Currently In India, small real estate investors can hold multiple properties, but banks will generally not fund beyond a second home loan. That does not mean they cannot invest beyond that from their personal accruals. They certainly have the option of investing in rent-generating assets, which can fetch very decent returns if they have been purchased wisely.

Despite the present limitations for small investors, can give the buyer protection against inflation. Depending upon various economic factors, a property owner can increase rent in times of high inflation. Also, real estate sector in Delhi NCR and other metro cities ie Mumbai , Chandigarh , Chennai , Lucknow , Dehradun etc is always a good investment option because of the possibility of capital appreciation. Of course, an individual must decide on the basis of his own income, existing financial health and risk appetite how much he should allocate for real estate.

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After realtors of Delhi , Noida , Gurgaon and other cities focused on the affordable housing to cater middle class segment’s demand remained reasonable when market faces acute recession two years ago, now some of major realtors from Delhi , Noida ,Mumbai , Gurgaon , Dehradun etc is all set to launching luxury homes as the segment is eagerly shows an upswing in demand. Sensing this turnaround, a host of property developers including DLF, Unitech, Emaar MGF and Ansal API are gearing up to launch plush housing projects, where a single unit costs upwards of Rs 2 crore, over the next six months.

The country’s second-largest realtor, which had focused on affordable housing space, too plans to launch a few luxury projects to target high-end home buyers. Unitech spokesperson said it has a few projects in the works in the luxury housing segment located in the national capital region. Luxury homes are targeted towards high net worth individuals and the price range of such apartments varies from city to city. While in metros such as Mumbai and Delhi, the cost of such high-end houses can begin from Rs 2 crore, in tier-II cities they can be around Rs 1 crore and above.

Builders in this category focus on fully-embellished apartments, which can be further customised to the individual buyer’s preferences. Pranav Ansal-led Ansal API plans to launch a mix of high-end villas and apartments in Lucknow and NCR by the end of 2010. While they are coming up with a golf course property in the price range of Rs 3-7 crore in Lucknow, in Gurgaon they are launching villas in Esencia township in the bracket of Rs 6-7 crore.

One of the biggest realtor DLF recently sold super luxury flats in the price range worth Rs 4 crore each in central Delhi. Besides, it also launched at least three high-end projects in Gurgaon including Park Place and Golf Links, which too were reportedly sold off within days of launch.

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The recent imposition of service tax on residential properties will have only a minimal impact on the demand for residential properties in the real estate sector as most buyers in the market are end-users than investors. This service tax of 10.3 per cent on 25 per cent of the home value, which will translate into a close to 2.6 per cent of the home value on projects under construction, was proposed in the Union Budget of 2010-11. This proposed service tax has been effective since last Thursday and is expected to increase property prices in the near future.

After the lull in the residential demand in 2008-09 due to the recession, there has been a revival of demand in the residential space with better hiring prospects and higher disposable incomes, he added. He, however, said that the rise of close to 2.6 per cent in property prices were expected to be passed on to consumers as most developers were already dealing with price rises of raw materials like cement and steel in recent times.

“The imposition of a service tax may increase the price to some extent. However, with the economy showing great momentum and improved business and job scenario, the present fiscal will be much better than the previous one,” J C Sharma, managing director of Sobha Developers, said.

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The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India ( CREDAI ) has expressed reservations about the proposed Model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act in its present form, saying it could lead to an escalation of prices of housing stock in the country by Rs 300 per sq ft. The bill would be placed before Parliament soon.

According to CREDAI vice president Prakash Challa “ the bill would lead to multiplicity of procedures, which would result in enormous delay in starting residential projects in all over India specially in Delhi and NCR including Noida , Gurgaon , Ghaziabad , Faridabad , Greater Noida etc , leave alone completing them. Even after the builder obtains all statutory approvals from the existing regulatory agencies like the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, Noida Development Authority etc the Directorate of Town and Country Planning and the environmental department (for big projects), the proposed bill says the builder will have to get clearance from a new regulatory authority. It would only delay works.”

CREDAI Tamil Nadu president T Chitty Babu said, “As a case study, if we look at a project spread over three years, which costs Rs 2000 per sq ft for construction and Rs 1000 per sq ft towards land cost and other approvals, the delay in commencement of construction would increase the cost by Rs 38 per sq ft, necessity to provide a bank guarantee of five per cent of the project cost would add Rs 40 per sq ft and increase in cost on account of payment of additional stamp duty (The buyer ends up paying two registration fees as per the new bill) at the time of booking an apartment is Rs 108. “

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BPTP Ltd. launches project named “BPTP Spacio” in your city which is located at Sector -37 D, Gurgaon. They are providing the Residential Apartments according to your comfort. BPTP offer two and three bedroom hall kitchen Apartments along with various amenities such as covered & open parking and club membership.
The Basic Sale Price according to the type of booking are:-
·    The Basic Sale Price for Two or Three Bedroom Hall Kitchen Apartment is Rs.2650 per Sq. Ft..
·    The Basic Sale Price for Three Bedroom Hall Kitchen Apartment plus One Study Room plus Servant Room is Rs.2650 per Sq. Ft..
Other features of Residential Apartment are listed below:
·    The Walls of Living cum dining room, servant’s room and Bedrooms are painted with Oil Bound Distempers with pleasing shades.
·    There will be 100% power back-up.
·    BPTP Spacio Nestled between NH 8 and proposed 150 meter Dwarka super expressway.
·    The Dado of toilet made up of Selected Ceramic Tiles. Toilet contains the Granite or Marble Counter, White Sanitary Fixtures and Contemporary Styled CP Fittings.
·    Lift Lobbies are plastered and painted with Selected Marbles or Granite Cladding and Acrylic Emulsion Paint.
·    Flooring of living cum dining room is done by vitrified tiles.
·    Flooring of Bedrooms, Servant’s Room, Kitchen, Balconies and Terrace on Roof is done by Ceramic Tiles or Anti Skid Ceramic Tiles.
·    All Windows of all rooms are coated with Anodized Aluminum Glazing Powder.
·    All Doors are made up of Seasoned Hardwood Frames With Painted board Shutters.
·    Kitchen contains a Granite Counter with Single Bowl Stainless Steel Sink and Drain Board.
·    Wiring of all rooms is done with Conduit Copper Wires for all lights and power points.
At the time of Booking of Apartments they will offer two payment plan i.e.
·    Construction Linked Installment Plan:- At the time of booking and On or Before 45 days of booking you have to pay 10 percent of Basic Sale Price. On the casting of floors you have to pay 7.5 percent of Sale Price plus other charges.
·    Down Payment Plan :- At the time of booking you have to pay 10 percent of Basic Sale Price and within the 45 days of booking you have to pay 85 percent of Basic Sale Price plus 100 percent of Additional charges.
The Preferential Location charges for the Residential Apartments, Gurgaon starts from Rs. 150 per Sq. Ft. for the Ground Floor to the extent of Rs. 75 per Sq. Ft. for the Fourth Floor and Rs. 100/- per sq. Ft. for Park Facing to Rs. 150/- per sq. ft. for Corner plus Club/Park Facing. Other Charges include Reserved Car Parking, Club Membership, Interest Fee Maintenance Security, Fix fitting & Power Backup and Development Charges.
For more queries regarding the project please contact 01142470622, 9810445860 and submit Project inquiry form and for booking please send your application forms at info@zameen-zaidad.com and for more information visit www.zameen-zaidad.com.

Anant Raj Industries Ltd. launches project named “Madelia” in your city which is located at Maneser. They are providing the Residential Apartments according to your comfort. Anant Raj offer two, three and four bedroom Apartments along with various amenities such as covered & open parking and club membership.
They are providing five types of Apartments:-
·    Two or Three or Four Bedrooms including Master Bedroom plus Living and Dining Room plus Kitchen plus Balcony plus Toilets.
·    Three Bedrooms including Master Bedroom plus Study Room plus Living and Dining Room plus Kitchen plus Balcony.
·    Penthouse Apartments with Three or Four Bedrooms, Hall and Kitchen.
·    Duplex Apartments with Three or Four Bedrooms, Hall and Kitchen.
They offer special Prices according to the type of booking:-
·    The Basic Sale Price for Two Bedroom Hall Kitchen Apartment is Rs.2700 per Sq. Ft..
·    The Basic Sale Price for Three Bedroom Hall Kitchen Apartment is Rs.2600 per Sq. Ft..
·    The Basic Sale Price for Three Bedroom Hall Kitchen Apartment plus One Study Room is Rs.2500 per Sq. Ft..
·    The Basic Sale Price for Four Bedroom Hall Kitchen or Penthouse or Duplex Apartment is Rs.2500 per Sq. Ft..
At the time of Booking of Apartments they will offer only one payment plan i.e.
·    At the time of booking of the Floor you have to pay Rs. 2 Lakhs and within 30 days of booking you have to pay 10 percent of Basic Sale Price less Booking Amount and on the casting of floors you have to pay 7.5 percent of Sale Price plus other charges. On handover of possession you have to pay 5 percent of Sales Price plus Interest Fee Maintenance Service plus Club Membership.
The Preferential Location charges for the Residential Apartments, Maneser starts from Rs. 150 per Sq. Ft. for the First Floor to the extent of Rs. 50 per Sq. Ft. for the Fourth Floor and Rs. 50/- per sq. Ft. for Green or Pool Facing. Other Charges include Open and Covered car parking, Club Membership, Interest Fee Maintenance Service and External or Internal Development Charges.
For more queries regarding the project please contact 01142470622, 9810445860 and submit Project inquiry form and for booking please send your application forms at info@zameen-zaidad.com and for more information visit www.zameen-zaidad.com.

MUMBAI
A premium residential apartment located in Central Mumbai was purchased in a primary sale at a total cost of Rs 14,00,00,000. The 4-bedroom unit is spread across an area of approximately 4,000 sq ft and commanded an average capital value of Rs 35,000 per sq ft, which is at par with the range of Rs 34,000-55,000 per sq ft prevalent in the location. The apartment comes with four dedicated car parking lots. The apartment is situated on a higher floor at a residential project located in Mahalaxmi. The project boasts of numerous value-added amenities like club house, landscaped garden and walkways, barbeque location and an amphitheatre, in addition to three swimming pools for the residents. Central Mumbai has been witnessing many premium developments as residential demand in the location from end-users as well as investors is high. The location is situated at a comfortable distance from major business districts of Nariman Point and Bandra-Kurla Complex, while Central Mumbai itself is developing into an office location. It has remained steady in terms of capital values for high-end property and is expected to remain stable in short to medium term.
BANGALORE
A high-end residential apartment admeasuring 2,500 sq ft was sold for a total value of Rs 1,50,00,000 in a premium residential complex located near Hebbal Lake. The 3-bedroom apartment fetched approximately Rs 6,000 per sq ft which is in line with the values prevalent (Rs 6000-13,000 per sq ft) in the location. This apartment, which is part of a premium residential development, offers to its customers a wide variety of services, including club house and sports facilities such as squash, badminton and a swimming pool. Hebbal is one of Bangalore’s rapidly expanding residential markets. While the area is situated in the North, the location enjoys connectivity through the ORR and other arterial roads into the city and to the major commercial and retail destinations across the city. The residential market had registered a considerable correction in its capital values of approximately 32% in 2009. However, it has seen some appreciation in the past quarter and is expected to remain steady in the short-tomedium term.
KOLKATA
An apartment, located on EM Bypass and admeasuring 2,393 sq ft was sold at a total cost of Rs 1,04,98,460 (Rs 4,220 per sq ft). This is one of the city’s upcoming residential locations with many mid- and high-end residential units, which have been witnessing some active end-user demand, post the recent economic slowdown. The location enjoys proximity to the established CBD and SCBD and to the new IT hubs of Salt Lake and New Town Rajarhat, thus making it an ideal location for residential development. After having experienced a slowdown, the location has started to see some revival and a resultant increase in capital values of approximately 8% over the previous quarter and is expected to remain stable with an upward bias in shortto-medium term.
    Courtesy:- ET  dt:- 09-April-2010

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 Madurai: The Corporation of Madurai (CoM) is undertaking construction of toll roads through PPP to decongest the city. It has constructed a 27km, two-lane Inner Ring Road (MIRR) between Kanyakumari Road and Melur road under the scheme. Infrastructure upgrade, such as robust egovernance and proactive urban governance, has eased approval timelines and increased operational efficiency. City suburbs are being planned through participatory town planning schemes (TPS). Various IT spaces, such as Tidel Park, IT Park and software city, are planned by the state government, and are expected to augment real estate development across the city.

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Kochi: The key infrastructure drivers include the Kochi Port, which is set for an expansion with various green field infrastructure projects, including the Vallarpadom International Container Transshipment Terminal. The Kochi international airport was the first Indian airport to operate on a PPP model with multiple stakeholders such as the government, airline operators, financial institutions and non-resident Indians (NRIs). "Aerotropolis" is an airport based industrial park being developed by the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). The project is spread over 450 acres of land under the ownership of CIAL.

The focus on developing Kochi as a centre for information technology has led to the development of the Thrikkakara-Kakkanad belt. The "Smart City" project at an investment of Rs17 billion estimated to create 90,000 IT jobs has been on the horizon since 2007.

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While a service tax on commercial property seeks to introduce greater transparency in the transactions involved, the immediate downside is also quite apparent, says Sanjay Dutt

 

Budget 2010 intends to bring all lease agreements pertaining to commercial property, including offices, business centers, shop and malls, cold storage facilities and warehouses as well as all other premises used for business purposes under the purview of service tax. The benefits of the stay that the Delhi High Court had placed on service tax collections with regards to the renting out of commercial premises herewith stands revoked. While this is certainly a step towards introducing greater transparency into the transactions involved, the immediate downside is also quite apparent. Tenants calculate effective rent per month per square foot on carpet area.
Landlords calculate their net earnings after paying all taxes and other payables.
Any additional layer of cost, such as service tax, will have an impact. In a buyer's market, landlords will end up taking the hit -in a seller's market, it is the tenant who is impacted. The commercial real estate market is definitely a buyer's market. Either way, it becomes one of the items of negotiation of rent. In short, this is definitely going to increase cost for owners as well as tenants.

Secondly, it is in overall terms not good for the industry as there are already very unpredictable items of cost such property tax, which continues to increase, and any increase of cost will affect owners' net earnings.
Investors will now be more careful of investing in commercial assets, especially income generating assets, since purchasing such properties on a fixed return basis will now yield significantly lower returns. Where an agreement already exists between tenants and landlord and no provision are made for such tax-related escalations, it will lead to increased litigation and need for arbitration.

With the immediate impact on tenants, landlords and investors beyond dispute, there will be no serious long term repercussions. Tenants have, by now, factored in the service tax components into their expected capital outlay.
With the business climate once again turning positive, they will tend to look beyond this additional expense and towards the benefits of doing business from suitable located and enabled office premises.

We are once again witnessing a steady increase in demand for quality office spaces by financial institutions and even IT/ITES. The short-term discomfort brought about by the more broad-based enforcement of service tax will be offset by the strong growth fundamentals in Indian commercial real estate sector, which will soon absorb this relatively minor setback.
The author is CEO business, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM)

Courtesy:HT Estates dt:06-March-2010

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After many months in the dumps, the housing sector was finally sniffing at a recovery as buyers returned gradually, lured by sharp price cuts and teaser loans.

But a Budget proposal to levy service tax on houses under construction is threatening to crimp the sector’s fragile recovery as the resultant price hike is certain to dissuade fresh buyers. The proposal, a bolt from the blue, purported to spur builders into completing projects faster after rampant complaints of long delays.

 

Though that remains to be seen, an immediate effect will be the prices of incomplete houses rising by 3% after a service tax of 10.3%, including surcharge, is imposed. The levy is based on an earlier Income Tax Department circular, held up due to resistance from developers, which set 33% of the house price as services.

 

Housing project comprises land, raw material, labor and services. Though services include branding and selling of a project, there is an unwritten understanding that no ‘service’ was being provided till a developer passed a property title to a buyer.

 

Back-of the- envelope calculations show that an Rs 30-lakh housing property will see a price hike of at least Rs 1 lakh after the service tax is affected.

“Affordable housing will be impacted the worst,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of Mumbai-based developer Hiranandani Constructions, adding that everyone in that category must now pay developers in installments.

 

The Budget proposal, coming after the Reserve Bank of India’s incessant frowning on teaser loans, will wane demand further, say realty watchers.

Most houses are typically sold during construction with buyers paying in phases. The Budget proposal means that even buyers who have to pay, say, the remaining 5% of the overall cost during possession, will have to cough up more.

 

The proposal could also pose problems in calculating remaining payments though it will ratchet up demand for ready-to-move properties, say realty watchers.

As for developers, the market’s response to the proposal will determine their long-term plans. “Affordable housing will now become unaffordable,” said Rajeev Talwar, managing director of DLF, the country’s largest developer.

“Housing is a state subject and the move is impinging.”

Real estate was among the worst hit sectors in the global downturn as buyers kept away and banks became wary of lending. But teaser loans, some even as low as 8.25% much below their prime lending rate (PLR), last year stalled the decline.

 

But builders fear that the introduction of a service tax and absence of teaser loans will compound the problem of oversupply of residential and commercial properties in several parts of the country.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 04-Mar-2010

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Mumbai and Delhi NCR are expected to absorb about 20-22 per cent of the projected demand for office space during 2010-2012, says a report The year 2009 would be marked in Indian real estate as one of the most difficult periods for the industry in recent times. However, despite the turbulence and uncertainty, there are momentous opportunities to learn through the turn.

With signs in the global economy that the worst may be behind us, commercial office space in India has begun to consolidate, focusing on affordability, diversification and delivery, says a report by realty consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

The year witnessed a considerably lower net absorption of 19.6 million sq ft against a robust net absorption of 33.1 million sq ft in 2008.

Quarterly absorption rate was recorded at 17 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, which has been increasing steadily after hitting bottom in the first quarter of 2009.

Indian real estate witnessed net absorption of 8 million sq ft in quarter 4, 2009, nearly four times the lowest witnessed in quarter 1, 2009.

With lower rents in IT as well as non-IT spaces, the opportunistic demand is led by domestic occupiers, who have expanded their real estate portfolios in various Indian cities. The sunshine sectors ­ telecom, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and manufacturing leased large spaces in various cities. A larger share of transactions happened in operational vacant stock rather than under-construction projects in 2009, contrary to the trend observed during 2007 and 2008, when options in operational office space weren't available to the tenants in the same measure.
Projected supply and demand of office space Office space amounting to 162.6 million sq ft is expected to become operational in the next three years, which would increase the pan-India grade-A office stock to 387.4 million sq ft.

By end-2010, Mumbai is expected to lead in terms of operational office stock in the country, pushing the leader, Bangalore, to second position.

About 85-90 per cent of the near term supply of 68.3 million sq ft, which is expected to become operational in 2010, is in advanced stages of construction with more than 50 per cent of the structure completed at end-2009.

The pace of supply infusion is expected to outgrow the demand in the medium, term thus creating a condition of oversupply across the secondary and suburban micro markets.

Net absorption of office space is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29 per cent during 2009-2012, increasing from 19.6 million sq ft registered in 2009 to 42.2 million sq ft in 2012.

While Mumbai and NCR Delhi are expected to absorb about 20-22 per cent of the projected demand during 2010-2012, Bangalore and Chennai are expected to absorb about 14-15 per cent of the projected demand during the same period.

Despite a projected growth of 10 per cent for IT/ITES and the BPO sector in India during 2010, demand for real estate space is only expected by end of 2010.
During 2011-2012, with better growth projections of IT/ITES sector, demand for office space in these micro markets is likely to increase.

Courtesy: HT Estates 27^th Feb 2010

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The Logix group, a pioneer developer in IT and business parks, launched its first residential project, Blossom County, in Sector 137, Noida, on Greater Noida Expressway. The Rs 1,200 crore project will comprise over 2,500 two-, three- and four-BHK apartments and penthouses.
Prices start at Rs 24 lakh. Blossom County is spread over 25 acres and will provide all modern facilities and amenities. The project will include features like earthquake-resistant structures, energy-efficient green homes with solar lighting, a super specialty medical center with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
Shakti Nath, chairman and managing director, Logix Group said, "Blossom County has been created for people who aspire to live in a home which is a part of a planned and efficiently designed gated community that offers all modern facilities."

 

Courtesy: HT Estates 27^th Feb 2010

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As realty sector is abuzz with action, developers are hiking prices across housing segments – be they affordable housing, mid-segment or luxury apartments and villas. Vivek Shukla reports

Are you looking for your very own house in NCR? If you at the job for the last six-seven months or so, then you would have known that developers have hiked prices of their products across segments. There is increase of price in affordable segment, mid-segment and luxury segment. The reasons are varied but there is no denying the fact that as realty sector witnesses a flurry of activity from possible buyers and investors after a long lull, developers are increasing prices. While, Gurgaon is witnessing the maximum hike, the hike is not that sharp in Noida and Ghaziabad.

    A recent report prepared by PropEquity also clearly indicates that developers are hiking rates of their projects. According to the report, Gurgaon has seen up to 30% hike in prices in luxury segment – no other city of NCR has seen such a sharp hike in this segment. There is also a hike even in affordable sector too, PropEquity reports after comparing rates of July 2009 and January 2010.

    Can developers justify so much hike on their flats? “Not at all,” says Vishal Anand, MD of Brick and Mortar Global Realty, adding, “The greed of developers doesn’t seem to end. They should not hike prices of their products to such astronomical levels. They (developers) are building another bubble, which can be detrimental to Indian real estate. There is a demand and developers should be patient and increase prices gradually, which would build confidence in the longer term.”

    Harinder Sikka, director of Raheja Developers, says that real estate market in important cities of the country has picked up in a major way, riding strongly on actual end user demand. Investors have also started trickling back in the market. Whenever demand exceeds supply, prices head northwards. This is simple market dynamics. Sikka, however, made it clear that if prices are artificially hiked without actual demand being present, the project sales will suffer considerably.

    However, a senior official of Ansal API has a different take on this matter. According to him, there are two reasons for the price hike. During the period of economic slowdown, companies had brought down prices, even below their cost prices in many projects in order to unwind their inventories and improve

their cash flows. Companies were under pressure to pay their lenders, vendors as also to complete projects and hence came under pressure on one side, while the plunge in demand almost dried up their cash flows. Now that market conditions have improved, companies are only trying to recover their costs. He also says that one has to remember that developers have bought land at exorbitantly high prices when market was up, which has led to high prices of apartments.

    NCR-based developers have increased prices by almost 25-30% in the last 9-10 months. Rajat Mahajan of Integrated PanRealty Solutions says that Noida has so far not seen this trend due to tough competition amongst new names entering real estate market. He also feels that another bubble in the market is in the offing as both end users and investors are back in the market. Projects in all ranges – affordable, midsegment and luxury – are selling fast as there is a lot of speculative interest in the market. “I would advise investors and end users to invest in projects of reputed developers who have proven track record of delivery,” he concludes.

    Market watchers are also concerned that even the so-called affordable homes are now costing more. They are becoming almost unaffordable. For instance, budget homes in Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon have gone by 8%. An earlier report from PropEquity claims that rates of affordable homes have seen 11.20% hike in Gurgaon, 9.70% in Faridabad and 4.90% in Ghaziabad respectively. However, rates have not changed in Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi.

    Samir Jasuja, CEO of PropEquity, says as the realty market is improving after a long lull, some developers have hiked prices in order to make a marginal profit. He feels that serious customers should not wait to book their homes. They should see the past track record of a realty firm and pace of construction that is taking place. If on both fronts they are happy, then they should book their home.

    Meanwhile, some realty experts are surprised by the fact that though there has been no increase in construction cost, realty firms are still increasing the price of their affordable homes. They say that rates have seen close to 15% jump as most of the developers have been able to offload their inventory and are trying to gain from current momentum.

Courtesy times property dtd. 19/02/2010

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Indore: The strong commercial base and manufacturing hub with several large format industrial parks, is attracting the attention of major corporate and foreign investors in the country. Developments such as the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Auto Testing Track in Pithampur, and IT Park at Khandwa Road are expected to provide further impetus to the growth of the city.

The city also has several industrial clusters such as pharmaceuticals, textile, food, IT and auto components clusters. Key infrastructure developments include the upcoming AB Indore Bypass road that is expected to improve access to other major commercial cities (for example Mumbai) of the country, thus providing tremendous potential for real estate and industrial investments. The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is expected to enhance industrial activity around the satellite towns of Pitampura and Dewas region. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is undertaking the upgrading of the existing domestic airport to an international airport.

The methodology

The city analysis by Ernst & Young has been designed to evaluate cities holistically, considering an array of factors that make up a city. The exercise ranks cities based on quantifiable factors, backed by data as opposed to a qualitative assessment based on perception. The methodology to devise city ranking was undertaken in four modules. The data collection focused on the five indices defined by Ernst & Young, namely: City prosperity index, urban governance index, business environment index, infrastructure index and Quality of life index.

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Jaipur: The city houses over 15 industrial areas, 45 large and medium scale units and approximately 19,000 small scale units. IT/ITeS have also emerged as a prime sector in the city. Being one of the cities of the Golden Triangle, it enjoys improved connectivity and accessibility, with the National Capital Region (NCR) and Agra, enhancing tourist footfalls.

The upcoming bus rapid transport system, the Jaipur Metro and construction of a 12-lane ring road is expected to provide further impetus to real estate and economic development of the city. Three SEZs have been proposed around the city to cater to a vast array of sectors and variety of customised products. There is a 365-acre Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) set up at Sitapura (Jaipur) provides manufacturing facilities to units in key sectors.

The expansion of the Jaipur international airport is due for completion by 2015. The government is planning implementation of the Metro Rail project in Jaipur in consultation with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

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Entry of large South Korean firms has seen thousands of its nationals flooding Indian cities, with nearly half of them located in Delhi and NCR. As Korean restaurants, shops and clubs open up to cater to this large expatriate community, rental scene, too, has benefited, says Vivek Shukla

Recently, in the wake of a very fruitful trip to India, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak explored the possibility of more investments by Korean companies into India. But, during his very hectic schedule here, he would have hardly been informed by anybody that the swelling expatriate community from his country is doing yeoman service in pushing rental scene in Delhi and NCR.

The list of South Korean companies with heavy investments in India include POSCOIndia (subsidiary of South Korean steel producer POSCO), real estate giant Maire Assets Global Investment, Parry Confectionary, MOBIS, Poss Delhi Steel Processing Centre, along with various manufacturing subsidiaries of LG, Hyundai and Samsung. As the number of South Korean firms heads northwards, the number of South Korean expatriates too is swelling commensurately.

If realty experts are to be believed, South Koreans have outnumbered all other nationalities, for the sheer numbers concerned. There would not be any good South Delhi colony where you will not find some South Korean families, they say. They are in large concentrations in places like Green Park, Shanti Niketan, Vasant Vihar, Uday Park, Defence Colony and other such areas.

According to Korean Association of India (KAI), there are close to 8,000 South Koreans in Delhi, and 2,000 more if you add the numbers in NCR. Importantly, the total number of KAI looks very impressive as apart from employees from South Korean firms and diplomatic staff, a large number of students have also come here for studies. “We get more requests from South Koreans for suitable rented accommodation than any other expatriate community,” says Devinder Gupta, chairman of realty advisory Century 21 India, adding, “They are extremely hard bargainers and fight for every penny. I can tell you from my long experience that they are the most demanding tenants.”

The entry of large Korean firms has also flooded other Indian cities with Koreans. Chennai has been home to many Koreans since the Hyundai plant opened there in 1995; but Delhi and Bangalore have become the new hubs, with Korean restaurants, shops and clubs opening up.

According to Anil Makhijani of South Delhi based Mak Associates, “They (South Koreans) prefer to stay in brand-new homes in South Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida. They do not live in houses that were earlier occupied. They consider living in previously occupied house as ominous. Apart from brand-new homes, they ensure that the house they live in should have a bathtub. These are two most important requirements of Koreans.” Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed, MD of ILD Developers, says that they are trying to convince office bearers of KAI to use their good offices to tell their compatriots to live in ILD’s readyto-enter flats in Gurgaon and Sohna. “As Korean firms have many offices in these two NCR cities, they would find our flats very suitable. They are spacious and brand-new. We can provide them any other facility which they ask for,” he says. Some realty firms may also follow suit. KAI was formed around 50 years ago, when three Koreans moved to New Delhi after being released from prison in their war-torn country. Today, the association has nearly 8,000 in Delhi alone. KAI president, Kim Myung-Bo, recently took over from the original founding president, Hyuan, whose home is still Delhi. Unlike Hyuan, most Koreans in India are here only because of their jobs and leave after three or five years.

Chennai was the earliest hub of the Korean community in India, thanks to Hyundai’s decision to open factories there in 1995. Koreans concentrated largely in the Kilpauk township, which has acquired the nickname of “Little Korea” as a result. However, the centre of gravity shifted away from Chennai as later communities in Delhi and Bangalore experienced rapid growth after 2000. More than half of all expatriate Koreans in India live in New Delhi. Another fifth live in Mumbai, according to 2005 consular statistics. The community in Chennai has also continued to grow; by 2009, media estimates suggest that as many as 3,000 Koreans may be located in the Chennai area alone, up from about 700 in 2006.

