Deal Wont Include Delhi Property; Will Help DLF Shed Part Of Rs 14,000 – Cr Debt Pile

MALAYSIAN sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad is close to buying a controlling stake in Aman Resorts from debt – laden DLF for $300-350 million, people familiar with the matter said.

A person privy to the details of the negotiations said the deal may not include Aman’s New Delhi property. If conducted, the deal will help India’s largest real estate company cut its Rs 14,000-crore debt pile.

DLF is being advised by Goldman Sachs while JPMorgan is advising Khazanah.

“As per company policy, we do not comment on market speculation,” a spokesperson for DLF said in response to queries form ET NOW. Khazanah could not be reached for comment.

DLF bought its 97% stake in Aman in 2007 for $400 million. Aman’s founder Adrian Zecha owns the remaining 3% stake.

Founded in 1988, Aman has, over the years, built up a loyal base of wealthy patrons, commonly known as ‘Amanjunkies’. Aman properties are characterized by a small number of rooms, minimalist architecture and a high staff-to-guest ratio. The group’s hotels are typically devoid of reception desks or lobbies and are aimed at conveying a feeling of a private residence to guest.

Aman operaters 23 luxury hotels across Thailand, Bhutan, Combodia, Loas, Montenegro, Morocco, Phillipines, Sri Lanka, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US.

Khazanah, which is currently locked in a battle with India’s Fortis Healthcare for control of Singapore-based Parkway Holdings, manages a portfolio of companies worth over $20 billion, according to details available on its website. They include Telekom Malaysia, Axiata and CIMB Group, Malyasia’s second-largest financial services company. Khazanah also owns a stake in India’s Apollo Hospitals.

A banker close to Khazanah said the fund has a mandate to make investments in new sectors and diversify its investment portfolio to include companies outside Malaysia.

It is learnt that DLF will use the proceeds from the sale of Aman Resorts to reduce the debt currently stands at Rs 14,821 crore following the consolidation of liabilities of DLF Assets Limited.

DLF confirmed May that it is looking to sell Aman Resorts and cut its debt by Rs 5,000 crore through the sale of non-core assets and refunds from various government authorities. The company’s management had also told analysts in a conference fall that it aims to become a zero-debt company by 2014.

Courtesy by:  The Economic Times      Dtd:  June 17, 2010

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HOME buyers have reasons to cheer. The new direct taxes code (DTC) is expected to bolster the demand for homes for both residential and investment purposes as it has proposed to retain the existing tax exemption norms. Unlike the original discussion paper on DTC, the revised paper has proposed to continue with the existing system of deducting interest payment up to Rs 1.5 lakh against home loan from the total taxable income.

Besides the discussion paper has also proposed to go ahead with tax deduction calculated on the presumptive rent which is currently calculated at 6% of the total value of the property.

DTC, which is likely to be introduced next fiscal had originally proposed to withdraw these exemptions.

Had the government withdrawn the proposal, there would have been an adverse impact on the industry, said Anil Kumar, CEO & Deputy MD at Ansal API, a Delhi-based real estate firm. “One of the main resons why end-users buy houses is to save tax,” he said.

Most end-users, especially those in the middle income group, avail loans to buy houses on which they get a tax benefit. As per the existing norm, home buyers are allowed to deduct interest payment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh from total taxable income.

Since home loan is a long-term contract, any such change adversely impacts the decision of borrowers, said an official of a home finance company.

“The move is especially good for people falling in the middle income group as they often buy houses for investment purposes,” said Allen Pereira, CMD at Bank of Maharashtra.

The government’s move has come as relief to home buyers at a time when the sector started showing early the sector started showing early signs of recovery. Real estate was one of the biggest casualties of the global slowdown when buyers turned away from the market. The situation has now improved with buyers gradually returning to the market.

The government in 2009 had argued the taxpayers would not be affected if benefit on interest payment against home loan was withdrawn as tax slab was also proposed to be changed comprehensively and net of tax income would increase would increase significantly. However, the withdrawal attracted a lot of criticism following which the government decided to go ahead with the existing norms.

Courtesy by BS    dtd:  June 17, 2010

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The Sikka Group recently announced its upcoming residential project “Sikka Karmic Greens“ at Sector- 78, Noida.

The project offers a choice of one, two and three bedroom apartments, ranging from 560 sq ft to 1440  sq ft area in size.

Prices start at Rs 15 lakh.

Courtesy Ht estate Dtd: 12/06/2010

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The markets took a breather for a couple of years, though the corporate growth was on track. BRIC report by Goldman Sachs broke the silence in Indian equity markets. From 2003 onwards, Indian stock markets primarily moved around infrastructure theme. Global investors on the back of low interest rates got into the carry trades. Borrowing in a weak currency such as the yen with very low interest rates and investing in a country such as India with a strong currency with potential to earn superior return turned out to be the most important strategy for foreign money.

