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

Modi's win expected to double institutional investments in real estate to 10 billion dollars in 2019 Source:  Vandana Ramnani  Expressing confidence in the government's real estate initiatives, the sector has hailed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's victory in the 2019 General Elections as a vote for development. Citing initiatives such as GST, RERA and the Affordable Housing for All by 2022 scheme, the sector expects institutional investments in the sector to double to $10 billion in 2019. The impact of reforms has been reflected in the number of investments received by the real estate sector, as of the total institutional investments of $30 billion during 2009-2018, $20 billion was invested in 2014-2018. During the same period, the share of foreign investments more than doubled to 70 percent in 2018 from 31 percent in 2009. "We are confident that institutional investments in 2019 will nearly double to $10 billion as compared to 2018,...

Introduction The real estate sector is one of the most globally recognized sectors. In India, real estate is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade. The real estate sector comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. The growth of this sector is well complemented by the growth of the corporate environment and the demand for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations. The construction industry ranks third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct, indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the economy. It is also expected that this sector will incur more non-resident Indian (NRI) investments in both the short term and the long term. Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad,  Pune , Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun. India's rank in the Global House Price Index has jumped 13* spots to reach ...

The  metro cities in India  are undergoing massive construction boom, with hundreds of high-rises and more than 100 super tall skyscrapers under construction. Mumbai has more than 4000 high-rise buildings and has the 6th highest number of skyscrapers in the world. Tall buildings and monumental landmarks determine how urbanized a country is. Here are 10 of the tallest buildings in India that serve as landmark to the respective cities. 1) Omkar 1973, Mumbai Rising majestically above the city and the Arabian Sea, Omkar 1973 is set to have three high rise towers after its completion. For now Tower A & B are complete and stand tall at 76-storey and 75-storey, respectively. There are 400-plus sky bungalows, ranging from 2,500 sq. ft. to 18,200 sq. ft. area in this project. It has been constructed over a height of over 450 meters. 2) Palais Royale, Mumbai A sky scrapper with 88 floors is located in Lower Parel of Mumbai; its height is 320 m. The luxury building was de...

Selling your property can be taxing. However, you can now skirt the Capital Gain Tax (CGT) and profit from your property decision. Here’s how... With the festive season having commenced for the sector, realty transactions are taking place at a brisk pace. Hence, if you are looking to buy another apartment by selling your existing property, bear in mind: you will have to pay the Capital Gain Tax (CGT) on it as well. After all, every property transaction is scrutinised by the tax department. WHAT IS CAPITAL GAIN? Capital gain is of two types: Short Term Capital Gain (STCG) and Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG). So, if you have bought property and you sell it in less than two years (24 months) of the purchase date, your STCG is calculated by deducting the cost of acquisition, including the money spent on renovating the property, and the transfer cost (from the sale price). “STCG is taxed as per your normal income tax slab of the relevant year of sale,” informs Nagesh Sharma, foun...

The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum's (USISPF) President Mukesh Aghi said that the companies are talking to them about how to set up an alternative to China by investing in India.    Washington:  About 200 American companies are seeking to move their manufacturing base from China to India post the general elections, a top US-based advocacy group has said, observing that there is a fantastic opportunity with firms looking at alternatives to the Communist giant. The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum's (USISPF) President Mukesh Aghi said that the companies are talking to them about how to set up an alternative to China by investing in India. Aghi said that USISPF's recommendation to the new government would be to accelerate the reforms and bring transparency in the decision-making process. ''I think that's critical. We would advise to bring more transparency in the process and to make it more consultative because in the last 12 to 18 mo...

Niranjan Hiranandani New Delhi REIT is a company that owns, operates or finances income-producing real estate. Commercial real estate in India has a new hope on the horizon after seeing the success of it first real estate investment trust (REIT). The Embassy Office Parks REIT, a joint venture between the Bangalore-based property developer and private equity firm Blackstone was oversubscribed and successfully raised Rs 4,750 crore from the primary market last week and has been listed finally.  One can say that this is an opportune time for REITs to make a grand entry in India. Thanks to the aggressive plans of businesses - both, local and global - commercial real estate in India is doing very well right now. Done correctly, it may prove to be an answer to the liquidity crunch that has been crushing the sector for the past years. REIT is a company that owns, operates or finances income-producing real estate. Modeled after mutual funds, REITs provide all investors the ch...