Devinder Gupta says that as many South Korean restaurants have opened in the national capital and NCR, they prefer to live close to them. You would find many Korean restaurants in Green Park, Diplomatic Enclave, Gurgaon, Khel Gaon Marg and Kingsway Camp. In all these areas, South Korean restaurants like Gung, The Palace, Kumgang Gonie, K2 MGF Plaza, Aim Cafe are doing brisk business. South Korean families throng them. All these restaurants offer authentic Korean cuisine. Rakesh Tiwari, a tutor attached with Tutor Guru (a coaching institute), says that Koreans based in this part of the country are unique compared to other expatriates in the sense that many of them take the service of some Hindi tutor to teach them good Hindi. So, when they leave India, they have a fairly good knowledge of Hindi.

Another realty expert says that though expatriates from other countries are not coming to Delhi in the same numbers they used to until a couple of years ago, they (Koreans) are still arriving here without any pause or break. Of course, due to them, the rental scene is still very good.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 13-02-2010

 

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The Reserve Bank of India is pushing commercial banks hard to pass on new loan rates to its existing customers, rather than restrict the benefit of lower rates just too new clients,

Sources in the central bank said an advisory was sent to Indian Banks Association, the representative body of all commercial banks, on January 22, asking them to be more transparent in their dealings with existing customers.

At present, many private and public sector banks have been offering home loans at rates as low as 8% while their benchmark lending rate, which is applicable to old customers, remains as high as 10%-12%.

RBI CHANGES PRIME LENDING RATE SYSTEM TO BASE RATE

In order to make the credit market more transparent and ensure that banks pass on the lower cost of fund automatically to existing customers, RBI on Wednesday replaced the existing system of prime lending rate (PLR) to a new base rate, which will be fixed on the basis of cost of funds. The new system will be effective from April 1, 2010,

In a circular RBI said, ‘‘the actual lending rates charged to borrowers would be the base rate plus borrower-specific charges, which will include product-specific operating costs, credit risk premium and tenor premium."

In the existing system, banks are free to fix their PLRs. Most of the variable rate loans, like home loan and some of the term loans are pegged against PLR. This means, if the PLR is not changed, the loan rates remain the same.

Banks have taken advantage of existing PLR system at the cost of their borrowers. When interest rates increase, banks hike their PLRs immediately, leading to rise in the home loan rates. But, when interest rates fall, they don't reduce PLRs. Because of this, the existing customers are not benefited by the lowering of the interest rates. However, banks pass on the benefit to new customers by increasing the discount against PLRs.

Under the new system, home loans and other variable loans will be pegged against a base rate. As the new base rate is fixed on the basis of cost of funds, any change in the interest rate will reflect in the base rate. And therefore, it will be automatically passed on to the existing customers also. At the same time, RBI has clearly said that the base rate will be minimum rate for all commercial loans and banks will not be permitted to resort to any rate below it.

The circular said, base Rate shall include all those elements of lending rates that are common across all categories of borrowers.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 11-02-2010

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Delhi Master Plan 2021 provides a lot of new real estate opportunities in the capital region to cater to an estimated 230 lakh population by 2019, writes

Samir Jasuja

    National Capital Territory of Delhi has always lured investors and homebuyers with its strategic importance, and a stated intent of government to turn the city into a megapolis. Delhi Master Plan 2021 provides a lot of new real estate opportunities in the capital region, with population expected to rise to 230 lakhs by the end of this decade and a projected housing demand of more than 2 million homes.
The new master plan is focused on facilitating public-private partnerships (PPPs) in upgradation of physical and social infrastructure in the city by reinforcement of regional linkages and strengthening economic base. The city's residential skyline, till now, was dominated by various housing schemes of DDA. This trend is set to change with a new hybrid land policy, with provisions under this policy providing for entry of private developers in acquisition and development of land.
    Private developers have already built up huge land parcels in 2007-2008 and the coming years will observe a phase of organized private development. This might impact real estate scenario of other cities within NCR (with the exception of Gurgaon), since these markets were primarily catering to the spill over demand from Delhi.
    Indian residential real estate market has evolved into a segmented market based on the lines of commercial sector comprising of EWS/LIG, affordable, mid-income and high-income housing. Optimum utilization of urban land plays a critical role in ensuring adequate provision of dwelling units at city level and an innovative land policy is key to optimize supply of dwelling units by public and private sectors as partners. The city will be witness to an increased activity in the EWS (economically weaker sections) and LIG (low-income group) housing. Recognizing the opportunities and potential of public housing transformation, the new master plan proposes to devise a comprehensive system to allow additions, alterations and additional floor area ratio (FAR) in public housing areas. Introduction of the concept of township will also contribute to accelerating supply of housing units and development of infrastructure.
    Delhi Master Plan 2021 lays down systematic changes in land development mechanism with public agencies aiming to facilitate, rather than build and develop. The plan brings about reforms enabling easier acquisition of land by avoiding delays and litigation in the process. Introduction of innovative land policy instruments like land pooling for agricultural land areas and transferable development rights (TDRs) for urban areas provide viable alternatives to large scale land acquisition.
    Additional land supply is expected in market, with existing urbanized area of Delhi (70,162 hectares) to be enhanced by another 29,238 hectares, of which (new supply) 9,230 hectares will be the total gross area available for residential development.
    New opportunity zones are expected towards areas of South Delhi II, Northwest Delhi III and Narela sub-city (see table). In South Delhi II, nearly 4,547 hectares (gross area) is available for residential development out of a total of 8,268 hectares marked for future urbanization. Northwest Delhi III will see 4,389 hectares (gross area) made available for residential development out of a total available urbanization supply of 8,994 hectares; Narela sub-city is next in line with 2,153 hectares (gross area) available out of a total 6,270 hectares area under future urbanization.
    These figures are have been estimated assuming 44.8% of the expansion area would be developed as residential areas (based on the existing land use breakup for Zone N).
    With 60% of the gross land available for residential development, the total net residential area available would be to the tune of 5,538 hectares.
    Assuming the average unit size to be 1,337 sq ft (based on average of the total no. of units launched in 2009 in NCR region) and FSI of 1.75 (maximum potential built up area of 1.04 billion sq ft ), around 780,000 new dwelling units are expected in Delhi in the coming decade (see table). However, its deliverability could vary based on the hybrid land policy, which is under consideration of DDA.
    Najafgarh in Southwest Delhi and Brijwasan and Chattarpur areas will see huge land parcels being released. The plan seeks to mobilize private sector in urban development and housing to ensure planned development, keeping in mind the economically weaker sections. Landed cost of FSI within Delhi is competitive, in relation to the surrounding cities. However, with expansion of the city, a bid-price trend is likely to emerge in certain pockets, making those areas witness an exceptional rise in their capital values.
    Delhi Master Plan 2021 favours flexible land use that would help reap synergies between workplace, residence and transportation. The unauthorised colonies, which have been in existence till March 2002, are to be regularized to synergise with mainstream of urban development. Master Plan 2021 also emphasises on regeneration of inner city areas, some of them being Walled City and Karol Bagh, with enhanced FAR and tax incentives for those who are required to maintain architectural controls.
    To facilitate urban renewal, submission of original building plans may not be insisted upon and power of attorney transfers would be acceptable. Such system will facilitate Resident Welfare Associations and Group Housing Societies to make better use of dilapidated, old housing, which have become redundant with fast changing life-style and economic prosperity.
    This process of renewal and redevelopment would trigger a process of decongestion and conservation, releasing heavily built up areas for open space and greenery, upgradation of social and physical infrastructure, and shifting out of hazardous, inflammable and polluting activities from Old City areas. The incentive of additional FAR, along with other measures like liberalization of land use and time-bound approvals would stimulate the route of planned development.

 

Courtesy:- Times Property dtd:- 06-02-2009

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After 6th pay award to government employees, it is now the turn of lakhs of PSU bank employees to earn a 17% pay hike, with arrears from 1997. With NCR alone having over a lakh bank employees, realty firms are eyeing them as a captive customer bank, says
Sarthak

    RK Bhandari, a senior official in railways, had not thought of buying a house before the implementation of 6th Pay Commission report for government employees. And understandably so — before the report came in, his salary was not enough to run both the household as well as pay an EMI on a home loan.
Once the much awaited pay commission report was implemented and salaries of government employees increased appreciably, Bhandari booked a flat in a residential project of a reputed realty firm in Ghaziabad. "As my office is in Baroda House, I thought I should book my flat in Ghaziabad. That is nearest to my office compared to other NCR cities", says a delighted Bhandari.
Well, this is the story of a large number of government employees. There is no doubt that last year, when realty sector was also facing the heat from economic slowdown and people were loosing jobs, it was these government employees who had given necessary push to realty firms. According to Samir Jasuja, CEO of PropEquity, government employees were the ones to come to the rescue of realty sector when the chips were down. It was a most unexpected bonanza for realty firms. "The best thing about government employees was that there is no issue of job loss for them. And, secondly, they got good hike in salaries after 6th pay commission report was implemented. That was enough for them to buy their dream homes."
    Realty experts say that even though many cash-rich government employees with secure jobs are still looking for suitable homes, the coming weeks and months would see a flurry of activity when public sector bank employees would also get their new pay scale. The new pay scale has already been implemented with an average hike of 17% in salaries. Now, realty firms would and should try to woo them as well as bank employees will surely throng new projects to book their flats.
    In a recent survey by realty advisory, Century 21 India, around 12,000 flats would be available in both Ghaziabad and Greater Noida this year. Devinder Gupta, CEO of Century 21 India, feels it is high time developers woo both government employees and bank employees. "The over one lakh Delhi and NCR based bank employees can be tapped to buy flats. As they do not get government accommodation, unlike many government employees, they would like to buy their own houses," he says.
    According to V K Suri, secretary of All India Bank Officers' Association, there are over one lakh employees based in Delhi and NCR, and they would also get hefty arrears, effective from November 1,1997. Moreover, they would be given new pay scales from, probably next month. "I know for sure that many colleagues of mine have already started looking for flats in the ongoing projects of various realty firms. Once they get their arrears, as well as new pay, they would in all probability start booking for their new homes," says Suri, who is also looking for a flat - either in Ghaziabad or Greater Noida - for investment purpose.
    Do realty firms have a strategy to woo both government and bank employees to book into their projects? Sunil Jindal, CEO of SVP Developers, says that there cannot be any developer worth his salt who is oblivious to the fact that they have a ready clientele in bank employees, even as a large number of government employees are still on the look out for a suitable home. "Our marketing guys are already on the job and they are contacting government employees and bank employees. And due to their efforts, we managed to sell over 200 flats in our projects in Indirapuram and Ghaziabad, during the last 12 months or so," says Jindal.
    The supply in Ghaziabad will be spread across locations like Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Raj Nagar Extension. According to a Knight Frank report, 40% of this supply will be in the 3BHK category and 46% in the 2BHK category. Due to availability of cheap land parcels on NH-58, Raj Nagar Extension and NH-24, builders have explored these areas for developing affordable projects. Supply in Greater Noida will be located in sectors Alpha, Beta, Pi and Sigma.
    Ghaziabad is all set to establish itself as a middle-class affordable realty destination, while Greater Noida will emerge as a premium housing area. Realty experts also point out that while Greater Noida means a good investment because of great infrastructure, Ghaziabad scores over Greater Noida because it is closer to the national capital.
    "As Metro has already reached Noida and Ghaziabad, there is no doubt that both these places will see a flurry of activity among new buyers of flats," says Anil Sharma, MD of Amprapali group.
    Meanwhile, Avinash Aggarwal, marketing director of Orange County, says that they (government employees) have always remained very high on their agenda. That is a reason why developers always try to sell their products to them. Aggarwal says that they follow values very vigorously and see to it that they give them hundred per cent to their customers in terms of satisfaction.
    Experts say that those who work for government or semi-government organizations generally look for flats between the range of Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.
    Meanwhile, experts also say that there is still enough scope to book flats in places like Gurgaon, Sohna, Sonipat, Bhiwadi, Faridabad and Meerut.
    Prospective buyers should not ignore these places if they want to invest money. "As they say, property always pays," says Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed, MD of ILD group. In all these places, developers like ILD, Omaxe, Supertech, DLF and several others are building projects with great speed. Naturally, one would not be a looser if they were to book flats in the projects of these players.
    Today, National Highway 58 in Ghaziabad is among the important places to invest in. This stretch has been seeing a lot of development and investment potential. "For any person who is looking out for an affordable house, this stretch promises a lot. Many developers are coming out with projects on this stretch to meet burgeoning demand of middleclass end users," says Sanjeev Shrivastava, MD of Assotech.
    In a nutshell, it can be safely said that developers will pull out all stops in wooing sarkari babus and banks employees over the next couple of months.

 

Courtesy:- Times Property dtd:- 06-02-2009

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JNNURM projects will enable Faridabad achieve global standards of living and improve quality of life of its residents as infrastructural problems will be smoothened out. Developers and investors will also be tempted to put money here, says
Brix Research

    Infrastructure is the backbone of any city for its efficient functioning and the full utilization of its potential as a city. Faridabad is one of the oldest industrial townships in National Capital Region (NCR). With 300 large and 10,000 small-scale industries, it is an emerging real estate hub. Renowned developers like Omaxe, BPTP, SRS, and Parsvnath have launched their projects in the city. Projects based on international standards with state-of-the-art facilities are being developed both in residential and commercial category.
A city's economic activities are heavily dependent on infrastructural facilities like power, telecom, roads, water supply and mass transportation, coupled with civic infrastructure. But in Faridabad, as in most other urban areas in India, infrastructure assets were created years ago and have been languishing due to inadequate organization and management by state governments and local urban bodies.
Realizing the importance of infrastructure upgradation, the government launched an ambitious programme, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Its main objective is to encourage reforms and fast-track planned development in select cities. The focus is on efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, community participation, and accountability of urban local bodies to citizens.
    Like any other urban area in the country, Faridabad's infrastructure was also suffering from crippling defects and inadequate attention from sate government and local bodies. Old municipal towns of Old Faridabad, Ballabgarh and New Industrial Town (NIT), along with 38 revenue villages, make Faridabad the biggest urban agglomerate in Haryana. Faridabad has the maximum number of sectors for any development plan in Haryana and is the only municipal corporation in the state. Yet, the city's infrastructure is in a deplorable state. "Though developers of projects are providing basic amenities like 24-hour power backup and are even purchasing water to provide to townships, unless basic services are taken care of by government, Faridabad will be unable to realize its dream of becoming a world-class real estate destination," says Pawan Kumar, a city-based realtor.
    But JNNURM has brought hope for citizens of the city, who have for long borne the brunt of bad infrastructure. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited is the implementing agency of JNNURM in Faridabad and has sanction for six projects. Out of these, two are housing projects while the rest are urban infrastructural development projects. One of the housing projects is in Dabua Colony in NIT while the other is at Bapu Nagar in Ballabgarh. Dabua Colony project has 1,968 units while the Bapu Nagar project has 1,280 units.
    Both these projects were launched to facilitate rehabilitation of urban poor. Being an industrial urban area, Faridabad sees a massive influx of migrants from adjoining states, which leads to uncontrolled slums and unauthorized colonies, and now, this has posed a challenge to the city and its administration. But JNNURM projects have come to the city's rescue - launched on July 6, 2007, they are likely to be completed by March 2009.
    The Dabua Colony project has a sanctioned amount of around Rs 38.12 crores while the Bapu Nagar project has been awarded around Rs 25 crores under JNNURM. Out of this amount, the government of India has pitch in with 50%, the state 20% and the remaining 30% has to be provided by Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF). The houses are in the category of builder-floor apartments, each three storeys high, in addition to a ground floor. Though 2,500 houses are ready and 200 have already been allotted, the projects have overshot their deadline for completion in March 2009. The delay in completion is due to lack of funds as the central government is yet to pay the final installment of its share of the sanctioned amount.
    The other four projects have targeted infrastructure of the city in terms of sewerage, drainage and waste management. These projects aim not only to create new infrastructural assets but also improve and renew existing ones. Revamping/Laying of Sewerage System was launched around the same time as the housing projects and is likely to be completed by March 2010. The project targets Old Faridabad. It is an area that includes the city's current retail hubs like Sector 15. The total sanctioned amount for the project is around Rs 103 crores. The project work is going on in full swing with almost 80% of it completed.
    Another JNNURM project that covers Old Faridabad is Improvement of Drainage System, which was sanctioned in April 2007, and work on it started in November 2007. Work on any JNNURM project begins 5-6 months after its sanction. The expected completion date has been set as April 2010 and Rs 30 crore has been allocated for the project. Almost 50% of the work on the project has been completed.
    Two projects, Integrated Solid Waste Management and Augmentation of Water Supply, cover the entire city in their ambit. The waste management project was sanctioned in July 2007 while the other one in January 2009. Work on these projects started around November 2007 and July 2009 respectively. Around Rs 76 crore has been allocated to the waste management project while Rs 493 crore has been sanctioned for the water supply project. Expected date of completion of the water supply project is March 2012, while the waste management project is slated for completion in March 2010. Nearly 20% and 40% work has been completed on both the respective projects.
    Aimed at betterment of the city, the projects will enable Faridabad achieve global standards of living and improve quality of life of its residents. With infrastructural problems taken care of, more and more developers and investors will be attracted towards the city.
    Prices of government property will be lower than those of private developers as these housing projects are being constructed under planned expenditure of the Union and state governments. Property rates are otherwise expected to rise across the city. According to Pawan Kumar, a city based realtor, "With completion of these projects, the city will be armed with excellent infrastructural facilities in comparison to Gurgaon and Noida, and help Faridabad shine on Indian real estate map."

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Courtesy:- Times Property dtd:- 06-02-2009

Enhanced connectivity to NCR cities, a slew of retail and office projects combined with affordable rates are pushing Faridabad's commercial profile, which is expected to take off in next couple of years, finds
Brix Research

    Bound by Delhi to its North, Faridabad has been a major industrial township of the NCR. However, its growth has not been as rapid as that of other NCR hubs such as Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida, and its full potential has yet to be explored. Today, Faridabad has opened up new areas like Neharpar and Greater Faridabad for development, along with a proposed Metro rail link. This has led to an enhanced interest in the real estate of the city.
In recent times, Faridabad's real estate has seen a steep escalation in property values, enhancing its appeal as a serious real estate market. Earlier, ignored by investors and developers alike, the city has suddenly witnessed a surge in real estate activity, both in commercial and residential property. The biggest draw is that property is still available at affordable rates and there is ample land that can be developed.
    Areas like Neharpar and Greater Faridabad are being developed as residential hubs. But with the upcoming Metro rail link and the construction of Badarpur flyover, developers have woken up to Faridabad's immense potential in being developed as a fully-fledged commercial area. Due to these reasons the commercial property sector is now bustling with activity.
    One of the most conspicuous developments in this sector is multiplicity of malls that have sprung up. Crowne Plaza in Sector 15A and SRS mall in Sector 12, the oldest malls in Faridabad, have been around for a long time as the only shopping centres for residents of the city. But now, citizens can brace themselves to a huge surge in the number of malls here. Around 22-24 malls are coming up within a radius of 10-15km of the Metro link-route, between Badarpur and Mathura Road.
    Malls like Crown Interiors, Manhattan, and Sewa have already opened while Nirula's Mega Mart will be ready for occupation this year. Malls like BPTP's Next Shopping Arcade, Vardhman's Star Mall, MB Mall and Gardenia Sky Mall are at different stages of construction and are expected to be ready by end-2010. Each unit of 200-1,200 sq ft are available in the price range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per sq ft. "Malls are a fairly new concept for Faridabad and have sprung up in the last five years. But their potential will be realized in the next 4-5 years, impacting the business of local shopping complexes," says Manoj Rastogi of Agarwal Properties.
    Faridabad does not have a clearly defined commercial area consisting of office or retail space. Each locality has its own local market, catering to the daily needs of residents. These markets are a mix of individual shops, office space, local shopping complexes, all rolled into one.
    Areas like New Industrial Town, Old Faridabad and Sector 15 have been the hub of retail activity in Faridabad. These areas have a clutter of individual shops in local shopping complexes. Each shop of 200 sq ft has been valued in the range of Rs 35 to Rs 40 lakh. In townships like Greenfields, a 100 sq ft single shop is valued in the range of Rs 9 to Rs 35 lakh. But the old hubs have hardly seen any improvement, either in terms of infrastructural facilities or any new projects.
    Today, a large number of business and IT parks are coming up in the city. Many big developers like Piyush Group, BPTP, SRS Group are setting up their projects within 5-6km of Mathura Road, Faridabad's connecting point to the rest of Delhi. These projects are being built according to international standards with stateof-the-art facilities.
    As a result, there is a new breed of buyers who have entered market as investors. On the one hand, there are projects like Piyush Group's IT park, Global I, which is set to provide office space with world-class facilities by 2011. Spread across an area of approximately 3.9 lakh sq ft, Global I will provide exclusive office space in an environment-friendly green building. Strategically located on NH-2, it offers office space with a minimum area of 400 sq ft, valued in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 11,000 per sq ft and will have facilities compatible with global standards.
    Then there is BPTP's The Next Door, a modern-day shopping complex that will offer both office and retail space. With an area of approximately 1.72 acres, the complex will house 270 units, out of which 160 are shops and 106 units are for office space. Located in Sector 76, it is reasonably valued in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,500 per sq ft.
    Another project by BPTP is Park Square, which is a commercial complex with a heady mix of retail shops, office space, multiplex and a food court. It is located in BPTP's Parkland, an integrated township, in the fast developing area of Neharpar and is aimed at providing a world-class shopping and working environment. The demand for commercial space has already increased by nearly 60% and is expected to rise further as most of these projects will be ready for possession by mid-2010.
    With demand being matched by supply, the city has turned into a suitable destination for new business endeavours. With world-class office and commercial space coming up, the city is an attractive option for various MNCs. The major reasons for this surge in real estate activity can be attributed to the city's increasing connectivity and its reasonable price range, compared to other NCR cities. The upcoming Metro link, the Badrpur flyover and the proposed Noida Expressway will not just solve commuting problems of the city but will also be its USP, which will attract developers, buyers and investors, equally. Moreover, its affordable price range gives it an edge over other cities.
    According to Manoj Rastogi, "In the next 7-8 years, with better infrastructural facilities, improved connectivity and affordability Faridabad will be an ideal destination for investment and purchase of property and preferred by the next generation professionals."

 

If there is problem regarding to open the link then Please visit our website http://www.zameen-zaidad.com

Courtesy:- Times Property dtd:- 06-02-2009

 

Type- Multistory Apartments

Sector 70, Gurgaon    

Price – Rs. 4228000*

Description – GPL Eden Heights, 3 bedroom Multistory Apartments for sale @ Rs. 4228000

in Sector 70, Gurgaon, 5 Km from Herohonda Chowk,7 Km from  Rajiv Chowk, 10 Km from IFFCO Chowk and NH8, 2 Km from Haldiram

 

Specifications 

 

In sector 70, Gurgaon - Well connected from Sohna Road, Golf Course Road, Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO Chowk and NH8

 

  - 2/3/4 bedroom apartments and luxurious Villas. 

  - Earthquake resistant structure. 

 - 24x7 power back up and Hi-tech Security. 

 - All modern facilities including modular kitchens, swimming pool, health club and more. 

 - Easy approach from Malls, Schools and Hospitals. 

  - Convenience of shopping complex and play school. 

 

You can get more information about this 3 bedroom Multistory Apartments, real estate information, real estate investment options, real estate agents information and information about 2 bedrooms flats for sale, 3 bedrooms flats for sale, 4 bedrooms flats for sale in gurgaon and delhi /NCR and also we provides real estate services like property for sale, project for sale, property investment, buy houses, sale houses, homes buyers, homes sellers and many more

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Type- Multistory Apartments

Sector 81, 82, 82A, 83, 84, 85, Gurgaon       

Price – Rs. 31,00,000*

Description – Life Style Homes, 3 bedroom Multistory Apartments for sale @ Rs. 31,00,000

 in Sec- 109, Gurgaon , new proposed one connecting to North West Delhi Walking distanc from proposed metro hub at the intersection of South Delhi- Gurgaon metro line and the Dwarka metro line Proposed ISBT project coming up in close vicinity.

Vatika India Next will be life beyond your imagination, where living will be more comfortable and approachable due to its strategic location and world class infrastructure.

A mega " Future Ready" integrated township project. Strategically located on the intersection of two 8 lane expressway's - the NH8, and the new proposed one connecting to North West Delhi Walking distance from proposed metro hub at the intersection of South Delhi- Gurgaon metro line and the Dwarka metro line Proposed ISBT project coming up in close vicinity. Spread through the prime sectors 82, 82A, 83, 84, 85.

 

You can get more information about this 3 bedroom Multistory Apartments, real estate information, real estate investment options, real estate agents information and information about 2 bedrooms flats for sale, 3 bedrooms flats for sale, 4 bedrooms flats for sale in gurgaon and delhi /NCR and also we provides real estate services like property for sale, project for sale, property investment, buy houses, sale houses, homes buyers, homes sellers and many more

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An apartment, admeasuring 1,198 sq ft, was sold in Gachibowli for around Rs 36,00,000. The apartment is located in a gated community being constructed by a reputed developer. It commanded a per sq ft rate of approximately Rs 3,000. Gachibowli is located close to the IT Hub in and around Madhapur and has, in the last few years, seen some residential activities in support of the growing commercial office space in the location. While capital values for midsegment apartments had remained stagnant over most of last year as a result of the economic slowdown, values have seen a moderate increase of 4% in the last quarter of 2009. This is largely due to the strengthening of demand in the region as economic stability returns to the Indian market.

A residential apartment, covering an area of 3,600 sq ft, was leased out in the premium residential precinct of Vasant Vihar in South-West Delhi for a monthly rental value of Rs 3,00,000 per month. The apartment is located on the second floor of an independent residential building. South-West Delhi, including Shanti Niketan, Westend, Anand Niketan and Vasant Vihar, has been commanding average rental value in the range of Rs 2,50,000–4,00,000 per month for high-end apartments (units admeasuring 2,000–4,000 sq ft) and this apartment is well within the range. South-West Delhi has been a preferred location for residence, especially among senior corporate executives, high networth individuals and expatriates. The area is advantageously located within an approachable distance from CBD and SBDs and from Gurgaon — the emerging commercial centre, apart from being close to the national and international airports.

 

Demand for office space likely to improve this year, although rentals may not rise anytime soon, says a report

Over the past quarter, the office real estate market has seen a rise in the level of enquiries, which has also resulted in enhanced deal velocity.

While the IT/ ITeS sector has been slow to get onto the recovery path, corporate office space takeup has been quite encouraging. FIs, FMCG and telecom sectors have all contributed to this. The volumes are not yet large, but at least the market is showing signs of life.

As supply has overtaken demand, leading to tougher competition, prospective tenants can choose from better quality developments. This is encouraging for the real estate sector as a whole, with commitment to quality finally getting its due, says a report by CB Richard Ellis entitled `India Office Market View - Q4, 2009'.

In all the seven cities presented in this review, the level of activity in the office space sector has risen noticeably. Rentals in the central business districts (CBDs) of Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata remained constant; in Mumbai and Chennai, the rentals dropped by 3 per cent; and in Pune, the drop was 5 per cent owing to limited leasing activity. The year 2010 brings hope of a fresh start.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Anshuman Magazine, chairman and MD, CB Richard Ellis, South Asia, says, "Since the third quarter of 2009, the office segment has seen some movement, with corporates slowly returning to the market. During 2010, demand is expected to improve, although the rentals are expected to remain flat in the medium term, due to the forecast of large supply."

As for the Delhi NCR market, 2009 ended on a fairly buoyant note, thanks to the largest leasing transaction recorded in the central business district (by a non-PSU/state entity), involving the take-up of approximately 60,000 sq. ft. Rationalised rental values led to high levels of leasing interest, vacancy levels were around 13-14 per cent and rental values remained constant.

Due to poor leasing activity, the vacancy rate in the secondary business district of Nehru Place rose from 12 per cent in Q3 2009 to 21 per cent in Q4 2009. The lack of demand, coupled with a large quantum of supply, is expected to keep rentals low in this micro market.

Activity also remained subdued at Saket District Centre, where rentals and vacancy levels were more or less stagnant. Jasola District Centre witnessed a revival of interest from prospective tenants, while absorption was recorded at approximately 83,000 sq. ft. This is attributed to attractive values, improved infrastructure and upcoming Metro connectivity. However, though rental values here remained stable in the last quarter, the surplus supply led to a drop of 29 per cent year-on-year.

Gurgaon yet again observed increased levels of leasing activity across the existing as well as upcoming hubs, namely DLF Cybercity, MG Road, Golf Course Road, Sohna Road and Old Gurgaon Highway. The IT/ITES sector finally seems to be on recovery mode. Rental values remained at the same level as in the third quarter, and are expected to remain stable or appreciate marginally in the short to medium term.

Barring a few small transactions, no sizeable deals were reported in the Noida micro market.

Market outlook 

Office space market in the NCR indicates a positive trend. Demand and take-up levels have gone up over the past two quarters and values across most major micro markets seem to have stabilised. 

Courtesy:- HT Estates dt:- 16-jan-2010

 

Type – Multistory Apartments

Sector -77, Faridabad

Price - Rs. 24, 30,100*

Description –  KLJ Greens, 2 Bedroom flats Multistory apartments for sale @Rs. 24,30,100 in Sector 77 in Faridabad. Near the proposed expressway which puts in close proximity to Delhi and Noida. Best accessibility of Project from FNG Expressway, Proposed Metro Station Just 3 Kms

At a short drive from New Delhi is the upcoming project in Faridabad - KLJ Greens. the complex is meticulously planned with 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments, earthquake resistant structure, power back-up and round the clock security.For recreation and rejuvenation the complex will have a club, swimming pool, tennis court, greens and jogging tracks. there will also ba a shopping centre stocking the best brands, as well as provision for medical facilities for the residentsStructure: Earthquake resistant R.C.C. framed structure with infill brickwork.