Within the theme, capital goods were one of the most preferred destinations for many. The companies saw phenomenal growth in both business performance and stock prices. Rally till 2007, along with bull market in equities, encompassed many other sectors such as financials and real estate. Real estate stocks could fetch dizzy valuations on Indian bourses. Analysts found solace in businesses with land bank stories. There are instances where stocks of companies with almost no operating businesses saw multifold price rise on the back of land banks.

Along with real estate, energy played a key role. As crude neared $150 mark per barrel, the power starving economy searched for all power generation stories. Power turned out to be one of the sought-after sectors. Reliance Power hit new records in terms of valuations.

Courtesy ET Dtd: 14/06/2010

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 THE FINANCE ministry may exclude land value from the ambit of a new tax on under-construction houses, potentially taking the sting out of the proposed levy after it ran into a storm of protests from the real estate sector and exposed fissures within the government.
    The 2010-11 budget has proposed a 10% service tax on 33% of the total cost of under-construction houses, which could increase the price tag of such properties by 3.3%. The new tax will come into effect once the budget is approved by Parliament.
    But protests from a real estate sector worried that the tax could harm its nascent recovery and a demand by the urban development ministry to review it has forced the ministry to consider a retreat and look at ways to ease the burden on potential homebuyers.
    Finance ministry officials said they were examining ways to separate land costs from the overall cost equation and take it out of the purview of the proposed tax. “We are looking at the issue to see how this can be done,” an official told ET.
    Any change will make the new service tax more acceptable to all stakeholders and also introduce greater transparency in the pricing of homes by providing a break-up of cost. Its impact could be especially felt in major cities where land costs account for a bulk of the cost of under-construction properties.
    “The proposed reduction will bring in a huge relief to both consumers and realty companies,” said an executive with Delhi-based real estate developer Ansal API.
    The change could take much of the sting away from the proposed tax, especially since 67% of the property cost is not covered by it because it is considered as the cost of material used in construction.
    Excluding land costs, the effective rate of service tax will fall to 1.75%, added Pradeep Jain, chairman of Parsvnath Developers.
    Experts say the ministry could use circle rates or floor prices for areas set by states for computing land costs. But stripping out the land costs could prove complicated even when floor prices are available because ascribing land value to a flat in an apartment complex may be difficult.
    “Practices are not consistent in the whole of country so it will have to be seen how a mechanism can be worked out,” said Rajeev Dimri, leader of indirect tax practice at BMR Advisors & Co.
    The precedent of excluding land value from tax already exists in some form. State governments, for instance, do not include the value of land while imposing tax on works contracts.
    Tax experts have questioned the legality of the proposed service tax, arguing that land is a state subject. “Whether the centre can tax land or property is a challenge. Imposition of service tax on commercial renting has already been challenged and the appeal lies before the Supreme Court,” said Mr Dimri at BMR Advisors & Co.
    The service tax proposal signals a movement towards a unified goods and services tax framework, which will allow the centre and states to tax items in their respective domains. The centre has indicated rolling out GST from next April.

Courtesy:-ET  dt:- 07-April-2010

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UNITECH has formed a panel of five board members to push the demerger of its non-core businesses into a separate entity as the country’s second-largest real estate developer looks to focus on its mainstay, realty.
    The company plans to hive off its investments in telecom, hotel and special economic zones into a new offshoot, said a senior executive, requesting anonymity. Unitech owns a 33% stake in Uninor, a telecom joint venture with Norway’s firm Telenor.
    All Unitech shareholders will get proportionate shares in the new entity after listing, he said, adding that the restructuring will help unlock value for them.
    Unitech shares closed marginally higher at Rs 76.55 on the BSE on Tuesday. At this price, the company’s market capitalisation is a little more than Rs 18,000 crore.
    Consultants Ernst & Young and SR Batliboi & Co as well as legal firm Amarchand & Mangaldas will advise the panel about the restructuring.

Courtesy:-ET  dt:- 07-April-2010

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A PMI-KPMG report reveals the silent drain on national resources

While infrastructure has been driving economic growth in India, time and cost overruns impede the sector's potential, says the Project Management Institute (PMI)-KPMG Infrastructure Study 2010.

The report also highlights how project management can help ensure efficient deployment of resources. Of the 1,035 infrastructure sector projects completed during April 1992March 2009, the study noted that 41 per cent faced cost overruns and 82 per cent witnessed time overruns.

PMI, a global association for the project management professionals released a study with leading professional services firm, KPMG titled `Study on Drivers for Success in Infrastructure Projects 2010' at a conference on `Project management in infrastructure sectors' held in New Delhi this week.

