing to non-compliance in one or two projects out of 18-20 projects. The law should allow FDI to a project as a whole at the entity level, even if some of the projects do not measure up to the FDI guidelines,” real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj MD Anuj Puri said. The real estate industry has also urged the government to waive the condition of three-year lock-in period for pre-IPO investment by overseas entities and treat them as portfolio investment rather than FDI. The matter is also under active consideration of the DIPP.

Realty players woo healthcare firms to meet govt norms

2008-04-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
WITH townships mushrooming across the country, it appears that healthcare companies are having a field day. To meet the government's mandate to set aside 10% land for facilities such as healthcare and education in townships, healthcare companies are being wooed by real estate players to set up hospitals in their townships.
With just a handful of corporate hospitals in India, which have both the scale and brand, there is an urgency among developers to choose from the few healthcare companies available. "While it is an opportunity for both healthcare companies and developers, the scenario has become more favourable for us. We are being approached by real estates players from across the country, " says Max Hospitals ED medical operations Pervez Ahmed. Fortis Healthcare has entered into an agreement with DLF to set up 14 hospitals across the country in latter's townships.
Cushman & Wakefield, India, joint managing director Sanjay Dutt said, "There are more than 250 townships of over 100 acres in size being developed in the country. At least 25 of these are of the size of 2,000-9,000 acres. Since majority of townships are located outside the main city, the infrastructure is very poor. Moreover, developer are selling these townships as lifestyle product. So a township must have all amenities, including high quality healthcare and education facilities."
Under govt norm, a developer has to keep a certain proportion of total area for amenities and green land. The norm is fixed by respective state governments. On an average, the area allocated for amenities, which includes healthcare, schools and local service centre, is around 10%.

Little room for retail in the mall story

2008-04-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Source: The Financial Express
It is not questions on establishing a brand presence in India or educating the Indian customerorascertainingthesizeof the Indian luxury market or understanding the mindset of the Indian customer that tops the list of challenges on a luxury company CEO's mind. Real estate and the availability of luxury retail space is what worries him the most.
"Finding the right location is the most challenging task for us, says Andrea Per-rone, CEO, Brioni, of the exclusive menswear brand from Italy. His competitor, Paolo Canali, sales & marketing director, Canali agrees, "We are trying to find the requisite space for ourselves. It is akeytosales."
Vittorio Missoni, chairman of Missoni points out that location of the store is key to a luxury purchase. "One cannot expect someone who purchase ahigh-end good, to tolerate a buying experience that is not as good. In luxury retailing, this experience is everything," he says, adding that develop-ment in retailis what brands are waiting for.
In sectors like home and interiors, finding a large enough store is a challenge as well. "We cannot be in a hotel as they haven't got adequate space," says Elisa As-tori, vice president, Driade, Italiain home living chain. "Boutique stores are enough for objects, but furniture requires a large format store, "she adds.
Besides not having enough space, hotel arcades are also scattered all over a city, points out Vivek Kaul, national director, JLLMeghraj.
At present, a luxury retailer has few op-tions for retailing his brand. Dedicated lux-ury malls like DLF's Empono in Delhi is set to open this year, and even with 130 brands showcased spread over 3,50,000 square feet, will not have enough space to fulfill the demand. UB Group's Collection will add another 1,50,000 square feet when it opens next year, while MBD group's Zephyr accommodate brands over 7,00,000 square feet when it opens inBan-galore by 2011.
"The cost of development of luxury is about 30% more expensive," says Sonika Malhotra, MBD group.
India represented 0.8% of the world's consumption of luxury brands last year, about $1.5 billion," says Armando Branci-ni, MD, Altagamma, an association of Ital-ian luxury goods.
Luxury retail real estate space will play a crucial factor if lndiais to have a larger of the market in the coming years.