Wall Finish: Internal – All internal walls plastered & painted in pleasing shades of oil bound distemper & P.O.P. Cornice in drawing & dining areas.

External – Aesthetically designed classical exterior with texture paint finish.

Flooring: Living / Dining – Vitrified tile flooring

Bedrooms -  Vitrified tile flooring

Balconies – Anti skid Ceramics tiles

Toilets: Dado – Selected ceramics tiles

Flooring – Anti skid ceramic tile flooring & granite counter top for washbasins

Fittings – Washbasin, EWC, a mirror, tower rail, hot & cold water mixer fittings (without geyser)

Kitchen: Flooring – Anti skid ceramic tile flooring

Dado – Ceramic tiles upto 2’-0” height above working platform, rest with acrylic emulsion paint

Platform – Working platform in granite top with stainless steel sink

Windows: Powder coated aluminum windows / equivalent with shutters 

Doors: All doors shall be hardwood frame / quality flush doors.All door shutters shall be flush type except main entrance door, which shall be of decorative type with eye piece, night latch, safety chain & good quality brass fittings.

Water Supply: Hot & cold water mixing arrangement in each flats, 24 hours water supply ensured with large underground & over-head tank with boosting arrangement.

Electrical: PVC recessed copper wiring with provision of A/C point in all rooms with convenient & adequate provision of light & power points as well as T. V. & telephone points in all rooms.

Lifts: Granite finish lift lobby for electricity controlled lifts with 100% power backup.

Fire System: Fire protection system in accordance with the latest NBC code

Power Supply: 3 phase connection in all flats with mandatory power backup facilities of 5 K.V.A.

Stair / Passage: Kota stone flooring.

 

For more info log on to http://zameen-zaidad.com/klj-greens-faridabad.aspx

 

 

Type- Independent Floors

NH.8, Sector-81, Gurgaon

Price- Rs. 2636000 *

Vatika Primrose Floors II, 2  Bedroom Independent floors for sale in gurgaon sector 81 @ Rs26,36,000, 25 KM from IGI Airport new delhi, 12KM from Ifcco Chowk gurgaon , 6 KM from Rajiv Chowk gurgaon, 1 KM from Haldiram gurgaon

Ceramic tiles above counter / on non-counter walls upto 1500mm above floor

Granite counter with twin bowl stainless steel sink drain board and CP fittings

Flush Door with wooden frame, Window panes with glazed aluminium/durable wood.

Living/Dining : Choice of shades of acrylic emulsion paint/ceiling in distemper

Vatika Group launches primrose floors II “Iris and Emilia Floors” at Vatika India Next in Sec 82, Gurgaon. Offering residential apartments, The apartments provide all that you have desired for your dream home at affordable prices. The infrastructure conforms to international standards with lush landscapes and well planned street architecture. So catch your breath at fabulous price as your dream home unfolds at a dream location.

The above price is inclusive of one dedicated surface car parking, EDC/IDC (existing) & provision of wiring for Inverter

I.F.M.S (Interest free maintenance security) : As applicable, to be paid to the maintenance agency at the time of possession.

 

For more info log on to http://zameen-zaidad.com/primrose-floors-II-vatika-gurgoan.aspx

 

 

 

 

Unitech, the country’s second-largest developer, sold over 13 million sq ft in the April-December period. This is more than a four-fold increase over the 3 million sq ft it sold in the whole of 2008-09.

The value of sales booked during the nine-month period is about Rs 5,550 crore, the company said in a corporate presentation. Over 80 per cent of the sales are in the residential category.

“The financial year 2009 was one of the slowest periods for property sales and we booked very limited number of properties. But property sales have certainly picked up (since then), and this is reflected in our numbers,”’ a Unitech spokesperson said.

The company’s average realisation per square foot was Rs 4,225. In the case of residential properties, the realisation was Rs 3,733, while it was Rs 6,401 in the case of commercial. Last year, the average realisation was Rs 4,000 per sq ft, which yielded sales of Rs 1,200 crore for the company. In the December quarter alone, the company said it had booked properties of around 3 million square feet. An executive said Unitech would now easily reach its annual sales target of Rs 6,000 crore.

Unitech’s net profit had halved during September quarter of the current financial year at Rs 177.6 crore, compared with Rs 358.92 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Developers such as Unitech, DLF and others faced slower sales since the second half of 2008, as buyers deferred home buys to save cash during the economic slowdown. However, developers are seeing a revival in the property sales as the economy picks up

An executive from the country’s largest developer.  DLF said the company had booked properties worth Rs 1,000 cr in the month of December alone, which was a record in its history.

Unitech, which sold such assets as hotel properties and offices to reduce mounting debt, said it was working to complete past projects by Mar 2011 and was adding 5,000 workers every quarter to complete construction. The company currently has 22 million sq.ft in various stages of construction across 31 projects, it said in the presentation.

The stock of Unitech gained 4.39 percent at Rs. 90.40 a share by close of Monday’s trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 12-Jan-2010

Raj Nagar Extension now offers a serene setting for a pollution-free living with its new connectivity, which will cut down travel time to Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida drastically, says Prabhakar Sinha

Connectivity is the key to development of an area, especially for a housing real estate destination in a metro city like Delhi. Better connectivity not only reduces commuting time but also bring down cost of travel. And, if a new connecting road is developed because of rapid development of the city, which not only speeds up traffic but also reduces distance, it could prove a boon to a far-flung area. Raj Nagar Extension on National Highway 58 (connecting NCR to Dehradun via Meerut) is going to benefit by new roads, which are being constructed to de-congest the traffic flow in the city.

Because of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, various city authorities of NCR are implementing a number of projects to decongest traffic and speed up flow of vehicular movement. A number of flyovers are being built on various roads connecting central Delhi to GT Road via Dabur Crossing and Anand Vihar Interstate Bus Terminal.

To reduce the traffic load on the existing road infrastructure, authorities are developing a new connecting road along the Hindon canal, which connects the Noida toll bridge near the Metro station at Ashok Nagar in Delhi on one end to the GT Road just before the bridge on Hindon river on the other. This will enable one to bypass the congestion of Mohan Nagar completely in reaching Raj Nagar Extension from Delhi, Noida, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Indirapuram.

As soon as one crosses the Hindon river, while moving from Delhi, the road on the left, which is a new bypass to Ghaziabad city, leads to Raj Nagar Extension - and the work on this road is almost complete.

Because of these roads, if one travels along the Hindon canal, the distance to South Delhi via the toll road is reduced by almost 30%, while the distance to Noida Sector 63 via Indirapuram has come down by almost 50%. Raj Nagar is now only around 12km from Noida Sector 63, and around 15km from Noida toll bridge. Not only this, the new approach road has brought down travel time to less than half because of a smoother flow of traffic. Apart from this, the area will soon be connected through a six-lane expressway connecting GT Road with NH-24, which goes to Hapur. The Metro Rail is also knocking the doors of Raj Nagar as there are plans to take it to Ghaziabad.

Further, the proposed flyover and road from Hindon airbase will offer express connectivity to Delhi via Wazirabad. As per the latest policy development, the proposed Delhi-Haridwar highway will also pass through Raj Nagar Extension, further enhancing connectivity of the area.

Raj Nagar Extension is 25km from the Central Business District of Connaught Place and only 12km from Delhi boarder. The area is yet to be developed. This has given the authority and developers a chance to carry on a planned development in the area. As it is near the bypass, one can travel to Delhi or other cities without crossing the crowded areas of Meerut or Ghaziabad. Because of the connectivity, which is coming up in the region, travel time to Delhi as well as Noida from here has come down to 30 minutes; 10 minutes to Vasundhara, 15 minutes each to Indirapuram and Vaishali.

The most heartening aspect is that one can get a two-room apartment in this area for around Rs 12 lakh. Developers are selling their project at Rs 1,500 per sq ft to Rs 1,800 per sq ft. This makes Raj Nagar Extension a one-stop destination for a wide band of middle-class end users, offering choices ranging from a 1BHK for Rs 12 lakh to a 3BHK for 40 lakh, and throwing in amenities likes entertainment zones, shopping arcades, and jogging tracks.

The USP of this area is an adjoining perennially green and unpolluted belt, which will remain undisturbed owing to the fact that Ghaziabad Development Authority has declared 500 acres along Hindon river as a green belt and banned all construction activity in the area, says director of Ashiana Developers, Rohit Raj Modi, who is developing a housing project “Ashiana Palm Court” in the region. This area is in the vicinity of posh localities of Ghaziabad, like Raj Nagar, located centrally, yet buffered from the hustle and bustle of the busy township of Ghaziabad.

Therefore, the location offers a serene setting for a pollution-free living in a well-planned locale with good connectivity to Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida, by way of the proposed expressways, said CEO of KDP Manoj Goel, who is developing a housing project “Grand Savanna”.

With the new development in the road infrastructure, the area will serve the middle-class needs of NCR, says SVP CEO Sunil Jindal. SVP is developing SVP-Gulmohar, a housing complex in the region.

As planned by Uttar Pradesh government, a girl’s hostel, a vocational college, and a training institute have also been announced in the vicinity of Raj Nagar Extension. Work on these projects has already begun and will accelerate development in the area. Fifteen realty firms are developing over 10,000 apartments in the area. To expedite development in the region like connecting roads to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, and Meerut, water supply, drainage system and electricity connection, all the 15 developers have come together to form Raj Nagar Extension (NH-58) Developer’s Association (RNEDA). The association comprises developers like Ashiana Homes, SVP Group, SG Estates, Landcraft, KDP Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Shree Energy Developers Pvt Ltd, Ajnara India Ltd, Ascent Buildtech, and also includes upcoming developers like High-End Infratech, Krishna Asset Reconstruction, MCC Builders, Quantam Buildwell Pvt Ltd and Shomit Finance Limited.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 09-01-2010

 

Kavita Sriram outlines some factors that make investing in a second home an attractive option

Vikas lives in a threebedroom apartment. He purchased the property some six years ago for Rs 30 lakhs. Today, the cost of the apartment stands doubled. With an increase in his pay packet, Vikas can save some additional money every month. He is contemplating on buying a second house. Is it a wise decision?

Correction phase

The realty sector can be best described as in a correction phase. Ideally, this is the best time to invest in property.

Easy home loans

Some years ago, procuring a home loan was considered quite difficult. People could buy their own homes only towards the end of their careers when they had saved enough money. Things have changed over the years. If you are a salaried individual, employed with a large, reputed firm, with no history of previous defaults, getting a home loan is absolutely simple.

The lender decides on your eligibility after considering factors like age, The rental income that a second property can fetch is a major factor that many buyers take into consideration. This rental income can help pay off a large portion of the EMIs. If the property is closer to the heart of the city, the rental income could be higher.

Affordable housing

Over the past few years, civic infrastructure of the city has received tremendous boost. Highways of international standards have improved connectivity and made road travel pleasant. Affordable housing has mushroomed in the outskirts of the city.

When you look for a second property, it is location that holds the key to a good investment. Some people may want to rent it out while others prefer it to be a vacation home. Ensure that the property is close to schools, hospitals and other amenities, in case you want to rent it out. A vacation home on the other hand, needs basic furnishing and must be close to a railway station or airport.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 02-01-2010

 

New Year is going to provide a good opportunity to the investors in Indian real estate, since, Indian Economy is growing rapidly as well as the real estate market is also gaining its strength. The real estate experts are expecting that the prices of real estate is likely to go up in the current year due to the end of global slowdown and Indian Market is especially out of such nightmare. Buying Property in Indian cities is a foresight investment and will certainly provide a good return in form of rent or through lease. And on other hand the price of the property is also gaining a record increment.

                        NRIs & Indians who are willing to invest their money in Indian market may consider the real estate as one of the best options available. They can get a assured return through their investment in Indian Real Estate. Both residential real estate and commercial real estate are available in various locations in Delhi & NCR, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Indirapuram and other major cities of India.

Made to Order, Luxury apartments allowing buyers to customize interiors,

Vivek Sinha

 

Selling luxury houses is acquiring a new lingo -- customisation.

Buyers can now pick and choose the brands of chandeliers, sanitary ware, kitchen appliances and even home furnishings that would be fitted in their lavish condominiums as developers jostle against each other to sell high-end houses priced upwards of Rs 1 crore.

 

The idea is to inject an element of uniqueness in each flat in an apartment despite similar super-structures.

 

DLF, for instance, is allowing buyers of its super-premium luxury projects such as Aralias, Belaire and Park Place at Gurgaon to use the services of architects to specify the interior design. The alter ations allow changes in bath fittings, flooring and minor tweaking in the structure.

 

"Our aim is to provide exclusive living experience ensconced in luxury, which can only be taken care of if we account for the unique tastes and preferences of the customers," a senior DLF executive told Hindustan Times.

 

Mumbai-based Ackruti City Developers' have offered similar options. "We are offering four different standards of customised interior options for an individual to choose from in our residential project Jewell at Andheri in Mumbai," company chairman Hemant Shah said.

 

"The idea behind the initiative is to make living a unique and pleasurable experience for an individual buying flats in the company's residential projects," Shah said.

 

Analysts, however, said developers would have to carefully walk the wedge to ensure that there is no slip up in quality. "The customers should ensure that the quality issues are taken care off well," said Anuj Puri, chairman of real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

 

Ansal API is planning similar such initiatives in its luxury villas and apartments at its Greater Noida's Megapolis and Lucknow's Sushant City project.

 

"Customisation requires redoing the interiors of an apartment, which escalates the cost. While the buyer of a luxury villa is willing to shell out extra money for the ambience, the same may not be applicable for midincome buyers for whom price is the sole important factor," said Ansal API spokesperson.

 

Millennium Spire-- a Singaporebased private equity fund --plans to offer customised options for its midincome housing projects as well.

 

"Instead of the pre-conceived built up apartments, we will offer floor areas for sale in which the end-user would decide upon the number of rooms to be built on the area bought," Ashish Bhalla, managing director, Millennium Spire, said.

 

Bhalla said the company would launch 5,000 such units over the next few weeks at Gurgaon. These "apartments-on-demand" will be priced in the range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per sq ft. "Architectural customisation will be the unique selling proposition for our houses," Bhalla said. Average size of a residential unit has been coming down in recent years "We will give them such choices.". The customisation bug, however, has not bitten all real estate developers.

 

Unitech, Parsvnath and Omaxe said they do not have any plans to offer any customisation in their apartments. "We do not have any projects in our portfolio wherein we would like to offer customisation to our customers," said R. Nagaraju, general manager corporate planning, Unitech.

 

Spokespersons for Parsvnath and Omaxe too denied any such offering by the companies in their real estate projects.

 

Courtesy:- HT Business dt:- 02-01-2010

 

Homebuyers will benefit if real estate comes within the ambit of GST, Heetesh Veera

Real estate in India is subject to a multitude of taxes at both Central and state levels. This includes the Central service tax (levied on construction) and state value added tax (on works contract for construction and the building material used). At the state level, buying a home means paying a hefty stamp duty and registration fee.

It is the common man who bears the brunt of these taxes, which are passed on to the buyer by the real estate developer, because the current system suffers from credit deficient mechanism.

All this would have been simplified had the government included the real estate industry within the ambit of the Goods and Service Tax (GST).

The first discussion paper apparently kept realty out of the purview of GST. This defeated the primary purpose of introducing a seamless credit mechanism and lowering mass housing costs. However, the tax model suggested by the 13th Finance Commission comes as a breather as it recommends the following:

1. Levy GST on all newly constructed property for the first sale and allow credit to the developer for input tax (incurred on construction material and such like) paid at the time of construction.

As a result, the cascading effect under the existing regime shall be eliminated, leading to a possible reduction in costs.

Let us say, developer `X' incurred Rs 1 lakh as tax cost on supplies and construction services etc for a property worth Rs 10 lakh. In the absence of a credit mechanism, the sum of Rs 1 lakh is passed on to the buyer, and the property cost becomes Rs 11 lakh.

Under the proposed GST regime, the tax paid on building materials and construction services i.e. the sum of Rs 1 lakh, would be reduced (by way of credit) from the builder's total cost of Rs 11 lakh, thus keeping down the final cost for the homebuyer.

2. Include stamp duty under GST to facilitate input credit. Currently, stamp duty is not available as credit. In the above example, assuming GST (in lieu of stamp duty) is applicable at 5 per cent of Rs 10 lakh, a homebuyer shall have to pay GST of Rs 50,000 on the purchase. This sum shall be available as credit to the buyer against GST collected on a later sale.

3 All secondary market transactions involving immovable properties should be liable to GST, and the tax paid at the time of purchase should be available as credit. In the aforesaid example, when first buyer `Y' sells the property to second buyer `Z', the sale is again subject to GST. Now the tax paid by the first buyer, a sum of Rs 50,000, is adjusted with that paid by the second buyer.

So, from a second-sale GST of, say, Rs 75,000, the first buyer takes his Rs 50,000 and the rest goes to the government.

If the Finance Commission's suggestion is accepted, these steps are likely to bring about a reduction in property prices and, in turn, may bring a dream house within reach.

With inputs from Pratik Shah The author is tax partner with Ernst & Young, India

Courtesy:- HT Estates dt:- 02-01-2010

 

 

Ashish Gupta lists out some factors you need to analyse to arrive at the ideal loan tenure

 A loan tenure is the duration of a loan. In case of housing loans, generally, the tenure is long. It may vary anywhere between five and 20 years. Most borrowers prefer to borrow for a longer period of time. The reason is quite obvious. The amount borrowed is quite large. Also, the amount of monthly repayment through equated monthly instalments (EMIs) depends on the tenure of the loan. The longer the tenure, the lower will be the EMI. And shorter the tenure, the higher will be the EMI. On shorter loan tenures, the interest amount paid will be lesser as against the longer tenure loans, where the interest amount increases over time.

There are various factors that influence the determination of a loan tenure:

Income of borrower   

The first and foremost is the income of the borrower. The disposable income of the borrower makes a difference. The reason is that it is from this part of the income that a borrower repays the loan instalments. So, if the net disposable income is low, it is advisable to go in for a longer tenure loan rather than opting for short tenure one. This way the EMI portion is reduced. The loan amount is spread over a longer period of time. The immediate burden on the borrower is lower. This is despite the fact that the borrower is required to pay interest through the extended period of borrowing.

Loan amount   

The other factor influencing the loan tenure is the amount of loan. The amount borrowed determines whether one should opt for a longer tenure or shorter tenure. In case the amount borrowed is huge, a borrower may prefer to go in for a longer tenure loan.

Generally, short tenure loans attract lower rates of interest as compared to long tenure loans. This is because banks can estimate the nearterm interest rate movements more accurately as compared to movements in the long term. So, in case one has adequate liquidity and resources to repay the loan amount faster, he may opt for a shorter duration loan and thus take advantage of the lower interest rate.

Objective of borrower   

Another factor that influences the loan tenure is the objective of the borrower. Whether a borrower is intending to take the loan to purchase a property for his own use or as an investment has a bearing. Generally, if a borrower is borrowing for the purpose of investing, he may just go for a shorter duration loan so as to avoid the exit charges payable in case of early termination of the loan, and to maintain liquidity of his capital.

 

Expected income   

Another important element to be considered is the future income of the borrower. In case the borrower is expecting an increase or reduction in his income, he has to decide on the tenure accordingly. For example, in case a person is to retire in another five years, he may look at a maximum of five years’ tenure, and may not like to stretch it beyond his retirement age.

On the other hand, a 30-year-old can think of a longer tenure loan, stretching up to 10-20 years, because gradually his income would also be increasing. In the initial years of employment, the income is low. It gradually increases over the years. So, one may opt for a longer duration loan and reduce the present burden. None of these factors can be individually taken to decide on the loan tenure. All these factors are interlinked and need to be analysed in totality so as to arrive at an ideal loan tenure.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 26/12/2009

 

Deepa Gupta

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway has been conceptually finalized and its alignment is underway the project is slated to be completed by 2014. While the Upper Ganga Canal Expressway will link Delhi to Dehradun all along the canal from Purkazi to Mussoorie, some of the other highlights in the project are a new inter-state bus terminal, a multi-speciality hospital, project to widen roads, an international airport in the city, and a gas pipeline project to supply cooking gas to houses. The district magistrate (DM) of Meerut, Bhuvnesh Kumar, announced this while he was speaking at Times Development Conclave-09, the first of its kind in Meerut, which was organized by The Times of India in association with Shobhit University.

Kumar, who was answering every question thrown at him by the residents of the city, said, Meerut has great potential in housing, roads, infrastructure, urban transport, drinking water, solid-waste management and the like. He tried to assure the audience that the city would be one of the most sought-after regions in the NCR.

Since power has been a major hurdle to the progress of the city in the last three decades, it was an area of great concern. The next four years will see an additional 15,000 megawatt increase in the power generation capacity for UP, and once the Anapara C and D units also start production, the situation will improve majorly, he assured the audience.

Bsides Kumar, who inaugurated the conclave, others present on the occasion were the pro-chancellor of Shobhit University, Kunwar Vijendra Shekhar, assistant commissioner of UP Awas Vikas Parishad, Vimal Kumar Sharma, vice-chairman of Meerut Development Authority, Ram Naval Singh, and chief development officer of Meerut, Pranjal Yadav.

The coclave was aimed at bringing together the policy makers and service providers from private sectors on a common platform along with the citizens.

Kunwar Vijendra Shekhar talked about the role of private players in quality education. Speaking on the role of education in the economy, he stressed upon the need to educate the youth in a way that they could fit into the economic structure.

Ram Naval Singh brought to light many projects undertaken by MDA some of them are already underway while others will soon start. The middle-income group wants to reside here for the simple reason that the cost of developed land in Meerut is much less than that in Gurgaon or elsewhere. As a result, nearly 100 developers are ready to projects launch their in the city, he said.

He further stated that MDA had developed a comprehensive mobility plan for faster connectivity of a national character for Meerut.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 26/12/2009

 

Rates still unviable, but begins experiment with harvesting, recycling

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation says its per capita supply of water is the highest in the country, at 249 litres per capita per day (lpcd), against the national standard of 158 lpcd.

However, supply is still below the demand, an important issue given the proposed Phase-V and VI expansions of the city. Chandigarh’s decadal population growth is 44 per cent, against the national average of 25 per cent.

Revenue from water supply is also well below spending, with rates not having been revised since 2002.

The daily requirement is estimated at 100 million gallons a day (mgd). The city gets 80 mgd at Kajouli, 27 km from here, on the Bhakra mainline canal. Of this, 10 mgd is pumped to the satellite city of Mohali and 3 mgd to Chandimandir (in Haryana). The other 67 MGD goes to Chandigarh. Another 20 MGD is sourced through 200-odd tubewells in the city.

For augmentation, the Union urban development ministry has recently approved a project to take another 40 MGD at Kajouli; of this, 29 MGD is for Chandigarh and the rest to neighbouring areas, including Mohali. This, officials say, should suffice for the next 25 years.

In addition, 10 MGD is to be sourced through a new plant, again okayed this year, which would treat sewerage water to make it fit for uses like gardening and car washes. To encourage such use, the CMC plans to supply this re-treated water at a subsidised rate of Rs 50 per acre per month.

Rainwater harvesting has also been made compulsory for all new buildings, both residential and commercial, including government ones. Existing government buildings are also supposed to convert, though no schedule has been mandated.

Chandigarh has 144,000 connections, of which 121,000 are metered. For unmetered connections, the supply is at a flat Rs 100 a month. The engineering department has proposed to raise these rates by 50 per cent, the first such hike since 2002; the proposal is still being studied.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 26/12/2009

Tax Benefits Likely To Continue To Make Code Amenable To ‘Aam Aadmi’

Deepshikha Sikarwar NEW DELHI

The government may modify the draft direct tax code to retain tax shelters on interest and principal repayments for home loans to make the proposed new code more attractive for the average Indian, a finance ministry official told ET.

The proposed direct taxes code, which has been unveiled for public debate and is due to become operational from April 2011, does not provide tax incentives to loan-funded house purchases that are for personal use.

At present, taxpayers are allowed to deduct from their income the interest paid on home loans to a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh every year. In addition, the repayment of the principal amount is also allowed to be included within the rebate available under section 80C, which has a maximum limit of Rs 1 lakh.

The draft code, billed as a comprehensive reform of the direct taxes regime, has suggested increasing the exemption limit under section 80C to Rs 3 lakh, but the list of eligible expenditure/savings does not include the principal payment. The code also restricts the interest deduction only to in respect houses rented out and where such income is included in the income of the assessee.

At present, if a home buyer in the highest 30% tax slab were to avail the maximum tax exemption available on home loans then government loses over Rs 77,000 in tax.

The planned move to discontinue tax benefits for housing has faced widespread criticism and the finance ministry official said “we are looking at provisions (in the direct taxes code) that concern common man directly, including tax incentives to housing.”

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has already indicated his willingness to review the contentious provisions in the code, observing, “I have laid a certain proposal in the form of a direct tax code. But it is not the Bhagwad Gita and it cannot be said that it cannot be changed.” Mr Mukherjee has held discussions with senior officials of the apex direct tax body, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, on the changes to be carried out in the code to make it widely accepted.

The UPA government has lined up reform of both the indirect and direct tax structures that are laden with a plethora of exemptions. It plans to implement a comprehensive Goods and Services tax on the indirect taxes side and replace the decades-old income tax law with the new direct taxes code. India has a tax-to-GDP ratio of 11% at the central government level and about 16% including state and municipal taxes. This is well below the average 35.8% for OECD countries in 2007.

Tax reforms are aimed at increasing compliance and widening the tax base by lowering rates and removing exemptions. The government is hoping to redraft the new code quickly so that it can be placed in Parliament in the Budget session itself.

HEADING BACK HOME

At present, taxpayers are allowed to deduct from their income the interest paid on home loans to a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh

Repayment of principal amount is also allowed to be included within the rebate available under section 80C, which has a maximum limit of Rs 1 lakh

The proposed direct taxes code has not provided tax incentives to loan-funded houses that are for personal use

The draft direct taxes code has suggested increasing the exemption limit under section 80C to Rs 3 lakh but the list of eligible expenditure/ savings does not include the principal amount

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has indicated that his ministry is open to reviewing the contentious provisions in new direct taxes code

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 26/12/2009

Unfolding a fascinating business opportunity at Vastrapur, Ahmedabad – a place which is in the heart of city, is on the brink of educational institutions and traditional business centres. It is also conveniently accessible by high end consumers.

Coming up at this high potential zone on Judges Bungalow Road is City Centre, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad. With convergence of various key verticals that make integrated retailing a resounding success, Parsvnath City Centre, Vastrapur offers distinct advantages for sustained growth.

High visibility to shoppers across all levels

Unique product mix which allows competitive environment conducive for growth

Better retailer satisfaction due to world-class infrastructure

Maximum footfalls owing to its strategic location

High end consumer base

Global mall management system

Specifications

                Type of Construction

                RCC framed structure (Earthquake resistant)

                Doors & Windows

                Aluminum & glass glazing for show windows & doors.

                Air Conditioning

                Centrally air-conditioned complex with Integrated lighting, Fire alarm system and Internal quality FCUs, AHUs energy efficient chillers.

                Toilets

                Provision for hot & cold water pipes in all toilets, vitrified/ceramic tiles flooring/walls sanitary/Chinaware in light coloured shades of standard make . high Quality CP fitting and accessories, electrical hand dryers to be provided.

                Fire Fighting System

                Shutdown of HVAC system in case of fire, automatic smoke extraction in case of fire.

                Flooring

                Polished granite/vitrified tiles in common areas & marble/ceramic tile flooring in shops.

                Electrical System

                Uninterrupted power supply with 100% power back-up DG sets of International Standards electrical wiring and outlets separate metering for each shop.

                Ventilation

                Through centrifugal fans wherever required plumbing storage tanks for raw & treated water, soil, waste & vent pipes grease traps for kitchen.

                Fire Detection system

                Alarm system, hose reel provided, wet riser provided, yard hydrant provided fire extinguishers provided, automatic sprinkler system, break glass units and alarms.

                Internal Finish

                POP/gypsum board false ceiling/aluminum ceiling in public areas. Stone/vitrified tiles/stainless steel/textured paint. Covering on the walls in common spaces plastered & OBD painted walls in shops.

                Security System

                CCTV & other hi-tech controls. Round the clock security.

                Exterior Finish

                Permanent finish including stone cladding, composite aluminum sheets, Reflective glass, curtain wall & texture paint finishes.

                Lighting

                Facade lighting, street lighting, adv. & glow signage, all the required internal and task lighting.

                Common Facilities

                Common toilets in each floor, modern high class glass fronted lifts, piped music in all public areas, public address system, parking in basement connected through lifts, escalators, elevators, atriums

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/parsvnath-city-center.aspx

The lure of low interest rates on home loans and affordable homes have rekindled the enthusiasm of homebuyers. With much of the economic recession behind us, things are looking up for the realty sector.

Suppose a borrower takes a home loan at a floating rate of interest. Unlike with a fixed rate loan, the interest rates can move in either direction. If the floating rates go down, the borrower will be benefited as his EMI outflow goes down. On the contrary, if the floating rates move in an upward direction, the borrower's EMI outflow will increase.

How does a borrower cope with increase in rates? What are the options before a borrower who is struggling to make EMI repayments every month?

• Increasing the tenure of the loan could bring some immediate relief. However, the longer the tenure of the loan, greater is the associated cost of borrowing.