The report presents a comprehensive mapping of infrastructure projects and highlights the important roles that all stakeholders will play towards building India's infrastructure with planning and efficiency. The survey was carried out after taking the views of over 100 top management personnel representing Indian companies across infrastructure sectors, namely oil and gas, power, roads and bridges, ports and shipping, civil aviation, urban infrastructure, railways, steel and telecom. Raj Kalady, managing director, PMI India, said, "As the Indian economy drives global growth, it is critical for owners and contractors, the government, and the entire project stakeholder community, to mitigate delivery weaknesses collaboratively while consolidating strengths for successful project delivery. PMI, as a not-for-profit body, has been successful in building advocacy for the use of project management."

Geno Armstrong, global head, major project advisory services, KPMG, said, "The infrastructure industry in India has enjoyed several positive indicators. However, certain hard facts such as the on-ground delivery and extent of success achieved in terms of timely and within-budget completion sound a cautionary signal to the industry and the stakeholders."

"India is a country with tremendous potential for infrastructure growth. This sector has enjoyed a growth rate of 22 per cent in 2008-09. Moving ahead, there is a planned government spending of Rs 46.3 trillion in the 12th five year plan, with a staunch commitment to infrastructure investment proposed by the government. Despite these figures, time and cost overruns threaten to limit the potential of this sector to not only achieve growth projections, but also the huge contribution it can make to the overall GDP," he added.

Courtesy: HT Estates 13 March 2010

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Thanks to the proposed levy of service tax on developers, the realty market is abuzz with speculation over its impact on property rates.
Syed Amir Ali Hashmi checks out the likely repercussions Illustration: Abhimanyu Sinha

This year's budget has left aspiring homebuyers in a tizzy. Ashok Kumar, a chartered accountant, can't decide if he should wait and watch or buy his dream home. He fears he will lose out thanks to the price rise that the new service tax on real estate developers is likely to bring about. Just like Kumar, a number of people are seeking clarity on changes in price and demand that are likely to result from the 10.3 per cent spike in costs that developers will now incur.

Experts are unanimous in their views on the new tax impact. Prashant Kaura, founder and director, GenReal, says, "The impact of the service tax will be passed directly onto the buyer, resulting in an increase in real estate prices. So, for projects under construction, we will see a marginal price increase. Tax experts anticipate the increase to be about 3.4 per cent of sale value."

Agreeing to this, Avinash Narvekar, tax partner-real estate practice, Ernst & Young, says, "In case developers are dissuaded from accepting pre-sale advances because of the additional service tax liability, they may have to look for funding from banks to complete their projects.
This could, in some instances, escalate the cost of projects."

Sanjay Dutt, CEO business, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, feels that the benefits implied by the tax savings and interest rate subvention will, to some extent, be negated by the service tax levied on properties in preferred locations and construction costs of yet-to-be-completed buildings. "Builders are likely to pass on this additional burden to customers by increasing property prices proportionately," he says.

Differing slightly with the above view, Navrekar says, "Whether (increased costs) are actually passed on to the buyer will depend on the level of demand. Increasing home loan rates will surely impact the demand adversely, which may not be offset by the increased disposal income accruing to individuals as a result of the raised tax slab. The equation might have been different had there been incentives that would drive demand stimulation, such as an increase in the existing Rs 1.50 lakh deduction for interest paid on housing loans."

He adds that overall, given the already high property prices and slowing demand for property, it is possible that some developers may choose not to pass on the whole burden of the service tax on to consumers. Across the board Kaura says the effect will be felt across India -on the projects under construction and those on sale. However, Navrekar says, "The affect may be relative to the category of homebuyers. While the affordable housing segment and developments in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are somewhat susceptible to the cost increase, given that the net impact is only 3.5 per cent."

Pratik Jain, executive director, KPMG, says that unless exemption clauses of the service tax are clarified, impact will be widespread. More clarity is also required on whether houses below the Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh price range will be exempt. Very little choice Kaura says buyers don't have much choice. "The cheaper alternatives will become more expensive. Since already-built options are usually more expensive than yet to-be-completed projects, the relative rise in prices would not be significant for under construction projects. If buyers are looking at cheaper alternatives, they are still likely to go in for under-construction developments."

Narvekar says, "Typically, properties are costlier when purchased after completion of construction. Thus, the buyer is likely to choose between comparatively lower prices of under-construction properties and constructed property with a higher price tag, though without the service-tax component."

What is clear is that the added costs are not likely to dissuade investors or speculators, nor will it impact developers significantly. The buyers are likely to be hit the hardest.

Courtesy: HT Estates 13 March 2010

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Supertech Limited has announced the launch of a residential development project `Sports City' in Meerut. It's located at the main National Highway (Roorkee Road) near Pallavpuram and combines sports facilities with comfort and luxe living.

Spread over 51.06 acres of land, this residential project is strategically located in terms of convenience and comfort of the inhabitants. Worth around Rs 600 crore, it's scheduled to be completed within a period of 30 months from the date of commencement of construction work.

Commenting on the announcement Mohit Arora, director, Supertech Limited said, "Sports City will be an important landmark in Meerut and it will set a different experience of living for its residents. Our latest offering is a unique proposition providing contemporary luxury living and world class infrastructure."