Realty rates surge in tony city areas, fall in Gurgaon

2008-04-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Source:The Times of India
New Delhi: Home loan rates alone do not affect activities in the real estate sector; the performance of the stock market also has a direct bearing on property prices. So, while high home loan rates have hit the real estate sector in the past one year, properties in tony areas like south Delhi and south Mumbai have appreciated by up to 85% during this period. In the last six months alone, rates here have gone up by 15 % to 47 %.
Besides increased demand in the posh areas during the stock market boom, the limited supply also contributed to the high price. During the period of stock market boom till around two months ago, there was a rush of cash-rich investors willing to buy houses for over Rs 5 crore. Though the subsequent market crash has led to decreased demand for ul-tra-delux apartments, limited supplies and absence of distress sellers have meant that prices continue to rise.
Said Amit Bhagat, head of ICICI Properties, in the past two months, hardly any deal has taken place in posh areas in the price range of over Rs 3 crore. Yet, no correction in prices in this segment is expected because of limited supply, he added.
The story is different in the suburbs and small cities. Property prices in the suburbs, par: ticularly NCR, and places like Chandigarh and Jaipur, where construction activity is in full swing, have either stagnated or declined by 10% to 20%.
By contrast, in the tony Golf Links, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar areas of the capital, prices of apartments have gone up by 85% to Rs 51,000 per sq feet in the last one year. The price of a 2000 sq ft three-bedroom apartment here is a mind-boggling Rs 10 crore. The same is true in Chanakyapuri, where prices appreciated by 82 % during this period. In the last six months, however, the appreciation has been more modest around 17%. But in the same period, in Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, apartment val-ues have increased by 47% to Rs 23,500 per sq ft.
Likewise, prices in posh areas of Mumbai, like Alta-mount Road, Napeansy Road, Nariman Point and Church-gate, have gone up by 24%. In the last three months itself, rates have increased by 17%.
The story repeats itself in Bangalore as well, where the capital value of upmarket areas like Brunton Road and Lang-ford Road Town went up by 11 % in last six months, whereas prices in less posh areas rose in the range of 2% to 6%.
In the last five years, property prices in the posh area in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Banglore in creased by three to five times. In Chanakyapuri, Golf Links and Jor Bagh, land was available for Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh around five years back. But today, it is quoting at over Rs 6.50 lakh per sq yard.
Aditi Vijayakar, head of residential research of global consultancy firm, Cushman and Wakefield, said there is virtually no land available in these areas. Therefore, hardly any construction activity is taking place. The only construction activity is that of large villas being converted into apartments. This had further flared up demand during the stock market boom period.

A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD

2008-03-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Source: Hindustan Times
FINDING A perfect home to stay in is a priority for most of us. However, not everybody is certain about what they want in a home. If we look around us, we'll see some great projects coming up and which satisfy the dream home criteria for most of us. The real estate market in India has been in ascendancy over the last few years, and it has become much easier now to compare various options, and take an informed decision. To find a dream home, however, one needs to be clear on certain aspects like type of property, number of bedrooms, the budget, location and the expected appreciation from the property. Here are some tips that should be kept in mind when looking for a perfect place to stay:
Make the right search: Individuals should evaluate all possible mediums like online real estate portals, newspapers, property agents etc. when short-listing properties. New technology like the Internet has drastically reduced the time that an individual spends in making preliminary enquiries for properties, and this medium should be used extensively Be clear about specifications:
Half of your problem is taken care, if you are clear about the essential specifications like city and locality, type of property, area, budget and the number of bedrooms. If you are clear about what you want, an online search engine can match the criteria
Be aware of prevailing property rates: Before offering a price for the property, you must cross check the rates of similar properties in the area, and the price offered should be based on sales trends. The property rates infor-mation can easily be found through the internet, through newspapers, and through property agents.
Be clear about the home loan requirements: Arranging finance is an important aspect. Individuals need to confirm the prevailing circle rates. This will give them an idea of how much loan the bank can provide, and also how much money the seller expects through this route.
Get property documents verified: Be aware of what is and isn't included in the blueprint be-fore you purchase the property. Usually, property agents are thorough experts and can guide you through the legalities of the property documents. It is there- fore, important to build trust with the property agents you interact with. Explore the area: Once you've nar-rowed down your choice, explore the area, like schools, security, water and electricity problems, access to markets, medical facilities, and other external factors that will af- feet the quality of life in the neigh-bourhood.
Check features: Any special need like power'back up, vaastu, security, lift, dedicated parking etc are some features that are nice to haves, though not essential. Some individuals are partic- - ular about these features, and hence its nice to know if the property being explored has these amenities.
Buying a house is one of the most important purchases in your life. Make sure you select a house that has all these features and make a more informed decision.