• Try to pay off high interest rate debts first and refrain from taking fresh loans. Analyse how much debt you've accumulated and curb your spending habit

• Move from floating to fixed rate if uncertainty of rate changes is stealing your peace of mind. However, when moving from floating to a fixed rate loan, the borrower is charged a conversion fee. Sometimes these fees and penalties could eat into your actual conversion benefits

• Talk to the lender. Explore if he has any convenient repayment options that could bail you out of your financial crunch

• Explore if you can make prepayments. In case you have some other savings, even a partial prepayment could greatly reduce your monthly EMI commitment. Some lenders charge a small penalty for prepaying

• If you are paying a far higher rate than other borrowers, perhaps switching to another lender may not be a bad idea

Courtesy:- FT dt:- 20-12-2009

MUMBAI

 

An apartment, admeasuring approximately 1,780 sq ft, was leased out at Planet Godrej in Mahalaxmi at a monthly rental of Rs 1.5 lakh. This flat is located in Central Mumbai and the rental values of mid-ranged apartments in this location fall in the range of Rs 1.25–2.75 lakh per month. The aforementioned property, therefore, is within the expected range. Central Mumbai, much like other locations in the city, had seen a drop in demand, resulting in correction in values in the first half of 2009. However, over the past quarter, stability has been witnessed in both rental and capital values. The location is expected to remain stable in the short to medium term, as demand seems to be inching back for rental apartments.

 

CHENNAI

 

An independent house in Besant Nagar, admeasuring 3,800 sq ft, was leased out at an approximate rental value of Rs 75,000 per month. This is a high-end residential unit, which is located in South Chennai, including R.A. Puram, Boat Club Adyar and so on. Another apartment, admeasuring 2,285 sq ft, was leased out at Santhome in South Chennai at a monthly rental value of Rs 85,000. The average rental values in this location are between Rs 75,000 and Rs 2,25,000 per month. Thus, the rental values of both the residential units fall within the expected range. The location has seen steady rental values over the last quarter and has witnessed a rise of approximately 25% in values over the previous years, largely due to existing as well as new demand. The rental values in this location are expected to remain steady in the short term on account of restricted supply and buoyant demand.

 

HYDERABAD

 

Sale transaction of a villa, admeasuring 2,200 sq ft, was recorded in Kapra, Hyderabad. The villa is situated in a high-end gated community (villa project) called Saket Mithila. The cost of the villa was around Rs 70 lakh (approximately Rs 3,182 per sq ft). The project was launched in 2006 with a total of 100 villas in a land parcel of 11 acres. The capital values in this location would range between Rs 2,500-3,000 per sq ft and this sale, therefore, is within the prevalent range. Kapra is located in the North Eastern part of Hyderabad and is a new location being explored by residential developers. The demand that is being seen is largely for villas from the indigenous business community, retirement homes or second homes end users.

 

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

 

The pan-India residential demand is estimated to be over 7.5 million units by 2013 across all categories, including the economically weaker sections; affordable; mid and luxury segments. The demand for top seven cities is estimated to be 4.5 million units by 2013. Of the total expected demand across India, 43% is likely to be generated in tier-I cities, i.e., Bangalore, Mumbai and NCR. Mumbai is likely to witness the highest cumulative demand of 1.6 million units by 2013 due to various development projects and increasing urbanisation. Hyderabad and Bangalore are likely to have the highest CAGR of 14% in the next five years. The affordable and mid-segment category, likely to constitute 85% of the total residential demand, will be the primary focus of most developers.

 

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate consultancy firm, offers research and advisory services in property-related matters

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 18/12/2009

 

Neha Dewan & Anand Rawani NEW DELHI

Are you still postponing to buy your dream home, expecting that prices will decline further? Well, it’s time for you to do a reality check. The prices of a majority of the realty projects in the affordable segment, which is the sub Rs 30 lakh category, witnessed a steady or an upward movement during the last six months.

According to a joint analysis by SundayET and PropEquity, a real estate data analytics and research firm, out of 822 projects across 13 major cities — Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad — around 41% or 333 projects witnessed a price hike during the last six months. The analysis, computed exclusively for SundayET, also found that prices remained unchanged for around 322 or 39% of the total projects, whereas, there was a decline in prices of remaining 167 projects.

According to Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & MD of CB Richard Ellis, the price rise is from the discounted price and not from earlier peaks. The price rise is due to relatively high demand from all three categories of buyers — professional investors, second and third home buyers and end users. “Going forward, prices are likely to go up but that will be based on locations and projects.”

The analysis was based on available residential projects in the affordable housing segment i.e. under Rs 30 lakh price category across these cities. The analysis compares city-wise change in project pricing over the period March-April 2009 and September-October 2009 for affordable housing projects.

In the affordable segment, the maximum prices increase took place in Mumbai. The average price of projects went up by around 23%. Out of 85 projects in this segment in Mumbai, prices of as many as 53 projects increased. There are eight projects where there has been more than 15% price rise during the last six months.

Thane and Navi Mumbai follow closely at second and third position respectively as far as highest price rise is concerned. In Thane, prices went up by around 14%, whereas, Navi Mumbai witnessed an increase of around 12%. While in Thane, 35 out of a total of 47 projects witnessed a price rise, in Navi Mumbai 21 out of the 36 projects registered an increase in prices.

Industry experts feel that the price increase in the affordable segment may move the focus soon to the mid segment. “The Rs 30-60 lakh segment will see huge demand. However, going forward the focus on the sub 20 lakh category may get diluted to some extent,” said Navin Raheja, MD, Raheja Developers.

Agrees Pankaj Jain, ED of Realistic Realtors, a real estate consulting firm, who says that demand may decrease in affordable housing if prices go beyond this point. “The minimum increase has been 10-12% whereas the highest is 20-25% in cities such as Mumbai. Developers must hold on to prices for atleast next two quarters...else demand may slacken once again, even in this segment.”

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 20-12-2009

 

MUMBAI: Reliance Industries has emerged as the biggest wealth creator in the 2009 fiscal, generating Rs 1,51,400 crore, which accounted for over 15% of the total wealth created during the year in the country, a study has said. Leading brokerage firm Motilal Oswal, in a study released here on Thursday, said oil and gas has been the biggest wealth creator during the past six years—the first three years led by state-run oil and gas major ONGC and the next three by RIL. “Reliance Industries has emerged as the biggest wealth creator for the third time in a row. It has created Rs 1,514 billion worth of wealth, contributing 15.6% of total wealth created in FY09,” the study titled ‘14th Motilal Oswal Wealth Creation Study’ said. Also real estate Company Unitech was the fastest wealth creator since 2004, the study said; adding Unitech’s five-year stock price had a staggering CAGR of 122%. Apart from RIL, homeloan lender HDFC, pharma company Sun Pharma, auto major Hero Honda and software exporter Infosys have emerged among the top 100 wealth creators in the past one decade. “HDFC is ranked as the most consistent wealth creator by virtue of its 10-year price CAGR being the highest,” the study said.

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 18/12/2009

 

Second homes beckon Delhiites to explore beyond the NCR with Kerala and Goa offering irresistible choices, says Jayashree Kurup

If you are a resident of Delhi you will look for a property in Delhi. Right? Wrong! Increasingly, homebuyers from the NCR are actively seeking properties from across the country.

Take the case of Satish Nair. A Delhiite by birth and one who has lived in the city for the last 40 years, he always yearned for a house that he could call his own back home. However, searching for a house in Kerala was a tedious job and he was always hesitant in matching any action with his wish.

Similarly, Naina Balsavar knows more about property in Goa and their merits and demerits than many Goans. She has been keenly following all property launches in the state and is eager to pick up her dream home there one day.

Arvind Jhamb has been looking for a property in Goa for some years now. He even made a trip to the state and saw a few properties. “But either the price was not right or the titles were not clear,” he says.

So, if the buyer is ready and properties are available, the best way would be to bring the properties to Delhi. Today zameen-zaidad.com, the property portal promoted by the Times Business Solutions Ltd has brought Goa and Kerala properties to the capital’s buyers. On display is an array of different types of properties, including villas, row houses, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments and serviced apartments across Goa and Kerala. Each has a different set of drivers for the Delhi buyer.

Beaches that feature prominently in the Goa Property fair include Arpora, Baga, Dona Paula and Calangute, among others. Paresh Pai, partner in Heritage Princes Real Estate Developers, which is displaying Heritage Exotica at Arpora, says: “We are looking forward for prospective buyers from Delhi who are looking for a second home in Goa. Due to its beauty, greenery and climatic conditions, it has always been a favourite destination for investment and an attractive place for holiday homes.”

For Agnelo Braganca, director Riviera Constructions Pvt Ltd, “The Riviera Foothills in Arpora in North Goa, due for completion in December 2009, with 2- and 3-bedroom apartments and villas is attractive to Delhi buyers because of the proximity to entertainment hubs.

For Kaushal Bagadia of Nitin Developers, Delhi has always been a market with immense potential for picking up Goa properties. Jugdeep Sehgal of Bharat Developers & Realtors Ltd says the USP of his sales pitch is that he has brought “fully equipped service apartments and townhouses in South Goa close to the world famous Pololem beach. The 5-star amenities result in a healthy 8-9% assured rental returns”.

For Kerala, the large Keralite population living in Delhi is the prime target for properties at the fair. The consumer in Delhi looks for quality construction with good aesthetics and ventilation.

George E George, director of Infra Housing Pvt Ltd, says the consumer preferences have been for good returns on investment, projects nearing completion and home for the retired. He has brought all three to the zameen-zaidad Property show in Delhi. Infra Nouvelle, a one-bedroom, fully furnished and loaded apartment, which will be operated as a Luxury Serviced Apartment, comes with a price tag of Rs 24 lakh. Infra Vantage is for Rs 37 lakh and has luxury apartments to be completed in September 2010. Verandah Gardens offers high-end retirement homes at a price bracket of Rs 28 lakh to Rs 33 lakh.

Sobha Developers is coming with, Sobha City, at a special offer price of Rs 2,722 per sq ft for bookings till December 31, 2009 and is located 5km from Thrissur on the main Guruvayoor Highway, in Puzhakkal. Unnikrishnan, senior general manager, Sobha Developers, says: “We have introduced smaller size apartments with smaller builtup areas to make them affordable to the common man.”

Oceanus Dwellings Pvt Ltd is offering apartments and villas in Kochi, Thrissur, Trivandrum and Kasargod. Price of flats range between Rs 15 and Rs 60 lakh and villas from Rs 18 to Rs 80 lakh. Shyam Sundar, GM (Business Development), says consumers are now choosier and seek budget homes with smaller areas.

The basic idea is that the consumer is now driving developers to meet his requirements. The choice is large and developers are in a mood to woo the end users. Little wonder that second homes beckon Delhiites to explore beyond the NCR.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 12-12-2009

 

 

Individuals including self employed can claim a deduction on the expenditure incurred towards payment of rent for the house occupied by them. As per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, in computing the total income of an assessee, a deduction on the rent expenditure incurred for any furnished or unfurnished accommodation occupied by him is allowed. The residence should be used by the assessee only.

 

In order to avail this deduction, an assessee could be self-employed or a salaried employee. Further, he should not be in receipt of any house rent allowance (HRA). The Income Tax Department may prescribe other conditions or limitations, with regard to the area or place in which the accommodation is situated and after taking into account other relevant considerations. Normally, most of the salaried employees will be in receipt of HRA and accordingly the deduction on account of rent paid is governed by the provisions related to HRA under the IT Act.

 

Amount of deduction is limited to the least of these:

 

Rs 2,000 per month 25% of total income for the year (excluding long-term capital gains and some specified incomes, before deductions for any expenditure)

 

Expenditure incurred in excess of 10% of total income towards payment of rent

 

SOME POINTS TO BE NOTED   

 

The deduction will not be available to an assessee if the residential accommodation is owned by him, his spouse or minor child. It is also not available if the house is in the same city where he works.

 

In case a house is owned elsewhere: The deduction will not be available to an assessee if a residential accommodation is owned by him at another place, and he is claiming deductions on it as a house occupied by himself under Section 23 of the IT Act. In such a case, no deduction will be allowed in respect of rent paid, even if the person does not own any residential accommodation at the place where works.

 

Courtesy:- Times property dt:- 12/12/2009

 

Welcome to the 21st Century Lifestyle at OMAXE CITY- INDORE An Integrated Township of International Standards .

Would you like to live in an ultra - modern township ?

With everything from residential plots, expandable villas, hospitals, Commercial Complexes and schools. It's far ahead of everything you have seen before. A fine fusion of world-class infrastructure and rich tastes, Omaxe City, for a city like Indore, nothing else would be adequate.

A humble effort to make it a reality

With its new age design and world-class ambience, Omaxe City, Indore is a humble attempt from Omaxe to lay a strong foundation for a Developed India. Located on NH-3, Agra-Bombay bypass, makes it an ideal location to make such a dream into a concrete reality.

Perfection in every structure. Unparalleled elegance for your own home

Omaxe City, Indore is an integrated township comprising plots, independent floors and villas in a sprawling expanse of 89 acres. With all facilities and amenities such as schools, hospital, theme parks, state-of-the-art club, local shopping centre, grocery store and more....all within the township.

    * Township duly approved by Town & Country Planning, MP

    * Manned security at entry points

    * Most luxurious and privileged township for people who have their business and professional interests in Indore and adjoining industrial areas.

Features

QUALITY EDUCATION & HEALthCARE TO KEEP MIND & BODY FIT

Provision for:

    * Commercial Complex

    * Dispensary / Nursing Home

    * Primary Schools

    * High School

    * Nursery school with crèche

All facilities for your day-to-day needs at your doorstep

A city inside a city

    * Provision for need based essential services like banks, sub-post office,

    * taxi stand, grocery store, super market, etc.

    * Provision for gas pipeline

    * Hi-tech security system

    * Underground cables for telephone, electricity distribution, storm water drains

    * & sewer system

    * Fibre optic network and e-connectivity

    * Efficient power distribution network

    * Regulated underground/overhead water supply

    * Township maintenance and upkeep by a reputed maintenance agency

    * Community Centre

All the facilities for you and your growing child

A Royal Retreat

    * Children's play facilities

    * Integrated landscaping including theme parks, water bodies

    * & water features

    * Wide roads with planted pathways & jogging track

Living in complete harmony with Nature

    * Afforestation by increasing green cover

    * Rainwater harvesting for replenishing ground water

    * Environment-friendly waste disposal

    * Sewage treatment and incinerators

Provision for exclusive club and community centres with :

    * State-of-the-art club with facilities like swimming pool, sauna, steam,

    * jacuzzi, etc.

    * Shopping Complex

    * Food Court and banquet hall

    * Recreational facilities including card room & multi-purpose room

    * Arrangement for indoor games like squash, cards, billiards, snooker, etc.

    * Hi-tech Gymnasium

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/omaxe-city-indore.aspx

 

Enter a city within your city, Enter a world complete in itself. Enter Ansal Town - Indore. Designed by L.S. Vaswani Architects, Ansal Town - Indore offers you all the amenities of modern living - luxury apartments, plots, convenient shopping centre catering to all day-to-day needs, schools and a club with swimming pool, gymnasium etc. All this in a pollution-free environment with ample area of green glades intersected by wide open roads that makes outdoors a mood elevator.             

And considering the proximity to reputed higher educational institutes, medi-care units and speciality hospitals, road and commercial complexes and other features of the city, Ansal Town - Indore is a paradise for people desirous of settling in this city or looking for an investment destination in real estate.

In essence, all the elements of fine living come together, only in a more refined form.

 

for more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/ansal-town-indore.aspx

Project Name                    Jain City (Plots)

Name of Builder               shri sai nath colonizers

Project Type                      Residential

Price                                      Please Contact for price

Location                               Jaipur

Agent                                    Shri Aditya Estates  42470622, 9810445860

The Jaincity Jaipur is spread over 140 acres of lush green environs in Jaipur, promising the best of international quality residential and commercial possessions. The magnificently planned township offers plots, built up floors, apartments, pent houses, shops, etc. offering all the best facilities that any township can boast of.

Quality of Life

Modern integrated township with all facilities like wide roads with green belt, developed children parks, health club, swimming pool, schools & engineering college,pure water, Round the clock electric supply & security, multispeciality hospitals and a ultra modern shopping complex at your doorstep.

Features

    The Jaincity Jaipur Project is spread over acres of lush green environs in Jaipur, promising the best of international quality residential and commercial possessions. The magnificently planned township offers plots, built up floors, apartments, pent houses, shops, etc. offering all the best facilities that any township can boast of. It plans to provides exceptional amenities like - clubhouse, schools, hospital, shopping center, dispensary.It facilitates drip irrigation and water harvesting systems, parks and jogging trails, wide roads, 100% power back up, for group housing and commercial, ample parking space and round-the-clock security.

Good Living Experience

    * Fully self-sufficient township.

    * Well connected by by National Highway NH 12 To Kota.

    * 5 min. drive for proposed International airport.

    * 28 kms from Rambag Palace

    * Located at Shivdaspura, Near Choki Dhani

    * Easily accessible to Shri Padam prabhu ji Temple

    * Pollution free environment

Interiors

    * Three and four bedroom apartments area from 2341 sq ft. to 2300 sq. ft.

    * Two face open floors, five balconies per apartment.

    * Premium building finishes.Power back up, 24-hour, three-tier security

      Twin parking areas.

    * Well laid out landscaping with fountains and greens.

For moer info lig on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/jain-city-jaipur.aspx

 

 

 

 

Project Name     Panchsheel Park Plots

Name of Builder                 Panchsheel Colonizers Pvt. Ltd.

Project Type        Premium Residential Twonship

Price                        As Below

Location                 Ajmer Highway, Jaipur

Agent                      Shri Aditya Estates

                                  42470622, 9810445860

Jaipur, one of the most beautiful, well-planned and livable cities in the world now boasts of another historic township project, the Panchsheel Park. Located on the fastest growing hub, the 6-lane Jaipur Ajmer expressway, the 800-acre Park embodies all amenities that make up comfortable modern-day life.

Mini India, a unique theme park spread over 50 acres is all set to offer a glimpse of various parts of India... monuments, people, attire, culture, language, and cuisine. this traditional theme park, beautifully landscaped and designed is sure to be a prime attraction among the tourists visiting Rajasthan.

Resort Hotel

A luxurious and truly international Resort Hotel is being set up in collaboration with the Tivoli Garden Resort Hotel. Tivoli is one of the leading resort chains known for its hospitality tradition, luxury and comfort. It is the preferred choice of the movers and shakers of the society. At Panchsheel Park it is coming up with a 200-room luxurious Hotel with state-of-the-art banquet and conference facility.

18-hole Golf Course

Amusement Park

Club

Mini India

Cricket Academy

Super Specialty Hospital

Resort Hotel

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/panchsheel-park-jaipur.aspx

 

A tenant can continue holding possession even after the lease is determined

Deemed tenancy is a 'tenancy by holding over'. It is an implied tenancy. Under the Transfer of Property Act 1882, some circumstances lead to a tenancy by holding over.

When tenancy by holding over is created:

• The lessee or underlessee of the property remains in possession after the determination of the lease granted by the lessor

• The lessor or his legal representative either accepts rent from the lessee or underlessee, or otherwise assents to his continuing in possession

• There is no agreement to the contrary

The expression 'holding over' refers to retaining possession. There is a distinction between a tenant continuing in possession of a property after the determination of the lease, without the consent of the landlord, and a tenant doing so with the consent of the landlord. The former is called a tenant by sufferance. On the other hand, the latter is called a tenant holding over.

A lessee holding over with the consent of the lessor is in a better position than a mere tenant at will. The assent of the landlord to the continuance of the tenancy after the determination of the tenancy creates a new tenancy.

In such a case, the lease is renewed from year to year, or from month to month, according to the purpose for which the property is leased. For example, say A lets-out a house to B for three years. B underlets the house to C at a monthly rent of Rs 2,000. The three years expire, but C continues in possession of the house and pays the rent to A. So C's lease is renewed from month to month. Similarly, in case A lets his house to B for the life of C. If C dies, but B continues in possession with A's assent, then B's lease is renewed from year to year.

A statutory tenancy is distinct from a tenancy by holding over in the sense that the former is more specific. Most rent control acts recognize statutory tenancy - either expressly or by implication. In case a tenancy is given protection under a statute, it is called a statutory tenancy.

In case of a statutory tenancy, the rights of a tenant who retains possession by holding over is defined by the statute. All rent control acts recognize and afford protection to tenants against eviction despite termination of tenancy except on the grounds recognized by the acts.

Courtesy:- FT dt:- 29/11/2009

 

On Tuesday, HDFC announced its home loan policy as like running SBI is dual rate Home loan policy under which bank charged fixed rate for some tenure and then floating rate for a loan of Rs 30 lac for 20 years, HDFC will be changed a fixed rate i.e 8.25% up to march 2012 and then a floating rate i.e. 500 basis points below the Prime Lending Rate (PLR), currently is 13.75% on another hand, already SBI is charging 8% for first year and 8.5% for next two year and from fourth year the borrow can opt between a fixed and a floating rate, SBI’s floating rate in 275 basis points less than its PLR i.e. 11.75%.

When SBI launched its popular scheme it was vehemently criticized by HDFC chairman Mr. Deepak Parekh but due to abundant liquidity and fierce competition, HDFC accepted similar scheme. This scheme is only for new customers who apply before Jan 31, 2010 and avail at least a part disbursement before March 31, 2010. While the fixed rate will remain the same irrespective of the loan amount, the floating rate will vary with the loan amount.

HDFC now has three slab i.e loans up to 30 lacs, between, 30 to 50 lakh and Rs 50 lakh & above.

 

For more details visit: http://www.zameen-zaidad.com

                                    http://www.propertycafeteria.com

 

Religious places are showing the way to go... and building quality real estate in studio, one- and two bedroom categories Namrata Kohli gives a lowdown on small units done up in the most creative manner at Vrindavan and Mathura

Creative designs of smaller units abound in religious places. So, whether it is Vrindavan or Mathura, Haridwar or Rishikesh, there are innumerable examples of good quality studio apartments in each of these places. The reason clearly is a growing segment of religious and wealthy who desire a second/holiday home at these religious places with a manageable size house, which caters to their frequent but short visits, and becomes their retirement home in later years. Builders have understood this need and are offering the religious and wealthy group very easy-to-manage, semi- to fully-furnished small units in lovely gated communities.

A case in point is a complex with 85% greenery and only 15% constructed area with 248 5-star fully furnished cottages, complete with designer furnishings and fittings, and each cottage equipped with microwave, refrigerator, LCD TV and airconditioned rooms. The campus has landscaped gardens and water features, amenities like club house and hi-tech gym, yoga and meditation centre, indoor swimming pool, spa and sauna and battery operated golf carts for internal commute.

This is not a cut from the real estate of a developed country in the west but a boutique development in our own countryside, in Mathura, by a group called Shri Group. This creative project called Shri Radha Brij Vasundhara is at the feet of Govardhan Parvat and enroute the famous Parikrama of Govardhan Parvat. The project has onebedroom, two-bedroom and duplex cottages, each of which is fully furnished and “one has to just arrive with bag and baggage”, says Sapna Aurora, manager of Shri Group.

A one-bedroom, fully furnished cottage of 760 sq ft costs Rs 25 lakhs, a twobedroom cottage of 960 sq ft costs Rs 30 lakhs and a duplex costs Rs 35 lakhs. Sapna adds that there is a tremendous interest shown in these cottages by a specific group of people - the Iskon devotees - Lord Krishna bhakts, both from India and abroad, and NRIs belonging to Rajasthan and Gujarat. The concept is one of lifestyle living providing for a perfect ambience in the vicinity of the Lord; it has also been done up to attract nature lovers. “We have queries pouring in from Iskon followers from Ahmedabad to New Zealand and 70% of the project is sold out,” says the group’s spokesperson. Some of the other interesting works of Shri Group in Mathura include projects like Shri Jamuna Dham, Shri Radha Orchid, Shri Radha Puram, Shri Radha Puram estate.

Omaxe group has launched Omaxe Eternity, a project of on nearly 74 acres. The size of the built-up area is 425 sq ft, 840 q ft, 1100 sq ft and the rate is Rs 1,600 per sq ft + additional charges. The maximum demand in a place like Vrindavan is for studio units and as per Rohtaz Goel, religious tourism is the key driver of Vrindavan real estate and for that matter for any religious place, though actual residents too buy apartments, but preferring bigger units. These units are available in a price band of Rs 7 lakhs to Rs 17 lakhs and is high on features like a yoga and meditation centre, central park with musical fountain, large open green spaces, local shopping area, wide roads with ample parking spaces, provision for schools within the complex, gated entry-exit and security arrangements, kids park and play area, recreational centre, restaurant facility.

NRI Greens by Shri Group has semito fully-furnished units available in the Rs 9 lakh to Rs 19 lakh price band with sizes varying from 460 sq ft (studio) to 850 sq ft (one bedroom) and 1,058 sq ft for a two-bedroom unit. The project will provide facilities like pool, billiards, gymnasium, sauna bath, clubhouse, Jacuzzi, spa, and separate kids area.

On an average, land cost at Mathura is Rs 8,000/sq yard while at Vrindavan it is Rs 12,000/sq yard and the unit cost of apartments at Mathura is Rs 1,200/sq ft and at Vrindavan Rs 1,700/sq ft.

Juxtapose these quality developments with say what is available in the metros in smaller units category and you only have one option - the Janta flats and the LIG - sample Dwarka Sector 16 B flats, which have approximately 1,600 units, in an affordable range of Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs. Though there are any number of people who would want to stay in such affordable accommodations, why is it that these flats have less than 40% occupancy?

Not that there is no demand in metros for smaller units — infact, it is a much sought-after category and there is a huge pent up demand for good studio apartments. According to broker Ranvir Singh, “We have many enquiries from single working professionals, especially engineers and call centre executives, and even students, who need only a single-room set. Their requirement is for one kitchen, one bathroom and one room and these flats fit into the category. But takers are few as the design, civil and structural and interior fittings, are wanting in every aspect.”

No wonder then, these flats are less used for housing and these are more of a hub for commercial activities housing property dealer offices, beauty parlours, maid agencies, doctor clinics, pet clinics, and small shops - in fact, everything but residential accommodation. The vast investor communities, who indulge in bulk buying, have tapped the rest of the Janta flats and as soon as they make a fast buck, they sell it off to others. A broker says that an investor had bought a Janta flat for Rs 9 lakh in November 2007, and currently the value of the same flat is Rs 13 lakhs.

So what is wrong with these flats? These flats, which anyways are small - comprising one room, kitchen and toilet, which tot up to a total of 250 sq ft -call for better optimization of space. They could do with a better design, as well as civil, electrical and interior fit-outs.

Pointers to better design abound in neighbouring religious centers which may be expensive but given the amenities and quality of construction, no one will mind paying extra. It may be worthwhile to take a cue from them.

Isn’t it time that the state customized to the new-age requirement and created accommodation that is usable and useful for the end user? Moreover, there could be some policy initiatives which could ensure that these flats are used by the end user rather than ending up in the hands of shortterm real estate traders.

Vivek Dahiya, a real estate consultant points out that in mature real estate markets like the US, there is a “concept of shared equity between the developer and the government. The flats are passed onto end users at subsidized rates but thereafter if there is appreciation in values, it is not passed on to the buyer - it remains with the developer and the government, who have taken the risk and a cut in the profits by passing on the subsidy at the initial stage. Any appreciation five years hence is developers’ gain and this kind of regulatory technique is one way of controlling mindless investment activity in real estate.”

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 21/11/2009

 

A weekend home may provide you the much-needed break from the city grind but make sure that you invest in a location and project that allows for sufficient resale value, say Neha Dewan & E Jayashree Kurup

Are you confused over various options to get away on the weekend? Why not get one of your own instead? Investing in a weekend home can provide you with a retreat which will be your own always.

But what really is the concept of a weekend home? And how popular is it? Says Raminder Grover, CEO, Homebay Residential, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, “A weekend home would differ from a vacation home by virtue of being close enough to the primary place of residence to reach within a few hours, yet far enough and in more convivial surroundings to provide a break from the oppression of city life. Buyers from the more affluent class are the ones currently looking at weekend home options.

Agrees Rohit Gera, executive director of Pune-based Gera Properties who feels that people buy these either as an investment or to upgrade to a larger home, with better facilities, amenities or a better location. “Most weekend homes are in the same city, but probably in a new upcoming suburb which offer them better infrastructure and amenities. If they buy in some other city, it will be due to the exposure they have had to that place before. They would have either studied, lived or worked there.”

Close to Delhi, Karnal, Jaipur and Manesar are good options to look for a weekend getaway investment. Whereas in Mumbai, areas such as Panvel, Nerul, Matheran and Lonavala are popular. In Chennai, the best location for a weekend home is the East Coast Road due to its road connectivity to the metro and proximity to Chennai.

Developers are making ample use of the opportunity at hand. Real estate developer and asset management company, Alpha G: Corp, for instance, is currently in the process of handing over to buyers the plotted development of 141 acres in Phase-I of Alpha International City, Karnal. Just a two-hour drive from Delhi and close enough to Chandigarh, the group found among its buyers an interesting mix of users. The scenic surroundings, the pleasurable drive, the impeccable infrastructure and the availability of water and electricity in abundance made this an attractive choice for prospective buyers.

Says S K Sayal, director & CEO, Alpha G:Corp, “The extensive research done by our team before launching revealed very clearly that there was an ever-increasing aspiration and demand for more wholesome and organised lifestyles among adults as well as children in families of tier II & III towns as well as people from Delhi and Chandigarh. They seized this opportunity in a destination deemed as a premium investment opportunity in real estate.”