The integrated township will consist of apartments of various sizes, villas, commercial complex, post office, health centre, community centre, police post, an international cricket stadium, volleyball, basketball, badminton, lawn tennis courts and also other facilities like baseball, carrom, chess, table tennis etc. 

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

Established brand names that show potential for fast completion will rule the roost this year

The effects of the slowdown were still noticeable across the country in the first quarter of 2009. However, towards the middle of the year, residential rates in some of the larger cities began showing an upward curve. The cities that were most affected were Mumbai and Delhi. In Mumbai, many developers began raising rates by as much as 12-15 per cent under the assumption that the renewed demand was assuredly sustainable under all circumstances. This assumption started backfiring towards the end of the third quarter, which is when demand began slowing down again in the financial capital. Delhi showed a more rational graph, thanks largely to a better volumes profile, with price escalations not going beyond 5-10 per cent even in high-demand regions. Bangalore continued to display a sombre profile, since demand from the IT / ITES employee segment has not yet ramped up sufficiently. Chennai's residential market continued to showcase its usual conservatism.

Looking at 2010, I can safely say that residential demand is the highest and most promising by far. Residential will continue to lead the revival phase, led on by a lowering of mortgage rates and price rationalization in newly launched projects. It also looks the most positive in terms of funding. There is liquidity available for certain typologies and formats, most especially in the affordable housing segment. This segment does not depend overly on international funding. There are two cost-to-developer components in question for such projects. One of these is cost of land, but such projects are located in areas where land costs are low to begin with. The second is cost of construction, which is adequately covered by the down-payments taken on such units. Moreover, such housing formats invariably employ de-frilled mass-construction parameters, which also imply lowered construction costs. I see an increase in private equity funding for affordable housing projects in 2010, since the demand for such projects is inflexible and assured. The emphasis will be on projects by established brand names that show sufficient potential for fast completion and absorption.

Office space

For the better part of 2009, the commercial segment uptake remained at about the same level as it was last year, when the slowdown was beginning to show its claws in earnest. It is an immutable fact that Indian office space depends to a significant extent on multinationals seeking to establish or expand their bases here. The health of Indian commercial real estate is closely connected to the global economy, meaning that Grade A office spaces have largely been about MNC occupiers and the IT/ITES industry. When the financial crunch deepened in the West, many intending international occupiers put their Indian entry/expansion plans on hold. We are beginning to see the first signs of revival in commercial real estate now, but the process is pretty gradual. For investors, this is the best time to invest in wellresearched commercial real estate opportunities. There is, in fact, an increase in investors looking for such opportunities, since the prices are now near the bottom. Long term investment, which is the kind that truly works, will ensure that investors can reap the benefits when the office market shapes up for real in 2-3 years.

Retail space

Indian retail had gone through a decisive learning phase in 2009. Like the commercial segment, Indian retail growth depends significantly on the aspirations and spending power of cash-rich IT professionals. When the downturn hit the IT sector, there was a noticeable setback in Indian retail real estate. There had been corrections in rentals and consolidation both at the retailer and market levels. Many unsustainable market models were edged off the map. While 2009 was the year that separated the boys from the men, 2010 will be the year of the survivors to make a serious bid at the recovery process. Many players will consolidate their operations and rationalise their business models to dovetail with the newly emerged consumer dynamics. Value retail will be the winning ticket, and we will see the stronger value retail players make calculated plays in key Tier II cities. High end retail will show a stronger hand in 2010, as well. There will be also a wider acceptance of big brands as returning economic stability infuses buyer confidence into the market. The revenue sharing / minimum guarantee model will gain wider acceptance and become the norm rather than the exception, bringing this model's prevalence in India closer to international trends.

The author is chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj

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

Type- Independent Floors

NH.8, Sector-81, Gurgaon

Price- Rs. 3723000 Lacs*

Description – Vatika Primrose Floors II, 3 Bedroom Independent floors for sale @Rs 37,23,000, at NH.8, Sector-81, Gurgaon, 25 KM from IGI Airport, 12KM from Ifcco Chowk, 6 KM from Rajiv Chowk, 1 KM from Haldiram

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.

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

Ceramic tiles

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.

Complet Electrical wiring with branded switches & Scokets.

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

Type – Multistory Apartments

Sector -77, Faridabad

Price - Rs. 30, 43,800*

Description –  KLJ Greens, 3 Bedroom Multistory apartments for sale @Rs. 30,43,800 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 Km.

Payment should be made by cheque / draft only, favoring “KLJ Town Planners (P) Ltd.” Payable at New Delhi.

In case of any upward revision of EDC & IDC by Govt. agencies in future, the same will be recovered proportionately.

Prices indicated above are subject to revision at the sole discretion of the company without prior notice.

Prices ruling on the date of booking and its acceptance by the company shall be applicable.