FDI Story In Real Estate To Get More Leg Room

2008-03-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Deepshikha Sikarwar & Rajat Guha
new delhi
T HE government is planning to liberalise foreign direct investment norms in real estate. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has circulated a Cabinet note proposing waiver of two conditions, a three-year lock-in on foreign investment and the requirement that the investment be at least $ 5 million in case of a joint venture or $10 million in case of a wholly-owned venture.
The waiver has been sought for real estate projects that include hotels, according to a government official. The proposal has been justified on the ground that it would boost tourism and hospitality, sectors identified by the government as vital job creators.
At present, 100% FDI is permitted in hotels and tourism as well as in real estate. However, real estate FDI faces a three-year lock-in the investor cannot sell his stake for that period. If he wishes to repatriate the investment before the completion of three years, he will have to take permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). There are also the stipulations for development of at least 10 hectares of land, and completion of at least 50% of the scheduled construction within five years of obtaining statutory clearances, in addition to the minimum capitalisation norm. These conditions do not apply to the hospitality sector.
The proposal, however, may not go down well with the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry. In fact, the RBI wants curbs imposed on FDI in real estate and had written to the finance ministry asking it to make FIPB approval mandatory for foreign investment in the sector. At present, FDI in real estate comes through the automatic route and does not require FIPB approval. Moreover, the DIPP's move to exempt foreign investment prior to an initial public offer from the three-year lock-in has met with stiff resistance from both RBI and the finance ministry. The proposal, which was a part of an overall FDI review, was not cleared by the Cabinet.

Yatra investing in 2 Bangalore projects

2008-03-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai, March 27 Yatra Capital Ltd, a Euronext quoted company investing in Indian real estate, has committed Rs 113 crore for a mixed use development to Palladium Constructions and Rs 65 crore to Platinum Hospitality Services for a 30 per cent stake in each of these joint venture companies.
Yatra's partner in the two ventures is Phoenix Mills. Both the projects of about 3.5 million sq ft are to come up in Yeshwantpur, Bangalore.
Palladium Constructions will develop 1.9 million sq ft -1.4 million sq ft of retail space and 0.5 million sq ft of residential space. Platinum Hospitality Services will develop a 0.5 million sq ft hotel property, including serviced apartments.

Dubai-based Limitless Holdings

2008-03-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Source: The Asian Age
DUBAI-BASED LIMITLESS Holdings, part of the Dubai World group, has acquired a 50 per cent stake in DLF's ambitious Bidadi Knowledge City project in Karnataka. Limitless Holdings is an real estate developer that handles activities including feasibility studies, conceptualisation, planning, execution and property management of development projects. The project is being positioned as New Bangalore, spread over an area of 9,178 acres. It will entail an investment of over Rs 60,000 crore, the largest ever by a private sector company in the world.

Emaar bullish about Indian real estate

2008-03-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times.
DUBAI: UAE Property major Emaar Properties has said that it will reconsider its initial public offering (IPO) in India "when the time is right" though the company is bullish about the Indian real estate market. In February, Emaar MGF withdrew its IPO for lack of adequate response. The company wanted to raise around Rs 6,500 crore on the initial price band of Rs 610-690. This was twice revised to Rs 530-630 and the closing date extended to February 11 from February 6. "India will be one of our largest operations and we have long-term plans there. The economy is doing well and we see a bullish story for the next 20 to 25 years," chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar told the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company. "We would go to public at the right time. We are cash rich and we may even double our size," he was quoted as saying by the Emirates Business daily. Alabbar said the Indian and Morocco operations had contributed between Rs 1,647-2,197 million to the firm's profit and loss account in the last quarter of 2007. India has recently been ranked among the three hottest regions for property growth in the Asia-Pacific region over the next five years with Mumbai registering rental growth of more than 50 per cent over the year, according to law firm Allens Arthur Robinson. Emaar's current land bank stands at 519 million square metres, more than twelve times of the area in 2005. The fair value of the land increased by 74 per cent from Rs 747 billion in 2006 to Rs 1,296 billion by 2007 end.

How talent involves in India's growth?