Similarly Raheja Developers is coming up with a 160-acre township in Sohna near Gurgaon which has a combination of large size plots and villas. They are also coming up with a group housing project in Dharuhera near Manesar which is being positioned as “a good highway retreat.” Harinder Dhillon, VP, marketing, Raheja Developers says that the trend of investing in such homes is picking up. “This trend is getting stronger now with the market revival. We expect this upward trend in demand for weekend homes to continue in the days ahead.”

Closer to Mumbai, developers have options coming up in Lonavala, Pune and Goa that can attract the clientele from the western part of the country. Gera Properties’ GreensVille SkyVillas in Kharadi, Pune, and their Astoria project in Panjim ,Goa, have seen a lot of such home buys.

Similarly, Magarpatta City in Pune was launched over a decade ago as a premium lifestyle concept on the periphery of the city — a selling point for buyers from both Pune and Mumbai. Today, the Magar Group has launched Nanded City, an education hub with a good number of first home buyers. However, its idyllic setting also brings in second home buyers. If you are looking for options around Chennai, weekend homes are very popular on the East Coast Road (ECR), which is one of the most premium residential locations in Chennai starting from Neelangarai up to Mahabalipuram. The areas include Injamakkam, Akkarai , Panayur, Uthandi, Kanathur and Muttukadu, according to Kalpana Murthy, regional manager, residential services at Cushman & Wakefield.

An average minimum sized three-bedroom house, which is closest to the beach and measuring 3,000 sq ft built up on three grounds would cost around Rs 2.5 cr in Neelangarai.

There are, however, some important dos and don’ts while investing in a weekend home. Choice of location, adequate security measures and proper documentation are the most significant measures that need to be kept in mind. “Invest in a location and project that allow for sufficient resale value should maintenance of the property prove untenable, or if fast liquidity is required. Do a due diligence on the property’s antecedents and ensure that all necessary permissions and clearances are available. Ensuring that the property exists in an area that is not overly secluded will also hold you in good stead,” says Grover of JLLM.

Rohtas Goel, CMD of Omaxe says it is necessary that the buyer do a thorough market survey of the area before finalising the deal which would give them a better idea of the facilities provided by developer and overall state of infrastructure. “A holistic view about the location is paramount before any property purchase decision is taken.”

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 22/11/2009

 

Sandeep Rai and Neha Bhatia

Recently held The Economic Times Realty Convention, 2009 brought forth the who's who of the realty sector that included developers, policy makers, financiers and big names from eco-efficiency sector among others on one integrated platform.

The discussions therein highlighted the burning issues pertaining to the fallout of recession on the property sector, the current scenario and the future challenges. The prominent portion of the discussion was focused on the dire necessity of bridging the yawning gap between the demand and supply of affordable households in the country, a serious but neglected sector till a year ago. Dr. M. Ramachandran, secretary, union urban development ministry, put the shortfall figure as 24.7 millions homes.

The global recession brought with it a ray of hope for all those who could not afford a house thanks to the evergrowing prices in the realty sector. The key discussion in the convention revolved around affordable housing- a dream that the new age real estate developer has envisioned. The focus on affordable housing over the last one year is actually a marked change from the past when real estate players were primarily targeting high priced premium housing schemes. "Part of the slowdown was caused by rush of real estate companies to go for top-end housing," said urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy while addressing the convention. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the minister informed that the urban ministry was in talks with the ministry of finance to make an interest subsidy and other tax incentives to borrowers on loans of Rs 20 lakh to be raised to Rs 30 lakh. Rohtash Goel, CMD of Omaxe Ltd and president of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), echoed the minister's sentiment on the issue and said, "This is the time when the real estate market will witness fundamental change for now buyer will look for need based accommodation. He will be highly cautious and choose on the basis of performance rather than euphoria. With the focus shifted to affordable housing, the real estate sector will now speak more about volumes." He showed optimism in the changing scenario but raised some concerns on the tax code and asked for more relaxations for the developer community.

Addressing the concerns about shortage of land, Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CBRE India, said, "There is a lot of discussion on how do you get affordable land? The government can't acquire land and give it free to a developer. It is really infrastructure. The more infrastructure which is developed, more land supply can come in." To this Amit Mookim from KPMG, added, "When we talk about infrastructure, look at hospitals, look at education, in that entire premise itself which can give the developer additional revenue streams and the government will be more than willing to actually support in building out that infrastructure."

In current times one of the most pertinent questions relates to the sector's role in reducing global warming which is set to pose some serious environmental threats in the near future if warming process is not reversed and that requires concerted effort from all areas. Reddy particularly emphasized on the need to development of the 'green houses'. He said, "We are about to launch a project to create sustainable habitat aimed at developing green buildings." He also urged the developer community to develop homes with inbuilt energy saving measures. Adding to this Mili Majumdar, associate director, Sustainable Building Science, The Energy Research Institute, said, "There is an unrealized potential which the developers are not realizing within their own selling platform. They have a huge potential in sustainable development to attract consumers. Instead of selling high-profile sanitary fixtures it is better to sell energy efficiency and also it doesn't cost anything. It is a win-win situation. There is a need for this concerted approach. We need intervention at the policy level and awareness needs to come both at the developer and consumer level to incorporate these in the main stream. "

Another area that was widely discussed in the convention was about the irreversible process of urbanization that was gradually clogging up 400 plus cities of the nation. The rising need for better infrastructure was elaborately talked about. In that context, the main points in the government's flagship scheme Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for a period of seven years (2005-2012) with an allocation of Rs 50,000 crore, to develop quality infrastructure and governance in the urban cities of India was discussed by the representatives of the ministry. According to Ramachandran, "There are issues pertaining to infrastructural development which are addressed in the JNNURM since unless there is strong infrastructure, cities will not be able to cater to the rising population in the cities in terms of civic amenities. The issues relating to master plan, urban planning, the integration of the various components of the elements like transportation, land dues, drinking water are all addressed therein." Reddy bifurcated the fund usage when he informed that almost 90% is to be used for developing basic services like drinking water facilities, sewerage, underground drainage, solid waste management, storm water drains and so on, further around 10% of the fund has gone for developing infrastructural facilities.

The initiatives were largely welcomed by the panelists. Said R.V.Verma, ED, NHB, "There has been growing intermediation from the government sector and it is a very positive sign. The National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy has thrown up number of positive elements." Nevertheless, they were more or less skeptical about the implementation part. Speaking about affordable housing in partnership, Navin Raheja, MD, Raheja Developers Ltd, was quick to point out his concerns about the implementation of the ambitious project initiated by the government, "The schemes are wonderful but the things delivered to us are marred with the same systems and same hurdles. Two years have passed and yet we have to get at least 20 clearances to begin work."

While till now what is affordable was not available, the panelists at the convention envisioned the dream that things will no longer be the same in the coming years.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 20/11/2009

Neha Bhatia

Affordable housing, in the current scenario, has become the buzzword in India's real estate sector. Almost every developer is talking of getting into this segment that involves putting up houses for the masses. Although developers are reintroducing one-bedroom apartments and, in the current falling interest rate scenario, buyers are making a comeback, the real issues related to affordable housing still need to be addressed. In the recently held The Economic Times Realty Convention 2009, panelists from all across the sector discussed concerns that come in the way of affordable housing.

Giving a broad perspective about the whole concept of affordable housing, Amit Mookim from KPMG explained, "When we look at the entire gamut of affordable housing there are around five stakeholders. There is the government and public agencies, developers who are the key to making this happen, lenders who finance the consumers and the consumer who has very specific needs. He/she has specific choices on where to live, what amenities he/she wants, what kind of infrastructure, health, sanitation, education, etc., is provided there. Fifth and not the least important is the investor who funds a lot of these activities. For this model to succeed all these factors must be taken care of and it should be a win-win situation for all." To this Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director, CBRE India added, "What is affordable in Mumbai may be a luxury in Hyderabad. The ticket size is the best criteria and should be kept in mind always." Talking about the viability of affordable housing projects, Rajiv Talwar, executive director, DLF Ltd shared, "Fortune lies at the bottom of the pyramid; there will be no fortune if there is no profit. A project is not viable if it doesn't give a return. What the government is trying to look for is lesser returns through greater volume. If the volumes are large then the lesser profit margin will make up for it. There is a need to empower the borrower and the milestone that should be tried and achieved is to ensure that the EMI of the borrower is less than the rent paid for similar housing. Also as a publicprivate partner, the biggest role of the government is to keep the land prices in check. It should aim at rejuvenating the supply side of the land. Industries can be shifted to the periphery so that land can be used for residential purposes. We went for industrial development in the first five decades after becoming independent but now there is a need to adopt the residential model." To this PK Mohanty, joint secretary-JNNURM-Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation agreed, "Need has arisen to add people to the public-private partnership. As such it is the people for whom this is being done. Even government agrees that there has to be a convincing business proposition. That is the reason we are coming up with developer friendly policies."

Other than bringing the cost down it is the delivery option that is critical in affordable housing. On this Navin M Raheja, managing director, Raheja Developers Ltd. shared, "Implementation and facilitation of policies is mandatory. There is a need for separate single window clearance system to ease out the whole process for the developer. Also a model code needs to be framed for this sector." Adding to this, Talwar emphasized, "Time taken for approvals is too long. We don't want the government to deregulate the approvals or make them more transparent but the idea is to save time. By saving time we can land up any home or any project to the eventual buyer at a cheaper rate. Nobody minds paying a higher cost for the approvals, but the time taken has a greater meaning when it comes to the costs." Addressing the issue of cost management in this sector, Mookim said, "One of the key challenges in actually meeting the demand for affordable houses is going to be cost management. This will be a function of how the developers institutionalize this process; How they think big, beyond a 100 or 200 apartments to actually a 1000 or 2000 apartments; How they leverage global best practices from the countries where a lot of these large projects have taken place; How they think beyond real estate and include infrastructure as an important element; How they leverage this business model and gain economies of scale to save cost."

The panelists mentioned efficiency, delivery by suppliers, infrastructure and reforming the paradigm of planning as some of the challenges faced by the sector. The positives as seen by the panelists were; tremendous emphasis on affordable housing, awareness and supply of land in peripheral areas and focus on large volumes.

Sanjay Verma, executive managing director - South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield concluded, "There is a dire need to invest time and energy in increasing the efficiency of output and also the developers should look out for alternative construction technologies. Also a hand-shake approach between the developers and the government is essential."

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 20/11/2009

 

Project Name                   Sobha Carnation

Name of Builder               Sobha Developers

Project Type                     Super Luxury Apartments

Price                                     As Below

Location                              NIBM Kondwa, Pune

Agents                                 Shri Aditya Estates  42470622, 9810445860

Structure

* Basement+ Ground + 9 storeyed RCC framed structure with concrete block masonry walls.

* Covered/semi-covered car park in Basement/ Ground level.

Foyer/Living/Dining

 * Superior quality vitrified tile flooring and skirting.

 * Plastic emulsion paint for walls and ceiling.

Bedrooms

* Superior quality vitrified tile flooring and skirting.

* Plastic emulsion paint for walls and ceiling.

Toiletes

* Superior quality ceramic tile flooring.

* Superior quality ceramic wall tiling upto false ceiling/ceiling.

* False ceiling with grid panels.

 * Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling for apartments on the top most floor.

 * Granite vanity counter in master bedroom toilet.

Kitchen

* Superior quality ceramic tile flooring.

* Superior quality ceramic tiling upto ceiling.

* Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling.

Staircase

Open Staircase

 * Granite treads & risers.

 * MS handrail.

 * Textured paint for walls.

 * Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling.

Fire Exit Staircase (enclosed with fire rated doors)

* Cement concrete for treads & risers

* Parapet wall with granite coping

* Textured paint for walls.

* Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling.

Common Areas

* Granite/Vitrified tile flooring.

* Superior quality ceramic tile cladding upto ceiling.

* Plastic emulsion for ceiling.

* Granite coping for parapet/MS handrail as per design.

Balconies/Utilities

* Superior quality ceramic tile flooring and skirting.

* Granite coping for parapet/MS handrail as per design.

 * Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling.

 * All walls painted in textured paint.

Servant Room

    * Superior quality ceramic tile flooring.

    * Plastic emulsion paint for walls & ceiling.

Servant's Toilete

    * Ceramic tile flooring.

    * Superior quality ceramic tile cladding for walls upto false ceiling.

    * Plastic emulsion paint for ceiling for apartments on the top most floor.

Joinery

    * Main door / Bedroom doors

          o Frame - Timber

          o Architrave - Timber

          o Shutters - with both side masonite skin

    * All other external doors to be manufactured in specially designed heavy-duty powder coated aluminium extruded frames.

    * Windows / Ventilators

          o Heavy duty powder coated aluminium glazed windows made from specially designed and manufactured sections.

Lifts

    * Total no. of 8 lifts of reputed make.

    * Capacity - 4 nos. of 8 passengers and 4 nos. of 16 passengers.

Landscape

    * Designer landscaping.

Common facilities (Common to all projects in campus)

    * Well-equipped clubhouse.

    * Swimming pool.

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/sobha-carnation-pune.aspx

 

The project is stretched over 9 acres of land in Pimpri, Pune. Everything you could possibly need is close by, like upmarket malls, multiplexes, schools, hospitals, ATM's and playgrounds. It is also close to the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the Pune-Nashik highway.

Mahindra Royale is a project with 12 bldgs with 480 flats.

On each floor 6 flats (2 flats of 3BHK and 4 flats of 2 BHK)

The area of 2 BHK flats varies from: 1142 sq. ft - 1224 sq. ft

The area of 3 BHK flats varies from: 1545 sq. ft - 1600 sq. ft

In the External Amenities we have:

•          Beautiful Landscaped gardens

•          Swimming Pool

•          Well - equipped Gymnasium

•          Clubhouse

•          Half Basket Ball Court

•          Jogging Track

•          Sandpit

Mahindra Royale has incorporated the green design in all their buildings and has many firsts to its credit….

    * Improvement of ventilation effectiveness by providing an open able window space to Floor space ratio of over 15% (as against the minimum of 4% stipulated by ASHRAE).

    * Use of low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, adhesives and insulations inside the apartments for improved moisture management and control of contaminants. Above all a healthy environment for your kids.

    * High–albedo-insulating material on the terrace roof, with a SRI (Solar Reflectance Index) value of over 78, to reduce heat absorption and the resultant energy demands for air-conditioning.

    * Installation of high energy efficient low emissive glass in all fenestration which will have low SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient) with U value less than 1 Btu (Thermal) /hr.sqft.ºF. This glass has a high light transmission ratio with low shading coefficient and in turn induces more daylight effect than normal glass. Due to low SHGC, the energy requirement for indoor air-conditioning is substantially reduced.

    * Use of flyash based concrete bricks/blocks of low energy density for internal as well as external walls.

    * Covering of walls with cement mortar plaster incorporating Polypropylene fibres and waterproofing admixtures. This kind of `Building Envelope’ protects the building from water leakage. It also promotes better insulation, thus reducing the energy demand for air-conditioning systems.

    * Installation of highly water efficient fixtures with aerators will be installed in water outlets in each apartment to minimize wastage and reduce water demand by minimum of 30% w.r.t normal water fixtures.

    * Development of an innovative erosion and sedimentation control management system outside the building, with a rainwater harvesting system and storm water management to recharge the ground water.

    * Installation of an in-house STP (Sewerage Treatment Plan) to reuse wastewater generated from the building, to further reduce demand for water.

All the above initiatives will together create a healthy living space for our residents and result in interactive effects of energy efficiency measures.

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mahindra-royale-pune.aspx

 

A project in association with "VC Homes" on the ageless banks of the Periyar, Trinity unveils yet another exemplary idea for living. Trinity Aquamarine, a tribute to the perfection of Mother Nature that inspires us in all our creations.

Scheduled for completion in 2010, the property comprises of 3 BHK apartments, excellent facilities like clubhouse, swimming pool, health club ensures that you will always enjoy yourself. All Bedrooms and Living room of all the apartments has the river view. Surrounded in such glorious settings Trinity Aquamarine offers homebuyers and property investors another unique investment opportunity.

Specification

RCC framed structure, Block Masonry Plastered with Cement Mortar.

Over looking the river Periyar, rooms have excellent cross ventilation.

Fully vitrified flooring on entire building and anti skid ceramic tiles on balcony & toilets.

Kitchen Counter with granite top. Stainless steel sinks with drain board and provision for geyser.

Concealed plumbing with PVC pipes.

Provision for Geyser.

Ivory color wash basin and European Closets (cascade or equivalent) chromium Plated taps and shower fittings Ceramic glazed toilets.

Teak wood front doors. Moulded panel doors for interiors, imported door lock for front door.

Anodized aluminium windows with MS grill & Glass.

Three phase power supply with concealed wiring in PVC conducts controlled by ELCB and MCB of Siemens or equivalent.

Internal walls painted with emulsion or equivalent with putty finish. External walls weather shield or equivalent.

TV & internet provision in living room and master bedroom.

Telephone: Points for connection in living and master bedroom.

Round the clock Generator backup for lifts, common lights, water pumps etc.

Drinking water supply at kitchen sink. Common storage tank for ground water with overhead water tank.

Fire Fighting: As per Govt. Safety Norms.

Provision for centralized gas supply system of ISI standards.

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/trinity_aqua_kochi.aspx

 

This eco friendly township sprawls across six acres of land with choices of apartments, villas and penthouses. An impressive bouquet of common amenities that redefine your lifestyle, architectural experts have made sure that the designs are contemporary and efficient in its approach. Landscaped specialists ensure lush green and pollution free living thus providing the perfect solace from the dust and grime of the city. The project is situated at Kakkanad, which is fast developing as the nerve center of Kochi. It is located just 300 meters away from the Airport-Seaport Highway and very close to the Collectorate.

Specification

Structure: RCC frame structure with well-designed foundation to withstand seismic and wind forces. Walls with CC Blocks plastered to smooth finish.

Rooms Spacious rooms with cross ventilation, foyer, separate living and dining area with independent balconies.

Flooring Vitrified flooring for apartments, main staircase, lobby and passage.

Kitchen Platform done in quality granite with stainless steel sink. 2 feet dado above granite counter, Aqua Guard point.

For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/green-metropolish-kochi.aspx

 

Unitech has had positive newsflow recently with the government approving Telenor’s (a partner in telecom venture) proposal to hike the stake in Unitech  Wireless to 74 per cent. The company has had a good first seven months (March to September) going by the response to its launches aggregating to 21.30 mnsqft of residential and commercial property. The company has managed to book sales Rs 4,000 crore from the sale of 10.11 mnsqft. It plans to launch about 30 mnsqft and achieve about 20 mnsqft  of pre-sales in this fiscal, says an analysts. Of the past projects which total an area of 22.31 mnsqft, the company has delivered about a fifth and expects to complete delivery of the rest by March 2011. Improved cash flow from the sale of hotels and plots (Rs 940 crore), two QIPs (Rs 4,400 crore) and  Rs 386 crore from Unitech Wireless have helped bring down debt levels to about 0.6 times from 1.7 times last year.

Like DLF, the company is eyeing the affordable housing segment and has launched projects under the Unihomes brand catering to budgets between Rs 10-30 lakh range. After the sale of about 900 units at its Unihomes project in Noida, the company is planning to launch more apartments under this brand. Analysts estimate that the company is likely  to have a strong second quarter on the back of higher project and asset sales. Considering the recent spurt in sales at its new launches and balance sheet deleveraging is already factored into the current price and it is trading at a premium to its NAV, expect little upside to flow through in the current fiscal.

 Attractive price points and a revival in the fortunes of the Real Estate sector  have helped India’s largest realty player lure buyers for its residential properties. The company is likely ot maintain its mid-income housing focus which has yielded good results in delhi where it was able to sell 1,400 units (2 mnsqft) and 1,250 units (1.8 mbsqft) at the Delhi Capital Greens project (phase I and II, respectively) and 0.5 mnsqft in Bangalore over the last six months. Including the above, the company has launched about a third of the proposed 15-16 mnsqft residential projects for the fiscal. The story is not as rosy on the commercial and leasing segments. While the company sold over a 1 mnsqft of commercial and office space in the first quarter and demand seems to be improving, the fortunes of this space is likely to see a significant upswing only next year. Its leasing business, too, is going through a similar business cycle.

While things are looking up, the slow and gradual pick up in volumes will continue to be a drag on its revenues. Analysts estimate that its September quarter revenues will be down by half y-o-y. Ebidta margines are likely to shrink 900-1,000 bps to about 50 per cent as the company realigns its focus towards affordable housing segment (below Rs 30 lakh per unit). The company plans to exit non-core business (wind power, SEZs) and land bank to raise Rs 5,500 crore in 2009-10. This will help it to improve its cash position, manage debt repayments of Rs 1,165 crore and increase pace of execution. Though the stock trades at a discount to its, NAV,  a fall of 10-15 per cent in its share price would make it attractive from a long term perspective.

Extend Discounted Home Loans, But Cut Rates on FDs

State Bank of India and other public sector lenders have extended their special schemes offering home loans at discounted rates even as they slashed returns on fixed deposits. Private sector banks have, however, raised interest rates on auto loans, ending their festive offers.

SBI, which controls a fifth of bank loans and deposits, has extended its special 8% home loan scheme until March 31, 2010. Among others lenders, Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have decided to extend their special home loan schemes till December 31, while Union Bank of India has decided to extend it till January 15. Officials from these banks told ET that the objective was to grab market share in mortgages.

Bank of Baroda has, however, discontinued its special home loan scheme from October 31. “We feel the interest rate cycle is set to change,” said an official explaining the bank’s interest rate view.

SBI officials said a huge response to the special scheme and slack demand for corporate loans had prompted the bank to extend the scheme. However, the processing fee on loans, which was waived for three months, has been reintroduced.

Unlike mortgages, where interest rates on most loans move up along with market rates, auto loans are offered on fixed rates. Private banks like HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra, which dominate the car loan business after SBI, have therefore taken pre-emptive action against an anticipated rise in interest rates. HDFC Bank has rolled back its festive offer discounts of 50-75 basis points from November 1.

“There is good demand but interest rates are likely to move up. As such, there is no point in continuing with the discounts,” said Ashok Khanna, EVP, HDFC Bank. Interest rates on auto loans of the bank now range 10.25-11.5%. HDFC Bank is the second largest in auto loans after SBI and disburses around Rs 1,000 crore every month. Kotak Mahindra, another large player, has increased interest rates by 25 bps from October 25 and will raise them by another 25 bps from November 9. “Our two-month festive season offer saw strong volumes. The rates have to reflect the reality on the lending side,” said Sumit Bali, CEO, Kotak Mahindra Prime.

Meanwhile, SBI and Punjab National Bank have decided to lower interest rates on deposits by 25-50 basis points with effect from November 9. As per the revised rates, SBI will offer marginally lower rates on deposits as compared to its rival PNB. For 1-2 years, SBI will offer 6% while PNB will offer 6.5%. For 2-5 years, SBI will offer 6.5%. PNB is offering 6.75% for 2-3 years and 7% for 3-5 years.

SBI is discouraging deposits growth by lowering rates as it faces a huge liquidity overhang.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 07-11-09

 

Balcony is not just extra space — it serves various functions in urban areas where space is a constraint, says

Have you ever visited some of the elite areas of the capital like Vasant Vihar, Shanti Niketan, Anand Niketan, or Sunder Nagar in the evening or when sun is setting? If you have not so far, just visit those places, and you will see that foreigners living there are enjoying their tea or light drink in the balconies of their houses after a hard-day at office. The houses with balconies facing parks, ridge area or monuments are grabbed by anxious tenants the moment they fall vacant.

If we talk about the scenario of some fifteen-twenty years ago, balconies were mostly used as viewing galleries. While some were open, some were hidden, yet they proved to be exciting spaces both from inside and outside the buildings. The meaning of the balcony space was interpreted in various ways based on the cultural context and climatic factors. And it was because of these factors that the balconies were designed in different styles, sizes and shapes.

Nazma Rizvi of Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture says that changes in lifestyle over the years have resulted in fresh interpretations of the space. Now, the balcony is not just extra space it serves various functions too, in urban areas, where space is a constraint.

Our expatriate clients more often than not ask us to find houses with good spacious balconies. I have observed that houses with nice balconies with a good view always remain in great demand in the rental market, says Anil Makhijani of Mak Realtors.

Even young Indians too love to sit and enjoy the view from their highrise apartment. Anupama Jha, a journalist, says she enjoys lounging in her East End Apartment flats balcony in East Delhi, both in the morning and the evening everyday and enjoys the gentle breeze. I always recommend my friends to buy a flat above fifth floor to enjoy the view and the nice breeze, she says.

And as space is shrinking in flats and floors, balconies are also used as a reading and relaxing areas. Some people use them as childrens study and play area, while others use it as a service space for washbasin, washing machine and dish washers, or to dry clothes. This semi-indoor space is a filtering zone for noise and dust pollution and of course, is a space for pets.

Rizvi is of the view that one must avoid having window airconditioning units on the floor of the balcony as it will affect usage of the balcony. If there is no option before you, you can place it at lintel level. As far as possible, avoid using road-facing balconies as clothes drying spaces. If possible maintain a small garden in the balcony. If every roadfacing balcony has a small garden, the ambience will be really refreshing.

As Delhi and NCR experience scorching summers, bamboo and rolling screens on the sides can also protect balconies from harsh weather. You can also have a ceiling fan in the balcony. Water bodies and aquarium can also be very refreshing. Prefer folding and glazed doors with grills at the living and dining spaces that open towards balconies. This will enhance the usage of the space considerably.

According to Rajat Mahajan of Integrated PanRealty Solutions Private Limited, there are some builders who make balconies with every room in their residential apartment.

The buyers should ensure that they should pay extra money as preferential location charges (PLC) to builder only if the balcony is really good enough. It is a well-known fact that builders charge good amount of money as PLC from their clients if the balcony is facing a club house or a golf course.

Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 07-11-09

Located on National Highway 207 – Sarjapur Road , Confident Atria is a veritable paradise with some of the best club class features and international quality residential infrastructure.

Confident Atria Phase-I offers a choice of plots varying from 1200 sft to 3600 sft. This eco-friendly residential landmark will be completed with unique maintenance free Concreted Roads, Underground Cabling for electricity and network needs of today and also the future, Sewage Lines with a Sewage Treatment Plant, Concrete Drainage System, Rain Water Harvesting facility, water connections, 24 hours security along with a high compound wall on the periphery and provisions to lay any pipe lines or cabling in future.

Confident Atria Phase-I, designed by Confident Design Studio of Bangalore , has over 45% open spaces which are put to good use to create greenery which includes marvelous, spacious landscaped gardens.

Aminities

Confident Atria comes with an attached club house,that offers world-class amenities. Where else would you get to enjoy these fun activities right at your doorstep - making Confident Atria a unique residential landmark:

 

Sobha Developers founded in 1995 by Mr. PNC Menon, (who returned back from middle East where he was acclaimed for quality interiors and construction since 1977), is a Rs. 12 billion plus company as on date.

The company has gone from strength to strength completing 18.0 million square feet of area as of September 2007, 42 completed residential/commercial in house projects, 36 ongoing projects and 104 contractual projects beginning with the first residential project in Bangalore in 1997.an industry leader in Bangalore, Karnataka, contractual projects have also been constructed in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Panjab, Harayana and Maharashtra.

 

Reverse mortgage is a blessing for the elderly as it allows them to generate good income from their homes after retirement. What’s more, they can still continue to live in the same house till past the tenure of the reverse mortgage. Read on to know how this concept works

Reverse mortgage was introduced in 2007 here. The concept is aimed at senior citizens who can generate income from their homes in their retirement years.

HOW IT WORKS

If a senior citizen owns a house, he can avail a loan from a bank by mortgaging his house. In a conventional home loan, the borrower receives a lump sum at the beginning of the loan tenure. He has to repay the loan through monthly EMIs where a portion goes towards the interest component and the remaining towards principal repayment. The house is pledged with the lender during the debt tenure. In the case of reverse mortgage, a senior citizen pledges a property he owns for which the lender gives a series of cash flows for a fixed tenure.

THE ADVANTAGES

Consider the case of Prakash, a retired person. Prakash purchased a two bedroom house in the heart of the city with his life's savings. With no pension and any other regular sources of income, he is finding it difficult to meet his regular monthly expenses after retirement. The thought of selling his property and moving into a smaller rented accommodation seemed to be the only alternative to free him from financial distress. Reverse mortgage is a product designed for senior citizens like Prakash. Here, the property owned is pledged and for a fixed tenure (say 15 years) the senior citizen gets periodic payments. Senior citizens don't have to sell their assets to meet their living expenses. They can continue to live in the house till past the tenure of the reverse mortgage.

QUANTUM OF INCOME

Loan-to-value ratio means the percentage of loan that one will get for the value of the property that is pledged. The typical loan-to-value ratio is in the range of 60 to 80 percent. If one pledges a property worth Rs 40 lakhs, the loan amount that he can get is Rs 32 lakhs, if the loan-to value ratio is 80 percent. The income generated from reverse mortgage can be in the range of 12 to 15 percent.

REPAYMENT

In the event of demise of the senior citizen, his spouse is allowed to live in the house. After the demise of both, the banker will provide the legal heirs the opportunity to clear the outstanding loan and take possession of the property. If the heirs are not interested, the bank sells the house, and settles the outstanding loan. Any excess amount from the sale of the property is duly remitted to the borrower's heirs.

POPULAR ABROAD

Reverse mortgage is a popular in the West among senior citizens who want to tap their property for cash. Ashish Gupta outlines some legal aspects of reverse mortgage:

In the present day circumstances of cash crunch, property can be a valuable source of getting funds, without physically disposing off the property. As a concept, reverse mortgage is of immense use in unlocking the otherwise illiquid asset of property. Hitherto immovable property has been treated as one of the most illiquid assets. Reverse mortgage unlocks the liquidity potential of this asset. It helps the owner get a return from his immovable property, without having to part with it. The owner can continue with the possession of the property during his lifetime.