Power back-up will be @ Rs. 20000/- per KVA (5 KVA Mandatory)

ECC & FCC Charges @ Rs. 150/- per sq. ft.

Other charges such as Stamp Duty and Registration etc. shall be payable at the time of possession. 

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 residents.

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Sheikh Hasina, the PM of Bangladesh, came to Delhi in 1975 after her father was assassinated and lived here for five years with her husband and two children at Pandara Park. Vivek Shukla revisits her sojourn

Sheikh Hasina Wajed, prime minister of Bangladesh, will certainly discuss several bilateral issues with Indian leaders during her forthcoming visit to India, like sharing of waters of the common rivers, including Teesta, increase of trade and commerce, cooperation in power and energy, and security related matters. In all this, Pandara Park would also definitely remain high on her mind during her stay at Delhi.

Notwithstanding the three decades that have elapsed when Delhi was a home to Sheikh Hasina Wajed, surely she would not have forgotten those days. For almost five years, she lived here with her husband, M Wajed (now deceased), a nuclear scientist and children Sajeeb and Saima Putul, at a flat in C Block of Pandara Park.

Hasina came to the city the year her father and founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was felled by the senseless bullets of assassins in his Dhan Mandi home in Dhaka, along with his wife and three sons. The killings took place on August 25, 1975. Hasina and her younger sister escaped death because they were in Germany at that time.

Given the fact, Sheikh Hasina has very strong emotional ties with Delhi. Hasina moved to Pandara Park in the later part of December 1975. She first lived at 56 Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar. Interestingly enough, later on, Bangladesh high commission worked from 56 Ring Road before shifting to the more spacious Chanakyapuri.

Hasina lived in Delhi till 1981. It is still unclear whether she would make an emotional trip to her ‘home’ here, despite her crowded itinerary and security considerations, but one thing is very sure - she would, in all probability, ruminate upon her days in exile, in Delhi.

It is said that the daughter of Mujib, a powerful political leader, was rank apolitical when she came to Delhi. Her father was a fiery political leader since his college days in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and was at the forefront when the Pakistan government tried to impose Urdu in East Pakistan. Coming back to Hasina’s days and years in Delhi, when she came here, India itself had to contend with a grand turmoil - the national emergency (1975-77). And, she was always surrounded by her security entourage. Leaders of Bangladesh Awami League visited her to persuade her to take over the reins of the party. She was even elected the head of the League while in exile in India.

While Hasina was in Delhi, a person by the name of A L Khatib worked as her assistant. Khatib had also authored a book, “Who killed Mujib”, published by Vikas Publishing House.

D K Bose, a very familiar face in the football circles of the capital, was among the few who had met Hasina at her Pandara Park home, at that time. Bose says an academician from Dhaka University organized the meeting. Though it was a brief one, they apparently discussed at length the state of Bangladesh and Bangla literature.

Hasina generally remained indoors, except for visiting Indian International Centre once in a while, for a quiet lunch or dinner.

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

A property owner is not liable to pay both capital gains tax and income tax in the case of income from this scheme, explains Ashish Gupta

Reverse mortgage is a relatively new concept here. It is yet to gain significant acceptance. The concept is quite popular in the developed countries as a means generate cash flows for senior citizens.

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. It pays out a regular sum each month for an agreed duration. The owner gets to stay in the property along with his spouse for their lifetime. Thus, the owner can ensure a regular cash flow in times of need and enjoy the benefit of staying in the property. After the owner’s death, the property is transferred to the institution, and not to his heirs.

The arrangement will be available to those above a specific age. The aim is to use the property and make it generate a return at the same time. The financing institution has to bear the risk of the individual out-living 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 made by professionals. The entire payout mechanism - calculation and computation - depends on the law of probability. Property can thus generate a regular cash flow for senior citizens to supplement their income. A reverse mortgage scheme helps senior citizens address their financial requirements. They can unlock the value of a house by mortgaging it with a financial institution such as a bank, and derive regular payments during the contract period.

Under this scheme, the senior citizen is not required to service the loan during his lifetime or period of contract. He does not have to worry about the monthly repayments of principal and interest amounts to the financial institution.

On the death of the property owner, or on his disposing off the house, the loan is repaid along with accumulated interest, through the sale. The senior citizen or his legal heirs can also repay or prepay the loan along with accumulated interest to release the mortgage without opting to sell the property.

The value of the property is generally revisited periodically. If the valuation has increased, the senior citizen is given an option to increase the loan.

An advantage of this scheme is, under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, any transfer of a capital asset in a transaction of reverse mortgage under a scheme made and notified by the centre is not regarded as a transfer, and hence, does not attract capital gains tax. Moreover, any amount received as a loan either in lump sum or instalments under such a scheme, is also not regarded as income, and hence, not liable to income tax.