2008-03-24T01:17:00.000-07:00

Source: economictimes.indiatimes
All the bad news about the meltdown in the US share markets has deflected the world’s attention from what is arguably an even more fundamental problem facing the US economy: the sharp deceleration in productivity growth since the middle of 2004. It is a stronger indicator of a slowing economy, reducing business and yes, lowering job prospects. Closer home, all of us are assured that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong. Yet, the recent fall in stock markets across the globe and the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar are events which continue the uncertainty in our minds. For India, the immediate implications of the US economy slowdown are not worrying, but this is getting organisations to look at productivity’ as the single most important determinant of long run prospects.India advantage The two fastest growing components of cost for any organisation in the country today are real estate and people. Business and HR professionals in India, more specifically for the technology and outsourcing sectors, where the nature of business is export oriented (with more than 75% of the produce regulated by the US economy), are concerned about how to manage these elements. From a salary increase standpoint the focus has already shifted from IT and outsourcing to real estate, infrastructure, telecom and retail, with real estate & infrastructure at 25%, seeing salaries rising to nearly twice as much, as compared to outsourcing at 14.1%. While salary increases are largely dictated by talent demand, supply and economic activity, Hewitt is forecasting a further, very gradual decrease in salary increases in India by 2011-12 , where the levels would range between 9-10 %. Organisations will be able to achieve this by addressing the talent/ skill gap through various factors like making training the vital constant in their growth, changing the talent model, opening up more locations for talent supply, re-engineering talent supply and focusing on productivity, quality and employee engagement. Innovation in rewards While organisations continue to hire in large numbers, they are missing out on the fact that the most effective way of addressing the looming talent situation is by increasing focus on retention . Pay for potential, deferred income plan for vital talent, performance accelerated equity, risk sharing and co-investment opportunities for top executives are just some of the new reward mechanisms that organisations are instituting to retain and engage talent.In today’s scenario of restricted resources, the focus really is on the best versus the rest. Organisations understand that the best measure of your high performance culture is your business results. While this dedicated focus through rewards and career opportunities is the right thing to do for the high performers, somewhere organisations are underestimating the strong performance being delivered, which often gets depressed by terming it average, mind you it forms over 60% of workforce in every organisation . There is a strong need to articulate an employer value proposition , which attracts talent for the most legitimate reasons and provides internal and external clarity on what can be expected. Also, somewhere HR needs to move away from the can’t do syndrome and look at talent just like customers. There is a strong need to introduce mass customisation , which will have organisations recognise unique needs across employee demographics and build reward strategies to address them.

Revamp house by spending less money

2008-03-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times.
Want to do up your house without spending big bucks? Fret not, a little bit of planning and loads of innovation can make the same articles in your house look really new, cheerful and absolutely fresh! Here are easy ways to a new looking home---
Move a little bit, here 'n' there
Start by arranging the furniture. Decide the focal point of the room. Set furniture around the focal point. That should change the look of the room. Consider the traffic patterns through your living space. Make sure all pieces of furniture are accessible and uncluttered, but be careful not to make the room appear vacant. Use angles when placing furniture. Offsquare angles make the room warmer, and gives it a casual, lived-in elegance. Sofas or other large pieces of furniture need space away from the wall. Just pull the entire piece away from the wall 3/4 either evenly or at an angle. Decorative tables don't necessarily have to go on either end of the couch or love seat. Try using just one.
Recreate from the old for a new look
Work on the foyer, the entrance of your house as it makes the first impression. Your foyer gives your guest their first, and last impression of your home. You should make it warm, inviting and cosy. Colour is one of the most important ways to create warmth. Once you've decided on a colour theme, use it like a thread that runs throughout your home. Artwork is an answer for an empty entryway . Update your old photo or painting, with a new frame or matting. If you are a collector, this area of your home is a great place to display your collectibles.
Go fabric to really work it up
Use fabric to colour tables and chairs. Fabric softens the corners and gives the room a more relaxed look. Decorating with fabric can be very expensive , and until you firmly decide on the print, colour and texture, you can use sheets. Puddle up sheets or maybe use two at angles to each other. Or tie knots in them to give them an interesting and unusual look.
Personalise the decor of your home
Mix many types of furniture within one room, and still maintain an overall look of continuity . Spruce up everything, whether an expensive new sofa, an antique chaise or a hand-medown from a family member with throws and pillows. Try a homemade afghan, a Mexican co tton weave, a chenille throw, or a sale rack goodie to achieve a soft, warm, cosy feel. Pillows are a welcome addition to any couch or love seat, adding comfort as well as beauty. At the sides of your sofas and chairs you can place a stack of books, a basket, or some personal memento.
Accessorise big time
Place lamps and other lighting fixtures wisely , to accent your favorite parts of the room. Create spaces between furniture. Link them with a coordinating area rug. Books are terrific decorating items. Place them on the mantel with candles and plants. Add pictures, things collected over your lifetime-anything that is of importance to you.