WHAT HAPPENS TO TITLE?

In case of a reverse mortgage, the property owner surrenders the title of the property to a financial entity. The financial entity doesn't pay the entire amount to the owner upfront. On the contrary, it pays out a regular sum each month for the agreed time.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM MORTGAGE?

Reverse mortgage is different from mortgage. Mortgage is a form of hypothecation of the property to a bank, as a security for a loan. A common form of security which a bank insists on is the mortgage of the house for which the loan is being availed of by the borrower. Mortgage refers to the transfer of interest in a specific property for the purpose of securing either the payment of money advanced or to be advanced by way of loan, or an existing or future debt. The transferor is called a mortgagor, the transferee is called a mortgagee, the principal money and interest that are secured by the mortgage are called the mortgage money, and the instrument by which the transfer is affected is called a mortgage deed. A reverse mortgage is available to those above a specific age. The aim is to use the property and make it generate a return while in use by the owner. The amount is paid out each month is for a specific period of time.

RISK OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

The financing institution has to bear the risk of the individual outliving the agreement. At the expiry of the agreement period, the monthly payments to the owner stop. The monthly payout depends on the value of the property, the term of the agreement and the rate of payment. The valuation of the property is to be done by experts. The entire payout mechanism calculation and computation depends on the law of probability.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 30-10-2009

 

Buyers, it is time to rejoice as affordable housing projects are here to stay. While recession had developers reducing prices of their housing units, their rising debts are forcing them to continue with it

The market may witness an oversupply like condition in the affordable segment of residential real estate making prices range bound in times to come. Though the global financial crisis affected developers badly, it brought cheer to the middleclass end users as builders were forced to bring down their units prices to the affordable range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

In fact, the crisis led to emergence of a new segment of affordable housing in residential real estate in the country. This helped revive realty market and instilled a new confidence among developers and end users, according to Samir Jasuja, founder CEO of PropEquity Research.

In order to bring down prices to drive sales, developers cut the rate by lowering specifications and also by reducing the size of units. The combined effect of cutting the rate and reducing the size led to a steep fall in prices of two and three-bedroom apartments, by as much as 30% to 40% from their peak level of early 2008.

The fall in prices spurred demand. Many developers even sold their entire projects in only a couple of days. This is mainly because developers could successfully convey the impression to buyers that availability of apartments at prices at which they off e re d would not last long. This made the buyers queue up to buy these apartments.

But as demand rose sharply in this category, more and more developers launched apartments in the affordable segments and supply increased manifold. According to Jasuja, this category is now beginning to get overcrowded with a rapid increase in supply, which is outstripping absorption and leading to an inventory pile up. According to the accompanying chart, absorption rate or sold-out rate in the last one year in apartments in the price range of Rs 5 to Rs 15 lakh is much better than that in the Rs 15 to Rs 30 lakh range. This is also because of the number of apartments launched in the Rs 5 to Rs 15 lakh price range is much smaller than that in the Rs 15 to Rs 30 lakh range in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Gurgaon saw the launch of maximum number of apartments in the affordable range. But the sold-out rate here is the second worst at 37%, next only after Greater Noida, where it is only 25%. As sales in affordable range of apartments picked up, many developers jumped onto the affordable housing bandwagon to bail themselves out of the global economic crisis. Many of them treated affordable housing category as the new mantra in marketing and launched several projects in this category resulting in an oversupply in the market, Jasuja says.

Interestingly, as demand picked up and number of transactions increased, many developers’ revised prices upwards, by around 10%. However, consultants feel price hike is more cosmetic in nature as developers are giving discounts over quoted prices. Some developers increased the quote prices, but the discount was also suitably hiked. Data collected by PropEquity from 13 cities suggests that rate of sales (absorption) of affordable units have slowed down in the September 2009 quarter. In the early phase, the euphoria was mainly due to a huge pent up demand in the category.

Falling absorption velocity coupled with an oversupply in this category has now resulted in an inventory pile up. As cost of carrying inventory in real estate sector is very high, developers will resort to price correction at the cost of profits.

But developers argue the prices are at rock bottom. In most of the areas of NCR, developers are selling apartments at 30% to 50% discount to the average price of apartments in the area. In most of the cases, they are working on a very thin profit margin. Therefore, a further cut in prices will be a big disincentive to launch the project itself. However, bankers and consultants feel that most developers are under a huge debt. As they are not able to raise funds through equity-sell, they have no choice but to launch projects for the purpose.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 30-10-2009

 

The Rajasthan government has rolled out new urban housing policy, which promises 1.25 lakh dwellings over next five years for economically backward section.

As per the policy, the state government would rope in private developers under the public-private partnership PPP model for developing low cost housing with Awas Vikas Limited as the nodal agency. The state urban development and housing minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal said that the policy would have five models.

“Apart from government bodies like Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB), Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and local bodies, private developers will also play an important role in providing affordable accommodation.

Out of five models, four involve active participation of private developers while the fifth model is meant for government-run urban agencies like RHB, JDA and municipalities,” he said.

The new housing policy is an offshoot of estimation by Planning Commission, which indicated that the shortage of housing units in the state would go up to 17 lakh in 2021 from 10.70 lakh in 2007.

Under the policy, the state government has made it mandatory for RHB to construct 50% of the total dwellings for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Lower Income Group (LIG). Similarly, JDA and other Urban Improvement Trusts will have to reserve 25% of land in any residential scheme for economically weaker section. The private developers too will have to keep aside 15% of the total constructed units or 5% of the total project area for EWS and LIG in any residential township or Group Housing Schemes.

Apart from providing low cost accommodation to LIG and EWS, the state government will also allot free accommodations to slum dwellers.

“Under this model, the state government will invite global tender and the successful bidder would have to develop residential units in the slum areas. The developers will have to hand over the houses to local bodies for the free allotment of houses to the slum dwellers. The developers, in return will get the remaining land as per the prescribed formula for commercial use with 1:4 Floor Area Ratio as against the normal 1:1.8 FAR.

Low-cost housing is likely to provide a great opportunity for battered real estate developers in the form of public-private partnership (PPP). According to a recent report by industry body Assocham PPP model is the most viable business model for such projects. “The model will help the cash-strapped developers, who are finding it difficult to fund their projects on a standalone basis,” the study says.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 23-10-2009

 

Attractive Valuations A Big Pull Factor; Agrochem, Breweries & Mining Also Shine

DLF, Unitech and HDIL are the latest darlings of foreign funds expecting a quick buck, even as they slash holdings in companies such as Infosys Technologies and infrastructure builders due to concerns about order flows and high valuations, a study of latest filings shows.

The sudden fancy for real estate among those overseas funds were probably due to the surge in fund raisings by those debt-ridden companies in the recent bull run when most of them sold shares at less than a third of their peak 2007-08 valuations which overseas investors found attractive. “With interest rates expected to remain benign and stable, some dedicated funds might have bought on hopes of a significant upswing in high-beta sectors like realty,” said Tata Asset Management CEO Ved Prakash Chaturvedi. High beta stocks are those which rise or fall more than the benchmark indexes.

As of September 30, 2009, FIIs owned 25% of the aggregate equity capital of 36 realty companies, including industry leaders like DLF, Unitech, Indiabulls Real Estate and HDIL. That is higher than the previous year’s 9.6% and the year before’s 10.3%. Indian companies, including Unitech and DLF, have so far raised $12.3 billion through share sale this year and another $17.4 billion may be raised by fiscal year-end exploiting a record stock market rally which saw the benchmark indices more than double from their troughs earlier this year.

It was not just one sector that foreign funds who have invested $14.4 billion in the current calendar year so far have favored, but also raised stakes in sectors such as agrochemical, a key beneficiary in an agrarian economy like India, breweries which benefit from rising incomes in urban centres, and mining. Last year they pulled out $12 billion.

Overseas funds own 25.6%, 18.6% and 17.9%, respectively, in agrochemical, breweries and mining sectors. Companies such as United Phosphorus, United Spirits, Gujarat NRE Coke and Sesa Goa have large foreign holdings.

But the once that were favoured in the last bull rally — technology, capital goods, cement and retail — aren’t lucky this time. Combined FII holdings in all the listed IT companies fell to 12.1% as on September 30, 2009, compared to 15.6% as on September 30, 2008. Their exposure in capital good sector fell to 9.9% from 12.1% and to 15.1% from 18.5% in retail space. “FIIs have been underweight on IT companies due to outsourcing concerns,” said Centrum Broking MD Devesh Kumar. “Cement companies are adding new capacities and investors would wait for demand to pick up, which would also depend on the pace of infrastructure development in the country.”

International companies stung by the economic slowdown have been cutting their spend on technology which the Indian companies depend upon. SAP, Europe’s biggest business software producer, on Wednesday cut revenue forecast for the year as companies held on to purse strings.

Indian infrastructure companies are also showing delays in executing orders and their valuations at more than 25 times in some cases such as Larsen & Toubro seem to have run ahead of themselves.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 29-10-2009

 

The emergence of ‘affordable’ housing has revived the real estate market, but prospective buyers have found out that getting a home loan approved has just got a little more difficult.

For one, banks, wiser from the meltdown, are rechecking the installment to income rations(the figure that determines the EMI). Earlier, bank extended EMI(equated monthly installment) on the loan up to 50% of the monthly salary. Now this installment to income ratio stands between 30% and 50%. “It’s not advisible to have a single number,” says Renu Sud Karnad, joint MD, HDFC.

Moreover, many banks are taking into account only the recurring income of the potential buyer to compute the monthly EMI. “Banks are no longer benevolently at other sources of income such as performance bonus, variable pay, while computing the installment to income ratio,” says Praveen Kutty, executive V-P and head (retail banking), Development Credit Bank. “Our focus is on income sources that are consistent while arriving at the ratio,” says Karnad.

Kotak Mahindra Bank takes into consideration only the monthly income to calculate the EMI. “We don’t look at other incomes such as bonus because it may not be there every year,” says Kamlesh Rao, executive V-P , Kotak Mahindra Bank. Some banks are assigning sector-wise ‘installment to income’ ratios so that there is consistency in loan disbursals. Such ratios are determined on the performance and the credit rating of the industry.

Analysts say banks are taking the cautious route to improve their risk management. “Some time back, capital was hard to come by. Banks did not want to set aside huge amounts towards lending because if delinquencies arose, they would have had to make provisions for those,” says Clyton Fernandes of AnandRathi Financial Services.

Even when it comes to documentation, banks are some stringent before disbursing home loans. Apart from the pre-requisite documents like IT returns of three years, PAN card copy and bank statements of the last six months, banks are also scrutinizing details such as passbook entries to check withdrawal  patterns. “Banks like us are actively tapping the Cibil(Credit Information Bureau) list to check the credit card payment history. Such checking is now integral to the credit buying process,” says Rao.

In case of professionals who have shifted from hometown, banks are asking for title deeds of house in the native place even if it is registered in the name of the parents, to determine repayment capacity of the executive.

Courtesy:- BS dated 24^th Octber 09

To lure the Business Process Outsourcing and IT/ITeS industry, the Mayawati Government in Uttar Pradesh has showerd various sops. The realty sector , too, has been given many relaxations.

It majors and BPOs setting up units in UP will get full waiver on stamp duty. Those setting up call centres can now get a land-lot in UP on easier terms. In a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by the CM on Friday, all development authorities in the state have been directed accordingly. IT companies have been given big relaxations in the lease rent on land allotted to them. IT and BPO industries can now complete construction on the land allotted to them in five years instead of three years.

The government has decided to reduce the lease rent on commercial land by more than 60 per cent.

The cabinet also decided that those getting a commercial plot through open bidding by March 31, 2010, will have to pay just one per cent lease rent instead of the earlier rate of 2.5 per cent. In case the allottee is making a one-time payment, the lease rent payable will be 11 per cent instead of the existing 27.5 per cent.

Those realty companies which have failed to pay the cost of the land allotted to them have been given the option to reschedule their payment mode.

Defaulter realty companies can now pay the cost of land over 10 years. This facility will be available till the end of this financial year only.

Courtesy:- BS dated 24^th Octber 09

Real estate Property need not be an asset that has no liquidity. It is possible for senior citizens to live in a property they own and at the same time get a regular income from it through reverse mortgage. Kavita Sriram outlines how this concept works for the owner

Reverse mortgage was introduced in 2007 here. The concept is aimed at senior citizens who can generate income from their homes in their retirement years.

 

HOW IT WORKS   

 

If a senior citizen owns a house, he can avail a home loan from a bank by mortgaging his house. In a conventional home loan, the borrower receives a lump sum at the beginning of the home loan tenure. He has to repay the loan through monthly EMIs where a portion goes towards the interest component and the remaining towards principal repayment. The house is pledged with the lender during the debt tenure.

 

In the case of reverse mortgage, a senior citizen pledges a real estate property he owns for which the lender gives a series of cash flows for a fixed tenure.

 

ADVANTAGE OF REVERSE MORTGAGE   

 

Consider the case of Prabhunath, a retired person. Prabhunath purchased a two bedroom house in the heart of the city with his life’s savings. With no pension and any other regular sources of income, he is finding it difficult to meet his regular monthly expenses after retirement. The thought of selling his real estate property and moving into a smaller rented accommodation seemed to be the only alternative to free him from financial distress.

  

Reverse mortgage is a product designed for senior citizens like Prabhunath. Here, the property owned is pledged and for a fixed tenure (say 15 years) the senior citizen gets periodic payments.

  

Senior citizens don’t have to sell their assets to meet their living expenses. They can continue to live in the house  till past the tenure of the reverse mortgage.

 

QUANTUM OF INCOME   

 

Loan-to-value ratio means the percentage of loan that one will get for the value of the real estate property that is pledged. The typical loan-to-value ratio is in the range of 60 to 80 percent. If one pledges a property worth Rs 40 lakhs, the loan amount that he can get is Rs 32 lakhs, if the home loan-to value ratio is 80 percent.  

 

The income generated from reverse mortgage can be in the range of 12 to 15 percent.

 

REPAYMENT

 

In the event of demise of the senior citizen, his spouse is allowed to live in the house. After the demise of both, the banker will provide the legal heirs the opportunity to clear the outstanding home loan and take possession of the property. If the heirs are not interested, the bank sells the house, and settles the outstanding home loan. Any excess amount from the sale of the property is duly remitted to the borrower’s heirs.

 

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/default.aspx”> Second homes </a>, or vacation homes and flats, are emerging as lucrative investment options in real estate. These homes and flats , which generally come in villa formats, provide the essence of “a home away from home”, and can provide options for weekend getaway for the family. While scouting for <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx”> real estate projects </a> offering second home housing, the primary criterion is always the location. Its always beneficial if the house that you buy is located in a destination which has an aesthetic quotient, and hence has the potential to attract visitors. Secondly, it is imperative to understand the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> real estate or property development plan </a> of the township in which you intend to buy the house and flats. The villa should be associated with adequate plot areas, and individual villas should be adequately spaced out within the township, to ensure privacy and serenity for all residents. Basic amenities like water, power and medical facilities should be provided. It is also essential to have cognizance whether <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com”> the property developer </a> has all clearances in place so that he can adhere to specified timelines. Some real estate developers do offer a rent back scheme, wherein you shall be guaranteed a minimum period of stay, and for the balance period, the house shall be rented out, generating additional rental income. In such cases, it is advisable to read the fine prints of the agreement, do a check on the prevailing rental rates and the premium you envisage for the township development, and also the tenants who shall be considered.

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx”> Unitech Ltd, India’s second-biggest real estate player </a> by revenue, on Tuesday reported it has booked sales worth Rs 3,913 cr in the first six months of fiscal 2010, selling 10.11 million sq ft, which is almost the same space sold by it in each of fiscal 2007 and 2008—the boom years for real estate.

Out of 10.11 million sq ft, 8.16 million sq ft was booked in the residential segment, the company said in a presentation dated September 30, which was made public on Tuesday. It said that these figures did not cover PLC, parking and club charges.

In the last fiscal, <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> Unitech had sold only about 3 million sq ft in 2008-09 </a>, as buyers shied away from the real estate sector in the face of global slowdown.

“The target is to sell 20 million sq ft this year,” said a Unitech spokesperson. The average basic sale price of its projects though has dropped to Rs 3,234 per sq ft during March-September 2009 compared to an average of over Rs 4,000 per sq ft for its projects before September 2008, indicating that the company’s strategy to sell smaller units at lower prices drew response from buyers. Yet, the company has been able to sell less than 50% of the total space it launched between March-September 2009. It had launched a total of 21.3 million sq ft of space (residential and non-residential combined) of which it claims to have sold 10.11 million sq ft during the period.

In its presentation, <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”>  Unitech said it has sold 6,788 units in its recent projects </a> across nine cities which has generated Rs 2,639 cr. It has close to 60 projects under various stages of development and will be delivering close to 32 million sq ft over the next 3 years. It has launched over 30 new projects in the last 7 months. The company has increased its workforce on project sites in last six months, from 3,500 on April 1, 2009 to 15,600 on October 1, 2009, to deliver existing projects by March 2011.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 14-10-09

While there’s http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/corporate-news.aspx> space for price rise in up market areas , suburbs may see a correction if festive demand fails

 

The festive season is considered an auspicious period for buying a new home. But, this time around, potential home owners in Mumbai are faced with the million-dollar question — to buy or not to buy — even as builders ramped up property prices in the city and its suburbs by 10-15% in the run-up to the festivities, and could raise them further.

  

However, experts recommend a ‘wait-and-watch’ strategy since they expect some clarity on prices to emerge by December. They are of the view that http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> builders raised prices after the general elections in May this year on hopes of speedier economic reforms and that such an action may not be justified in the light of the poor monsoon, which could dampen growth prospects. They feel that prices are likely to bottom out by the end of the year and that even if the fall is as marginal as 5-10%, it may be worth a wait.

  

“Growth fundamentals are not in place and we are jumping the gun already. Lack of strong fundamentals clearly shows that the spike in prices is sentimental and not justified under current conditions,” said Gulam Zia, director, national advisory services, Knight Frank. “Most http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/> developers hiked property prices after the formation of a stable government and anticipation of economic reforms. However, the poor monsoon could play spoilsport.”

  

However, even if prices are to soften by the year-end, one of the important determinants that would influence the degree of fall is the supply-demand mismatch in the suburbs. “In Mumbai’s western suburbs, prices could stabilize at current levels or marginally correct in the Bandra - Andheri stretch, as the demand is much higher,” said Ashutosh Limaye, associate director (strategic consulting), Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

  

“If one goes beyond Borivali up to Vasai or Virar, http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-news.aspx”> real estate consultants expect some correction in prices. Similarly, even in other central suburbs such as Mulund, Thane and beyond, potential buyers can afford to wait for better deals, as these still are upcoming suburbs.”

  

Big builders such as Nirmal Lifestyle and Lodha are entering newer suburbs such as Dombivali, Dahisar and Kalyan and are quoting higher prices. “These markets, however, are dominated by local developers who are still offering real estate projects at competitive prices. Hence, there is downward pressure on prices in these suburbs,” Mr Limaye adds. Chembur, which was once seen as a posh locality, has slipped in rankings since surrounding suburbs such as Deonar rose to prominence. However, its excellent connectivity to all key parts of Mumbai has kept prices there as high as Rs 8,000-10,000 a sq ft. There is a rising trend of , http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-news.aspx”>buying used flats in Chembur, according to brokers in the suburb. “There is good demand for used flats in Chembur, because of the high premium on new constructions. Even redevelopment projects have begun in certain pockets within Chembur. So, it’s a sensible buy for potential owners,” says Rakshesh Shah, a Chembur-based agent.

  

Navi Mumbai is a well-planned suburb with superior infrastructure, but prices are expected to soften due to abundant supply. Hence, buyers would have an upper hand in negotiating with builders there. Usually, builders witness additional sales to the tune of 20-30% during the Navaratri - Diwali period, with most carrying out a bulk of their business between October and March. However, if they do not clock impressive sales growth this festive season, there would be a downward pressure on real estate prices.

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 14-10-09

Plans To <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-chennai.aspx”> Develop Prime Property in Chennai</a>

 

Maytas Properties, a closely-held firm run by the son of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, has tied up with Bangalore-based Shriram Properties to develop a prime property in Chennai.

  

It hopes to get loans from banks by pledging the sale proceeds of the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”>developed property </a> as collateral and raise money from banks to complete the up market Maytas Hill County project.

  

“The deal will ensure that funds flow into the company in small amounts now with the major portion starting in six months when sales begin at the Chennai project. We have also discussed with banks to let them have rights over those funds which will give them confidence to provide immediate funds as additional loans,” said Ramalinga Raju’s younger son Rama Raju in a letter to the customers of Maytas Hill County.

  

Shriram Properties is an arm of the Shriram Group and has <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-banglore.aspx”>projects in Bangalore </a>, Kolkata, Chennai, Coimbatore and Vijaywada. Both companies will develop around 14 acres of prime property in Chennai.

  

The Hill County project has been in a limbo for over a year now. The company faced execution problems after Ramalinga Raju confessed to perpetrating an Rs 7,000-cr fraud at Satyam Computers. Maytas needs around Rs 150 cr to complete the project.

  

Rama Raju Jr has been facing the ire of several customers who have not been given possession of the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/tender_news.aspx”> property </a> . A criminal complaint has been launched against him for defrauding customers.

  

Besides, the promoters are under pressure to sell their stakes in projects or even exit the business as they have failed to honors commitments made to customers. The company has also denitrified one of its three Special Economic Zones in the city outskirts.

  

Two other projects — Jubilee Hills Landmark and Jubilee Hills Park View — have also been halted due to the credit crunch.

  

While Maytas <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> Properties hopes to win customers’ </a> confidence, the move has seemingly irked many of them. According to a few customers, the deal means they will have to wait till the company reaps profits from the project.

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 14-10-09

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/rented-property.aspx”> Office rentals </a>, which dropped 40% from their peak in the middle of 2008, stabilized across the country in the September quarter as fresh bookings for office spaces partly reduced inventories, says a report by international property consultant CB Richard Ellis. There was no change in <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/city_special.aspx”> office rentals in some of the major office locations </a> in the national capital region, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, while rentals at some others in Chennai and Pune fell by 5-6% in the quarter ended June 30. In contrast, rentals in Connaught Place in Delhi and Gurgaon in Haryana registered an increase of 5-8% in the last quarter.

“The increase in demand is largely due to improving economic conditions, positive market sentiment and growing corporate confidence. However, it would take some time for the supply demand gap to get bridged. Thus, both rentals and capital values are expected to remain stagnant or under downward pressure in the medium term,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director for south Asia at CB Richard Ellis. The rentals in Connaught Place increased marginally by Rs 10 per sq ft to Rs 230 per sq ft after having slipped 30% from its high in June 2008. Similarly, offices in Gurgaon attracted 8% higher rental at Rs 65 per sq ft after registering a decline of 33%.  

While most locations in the national capital region saw no change in rentals compared to the preceding quarter, some locations faced significant vacant spaces which were highest for Jasola at 50% and Saket at 25%. In Mumbai, vacant spaces were high at 25% in Bandra Kurla Complex and 22% in Lower Parel even after corporates took <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-mumbai.aspx”> up new office spaces. Mumbai </a> is expected to witness an additional supply of 3.5 million sq ft by 2010 that may add to the vacancy level and keep rentals under pressure, says CB Richard Ellis. 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 09-10-09

Q3 will be better than the second, say bankers and builders.

It took just two hours for DLF, the country’s <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf.aspx” >largest property developer </a>, to sell all the 1,250 apartments in the second phase of its Capital Greens project near the Moti Nagar area of Shivaji Marg (Najafgarh Road) in West Delhi. The project was launched on September 23 and the prices were around 25 per cent lower than the prevailing market rates. In Mumbai, Rustomjee, a prominent private <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com> property developer </a>, got bookings for 44 apartments in its Global City project in Virar, a distant suburb of Mumbai, in the first two days of a property exhibition organized by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) from October 1-4.

The developer has already received bookings for 600 apartments in the Global City and another 200 apartments in Rustomjee Urbania project in Thane, on Mumbai’s outskirts, in the last three months, all in the Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh category. 

Another realty firm Nahar Group says it has sold 800 <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”>apartments </a> in its Amrit Shakti project in Powai in the last five months. Nahar expects booking for another 15 apartments after MCHI exhibition. 

After witnessing a revival of sorts in home sales in the first and second quarters, developers are hoping to cash in on the demand for affordable homes in the third quarter too, due to a large pent-up demand and the general feeling that prices may not go down further. 

“Buyers have realized that prices may not go down further and there is no point in waiting now,” says a senior State Bank of India executive. SBI’s stall at the property exhibition got over 500 enquiries every day during the four-day exhibition and the bank expects a good conversion. 

All bankers are also expecting the good run rate on home loan disbursals to continue. ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar expects a surge in home loan disbursals in the third quarter. “The confidence is coming back due to increased job security and the feeling that <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/property-price.aspx”> real estate prices </a> have corrected enough,” she says. There is also a general consensus that interest rates have bottomed out, she says. 

JS Augustine, director of marketing at Everest Developers, says there was a huge pent-up demand which is coming into the market now. Buyers who were holding back are now buying. Developers who had pulled back a lot of projects earlier are also launching new projects given the improvement in the market,’’ Augustine says. 

The period from October 2008-March 2009 was the toughest period for developers when property sales touched lowest levels since 2004. Property prices had fallen over 40 per cent from their peak in 2007-08 as buyers stayed away due to salary cuts and fears of job losses. 

But successive interest rate cuts, stimulus packages from the government and overall improvement in economic conditions changed the scenario since April this year with the country’s biggest developers, DLF and Unitech, selling over 6,500 units in the first quarter of FY 2010.

 

“We expect better sales in Q3 and Q4 as well. We have got very good response in Delhi which gives a good value for developers like us,’’ says Rajeev Talwar, group executive director of DLF. Even a Unitech spokesperson said the company expects to continue its growth momentum in the coming quarters. 

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/home-loan-application-form.aspx”> Home loan lenders </a> are naturally bullish. SBI is targeting a growth of 30 per cent in the current quarter against 21 per cent in 2008-09. HDFC, the country’s largest home loan provider, saw disbursals rise 22 per cent in first quarter and expects the trend to continue. 

Normally, there is a lag of three to six months from the time of purchase and disbursal of loans by a bank or a housing finance firm. 

Developers, which have increased prices by 10-15 per cent in the last six months, say this is the best prices buyers can get. 

“Prices have bottomed out. We do not see any reason to cut prices further. Though prices will not go up sharply, they will certainly go up slowly in the coming months,’’ says Parag Shah, general manager, sales, Nahar Group, which sells apartments in Rs 60 lakh-Rs 75 lakh in its Powai project. 

Apart from launching premium housing projects in the last few months, developers have also withdrawn freebies such as free parking, waiver on stamp duty, and free holidays and soon after the spurt in sales. “Last year there was a recession and sales were sluggish. That is why developers needed to doll out freebies. Now products sell without this,” says Nahar’s Shah. 

But that’s precisely why some analysts are concerned. Pankaj Kapoor, chief executive of Liases Foras, a realty research firm, says “there is high demand only in the lower price bracket of Rs 10-20 lakh. August and September sales have fallen by 20 to 25 per cent as developers have increased prices again. There is still lukewarm response for premium properties,’’ he says. 

Prospective buyers like Govind Chitre, a retired government employee, agrees: “The moment developers see increase in the Sensex, they jack up the prices. They charge on the super built-up area, which is really absurd. I feel there should be a strong regulatory authority to control builders.’’

 

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 06-10-09

 

For promoting a <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/default.aspx”> planned and healthy real estate </a> development of colonies and apartments in big cities, the housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry has drafted a bill and invited suggestions from experts. "The government has taken a major initiative in the shape of a model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act for which the ministry has held preliminary discussions with various stakeholders," a <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/default.aspx”> Housing </a> and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said.

 

Courtesy:- HT Business dt:- 06-10-09

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/parsvnath.aspx”> Realty major Parsvnath Developers </a> is understood to have raised Rs 225 crore through equity sale of two of its projects to private equity investors and plans to utilize the funds to reduce its Rs 1,600 crore debt and meet construction costs.

Sources said the company had closed two transactions – one worth Rs 150 crore and another Rs 75 crore – with private equity firms.

The company has sold stakes in its two <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”>  projects located in the national capital region </a> (NCR). The company’s spokeperson declined comment.

With these two deals, Parsvnath has raised over Rs 500 crore in the last four months through private placement of shares and stake sales at project level. The fund-raising exercise is meant to cut its debt amounting to Rs 1,600 crore by at least half by the end of this fiscal.

The company also intends to strengthen its balance sheet by improving cash flow, which has taken a hit due to slow-down in the property market and the global financial crisis.

During this week, Parsvnath raised $35 million(nearly Rs 170 crore) through the qualified institutional placements (QIP) route by issuing shares at Rs 121.25 a share.

The company yesterday announced selling an additional 4 percent stake in a North Delhi <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/delhi-real-estate.aspx”> project to Red Fort Capital </a> for Rs 25 crore. In June, it had sold an 18 percent stake in the same project to Red Fort Capital for Rs 90 crore.

The company might raise more funds as it has obtained approval from its board to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore through QIP and other instruments.