Pune: Diego Graffi, the managing director and CEO of Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd, has been living in the city for two years and as much as he has come to embrace it, he says it has embraced him as well. The Italian loves everything about Pune except that he feels a dedicated airport, even if only for better domestic connectivity, will serve the city well. “When we have to go to another city for meetings, we have to plan a day in advance or come back a day later because of the restricted flight timings in Pune. Even for leisure trips to places such as Goa, a weekend getaway spills over to a day more.” For now, much of his flight trips happen from Mumbai. He rues the long travel to and from the Mumbai airport. Graffi moved to Pune two years ago and chose to stay in an apartment complex in the Magarpatta township for its proximity to his workplace and also because of easy access to all modern amenities. His acceptance of the city and country is evident in the Hindi ringtone t...

Mumbai: The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)’s Mumbai bench has held that the investment-linked capital gains tax exemption, available on purchase of a new house, cannot be denied to a taxpayer merely for not investing the capital gain proceeds. The I-T officer had denied the tax benefit as the investment made towards purchase of the new house “was not out of the taxpayer’s own funds”. The commission (appeals) agreed with this stand. The taxpayer thereafter approached the ITAT, which passed an order in her favour. Capital gains are taxable under the I-T Act. If a taxpayer makes a profit on the sale of a residential house held for at least two years, then such profit is treated as a longterm capital gain (LTCG). This gain is taxable at 20% with an adjustment for inflation, referred to as indexation benefit. Ishita Sengupta, tax partner, PwC India, says: “This beneficial order will help taxpayers as practically there could be time gaps in real estate deals between the sale ...

GST rate on affordable housing projects too has been lowered from an effective 8% to 1% Now, any house built on an area of 60 square metres or less in metros will now be categorised as affordable housing New Delhi:  Union and state governments on Sunday decided to lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) on under construction housing properties to 5% from an effective 12% in a pro-consumer decision ahead of national polls due by April-May. GST rate on affordable housing projects too has been lowered from an effective 8% to 1%. Under-construction properties priced upto Rs. 45 lakh will qualify as affordable housing projects for the purpose of GST relief in both metro cities as well as non-metro cities, finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters. "We wanted to give a boost to the real estate sector as well as give relief to the middle class, neo-middle class and the aspirational middle class class. This will come into effect 1 April 2019," said Jaitley. A...

The latest IMF growth forecast declares India as the fastest growing major economy, ahead of China. India’s GDP is set to accelerate after the transitory shocks of demonetization and GST. As the service sector is one of the primary drivers of this growth, urban commercial centers will see the concentrated effects of this accelerated GDP. Commercial hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune , Mumbai, and Delhi NCR are at the heart of the upcoming boom, catering to demand across a range of sectors. Office space vacancy is at an all-time low in many of these cities, between 3-7%, sparking a rush for space that is expected to cross 700 million sq ft of absorption in Grade-A office space by 2022. With its higher capital intensity, commercial property has emerged as one of the most lucrative investment destinations, offering opportunities to profit from sectors like co-working spaces, the fastest growing asset class within real estate.

Capital Gain Bonds: Long-term capital gain is the gain that is derived out of a sale of an asset that has been held for more than 2 years in case of immovable property and 3 years in case of debt funds or jewelry. You can invest the gain in certain specified bonds to claim tax exemption within 6 months of the date of sale of the asset. Save tax on long-term capital gains by investing in 54EC bonds such as REC Capital Gain Bonds, NHAI Capital Gain Bonds, IRFC Capital Gain Bonds & PFC Capital Gain Bonds respectively. Budget 2018 has proposed to amend the 54EC section of the Income Tax Act wherein capital gains arising only from the sale of assets such as land or building or both will be considered for tax exemption. It has also proposed to increase the lock-in period to 5 years from 3 years. This amendment will take effect from 1 st  April 2018. Key Features of Capital Gain Bonds specified under Section 54EC: 1. Non transferable and non negotiable bonds 2. No TDS ...