'US realty slump to turn attention towards India'

2008-03-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Rajesh Unnikrishnan
MUMBAI
CUSHMAN & Wakefield. one of the world's largest property consultancy firms, said the real estate downturn in the US could continue and that India, China and the Middle-East will become even more attractive as these markets offer huge opportunities for investment. The US-based property consultant also said that more financial institutions in the US and Europe are likely to face financial problems in the coming weeks.
In an interview with ET, John C Cushman III, chainnan of the board, Cushman & Wakefield said: "More bad news could come. We are facing new challenges everyday. Though there is a debate on whether this is a recession or not, in the coming months more bad things are waiting to happen." He said, as a consequence, global attention will be on the real estate market in India and China as these markets are offering huge investment opportunities.
"India, with a GDP growth rate of 8% compared to less than 4% GDP growth in the US, is a more promising market in the world," he said. "We have three major nodes from where our revenue originates. They are the Greater New York region, Greater Los Angles and Asia. Within Asia, India has had a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37%," Mr Cushman, whose family founded the firm, said. Cushman & Wakefield is majority owned by the Agnelli family, the owners of Fiat.
Mr Cushman said the firm was keen to carry out "transformative acquisitions" in India, but declined to provide details.
Mr Cushman said the US crisis could spill over to other European countries and London will be an immediate victim as the city has emerged as the capital of financial services during the past years. "1 feel the US financial turmoil will have an impact on European countries and London will be under enormous pressure as it is the world capital of financial services," he said. According to him, countries like Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Canada and Czech Republic presented opportunities. However, political risk in some of the former Soviet Republics were higher.
The global head of the real estate consultancy firm said that India is a very important market for the firm and it would operate in all the real estate segment in the country. "We want to extend our operations in India through both organic and inorganic routes. We are focused in the hospitality and retail segments sectors which are offering exponential growth and we want to enter into segments like house mortgage," Mr Cushman said,

'Builders to provide affordable houses soon'

2008-03-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Source: The Times of India
Mumbai: The government will soon for builders to provide affordable housing in the city, revenue minister Narayan Rane told the legislative council on Tuesday. He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by the Shiv Sena's Madhukar Sarpotdar and other leaders.
According to Rane, in the new housing policy the government will make it compulsory for all builders to keep 30% space for small flats ranging from 400 sq ft to 600 sq ft. Admitting that homes in the city have become very expensive and it was reflected in the increasing ready reckoner rates, the minister accused builders of inflating rates so that buyers could get higher loans from housing finance companies. Sarpotdar and other MLCs said stamp duty had also increased leading to further rise in prices of flats. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has already proposed the construction of homes for the middle and lower-income groups. This, it proposed to do by implementing SRA projects on its plots instead of letting builders develop them. Chief minister Vilasrao Desh-mukh has endorsed this proposal mooted by MHADA vice-president and CEO Dr T Chandrashekar.

Office-space demand adds to home woes

2008-03-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Source: DNA
Residential sales have declined in major cities, but prices are not falling yet
Pooja Sarkar & Vivek Seal.
Mumbai/New Delhi
There is a slowdown in the sales of residential projects. But the house-hunter is still cribbing.
His complaint is that the dip in sales is not reflecting in prices.
The villain here's the office-space segment. Surging prices in this segment is putting the real-estate developer under no pressure to change the pricing matrix in the residential segment.
Shailesh Kanani, research analyst, Angel Broking, acknowledges that sales in residential projects are going down.
"There's definitely a fall in residential sales. It has gone down 60-70% in Mumbai," he said.
In Delhi, it has fallen by 50-70% on a year-on-year basis. Sales are also declining in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore, but to a lower extent, two analysts told DNA Money.
But real-estate developers are not worried.
Says Amitabh Bhattacharya, senior vice-president, Omaxe Ltd: "Prices in the commercial space have gone up by 5-7% over the past 4-5 months. And it's expected to increase by at least 10% in the near future."
Who or what then are the drivers here?
According to Mayur Shah, managing director, Marathon Group, "A-class commercial properties are in demand from the banking and financial sectors. They are setting up offices aggressively Also, there are nearly 500 foreign companies, whose names we have not heard earlier, setting up offices."
Pujit Aggarwal, MD, Orbit Corp, presents another view.
"Whatever commercial premises are available are under construction and will get ready only in about 18-24 months. Corporates that are expanding can't afford to wait and are willing to pay the premium for good commercial buildings." India's No 1 real-estate company by market capitalisation, DLF Ltd, is upbeat about the demand in the office space.
So is Parsvnath Developers which has been trying to get 40,000 -50,000 sq ft of office space in Con-naught Place, Delh's commercial hub, though it has not been able to get any "In Connaught Place, office property is not available for any price. Rentals there have increased to Rs 400-500 per sq ft from Rs 100 per sq ft a year ago," chairman Pradeep Jain said.
In Gurgaon, office space rentals have tripled from Rs 30 per sq ft to Rs 80-100 per sq ft over the last three years.
He said that more than 100 million sq ft of office space is coming up in Noida in 3-4 years, with current rentals of about Rs 40-50 per sq ft. No wonder then that in Mumbai, places like Lower Parel, Worli and Mumbai are emerging as the new favourites, apart from the traditional ones like Nariman Point.
According to Abhishek Kiran Gupta, head of research, India, Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj, the headline rental, or the highest value of the deal, at Nariman Point is Rs 500-550 per sq ft. The average rental here is Rs 400-450 per sq ft.
Subramaniam Yadav, research analyst, Prabhudas Liladher Pvt Ltd, said, "For office spaces, places like Nariman Point have not seen any new construction but they are fully equipped and the new office place is surely Worli. I rate it at the highest."
Part of the crunch, says Jain of Parsvnath Developers, is because of troubles in project execution.
"Execution is a big concern as lots of smaller players enter into business and are not able to deliver," he said.