After the QIP, the company’s share prices have gone up by 17 percent. Its share prices have risen to Rs 147.55, as of yesterday, on the BSE.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 03-10-09

There are many ways to make every <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/parsvnath.aspx”> room in your home </a> a little greener without spending much or detracting from your style. One of the biggest contributors to the pollution is paint. Choose paints that no or low volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Go less toxic by choosing furniture with natural finishes and organic materials. The best option is to recycle furniture and give it a makeover. You could also use reclaimed wood, but it could prove to be a little expensive. <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> Fabrics are also going green </a>. One hundred percent cotton is a good choice, as is hemp, silk, linen and wool. Bamboo fabric is the latest addition to the list. Patterns inspired by nature are in demand. Bold floral, leaf designs, and bright colors are all available in natural fabrics. Opt for organic rugs and carpets. For eco friendly flooring options cork and <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”>bamboo flooring </a> are excellent choices. They not only look terrific but are also sustainable in the long run.

Courtesy:- ET Realty dt:- 02-10-09

 

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/the-villas.aspx”> Realty firm Emaar MGF </a>, which plans to raise Rs 3,850 cr through an initial public offer, will utilize over half of this fund to repay its debt alone to strengthen its balance sheet.

Emaar MGF, a joint venture between Dubai-based Emaar Properties and domestic firm MGF, has a debt of Rs 5,807.79 cr as on August 31 and plans to utilize Rs 1,972.1 cr raised from the public in part repayment.

The repayment will also include the debt of special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by the company for developing the Commonwealth Games Villages — <a href = “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/the-villas.aspx”> Emaar MGF Construction.</a>

The realty major had filed its draft prospectus with market regulator SEBI to raise Rs 3,850 cr through an IPO on September 29.

“In order to deleverage its balance sheet, the company intends to repay Rs 1,772.6 cr of its outstanding debt from the proceeds of the fresh issue,” the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) of the company said.

Some of <a href = “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com”>  the lenders to the company include </a> Unit Trust of India Mutual, HDFC, L&T Infrastructure Finance Company, Axis Bank, LIC, Citibank, ABN Amro Bank, HSBC and SBI.

“The company proposes to utilize a part of the proceeds of the fresh issue to the extent of Rs 199.5 cr for funding Emaar MGF Construction (the SPV), which proposes to utilize for the repayment and prepayment of loan facilities availed by it,” the DRHP of Emaar MGF said.

Besides, the realty firm would pump in Rs 820 cr for redemption of certain redeemable preference shares. It would also invest Rs 276.8 cr in <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> paying development and license renewal charges. </a>

The remaining part of the proceeds is proposed for general corporate purposes, including acquisition and brand building exercise.

Emaar MGF had filed its DRHP for the second time with SEBI to rise up to Rs 3,850 cr, much lower than what it had planned to mop up last year.

Courtesy:- ET dt:-03-10-09

 

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> Many areas in South Delhi </a> along the Outer Ring Road have taken a hard hit owing to development work along the stretch, and rentals have plunged here, says Vivek Shukla

Long and unending traffic jams, now even on public holidays, are taking the sheen off some of the better-known posh South Delhi colonies, especially those close to Outer Ring Road. This when only a couple of years ago there were hardly any bottlenecks one would encounter along Outer Ring Road. As construction work related to Metro Rail, flyovers, and widening of roads go on and on along Outer Ring Road, this whole activity is forcing high-profile tenants out of areas like Panchsheel park, SDA, Hauz Khas, Mayfair Garden, among others.

New tenants are also avoiding such places in their search for new rented accommodation. Everybody will testify that if one were to drive to any of these places from CP for some work, then one would encounter traffic snarl-ups and jams at Defense Colony, BRT corridor, Asian Games Village, apart from routine heavy traffic. And if it rains or there is some mishap along the way, then it is an extended session on the road.

Right from Nehru Place to R K Puram, the stretch is badly affected due to chaotic scenes on Outer Ring Road - and the worst part is nobody can say when things will settle down.

Realty expert Anil Makhijani of Mak <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> Realtors presents </a> a very grim picture of the whole scenario. According to him, there used to be a veritable rush of people, always on the look out for accommodation in areas like Panchsheel Park, SDA, Hauz Khas and Mayfair Garden even as recently as one-two years ago.

“You cannot say the same thing for all these areas now, as well as other colonies close to Outer Ring Road - all because of the massive traffic woes. Those who have no option but to take the Outer Ring Road to reach their office or home suffer the most due to the snail pace of traffic and the daily jams,” says Makhijani.

Naturally, in order to save themselves from such a messy situation, many tenants staying in areas close to the dreaded Outer Ring Road have moved to areas like Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar-3, South Extension, and Safdarjung Enclave in recent months. As for those who have offices in either Gurgaon or Noida, they have either shifted or are thinking of <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/default.aspx”> moving houses </a>.

Dr Mahesh Sharma of the department of traffic management, IIT, says the mess on the Outer Ring Road is a result of some very bad planning among various government bodies and that it calls for an urgent review to sort out the matters.

Meanwhile, a realtor says the rentals have never seen such a dip in these colonies. If realtors are to be believed, the average rent in these places has come down by up to 25% to 30%. It is a big fall by any standards. As if this were not enough, there are no takers for houses in all these posh places. Another realtor Pradeep Mishra of Sainik Estates says there are many residents in colonies all over Delhi who run their household from rental income and they are sure to be affected if they don’t <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/corporate-news.aspx”> get rental income </a> on a regular basis.

Ashok Mirchandani (name changed), a photographer by profession, has been living in Mayfair Garden for several years now. His father, who was a journalist, built this Mayfair Garden house when the area, dominated by Sindhis, came into existence. He very candidly admitted that rental income is the only regular income he has. After retirement, he runs his home from the money he gets from his tenant. “As there are not many takers for Mayfair Garden, I am really worried - I need a tenant within the next two-three months for my vacant first-floor house, otherwise it will be difficult for me to run my <a href =“http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/corporate-news.aspx”> household </a>,” he confides. He knows pretty well that tenants avoid his area as reaching there is like conquering some difficult mountain.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 26-09-09

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> Real estate developers </a> are jittery ahead of the introduction of the draft of a bill to regulator the sector in the coming Parliament session. While the draft has been circulated to elicit views from various stakeholders, its exact shape is not clear.

The draft envisages an industry regulator with powers to administer projects, protect buyer’s interest and punish <a href= “ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf-second.aspx”> developers </a> not adhering to regulation, but it is facing criticism.

While the bill talks strongly of the processes that a developer needs to undergo before even launching a project and to safeguard the interest of buyers, the National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco), an industry association, feels that timely completion of housing projects is not the sole responsibility of the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx> developers. </a>

"All stakeholders like brokers, contractors, architects should be made accountable and not just the developer," said R.R. Singh, director-general, Naredco, told Hindustan Times.

The builders do not seem receptive to the bill in its current form. "We cannot accept it in its current form and will talk to the government," said Rohtas Goel, chairman of Delhi-based builder Omaxe Ltd. "It would be unfair to treat a civil offence as a criminal which the bill talks of."

Builders insist that getting government approvals is a time-consuming process and needs to be simplified. The draft bill seems to have taken that into account.

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> The Model Real Estate </a> (Regulation and Development) Act ­ as the draft is called ­ seeks "to establish a framework of standard procedures and norms for speedy processing and grant of permissions, building approvals and licenses."

This would be done in consultation with the state government or the competent authority, it says.

Despite the reservations from builders, industry experts see the planned law as a welcome change for the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> Indian real estate industry </a>, which is widely perceived to be disorganized. The law is expected to drive growth by smoothening procedures and introducing higher accountability.

"Currently, only listed real estate companies are accountable for ways in which they conduct their business and it is not true for smaller players.

Such an agency would make unlisted companies equally accountable," said Ashutosh Limaye, associate director --strategic consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. "If this authority performs the intended functions efficiently, it can do much to induce confidence in foreign real estate players intending to invest in India".

Courtesy:- HT Business dt:- 30-09-09

US President Barack Obama in an interview aired on Sunday said all signs point to the <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx> US economy starting </a> to grow again but there may not be enough new jobs created until next year.

  

“I want to be clear, that probably the jobs picture is not going to improve considerably — and it could even get a little bit worse — over the next couple of months,” he said in an interview taped on Friday with CNN’s “State of the Union.”

  

“And we’re probably not going to start seeing enough job creation to <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx> deal with the rising population </a> until sometime next year,” Obama said, adding that 150,000 additional jobs must be added each month just to keep pace with population growth.

  

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Sept. 15 that the worst US recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s was probably over but the recovery would be slow and it would take time to create new jobs. Insigns the US economy is recovering, retail sales rose at the fastest pace in 3-1/2 years in August and a gauge of New York state manufacturing activity hit a nearly two-year high.

  

Obama has sought in recent weeks to highlight the signs of an <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx> improving economy </a> in an effort to boost his popularity, which has suffered amid a heated debate over his plan to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system.

 

In the interview, Obama said he will leave it up to Bernanke to pronounce whether or not the recession was officially over. But he said the financial markets were working again and manufacturing had even ticked up, in terms of production, last month. “So all the signs are that the economy’s going to start growing again,” he said.

  

Obama said jobs figures tend to be the last to catch up in an economic recovery. “The other problem is, we lost so many jobs that making up for those that have already been lost is going to require really high growth rates,” he said.

  

Obama is going to Pittsburgh during the week to host the Group of 20 leaders of the biggest <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx> industrialized and developing economies </a> .

  

“That’s part of what the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh is going to be about, making sure that there’s a more balanced economy,” he said.

  

“We can’t go back to the era where the Chinese or the Germans or other countries just are selling everything to us, we’re taking out a bunch of credit card debt or home equity loans, but we’re not selling anything to them,” he said.

Courtesy:- Et dt:- 21-09-09

US Mortgage applications jumped last week to their highest since late May as interest rates tumbled below 5%, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both <a href= http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/home-loan-application-form.aspx> purchase and refinance loans </a>, for the week to September 18 increased 12.8% to 668.5, the highest since the week ended May 22.

While consumers clamored for home refinancing loans, their appetite was also robust for applications to <a href= “ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/search-property.aspx”> buy a home </a>, a tentative early indicator of sales. The overall trend bodes well for the hard-hit US housing market, which has been showing signs of stabilization.

Eric Belsky, executive director at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, said several months of improvement in new and existing home sales is a positive sign. "Low interest rates on mortgages are important to the fledgling housing recovery," he said, and this has made a significant impact on the affordability front. "While an uptick may bring buyers anxious that rates will keep rising into the market temporarily, a material increase in rates could threaten the rebound," he said.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 4.97%, down 0.11 percentage point from the prior week and the first time since the week to May 22 the rate on this most widely used <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> home loan </a> was below 5%. However, the rate remained above the all-time low of 4.61% set in the week ended March 27. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. Nevertheless, interest rates were well below year-ago levels of 6.08%.

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 24-09-09

INFLATION UP RBI MAY ALLOW HOME INTEREST RATES TO BE RAISED LATER

 

If you are planning to <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> buy a house </a>, now is the time. Do it now, because a rise in interest rates might not be too far away.

 

Ending a 13-week streak of contraction, the wholesale prices based inflation rate returned to the positive zone in figures relating to the week ending September 5, triggering speculation about when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would announce a rise in <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”>lending rates </a>.

 

Inflation measured by the wholesale price index (WPI) rose by 0.12 per cent for the week.

 

It had fallen by 0.12 per cent in the previous week.

 

The RBI faces the dilemma of containing prices without making loans costlier for individuals and corporations in an uncertain economy.

 

One way to contain inflation is to reduce the amount of money circulating in the economy.

 

The RBI usually does this either by sucking out liquidity from banks by raising the cash reserve ratio (CRR, or the percentage of deposits <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> commercial banks </a> have to park with the RBI) or by raising interest rates and reducing demand for money.

 

A rise in interest rates could upset plans of realty firms as people defer plans to buy homes.

 

"Borrowing rates may go up in three months' time and that may result in a rise in <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx”> lending rates </a> ," said R.R. Nair, CEO, and LIC Housing Finance.

 

The government said the rise in inflation rate was not unexpected. "This is a trend we were expecting," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters.

 

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 18-09-09

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/omaxe.aspx”> Omaxe Ltd </a>. will develop a hi-tech township spread over 2700 acres (approx) in the heart of Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. Garv Buildtech Private Ltd, a subsidiary of Omaxe, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lucknow Development Authority to develop the Hi-tech <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/real-estate-lucknow.aspx”> Township in Lucknow </a>.

The Hi-tech Township will be executed over a period of five-seven years. It will cater to the growing demand of quality living space in the city. The township is strategically located on the proposed Lucknow Ring Road, close to Lucknow Airport and an half-an-hour's drive from Hazratganj, center of Lucknow city.

Courtesy:- HT Estates dt:- 19-09-09

Sunbreeze Gurgaon is one of the premium <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx” > projects of Unitech </a> Ltd. This project contains two, three and four Bedrooms apartments.  The project is ideally located at Sohna Road, Gurgaon in the proximity of Delhi NCR. The other salient features of the project are – Well connected through an upcoming Metro, The airy homes, Large open spaces, State-of-the-art security, World-class schools such as The Shri Ram School, DPS, Amity International, Heritage and GD Goenka are within 20 minutes driving distance, Leading hospitals such as Medicity, Artemis, Max, Fortis, Apollo, Sir Gangaram & Batra Hospitals are within 20 minutes driving distance.

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx” > Unitech </a> entered civil engineering in 1974 with its sights firmly set on the future. Building upon experience and expertise Unitech is constantly looking for ways to improve all our lives.Unitech has worked on various projects like <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx” > residential, commercial </a>, real & leisure, construction and wireless in a very professional way. The company has attained the stature of second largest real estate company after DLF in the country. <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/unitech.aspx” > Unitech has developed many projects </a> across length and breadth of the country. During last few months, it was facing liquidity crunch. Now after starting construction of affordable apartments and getting rephased its term loans, the financials of Unitech have improved and the company has been able to get additional funds from financial institutions to complete their pending projects.

 

We, Shri Aditya Estate, are one of the leading real estate consultants, established in Delhi and working successfully for more than a decade. We have developed well-embellished websites viz. <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com” > www.zameen-zaidad.com </a> , <a href= “http://www.propertycafeteria.com” > www.propertycafeteria.com </a> with a clear concept to showcase all kinds of properties of our patrons for wider publicity of their products for sale/purchase, leasing and renting purposes.

Our website – www.zameen-zaidad.com - is displaying the details of project of Sunbreeze, Gurgaon.

Homes for sale are available in Sunbreeze, Gurgaon. For best and transparent deals for apartments in Sunbreeze, Gurgaon, our experienced marketing executives can  be contacted  at  mob no 91-9650398925, 9810445860, 9911158601, 011-42470622  or email at : info@zameen-zaidad.com.

Our company is on the approved list of leading banks/financial institutions for grant of home loans. We have got an experienced team to process home loan applications. For hassle-free home loans for apartments in Sunbreeze, Gurgaon, our executives can be contacted at mobile no 91-9990217028, 9810445860, 011-47082736 or email at : info@zameen-zaidad.com.

For more info log on to www.zameen-zaidad.com and www.propertycafeteria.com

Alpha Tower, a <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/alpha-tower-ghaziabad.aspx” > commercial project </a>, is being developed by SG Estate Ltd in Vasundhara Ghaziabad. Alpha Tower is ideally located in Delhi NCR at a distance from Connaught Place 16 km, New Delhi Railway Station 15 km, Ashram Chowk 11 km, Anand Vihar Metro Station 6 km, Indirapuram 2 km and Noida 4 km. in proximity of <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/alpha-tower-ghaziabad.aspx” > residential complexes </a> . Alpha Tower is a meticulously plotted ensemble of Vaastu-friendly corporate spaces with well laid out landscapes and affluent surroundings. Apart from the pleasing waiting lobby for visitors and attendants, there are special entry and exit points and fast moving elevators for quick access. Simultaneously complimented by well-matched support systems like ATM counters, logistic backups, fright and courier.  In a nutshell, Alpha Tower Vasundhara Ghaziabad is set to cater to the multidimensional needs of today’s multifarious professionals by enhancing the aggregates to build up a great business centre. It is a lucrative opportunity for both the investors and the end users.

 

SG Estates Ltd was incorporated in the year 1986 under the aegis of its Managing Director Mr. Subhash Gupta. The company is in the construction business for the last 23 years and has been providing space solutions to people in different segments. Over a period of time the company has matured to handle various diverse projects in various parts of  Northern India. In the year 2003-04, the company ventured into the construction of <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/alpha-tower-ghaziabad.aspx” > commercial complex </a>  and constructed various DDA approved commercial buildings in different parts of Delhi. Currently SG Estates Ltd is executing a number of Group Housing Projects under the brand name SG Impressions. Commercial projects of the company are coming up in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad. The company has always worked towards maximizing customers’ satisfaction and ensured that customers get the return on every penny of money invested. SG Estates Ltd has become a good real estate company. Their completed projects are – SG Residency New Delhi, SG Centuary Plazaa New Delhi, Maa Shakti Apartments, Haridwar. <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/alpha-tower-ghaziabad.aspx” >Current projects </a> are – SG Impressions 58, SG Impressions Plus Ghaziabad, SG Imressions Vasundhara, SG Impressions Dehradun, SG Beta Tower, SG Alpha Tower.

 

We, Shri Aditya Estate, are one of the leading real estate consultants, established in Delhi and working successfully for more than a decade. We have developed well-embellished websites viz. <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com”> www.zameen-zaidad.com </a> , <a href= “http://www.propertycafeteria.com”> www.propertycafeteria.com </a> with a clear concept to showcase all kinds of properties of our patrons for wider publicity of their products for sale/purchase, leasing and renting purposes. Our website – www.zameen-zaidad.com - is displaying the details of project of  Alpha Tower Vasundhara Ghaziabad. Spaces for sale are available in Alpha Tower. For best and transparent deals for spaces in Alpha Tower, our experienced marketing executives can  be contacted  at  mob no 91-9650398924, 9810445860, 9911158601, 011-42470622  or email at : info@zameen-zaidad.com.

Our company is on the approved list of leading banks/financial institutions for grant of  loans for purchase of commercial properites. We have got an experienced team to process  loan applications. For hassle-free loans for spaces in Alpha Tower, our executives can be contacted at mobile no 91-9990217028, 9810445860, 011-47082736 or email at : info@zameen-zaidad.com.

For more info log on to www.zameen-zaidad.com and www.propertycafeteria.com

Vikas Agarwal has some tips to help you plan your finances to manage cyclical trends in interest rates

The current market conditions are good for those looking at <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx/”> investing in a house </a>. The property prices have corrected over the last few quarters due to the global economic slowdown. Many good deals are available in the market now. Also, many new housing projects are being launched by developers, targeting middle income buyers. The pricing of these properties is attractive and affordable. In conjunction with better property prices, the availability of housing loans at <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx/”> attractive interest rates </a> makes the investment a good value proposition for those who want to own a home.

Analysts believe there are many factors that indicate a rise in property prices as well as home loan interest rates in the medium to long term. The economic conditions are improving and demand is picking up in the property market which is expected to drive the property rates upwards.

Similarly, higher fiscal deficit, higher demand and higher inflation rate will force the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to tighten the monetary conditions in the medium term. However, currently, the banks are sitting on a pile of cash and the demand in the retail loan segment is not as much. Many banks are planning to come out with <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/home-loan-application-form.aspx/”> attractive home loan schemes </a> to attract homebuyers during the coming festival season. Therefore, those looking at investing in property should move now for a good deal in both property and home loan.

Due to the effect of globalisation and aggressive marketing in the home loan market, there is a lot of volatility and cyclical trends in interest rates. Analysts believe they will go up in the next few quarters. Therefore, it is important to put some financial planning in place now. Banks do not revise (upwards or downwards) the EMIs immediately when the rates change. Usually, they first look at an increase/decrease in the loan tenure. In case the interest rates go beyond a point where the EMI will not cover the interest portion or the loan tenure goes beyond the retirement age of the borrower, they call for an increase in the EMIs.

Here’s how you can build a corpus that can be used to make a part repayment of the loan or fund higher EMIs in specific periods:

Invest in equity-based instruments   

Analysts advise investing in equity-based <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/home-loan-application-form.aspx/”> investment instruments to build </a> a corpus over a long term, as equitybased instruments gives positive returns in the long term after factoring in the inflation rate. The global economy is slowly coming out of recession. Therefore, say analysts, the stock markets will remain bullish in the medium to long term.

Those planning to buy a house can look at investing in a systematic investment plan (SIP) of a good equity mutual fund. This will help in creating a corpus over a medium to long term.

Invest in gold   

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> Investing in gold is another way </a> to build a corpus. The best way to invest in gold is to buy gold exchange-traded funds or pure gold bars. Historically, gold has yielded high returns over a long term and investments in gold do not have much downside risks.

 

VPF contributions   

The salaried employees can look at depositing some extra money into their provident fund account through voluntary contributions. One can withdraw up to 36 times his monthly salary from the provident fund after completing 10 years of service, to make a repayment on his housing loan. In case of a need, withdrawal of the extra amount contributed as voluntary provident fund can be an option to make a part repayment of the loan and reduce the EMI to manageable levels.

Loan-cum-savings account   

Many banks offer a loancum-savings account product. Under this scheme, the borrower can park his additional funds in the savings account and get the benefit of the same interest rate as is being charged on the housing loan. This account is handy in building a corpus where the borrower is not sure of committing a dedicated amount every month.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 05-09-2009

    <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx/”>  IFCI Infrastructure Development Ltd </a>

( IIDL), a subsidiary of the country, IFCI Ltd, signed a Management Contract with the internationally renowned Fraser Hospitality Pvt Ltd to manage its ‘ serviced Apartments’ property named ‘Fraser Suites’, being Developed at Mayur Vihar, New Delhi.

              The 9 story, 90-unit  <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/latest_news.aspx/”> property ,being developed by IFCI Infrastructure Developed Ltd </a> , ( IIDL), is scheduled to be completed by end-March2010.The eco-friendly, Ultra-modern Property sets new benchmarks in ecological design. The superstructure , based on the Vaastu Energy Grid for passive bio-climatic solar architecture aims at optimising solar advantage through the use of solar heating .

 

  Courtesy:-HT dt:-05-09-2009

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mint-tower-gurgaon.aspx/”> Mint Towers, a part of Eden Heights Gurgaon </a>, are being developing by GPL Infrastructure. Mint Towers are affordable and efficiently planned. Other features of  Mint Towers are - Faster Construction, Spacious Bed-Rooms (11x14 & 10x13), Three side Open Apartments, Airy & Well lit flats, 100% Power Back-up, 24x7 Security, Tennis & Basket Ball Courts, Spacious Club Facility, Connectivity to proposed Metro Station & Ideally located in vicinity of National Capital. These Towers host limited edition, affordable, efficiently planned <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mint-tower-gurgaon.aspx/”> 2 Bedroom + Study Apartments </a>. Specially designed & priced keeping in mind the needs of the young corporate individuals. Part of an 11 acre township with world class facilities at Eden Heights, strategically located just off the Southern Periphery Road, Sector 70, Sohna Road, Gurgaon.
Some of the Key Factors, which make the apartments at Mint Towers different from the other offerings at present times are:

• Construction in Full Swing
• Sample Apartment Ready
• <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mint-tower-gurgaon.aspx/”> Compact Size of 1050 sq.ft. (2 Bedrooms + Study) </a>
• Amazingly Efficient Floor Plan (Bedroom Sizes: 11x14 & 10x13)
• Three Side Open apartments, to make sure all apartments are Airy & Well Lit.
• All Facilities that one would expect in any good community.
• Well planned landscaping within the Community.
• Wi-Fi Ready Apartments
• 24 x 7 Security
• 100% Power BackUp
• Large Size Club within the community with world class facilities.
• Tennis Courts
• Basket Ball Courts.
• Connectivity to Proposed Metro Station
• <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mint-tower-gurgaon.aspx/”> Affordable Prices </a> to encourage actual users to make the most of it.

Please feel free to browse through the various links provided on the left hand panel to find the desired information. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our professionals on the numbers mentioned.
Our executives are standing by to answer any queries that you may have. You may also choose to send us a quick query through the query box on the right hand side and be assured of a quick response.
We surely look forward to having you to Live Easy @ Mint Towers.

Our Company is on the <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/mint-tower-gurgaon.aspx/”> approved list of leading </a>  banks/financial institutions for grant of home loans. We have got an able team to process home loan  proposals. Interested persons for Mint Towers, Gurgaon can contact our executives on mobile no 91-9650398325, 9810445860, 9911158601 or email at –info@zameen-zaidad.com

For more info log on to <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> http://www.zameen-zaidad.com </a>

<a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/grand-venezia-greater-noida.aspx/”> Grand Venezia is poised to be a truly international </a>  mall, a brand name in itself.
Whether it's a stroll along a cobblestone walkway, or a relaxing ride in an authentic Italian gondola, The Venetian Mall offers a shopping experience like no other. Enjoy world class dining, shopping and elegance in an atmosphere of sophistication and refinement. Enjoy all that life has to offer... indulge in the uniqueness of Grand Venezia Mall! Grand Venezia will be a whole newmeaning with an irresistible offer no other leisure destination can match.

Amenities

A SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA

The fun of shopping! As you glide through the moonlit canals of <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/grand-venezia-greater-noida.aspx/”> Grand Venezia Shopping Mall </a>, your Gondolier gently serenades you with romantic Indian and Western classic songs and music. This instrumental collection of favorite Indian and Western love songs will take you there through the strings of the mandolin, the chords of the accordion, and the sweeping notes of the violin. Romance yourself around the world with this elegant shopping mall.

Entertainment

Grand Venezia offers an action packed entertainment zone that has enough excitement for adults and kids alike. Whereas lifestyle clubs, hi-tech virtual games and a bowling alley will ensure that adults have a ball of a time; there will also be a special kids zone, surrounded by live cartoon characters, happy meals and fun shows. Grand Venezia Mall will also poised to be the hub of cultural events and entertainment. An open amphitheatre will provide a platform for hosting cultural events, brand promotions, product launches, movie screenings and live shows.
One can also enjoy the latest in entertainment at <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/grand-venezia-greater-noida.aspx/”>  Multiplex having a capacity of more than 1000 </a> se

Investment

A golden opportunity to make world's best brands your tenant...
Assured Returns
Grand Venezia offers you an undisputed advantage in terms of high returns on investment. It has the features which no other property in India can match. Leasing, Renting or Ownership, whichever the option you have in mind, your investment is bound to generate maximum benefits, right from day one. Giving you an advantage that anybody else would find hard to match.
High Appreciation Value
Grand Venezia is located in the sunrise destination of <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/grand-venezia-greater-noida.aspx/”> Greater Noida, where property </a> values have steadily risen and continue to do so. Which makes Grand Venezia, the current and future hotspot with high appreciation value. In fact, owing to the spectacular theme based structuring of the mall, making it the first of its kind in India, it will become the most sought-after destination, causing property values to soar beyond limits.

For more info log on to <a href= “http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”> http://www.zameen-zaidad.com </a>

 

Prudent buyer of  house property is one who looks after the current market conditions and the prevalent bank rate of interest on home loans. Following are the points to be taken care of for buying, selling or investing in house property :

1. Prevalent Market Conditions - When there is more availability of dwelling units in the market, one should go for buying or investing in house properties. If more number of houses are available, one can make choice of size and location of the house property. Under such scenario, the price to be paid for buying the house will be reasonable owing to competition among the builders and developers for selling their products .
2. Business Place/Working Place – The house property should be purchased in the vicinity of the business/working place to save the time in journey to and from house to business/working place. When less time is spent in journey, more time can be devoted to business/office works. This will enhance the business prospects or efficiency in office work.
3. Approved Real Estate Agents – While going for buying the house property, one should enquire the details of  projects from the govt approved real estate agents or from those real estate agents which are having long standing in the market to get the genuine deal and to avoid any future complicacies.
4. Credible Builders and Developers – One should purchase the house property from the reputed and credit-worthy builder/developer to have good quality product. Even if some more price is to be paid for buying the house property, one should opt for the quality product. Price should not be compromised for bad quality product.
5. Prevalent Bank Interest Rate – When bank interest rate on home loans are low, only then one should go for buying the house property while availing home loan to have overall lesser cost of the house property.
6. High Price Market – To sell the house property one should wait for high price market to get the best price.

On observing the above-said aspects, one will pay less for buying the house property and will get more on selling the property.

       For more info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com

                                http://www.propertycafeteria.com

 

Locals demand affordable apartments  , NRIs focus on premium segment

The Realty sector is alive and kicking in the temple town of Thrissur, considered the cultural capital of Kerala. Despite the economic downturn, sales of flats and villas have not been hit as much as in several other places in the country.

After tiding over the recessionary phase, the builders are now drawing up plans for new projects in and around Thrissur, including Guruvayur , which is around 25 km from the city. Guruvayur is famous for the Sri Krishna Temple and has devotees from all over the country flocking to it.

Thrissur is home to three banks — Catholic Syrian Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank and South Indian Bank and several private chit fund companies. It is also the hub of gold jewellery manufacturing in the state. Many prominent jewellers have their roots in Thrissur.

The suburban areas of Thrissur are also fast developing. A new IT park, a branch of Kochi Infopark, is coming up at Koratty, half an hour drive from the city. It also has the advantage of proximity to Cochin International Airport, which is 20 km away from Koratty.

The demand for premium apartments (above Rs 60 lakh) is mostly from NRIs who want to settle in Thrissur. The local demand is for cheaper apartments — ranging from Rs 20-25 lakh. As compared to 2008, the square foot rates have shown a rise.