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

HYDERABAD

A residential apartment in an under construction project, located at Miyapur in the North-west part of Hyderabad, was sold at approximately Rs 37 lakh (Rs 2,900 per sq ft). This mid-end, three-bedroom unit, which is spread across 1,260 sq ft, is being developed by a prominent builder and will be ready for possession within 3-5 months. Miyapur is an established residential region with a concentration of apartment projects that largely target the mid-income, salaried class. Further, this region is well connected to the IT hub of Hyderabad at Gachibowli and Madhapur, and also in proximity to well-known educational establishments such as Jawaharlal Technological University. Presence of social infrastructure such as schools, shopping centres, hospitals, restaurants and various entertainment zones contribute towards the location advantage of Miyapur. This gated community project is likely to provide various leisure and entertainment facilities to its occupants. Capital values in the North West regions of Hyderabad are currently in the range of Rs 2,400-2,900 per sq ft for mid-end apartment units.

PUNE

A residential apartment, admeasuring 1,208 sq ft (approximately), was sold for Rs 38 lakh (Rs 3,145 per sq ft). The apartment is situated in Magarpatta, an upcoming township in suburban Pune, in the east. The location is gaining importance, largely due to the upcoming office space supply. This midranged apartment is within the expected capital value, which ranges between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,100 per sq.ft. The location, including Wanowrie and Hadapsar, have in the last few months, seen a steady growth in interest from end users as a result of growing economic stability, lower loan rates and rationalised costs. The location is expected to remain stable with a possibility of marginal appreciation in the mid term.

NCR

An independent house, covering an area of 400 sq ft, was sold to a single owner at an average cost of Rs 60,000 per sq ft. This highend unit is located in Vasant Vihar, which is a premium residential location in south Delhi. The area is well connected through arterial roads to various nodal destinations across the city, including the airport, central business district, secondary business district as well as Gurgaon and Noida. Apart from the physical infrastructure, other amenities such as international schools, healthcare, recreation and rejuvenation facilities and entertainment options are commonly available. An apartment, admeasuring 5,850 sq ft, was leased out for a monthly rental of Rs 2,65,000 per month. The apartment is located in a premium residential condominium on the Golf Course Road in Gurgaon. It is located on a higher floor within the complex and thus commands a premium over the average rental value. This premium condominium comes with high-end amenities and resembles as exclusive membership club due to the fact that the initial sale was through invitation only. Gurgaon is fast coming up as an alternate business district in NCR, with many major corporates, Indian and multinational companies having taken up spaces in this location. Subsequently, the location has become an attractive residential location, giving end users and investors’ options of modern residential.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 08-01-2010

Experts predict that the coming decade will belong to the National Capital Region. The new decade will see rise of new development centres in this region, Prabhakar Sinha

As the economy is likely to maintain a growth of around 8% in the coming decade, it will witness a sustained growth in the real estate sector with affordable housing continuing to be in focus. The National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi, in particular, will see a number of new destinations coming up. But, unlike the last decade when Delhi did not contribute much to the housing development, the new decade will witness a large number of housing projects being developed here.

At the same time, a number of townships will come in the NCR region to meet the demand for housing and commercial space. The last decade witnessed an unprecedented rise in the activities in the sector. Not only did construction activity increase substantially, the prices also went up manifold. The growth momentum was so strong that it could withstand the global financial crisis successfully, albeit with the help of the government's stimulus package. RBI's decision to reduce interest rates also helped in this regard. But, the main driving agent in the revival in the second half of 2009 was the developers' strategy in building affordable houses. In this, builders built two and three-bedroom apartments with lower specification at up to 40 percent lower prices than what they used to sell only a few months ago.

CMD of CB Richard Ellis, South Asia, Anshuman Magazine, says, "In 2010, we can expect to see some sustainability in the residential market as activity levels have improved. On the office market front, demand is expected to improve, although rentals are expected to remain flat in the medium term due to the forecasted surplus supply of office space." Samir Jasuja, CMD of PropEquity, a realty research firm, says that Delhi will emerge as the centre of planned development in the coming decade with the new Master Plan coming into effect soon. The huge land bank in Najafgarh in Southwest Delhi, Brijwasan and Chhattarpur in South Delhi, will be released under the new Master Plan of Delhi. Similarly, a large tract of land will also come up in the marketplace in North Delhi. He says that thousands of acres of land are likely to be released under the new Master Plan.

As 2000-2009 saw the development of areas like Indira Puram, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Crossings Republik, in the East of Delhi in Ghaziabad, Sector 44 and 93A & B in Noida and MG Road, Sushant Lok, Golf Course, and DLF Phase II, III and V in Gurgaon and Nahar Paar area in Faridabad. Many of these areas were unheard of, before 2000. Similarly, 2010-19 will see a hectic development of new areas like Noida-Greater Noida Exressway, Crossings Republik, Raj Nagar Extension on National Highway 58 in Ghaziabad, and Noida Sectors 34, 50, 45, 128 and 134 will emerge as the new development centres in the new decade. In Gurgaon, new areas that are likely to come up are Sohna Road, Golf Course Road Extn and Pataudi Road. Sonepat is also likely to emerge as a new destination for residential market.