Bolt from blue book: New rules to arm landlords

2008-03-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economic Times
Land Owners To Be Authorised To Raise Rent At Regular Intervals; Forceful Occupation & Sub-Letting Not To Be Allowed
Rajat Guha
NEW DELHI
THE Centre is planning to amend the archaic rent control rules in a way the property owners also have a reson to smile. In the new revised rent control ACT, the land owners would be authorised to increase rent at certain intervals. A forceful occupation of the property will not be allowed.
Tenants who have been sub-letting the property also will not be allowed to do so under the new law. Urban development minister Jaipal Reddy recently said the ministry would soon bring out a new regulation.
"The rent control laws are very tricky and sensitive issues. They have to be sensibly dealt with. We are finalising the modalities for the revised law. for which we are in active dis-cussions with all concerned parties," a source in the Nirman Bhawan said.
According to sources, the new revised Rent Control Bill is likely to be tabled in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The urban development ministry has written to the governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi urging them to standardise their archaic rent control laws as per the new model. These five states are the only ones with a Rent Control Act.
The ministry will first implement the rent control Act in Delhi. The model would then be replicated in other states. However, sources said that no price bands for rent would be fixed. "It would be for states to decide as land is a state subject," a source said. Although real estate is a state subject, the urban development ministry regulates property-related issues for New Delhi as formal statehood has not yet been granted to it.
According to experts, rent control laws are responsible for degeneration of the quality of life in civic habitations. When it becomes difficult to remove a tenant paying very low rent, landlords stop taking interest in maintaining the property. The tenants, too, don't spend money on maintenance as they do not own it. The assets, therefore, deteriorate.
States, too, lose substantially in the form of low collection of taxes from rental income. A recent National Real Estate Development Council (Nared-co) survey has estimated that at least Rs 2,400 crore annually is lost in Delhi alone due to low value of taxes on rented properties. This happens since the assessments are made on the rental values which are abnormally low, remaining unchanged at rates fixed half a century ago, thanks to the Rent Control Act.
Now Capital's water blues have started dogging the prospects of: Commonwealth Games also. As Delhi feels the chinks of absense of any water body with rampant deterioration of Yamuna over the years, the government is likely to host the water events for CW10 in Bhopal. Talks are on and the government is mulling various options to hold activities such as snorkeling, canoeing and boating in Bhopal's famous water bodies, bada and chhota taal. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has admitted that the government is considered many sites for water sports outside Delhi.