The builders argue that the rate increase is more due to rise in the cost of raw materials. According to Mr Varghese, vice-president (marketing) of Skyline Builders, the cost of cement, steel and the wages of labourers have increased over the last one year. “Last year, before the slowdown, our average rates in Thrissur were Rs 1,450 per sq ft. Now it is around Rs 1,000 higher,” he said. Skyline completed two projects during 2008. In the last 20 years it has completed 14 projects. Mr Varghese said land cost has more or less stabilised after the boom period in 2008. “Instead of buying land at fancy prices, we market our projects in such a way that it becomes a destination for the buyers. Our apartment project at Gosayikunnu on the outskirts of Thrissur was sold that way,” he said.

Last year, during the recessionary phase, several builders adopted measures such as downsizing the apartment size to create demand. Shobha Developers was one prominent builder to adopt the strategy for its 600-apartment complex at Puzhakkal on the way to Guruvayur.

Without raising the sq ft rates, Shobha Builders reduced the size of the apartments, which naturally reduced the prices for the apartments. The size of the proposed flats was reduced from 4,000 and 3,000 sq ft to 2,000 and 2,500 sqft. However, the square ft rate remained at Rs 3,000. The company sources said this resulted in higher sales during the time of recession. The company has sold around 25 flats by adopting this strategy. It has so far sold 40% of its project. The prime location in Thrissur remains the Swaraj Round, its main road. Any project within 1-2 km of the round commands a premium price. Other locations have sprung up in the fast developing city, which are getting good prices. Thrissur Builders, which have around 20 projects in Thrissur, has four ongoing projects at several locations . The projects in the area near North bus stand and Viyyur are getting higher prices now. According to Joshey, marketing officer of Thrissur Builders, the demand now is for cheaper apartments. ``Our apartment projects at West Fort and Kanimangalam have prices in the range of Rs 20 to 25 lakh. The rates hover around Rs 2000 per sq ft,’’ he said. The company’s villas coming up at Olari are priced higher at Rs 3000 per sq ft.

Many builders are setting up projects in Guruvayur. Earlier, the customers used to book the flat without even looking at the project. That has changed now and most of the people now come and see the construction before booking. Shantimadom Builders has several villas in Guruvayur.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 23-08-09

 

DLF, the country’s largest realty firm , today bagged a 350-acre plot for Rs 1,750 crore in Haryana for developing a recreation and leisure project, making it one of the costliest land deals in recent times.

“The letter of acceptance has been issued to the successful bidder (DLF) after getting the approval from the state government,” Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (HSIIDC) Deputy General Manager Priya Sardana said.

Earlier this week, DLF emerged as the sole bidder for the 350-acre project after the bids of other parties — Unitech and Malaysia-based Consortium comprising Country Heights, Country Club of South Africa and Rajarhat IT Park — did not qualify on technical grounds.

The qualified bidder, DLF, had quoted its bid at Rs 12,000 per sq mt against the reserve price of Rs 11,978 per sq mt for the project.

Earlier, BPTP had bagged a 95-acre plot in Noida for Rs 5,006 crore in 2008, but later surrendered because of inability to arrange funds for the payment.

DLF had acquired 38 acres in the heart of Delhi   for Rs 1,675 crore. Unitech had bagged 1,750 acres in Vizag for Rs 3,350 crore, while the company won 340 acres in Noida at Rs 1,582 crore in 2006.

HSIIDC had invited competitive bids in January this year for allotment of 350 acres of prime land on freehold basis, at village Wazirabad in Gurgaon, for setting up of a recreation and leisure project comprising commercial and residential buildings and golf courses .

The corporation reinvited the bids after the sole bidder at that time — DLF — pointed out certain difficulties in project implementation.

In the second round of bidding, Unitech was disqualified as its partner was found ineligible for developing the project, while the bid of the third party did not qualify as the net worth of the Malaysia-based company Country Heights was less than the required amount of Rs 500 crore.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 21-08-09

 

A story of how five DU students, of different faiths, managed to locate a rented flat and live there in harmony, Bhavya Nayna Channan

As soon as the DU cutoff lists were out in July, this bunch of friends, all boarding school boys from Darjeeling, began work on that most vital thing, next in importance only to taking admission --  house hunting in this big, bad city, where brokers can make wolves weep.

The boys -- Ashwini Darnal (Hindu, from Darjeeling), Ritesh Agarwal (Marwari, from Rajasthan), Faizal Alam (Muslim, from UP), Ben Kipgen (Christian, from Manipur) and Atisha Penjore Bhutia (Tibetan Buddhist) ­ had been studying in St. Joseph's (North Point) Darjeeling since Class III, so they all wanted to stay together in Delhi. They first found accommodation as paying guests, two guys sharing one room.

Initially, peace prevailed - the landlord was good to them and everything was going according to the agreement. But trouble started soon enough. There was - harassment over electricity and water bills, and even the neighbors began to com plain about their late-night studies and habit of watching l football matches.

The boys decided to move - out and rent a flat . "The bro kers really took advantage of the situation," says Ashwini. Places that cost Rs 10,000 to rent were shown to them as 18-grand-a-month flats. Worse still, each locality had several brokers who all rat tiled off different rates, leaving the boys' heads spinning with confusion.

With a total budget of Rs 20,000, inclusive of everything (ration, cook, maid, electricity and water bills), they finally managed to rent a three-bedroom flat in Vijaynagar, a student-friendly locality.  All facilities were available at reasonable rates , and most of the colleges were located close by. It was as close to perfect as it gets, despite teething troubles with the cook and the maid.

The boys have appointed Alam as the `flat accountant'. He looks after all the expenses of the little group and sees to it that everyone puts in their share. Agarwal looks after the cleanliness and maintenance of the flat. The others help with getting provisions and look after various other needs of this `household'. Since the cook is of the same age as the boys, they are good friends with him and he understands their needs.

With a neat system in place, the boys have been able to stay within their budget of Rs 4,000 a month each, aside from spending on fridge, TV and basic furniture.

They call this flat "a mini India" . Says Alam, "We are proud to be together and helpful to each other." In their free time, they sometimes cook, drink beer and party. A Playstation in the flat and extra-curricular activities in college take care of recreation. Their motto has been `sursum corcla', meaning `lift up your hearts'. "We've learnt this from school and apply it in our flat," says Ritesh.

One advice from this `veteran' group to other students is that those who live in a rented flat should keep their eyes and ears open and not be too trusting of strangers.

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 15-08-09

 

 

Former Old Lane Fund Partners Buy 26% Stake in Dombivli Project For $25 Million

 

Mumbai-based Lodha Developers is tying up funds from private equities (PE) at the project level ahead of its Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 crore planned initial public offer (IPO).

  

Few former Old Lane Fund partners have made a $25-million investment for 26% stake in the group’s 115-acre housing and office complex in suburban Dombivli in Mumbai.

  

The investment values the project, which falls under its CASA brand for mid-income housing, at Rs 460 crore (Rs 4 crore per acre).

  

“In terms of this , the residential rates for our Dombivalli project will range between Rs 2500-Rs 3000 per sq foot. We are also in continuous talks with various funds who are interested in investments at the project level,” said Abhisheck Lodha, director, Lodha Group.

  

None of the PE investors from Old Lane, who have formed a new $400 million for realty and infrastructure, were available for comment.

  

With the latest private equity deal, Lodha Developers now has private equity investments to the tune of $600 million in various special purpose vehicles from the likes of Duetsche Bank, HDFC Realty’s international fund and ICICI Ventures. “The IPO may improve the valuations of the Lodha’s Hyderabad project in which the fund has invested resulting in higher prices for the sale of residential units in the complex,” says senior fund manager at HDFC Realty.

  

An official in the Lodha group, who did not wish to be named, said the company is expecting a valuation of up to Rs 20,000 crore at the time of tapping the capital markets.

  

But analysts say a lot will depend on whether the appetite for real estate returns among investors . Now the IPO which is expected to hit the market by late October-November, could provide an exit route particularly for Duetsche Bank since the deal was structured around convertible debentures. Servicing these investments was looking difficult, as a slump in the property market had receded the hopes of meeting the pre-decided returns on them. The company has appointed Enam Securities and JP Morgan as its merchant bankers.

 

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 20-08-09

 

Cut-throat competition in India's organised retail industry seems to have given way to harmony, with top players such as the Future Group, Aditya Birla Retail, Spencer's and Reliance Retail coming together to cut operational costs and improve margins. The retailers have formed a rainbow coalition that will align their sourcing operations and share private labels, logistics, warehouses and hiring details on a transactional payment basis, said top executives with some of the largest players in the sector. The move mirrors a similar step taken by manufacturing firms in the late 90s to share markets and cut costs.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 14-08-09

 

Office real estate is making steady recovery after hitting an all time low during the market slowdown. ET Realty gives a low down, Namrata Kohli

Call it recession or an oversupplied market (in terms of office space), or the general negative sentiment prevailing in the market - office real estate hit an all time low with values nearly bottoming out as compared to its peak around 8-12 months ago - in fact, the commercial real estate values dropped by an average of 25% in all markets and touched 50% in some.

The transactions were few and far between as majority of the corporates postponed their business expansion plan and were downsizing - as most were not sure if they would be able to sustain themselves, leave alone embark upon any expansion plans, while those who were earlier looking at expansion/relocation fell in a wait-and-watch mode, in anticipation of further correction.

Giving a sense of the depreciation in commercial real estate values, specifically office space, Arjun Kumar, director of AsiaPac International India says, "Commercial and IT space has witnessed almost 40-50% correction compared to rates 6-8 months ago, across NCR." He quotes the lease rent in Gurgaon for warm shell as anything between Rs 60-75/sq ft/month and Noida (on the expressway and Sector 62) as Rs 45-55/sq ft/month while one can get a steal at Sectors 63, 64 (which are primarily industrial sector but IT/ITeS are allowed to operate) at Rs 25-30/sq ft/month for warm shell space, and here additional space is being added almost every day.

Delhi CBD (Connaught Place) also witnessed correction of 40-50%. Says Kumar, "One can have space here between Rs 100-175/sq ft/month depending on the building (A or B Grade) and mainten a n c e , upkeep of the respective buildings. In South Delhi, Saket and Jasola District Centre in particular, have been witnessing almost 30-45% correction in lease rent as well as capital value. The lease rent being quoted in Jasola is Rs 140-175/sq ft/month wherein capital value is anything between Rs 11,000-13,000/sq ft for commercial office space."

Apart from the values dropping, there has been a substantial drop in transactions. If at all transactions were happening, they were restricted to the suburbs such as Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar, as well as builder sectors and Noida - on the expressway, Sector 62, 63, 64. Says a broker, "The companies which are sure of their business plan and think that market will improve sooner or later are moving forward with their plans, especially, the major Indian corporates, which are catering to the domestic market. These include primarily telecom and software companies."

What is the exact situation in Delhi CBD and secondary micromarkets - Samantha Jerath of Jerath Properties says office transactions have slowed down, undoubtedly. "But it will be wrong to say the values have come down by 50%. This is because even though a rate of Rs 350/sq ft/month was quoted earlier, no actual transactions were recorded at the value. The highest was Rs 250 and I would say office space values in CP have come down from Rs 175-250/sq ft/month to Rs 120-150/sq ft/month. In secondary micromarkets, it has depreciated from Rs 175/sq ft/month to around Rs 110/sq ft/month. There has been correction at least to the tune of 20-25% in the entire Delhi NCR region."

But the good news is that revival is on its way in commercial real estate. Says Anurag Bhatnagar, associate director at DTZ, an international property consulting firm, "Commercial real estate was suffering from lack of transactions till Q4 '08, but Q1 and Q2 '09 have witnessed absorption of a million sq ft each. Rentals across Delhi NCR had already corrected by 10-20% in Q4 '08 from peak asking rates in Q2 '08. Values corrected further marginally, by 4-5% across all micromarkets from Q1 to Q2 '09."

So far, companies with expansion plans stayed on the sidelines anticipating bottoming out of the market. Citing the reason for lack of transactions, Mathur says lack of absorption/transactions till Q1 '09 was due to the general negative sentiment in the market, the cut on global-IT spend for companies and the delayed decision making process. During this period, companies adopted various strategies like renegotiation of contracts along rationalization of their current space layout resulting in higher efficiency. Q1 2009 witnessed a revival in demand with companies closing out deals due to good rates due to broader market being close to bottom. Q2 2009 again maintained the absorption levels of Q1 2009, primarily due to companies getting corrected rates in various micromarkets. Delhi witnessed the lowest number of transactions in office space in the last one year, while the maximum transaction in office space took place in Gurgaon in Delhi NCR. Gurgaon witnessed majority of the absorption due to availability of Grade A office space in prime areas, available at attractive rates.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 14-08-09

A home is where you unwind , enjoy and amuse yourself. It’s also a place where you world comes alive. And where your dreams are born. Therefore, we have designed homes that are rich in refinement, grace and beauty. These apartments spell comfort in tasteful interiors, opulent look and have luxuries that make them a joy to live in. and the location is equally great! Exotica Eastern Court are located in Crossings Republic , which is India’s first global city.

·         Parking facility

·         Golf course

·         Sports Stadium

·         Shopping Complexes

·         Malls clubs

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·         Situated strategically in Crossings Republic

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Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 08-08-09

 

REFINEMENT GRACE & BEAUTY TAKE THE SHAPE OF A HOME

 

A home is where you unwind , enjoy and amuse yourself. It’s also a place where you world comes alive. And where your dreams are born. Therefore, we have designed homes that are rich in refinement, grace and beauty. These apartments spell comfort in tasteful interiors, opulent look and have luxuries that make them a joy to live in. and the location is equally great! Exotica Eastern Court are located in Crossings Republic , which is India’s first global city.

·         Parking facility

·         Golf course

·         Sports Stadium

·         Shopping Complexes

·         Malls clubs

·         Amphitheatre

·         Lake hospitals

·         Schools

·         100% power back-up

·         24 securities

·         Fire fighting system

·         Situated strategically in Crossings Republic

·         State-of-the-art architectural designs

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 08-08-09

 

 

 

Industry body Assocham today said the government should appoint a real estate  regulator to help expedite the redressal of consumer grievances. “There is a need for an efficient and focused regulatory body to overlook functioning of the real estate sector in order to insure the industry development and safeguard of consumer interests in line with international benchmark,” the chamber said.

 

The  real estate   regulator would ensure that the consumer grievances against developers, development authorities, real estate agents and financial institutions are addressed without any delay, it said.

 

Courtesy:- ET Realty dt:- 07-08-09

 

Recession was necessary in our overindulgent times, and has done a great deal of good to the real estate sector in India . The end user has benefited the most during this period. ET Realty argues

 

Arti Khanna, a senior executive with a leading MNC, equates recession with the medicine that people initially complain 'is bitter', but in the end, come out far healthier and are better off for it. More cautious spending and greater saving by consumers, more prudence by lenders, shift in focus from premium to lower- and mid-end segment of housing by developers, is exactly what our economy needed for its long-term health and recession is having the desired impact.

 

Arti reminisces how they saw bad times during the dot-com bubble in 2001, and yet how the younger generation continues to be over indulgent, leading a hedonistic way of life and not paying heed to saving money. Arti says, "In many ways it brings the much needed discipline to people's way of life, while for corporates across various sectors, there are many positive ripple effects - for instance it allows people to analyse and identify their core competencies. It also helps in rebuilding focus, pruning tangential activities to achieve cost controls, which help in creating more effective systems and processes. And, it forces people to come up with innovative ways of handling problems, something mandatory for survival."

 

Among the three most affected - end users, investors, developers - surely, the end user has benefited the most during this period.

 

The end user has benefited as, finally, the supply chain started addressing the real demand in market - mid-end and affordable housing. Earlier, developers in their greed to garner higher profit margins, focused primarily on premium housing. But now, suddenly, the supply is shifting where the demand is. Even well known developers like Unitech, DLF, Raheja, Jaypee and Omaxe, primarily engaged in raising high-end homes, have begun talking of affordable options.

 

Recession has also been a time to introspect for everybody. "It has been a good learning experience, though not a pleasant one," says Samir Chopra, CMD of RE/MAX India, (RE/MAX is a global network of real estate agents operating in 70 countries). "There have been things to learn, relearn and unlearn for all the three - end users, investors and developers . Consumers have become more vigilant in transactions, and they are more thorough about both the market situation and their own needs. They are beginning to learn how to investigate and research before spending their lifelong savings. Investors have also become more conscious. They are more careful about spending huge sums of money in development and are looking for other avenues for investment in the real estate sector. They have become more delivery oriented, innovative and price conscious in this volatile market. They have learnt from the difficult times, reduced prices, and learnt to make more beneficial offers to consumers."

 

While at a superficial level investors may seem to be winners with recession giving them an opportunity to pick investments at more realistic prices, recession has also seen them investing less. According to investor Shalabh Bhasin, director of Kshitij Portfolio Services Pvt Ltd, "The recession period has seen me investing less in property market because the previous prices where unduly inflated and even now it can't be said with surety that the prices have bottomed out. Also, most of the investors were already stuck with loads of investment at higher prices, so there was not enough liquidity for further purchases."

 

Citing examples, he says he had invested in Parsvnath Panchkula flats at Rs 3,250/sq ft and Parsvnath Dharuhera flats at Rs 1,800/sq ft, but there is no buyer in these projects and three years on, the builder is yet to start construction. But on the upside, the investor is now carefully assessing a project and is no longer fooled by lucrative promos and advertising of the property.

 

As for developers, on the face of it, they may seem to be the biggest losers with the fund flow nearly stopping and sales drying up. But recession has been a blessing in disguise as it has forced them to innovate to cut costs, improve sales and raise funds. Recession has seen developers changing their product and strategies.

 

According to Mohammad Asif, chief operating officer of High Street Capital, "The shift in strategy is in terms of market focus, product size, pricing and promotion. In residential sector, they have started focusing more on affordable and mass housing. Today's market is customer driven and developers are offering suitable payment plans and other freebies like sharing of stamp duty and housing loan EMI burden to ensure transactions. In commercial segment, the decline in demand from IT/ITeS sector has forced them to look at other business sectors such as logistics, biotechnology, hardware, pharmaceuticals, tourism and education. In the retail segment, instead of fixed rentals, revenue sharing model is becoming a common practice. Developers have also been forced to work out an optimal tenantmix strategy and work on new project design to reduce operating costs. In hospitality sector, the focus now is more on budget hotels and services apartments."

 

Overall, recession has been a time to innovate. In a price sensitive market, the effort has to be to reduce cost, and to achieve this, both the construction cost and land cost have to come down.

 

Courtesy:- ET Realty dt:- 07-08-09

 

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DLF, the country’s largest property developer , today said it would raise Rs 1,900 crore through the sale of hotel plots and its wind power business by the fiscal-end.

“The sale of our land parcels has already fetched us Rs 1,000 crore and we expect another Rs 1,000 crore in the coming months. Talks for selling our wind power business are also on track and we should be able to get Rs 900 crore through its sale,” Rajeev Talwar, group executive director said .

DLF has 40 hotel plots , of which 21 have been put on the block for sale to raise money. The company plans to raise Rs 5,500 crore by the end of this fiscal through the sale of non-core businesses, including land parcels.

The company had accumulated debt of over Rs 14,000 crore by March 31. It is repaying Rs 600-1,000 crore every month, to reduce the debt by half by the fiscal-end.

Talwar, while speaking at a CII conference, told reporters DLF had sold over 2,500 housing units in the first quarter of the current fiscal and demand had picked up in the past few months. “The measures taken by the government, such as reduction in the home loan rates, has helped developers sell their projects,” he added.

DLF has reduced the selling prices of their projects by 25 per cent in recent months and will not hike prices in the near future. “We will stick to our current prices, as we want to support the government’s attempt to provide homes to more and more people,” Talwar said.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 15-07-09

 

Since its inception the company has worked with just one endeavor in mind-to see a smile of satisfaction on the faces of people who move into homes built by the company . For more than 30 years Ashiana has built and delivered over 80 lakh sq.ft of residential and commercial spaces in Bhiwadi, jamshedpur, Patna, Ghaziabad, Indrapuram, Gurgaon and Greater Noida. And doing more in places like Jaipur, Jodhpur and Lavasa (Pune). More importantly, the group has moved over 6000 families to the homes it has established. Ashiana Aangan, is yet another initiative that comes with the Ashiana stamp of quality and commitment . It is strategically located off the NH 8, Bhiwadi

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 11-07-09

 

More than 65% of the newly launched residential units in the NCR are priced below Rs 30 lakh, and there are ready buyers for them. ET Realty reports

Affordable housing is the new mantra in the real estate sector and has increased the affordability quotient of middle class end users in their quest for their own sweet homes. The fall in the interest rate to around 9.5% on home loans up to Rs 30 lakh has further added to this factor.

  

According to a survey conducted by global realty research firm DTZ, affordable houses of less than Rs 30 lakh have shown a robust demand with most of the newly launched units, during the last six months, recording absorption in the range of 30-50%.

  

The survey says out of 29,367  residential units launched during the period , 82%, or 24,118 units were priced in the range of Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per sq ft in the National Capital Region of Delhi. According to DTZ, this makes an average housing unit of around 1,000 sq ft cost less than Rs 30 lakh, fitting the budget of the middle-income buyer. To be even more specific, DTZ said more than 65% of the newly launched residential units are priced below Rs 30 lakh.

  

The main reason behind the launch of such a large number of units in the price range of Rs 30 lakh is the overwhelming demand in the 'budget' segment. This is clearly indicated in the sale of apartments recently launched in Noida, Gurgaon, and Faridabad by JP Green, Mahagun, Gaursons, Assotech, Supertech, Purvanchal and BPTP. In some cases, the entire projects were sold out within a couple of days - and, now, a developer is even considering allotment of the flats to applicants through a lottery system, as the number of applicants are almost double the number of apartments on offer.

  

There is a huge rush to  buy houses by the middle class people , who till six months ago found it almost impossible to do so. However, the research firm says the affordable homes are coming with riders, which every prospective buyer must take note of. Not only has the average size of housing units been decreased in the first half of 2009, as compared to the size of units launched a year ago, the amenities provided by developers have also been curtailed.

  

For 2-BHK units, size it has come down by 14% - to 1,080 sq ft. For 1- and 3-BHK units, the size has decreased by 5% and 12% - to 720 sq ft and 1,493 sq ft, respectively.

  

In the budget segment, only basic amenities like car parks, security, power back up, and lifts for highrise apartments are being provided. In many cases, even amenities like swimming pools and a gym, which had become a common features in the condominiums being developed for the last five years, are not being provided. Therefore, while selecting an apartment, a buyer must be clear as to what he is buying.

  

Developers have again shifted their focus in developing independent floors. The report says developers have indicated a preference for constructing independent floors in low-rise housing units and apartments of less than 1,000 sq ft in high-rise buildings because of the cost advantage they offer. According to the report, in the last six months, 28% of the units launched were in the form of individual floors in low-rise housing, as compared to only two villa projects, which were launched. However, the buyer must check it before buying, as half of the independent-floor projects do not provide even power back up.

Apart from that, in the condominium of affordable apartments , the density of flats is higher than that in the premium apartments. This will certainly put extra pressure on the common area. But, still, the price at which they are being offered is certainly a good value for money.

Courtesy: - ET dt: - 10-07-09

 

Majority Control Stays with Sahara Group

An Investment arm of C Sivasankaran, the non-resident Indian businessman better known as Siva in India Inc circles, has emerged as a significant shareholder in Aamby Valley—the company floated by Sahara Group to develop Aamby Valley City—a famous up market township project in Maharashtra.

  

According to documents available with ET, Siva Ventures (SVL)—a whollyowned subsidiary and the principal investment offshoot of Sterling Infotech Group promoted by Mr Sivasankaran—owns a 49% equity stake in Aamby Valley.

 

In a recently-prepared information memorandum, Siva Ventures said it “has a significant presence in infrastructure and township building business by way of 49% ownership in the equity share capital of Aamby Valley, owners of Aamby Valley City”.

  

The information memorandum was prepared last month when Siva Ventures raised Rs 435 crore through private placement of non-convertible debentures. ET has a copy of the memorandum.

  

The majority control in Aamby Valley remains with Sahara Group, which owns a 51% equity stake.

  

The story was first reported on ET NOW, this daily’s business channel.

  

A senior official said Sterling Infotech Group was a “private equity investor” in Aamby Valley”.

  

“The deal is between two private parties, viz., Sahara Group and Sterling Infotech Group. Whatever is required to be disclosed to the statutory authorities by Sterling Infotech Group is alone permitted to be disclosed and the same, as you are aware, is available for the asking. The two parties have entered into this deal after signing appropriate non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements. I am afraid the details, except for statutory and regulatory purposes, cannot be revealed by either party,” said K Sethuraman, vicepresident (legal), Sterling Infotech Group.

  

Mr Sethuraman was responding to questions from ET on the holding structure of Aamby Valley.

  

The Sahara spokesperson did not respond to a set of emailed questions. The spokesperson said he was not in a position to comment at this point in time.

  

In a detailed email response to ET late on Wednesday evening, Mr Sivasankaran, the chairman of Siva Ventures, appeared to deny that any transaction had taken place, describing the information available with this paper as “untrue” and “unreliable”.

Flurry of deals in recent times

“I would like to bring to your notice that the information is absolutely untrue, without any basis and if there is anything, it is a separate matter which is private. It has no relevance to be published,” Mr Sivasankaran said.

  

The origin of the transaction, valuation of the deal and the exact timing are not known. A number of sources familiar with the matter said Sahara had borrowed a substantial amount from Mr Sivasankaran’s group by pledging shares of Aamby Valley, though this could not be ascertained from the Group. Subsequently, SVL became a shareholder in the company, though the precise sequence of events by which this occurred could not be ascertained. The sources familiar with the deal referred to earlier said it could have happened as long ago as 2007—the same year Sahara had sold its airline business to Jet Airways.

  

Aamby Valley City is Sahara’s flagship realty project . It is planned over 10,000 acres and has been positioned as an upmarket hill township with ambitions of figuring among the top five destinations in the world. Celebrities like Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova, actor Amitabh Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai own villas in this township.

  

Siva Ventures has taken 171 timber chalets in Aamby Valley on lease for 997 years, according to the memorandum. These are valued at around Rs 15 crore each.

  

Mr Sivasankaran has aggressively entered the Indian realty market this year. In May, he bought a 66% stake in a realty project in Mumbai from DLF for Rs 310 crore. The reality project is on land occupied by the nowclosed Hindoostan Mill in Central Mumbai.

  

Besides the realty sector , he has also entered the telecom space by buying a 51% stake in S Tel, a Chennai-based telecom company that has licences to operate in several northern and eastern states. Mr Sivasankaran bought the stake from two private equity firms—Skycity Foundations and Telecom Investments. Post the transaction, S Saravana, his 22-year-old son and V Srinivasan, Group CEO, Siva Ventures, have also joined S Tel’s board of directors.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 09-07-09

 

 More than 65% of the   newly launched residential units in the NCR are priced below Rs 30 lakh, and there are ready buyers for them, says Affordable housing is the new mantra in the real estate sector and has increased the affordability quotient of middle class end users in their quest for their own sweet homes. The fall in the interest rate to around 9.5% on home loans up to Rs 30 lakh has further added to this factor.  According to a survey conducted by global realty research firm DTZ, affordable houses of less than Rs 30 lakh have shown a robust demand with most of the newly launched units, during the last six months, recording absorption in the range of 30-50%.  The survey says out of 29,367 residential units launched during the period, 82%, or 24,118 units were priced in the range of Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per sq ft in the National Capital Region of Delhi. According to DTZ, this makes an average housing unit of around 1,000 sq ft cost less than Rs 30 lakh, fitting the budget of the middle-income buyer. To be even more specific, DTZ said more than 65% of the newly launched residential units are priced below Rs 30 lakh.   The main reason behind the launch of such a large number of units in the price range of Rs 30 lakh is the overwhelming demand in the ‘budget’ segment. This is clearly indicated in the sale of apartments recently launched in Noida, Gurgaon, and Faridabad by JP Green, Mahagun, Gaursons, Assotech, Supertech, Purvanchal and BPTP. In some cases, the entire projects were sold out within a couple of days — and, now, a developer is even considering allotment of the flats to applicants through a lottery system, as the number of applicants are almost double the number of apartments on offer.    There is a huge rush to buy houses by the middle class people, who till six months ago found it almost impossible to do so. However, the research firm says the affordable homes are coming with riders, which every prospective buyer must take note of. Not only has the average size of housing units been decreased in the first half of 2009, as compared to the size of units launched a year ago, the amenities provided by developers have also been curtailed.    For  2-BHK units , size it has come down by 14% — to 1,080 sq ft. For 1- and 3-BHK units, the size has decreased by 5% and 12% — to 720 sq ft and 1,493 sq ft, respectively.    In the budget segment, only basic amenities like car parks, security, power back up, and lifts for highrise apartments are being provided. In many cases, even amenities like swimming pools and a gym, which had become a common features in the condominiums being developed for the last five years, are not being provided. Therefore, while selecting an apartment, a buyer must be clear as to what he is buying.    Developers have again shifted their focus in developing independent floors. The report says developers have indicated a preference for constructing independent floors in lowrise housing units and apartments of less than 1,000 sq ft in highrise buildings because of the cost advantage they offer. According to the report, in the last six months, 28% of the units launched were in the form of individual floors in lowrise housing, as compared to only two villa projects, which were launched. However, the buyer must check it before buying, as half of the independent-floor projects do not provide even power back up.    Apart from that, in the condominium of affordable apartments, the density of flats is higher than that in the premium apartments. This will certainly put extra pressure on the common area. But, still, the price at which they are being offered is certainly a good value for money. Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 04-07-09