Samir Jasuja says that under the new Gurgaon-Manesar Master Plan, around 1,50,000 residential units will be developed in the area. Out of this, around 10,000 are at the implementation stage by various developers. The rest will be developed in the coming years. Besides this, the introduction of the concept of 'township' will expedite the construction of residential units. The development of townships will allow private developers to share the onus of development of infrastructure. So far, only the government agencies used to develop infrastructure, which results in a slow pace of development. With this, the supply of housing units will get expedited.

The good news is that such a huge supply of housing units will stabilize prices. Global realty consultancy firm, Knight Frank, in its report on India's residential market says that given a general stability of markets around Delhi and the supply expected in this part of the NCR until 2011, it is reasonable to expect residential prices in Delhi to remain relatively stable or even increase, if demand in the region significantly increases due to better internal connectivity.

The report further says that several infrastructure initiatives around the NCR are expected to boost residential options through augmenting connectivity and decongesting traffic within certain locations. If consumers are attracted to small markets around the NCR due to better infrastructure, the subsequent decongestion of demand in the region could alleviate the upward pressure on prices in locations like Gurgaon and Noida, which are becoming increasingly attractive residential options. The 2010 Commonwealth Games have also played an important role in improving connectivity to different parts of the city through the Metro Rail.

Courtesy:- ET Realty dt:- 08-01-2010

Expecting a delivery of 10,000 units in 2010, both Greater Noida and Ghaziabad are likely to become the NCR's hottest spots

In 2010, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida will see a supply of 10,000 units, making these the most sought-after real estate destinations in Delhi NCR. According to real estate consultant Knight Frank, Ghaziabad should expect a fresh inflow of about 7,590 units, equating to 10.83 million sq. ft of built-up area, while Greater Noida should see 2,343 new units, totalling 4.85 million sq. ft of built-up area.

Although it is not an applesto-apples comparison, 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.

Both will flourish because of the connectivity solutions coming their way. "With the Metro reaching Noida and Ghaziabad, connectivity will improve and various companies will contemplate setting up operations here," says Gulam Zia, national director, research and advisory services, Knight Frank India.

The supply in Ghaziabad will be spread across locations like Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Raj Nagar Extension. According to the Knight Frank report, 40 per cent of this supply will be in the three-BHK category and 46 per cent in the twoBHK 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. The supply in Greater Noida will be located in sectors Alpha, Beta, Pi and Sigma.

According to Sameer Jasuja, CEO, PropEquity, the profiles of both areas differ. While Ghaziabad is an affordable housing market, Greater Noida offers relatively premium products.

Out of the units sold in both areas, Greater Noida saw a majority of the sales in 2007-2008, which are likely to be up for delivery next year.

Absorption of these units at that point in time was high because Noida was expensive and Greater Noida offered the next best option, he says.

Greater Noida is a good investment from the point of infrastructure and proximity to the Expressway. a realty portal, agrees. "In terms of proximity to Delhi, Ghaziabad has an advantage over Greater Noida. People who work both in Noida and Delhi have made Ghaziabad their home, whereas Greater Noida is inhabited only by those who work there -- or in Noida.

As for price appreciation, the next two to three years will see a sharper upward curve in Ghaziabad than Greater Noida as the former will strengthen its position as a middle class realty destination, especially in the Rs 20-50 lakh range. Greater Noida will feel the pinch of the Expressway development.

Real estate development along the Expressway is likely to push back markets in Greater Noida by at least five years. According to Chintan Patel, associate director, real estate practice, Ernst & Young, "Developers are expecting increased sales volume in 2011. The two-BHK format comprises the maximum supply, followed by three-BHK. In 2009, the micro-markets witnessed a correction of around 5-10 per cent as compared to 2008 prices. However, prices in 2010 are likely to be quoted at around 10 per cent premium over 2009 prices."

Looking ahead, both Ghaziabad and Greater Noida will see demand overstripping supply in the next five-six years. Prices are likely to remain stable but may move northwards in the next five years, adds Zia.

Overall, most of the projects launched in 2009 were in the price range of Rs 30-50 lakh. Unit sizes were mainly two and three BHK and almost none in the luxury segment. During 2006/07, most developers were focusing on highend projects. Vivek Dahiya, founder and CEO, GenReal Property Advisers Private Limited, says, "In many new launches in 2006/07, the starting unit price was around Rs 70 lakh, and going up to over Rs 5 crore. However, in India, `middle of the pyramid' in residential real estate starts at below Rs 50 lakh. Interestingly, one of the largest demand segments got almost completely ignored during the `boom time'."