Spirituality drives India's realty industry

2008-03-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times
Spirituality may seek to wean people away from material desires but it has emerged as a major factor driving India's $15 billion realty industry that is growing at 35 percent per annum, say industry experts.Religious tourism is pushing the realty industry's growth in destinations like Vrindavan, Mathura, Haridwar, Ajmer, Amritsar, Tirupati and Nasik - cities on the fast track and emerging hot spots for real estate developers."Religious towns have good growth prospects. They are witnessing more than 45 percent annual rise in property prices against the average 25-35 percent in Tier II cities," says Vipin Agarwal, executive director, Omaxe Developers.
Spirituality may seek to wean people away from material desires but it has emerged as a major factor driving India's $15 billion realty industry that is growing at 35 percent per annum, say industry experts.Religious tourism is pushing the realty industry's growth in destinations like Vrindavan, Mathura, Haridwar, Ajmer, Amritsar, Tirupati and Nasik - cities on the fast track and emerging hot spots for real estate developers."Religious towns have good growth prospects. They are witnessing more than 45 percent annual rise in property prices against the average 25-35 percent in Tier II cities," says Vipin Agarwal, executive director, Omaxe Developers.
Most of these religious tourism-motivated townships also blend spiritual living with features like golf courses, billiard rooms, tennis courts, spas, clubs and swimming pools, with large expanses of greenery thrown in."Being associated with Krishna, Vrindavan attracts many non-resident Indians and foreigners, apart from the usual visitors", says Sumit Walia, general manager of Sree Developers, a Mathura-based real estate developer."There is a huge demand for good housing from foreigners. Many individuals with high net worth are also investing in these places as post- retirement options and their second weekend homes," he says.
"There is a good pool of investors in Mathura from Delhi and Gurgaon, who drive here over weekends to get a taste of spirituality, adds Madhur Mittal, managing director of Triveni Infrastructure."Certainly demand for quality housing is spiralling."It is not the local developers alone who are reaping profits. Even Big players like API, Omaxe, Unitech and Sahara group are coming up with their projects in these cities.Omaxe, for instance, has lined up a 440-acre integrated township with more than 2,000 residential units on the Jaipur-Ajmer Expressway to tap visitors to the famous Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.
Similarly, Ansal-API has forayed into this market with two townships with their Sushant City brand - one in Ajmer spread over 125 acres of land and the other at Kurukshetra over 200 acres."Ajmer is a major spiritual and religious centre given the presence of the Pushkar temple dedicated to Lord Brahma and the dargah of Ajmer Sharif. It makes sense to invest here," says Kunal Bannerjee, vice president of Ansal-API.That is the reason property prices in cities and towns like Amritsar and Ajmer have gone up by five times in the past two years and more such townships are in the offing.
Omaxe has plans in Varanasi, Allahabad, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Vrindavan, Tirupati and Puri and Triveni Infrastructure is looking at the temple town of Haridwar, Shirdi, the abode of Sai Baba, and Tirupati, home to Lord Venkateswara.Unitech and Sahara also have similar plans for Varanasi, with the former already announcing a 1,500-acre integrated township there.Some of these places, notably Haridwar and Rishikesh, because of the weather and serene surroundings, have also emerged as major centres for yoga, ayurveda, spas and inner healing centres. But that is another story.

SEBI says REITs to come after currency futures

2008-03-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Source: Economic Times
SINGAPORE: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said on Monday that it was looking at the introduction of real estate investment trusts (REITs), but this will come only after other financial market liberalisation moves. "We have received comments from market players. I would say that in the timetable, that will be later than the stock lending scheme and currency futures," the stock market regulator's chairman C B Bhave told an investment conference in Singapore via teleconference. SEBI in December released draft guidelines on setting up REITs in India, which would pave the way for wider participation by retail investors in the country's booming real estate sector. Regulators are also mulling over the introduction of currency futures to help investors hedge foreign exchange risks, and a new system for the borrowing and lending of securities.

Mega land deal: BPTP bags 95 acres in Noida for Rs 5,006 cr

2008-03-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu Business Line
To develop business district; payment to be made over 8 years
New Delhi, March 11 In what is being billed as one of the largest land deals in the country, real estate company BPTP Group on Tuesday snapped up 95 acres of prime commercial land at Noida for Rs 5,006 crore. The land was auctioned by the Noida Authority.
BPTP, which outbid three well-known developers DLF, Omaxe, and Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, to clinch the land along the Noida and Greater Noida expressway, plans to build a commercial destination that will have offices, hotel and retail space. BPTP quoted Rs 1.30 lakh per sq. m against the reserve price of Rs 77,000 per sqm.
"We are very excited. This is an ambitious project. India lacks large, planned commercial district with modern concepts and quality facilities. Delhi does not have a proper business district. We will make this commercial complex a world-class destination," Mr Kabul Chawla, Managing Director and promoter of BPTP Ltd, said.
UPFRONT PAYMENT
He said that the company will look at funding the deal through internal accruals (reserves and receivables) and debt. Against the total amount, the company will have to pay about 25 per cent immediately (Rs 1,200 crore), and the balance needs to be paid over the next eight years. "For the upfront payment, as much as 80 per cent can be funded through our internal accruals and the balance will be debt," he said, projecting BPTP's net profit for the year ending March 2008 at over Rs 300 crore against a topline of Rs 1,250 crore.
The company - which has ongoing projects in Farida-bad, Gurgaon, Noida and Hyderabad - will also to have shell out 11 per cent towards lease rental and 8 per cent towards stamp duty.
OPEN TO PARTNERSHIP
Besides the land, the construction cost is estimated to be around Rs 3,000 crore. "We are open to strategic partnership, but have no plans at present," he said. He said the project will be completed in five years, with the first phase to come up in two years. "The revenue will start to accrue in 6-9 months as we start booking space," he added.
Today's land deal is being touted as the largest realty deal by its sheer overall value. Earlier, in 2006, Unitech outbid India's largest real estate company DLF to bag the 340-acre city development contract in Noida for Rs 1,583 crore. Other landmark deals include DLF buying prime Swatantra Bharat Mills land in Delhi from DSCL for Rs 1,675 crore in 2007; Unitech bagging 1,750-acre plot in Vishakhapatnam for Rs 3,228 crore in 2007; sale by Mum-bai Metropolitan Region Development Authority of nearly 75,350 sq. m. of land in Bandra-Kurla Complex for a total of Rs 2,798 crore in 2007. City-based developer Wadhwa Builders had paid Rs 5.04 lakh per sq. m. for the 16,500 sq. m. plot auctioned by MMRDA, marking the lar-gest-ever deal on the basis of the value per sq. m. Wadhwa paid Rs 831 crore.

Cool and green in an architectural desert

2008-03-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Source: Business Standard
CITIES Property developers are going for eco-friendly buildings that help slash energy costs
REUTERS
I n a sizzling property market, architect Manit Rastogi at MD Morphogenesis has created some of India's coolest buildings, using recycled water, wells, wind tunnels and sun screens to chill work places and slash energy costs.
Thanks to his designs, students in a Jaipur fashion school mill around classrooms cooled to around 25 degrees Celsius (77 F) without air conditioners, while the desert bakes at nearly double that temperature outside. And guests at the Swab-humi Hotel in Kolkata feel a breeze as they step out of a building resembling sliced mushrooms fused together, and inspired by the way trees trap wind. But although developers and investors arc coming under the environmental spotlight because buildings account for half the world's carbon dioxide emissions, Rastogi says few in India are going green.
"In India s booming real estate market, there are not enough professionals. And because mediocrity sells, it's easier to do that," Rastogi said in an interview in Hong Kong.
"Architects are just doing what developers want. If you start taking them down the sustainable route, people start getting nervous." he said. 'They see it as wasted expense."
Building sites have churned up India's dusty cities since 2005, when rules on inward investment in construction were eased, at more than 8 per cent annually has drawn over $ 12 billion from global property investors, including funds run by Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, and enriched Indian developers such as DLF Ltd. Morphogenesis, co-founded by Rastogi a decade ago "in a garage", has grown into a conglomerate of 100 architects and interior designers. With land prices soaring, it sells its designs as cost-saving, rather than green.
"When they move away from the standard box, we have to tell them it's more efficient," Rastogi said. "Many say fine, you've convinced us, but how do we convince the market?' The sales pitch has worked on auditors Ernst and Young. Morphogenesis designed an office block for the company in the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, with a ship's hull design cutting direct sunlight on the sides of the eight-storey glass building.
Computers, gauging temperature and the presence staff, control air conditioning, and natural light and ventilation dominate. The block costs about 20 per cent less to build than a conventional office and saves about a quarter of running costs.
Studies show going green can pay off quickly. Spending $264,000 on energy-saving for a 30.000 sq m Sydney office block worth $ 145 million would be paid back in cost savings in three years, say consultants Jones Lang LaSalle.
Some Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and India have introduced green building ratings along the lines of systems operating in Britain and the United States, but they are catching on slowly. According to a Jones Lang LaSalle survey of 414 companies, 12 per cent in Asia said they were willing to pay premiums of over 10 per cent for "sustainable" buildings, compared to 3 per cent in North America and Europe.

Indiabulls offer for stake in Pyramyd retail today

2008-03-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Source: The Free Press Journal

MUMBAI: Indiabulls Wholesale Services today said its open offer for acquiring 20 per cent stake in Piramyd Retail will start from tomorrow. Indiabulls Real Estate, a person acting in concert to the acquirer, today informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its open offer for the acquisition of 40.32 lakh equity shares of Piramyd Retail would now start on March 12 instead of February 2 as announced earlier. The offer would now close on March 31, as per the revised schedule instead of Feb 21, it said. The company had announced the open offer on Dec 9 last year.