Inputs from Vandana Ramnani

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

A new home loan customer stands to gain from these special offers, Harsh Roongta

After initially playing down the teaser home loan product first introduced by SBI in January 2009, market leader HDFC has decided to join the bandwagon. They announced a similar teaser loan product on December 1, 2009. Kotak Mahindra Bank too announced its special home loan scheme, offering an 8.49 per cent fixed interest for 30 months this week. This clearly is a good time to be a new home loan customer.

So what does a teaser rate home loan mean for the Indian consumer? It means that there is a low initial interest rate that is fixed for a specified period (1 year to 5 years) and the floating rate as specified becomes applicable thereafter.

Given below is an analysis of some of the teaser rate home loans available in the market for a 20-year home loan of Rs 30 lakh.

HDFC's dual home loan rate may be in competition with SBI's Easy Home Loan scheme which offers competitive rates at least for the first three years. This scheme, available for loans of up to Rs 50 lakh, offers an interest rate of 8 per cent in the first year and 8.5 per cent in the second and third year. From the fourth year, the borrower would have an option of choosing a floating rate that is 2.75 per cent below the State Bank Advance Rate (SBAR) or a fixed rate that is 1.25 per cent below SBAR. As for the scheme being offered by Kotak Mahindra Bank, the special offer of 8.49 per cent fixed interest for 30 months, can be availed for all new loans irrespective of the loan amount but will be available till January 31, 2010.

For salaried customers, the bank would offer floating rates starting from 7.99 per cent per annum depending on the loan amount.

So what should a consumer look at while choosing a lender based only on teaser rates?

The big variable in most cases is the applicable floating rates after the initial period of fixed rates is over. In working out the effective rates it has been assumed that the floating rates will be what they are today. This may not necessarily be true as different banks may follow different strategies on floating rates at that time.

One should not forget the story of people who had gone in for a similar teaser rate home loan scheme floated by a foreign bank in October 2003 with interest rate of 6 per cent for the first year and 6.50 per cent for the second year (against the then prevailing rates of 7 - 7.5 per cent) and floating rates thereafter. By the time the two-year teaser period was over, the bank had lost interest in the home loan market and interest rates were jacked up to doubledigit levels even as the prevailing interest rates were still around 8.5 -9.5 per cent. As a result a lot of consumers were forced to switch loans to other lenders.

The other issue is that people should also look at pre-payment charges and any upfront charges (processing fees/stamp duty/legal charges, etc.).

But perhaps the most important thing is the property itself. If you are buying an old property (more than 25 years) or a resale property that has seen many owners or an under construction property that is still in the initial stages of construction, then it might be useful to consider the private lenders simply because they have developed expertise on dealing with the issues arising from such transactions.

Can existing home loan consumers take advantage of these schemes?

Interest rates are thought to have bottomed out and are widely expected to go up next year and these loans provide a cushion at least for the next few years. After the teaser period is over, if your lender does not offer you market determined floating rates, you should switch your loan to another lender.

On paper all the banks that offer these teaser products are giving these only to new customers and not the existing ones. So, if you are an existing loan customer of any of these lenders and want to take advantage of these schemes, you should switch your loan to another lender (i.e. become a new customer to that lender).

All the lenders offer the teaser rate products to existing home loan customers of other banks. Ironically, though, it is not available to their own customers.

So `teasers' do make a difference in the lives of new customers as well as existing customers.

The author is CEO, Apna Paisa, a search comparison engine for loans, insurance and investments.

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

And the beginning of a brand new one. In the past decade, the real estate sector saw both highs and lows, but going by the way things are at present, year 2010 promises to be a momentous year

The decade, which closed yesterday saw a rollercoaster ride - though it started off full of uncertainties and a negative outlook, it is ending on a note of hope and positive outlook. Despite a slow start in the first two years of the new millennium's decade, the real estate sector witnessed an unprecedented growth during the period. In almost all the major cities and towns of the country, real estate sector was on a highoctane drive, both in the capital values and in the construction activities.

The NCR region, in particular, was witness to a number of new areas being developed during the decade. Prominent among them, to the east of Delhi, are Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Raj Nagar Extension on NH-58, Crossings Republic, areas on NH-24 beyond Hindon, Noida Sector 44, 93A and B, and Greater Noida. Towards Gurgaon also a number of areas like DLF Phase II, III and V, Sushant Lok, MG Road, Sohna Road, Golf Course Road Extn have come up. Towards Faridabad, areas like Nahar Paar and Suraj Kund Road were in full bloom, while towards north, residential areas have been developed right till Sonepat.

Along with residential houses, retail commercial activities also witnessed a paradigm shift during the period. The advent of malls in particular, in the last decade, changed the way people shop in metro cities.

In fact, this decade has seen a momentous change in the mindset of the people of NCR. Till 2003-04, people's first preference used to be a house in Delhi, even if one had to compromise on space and other amenities. But, with the development of condominiums having amenities like swimming pools, gyms, car parking and hi-tech security gizmos, things have changed. You will find apartments being sold for Rs 3 crore in the suburbs. Because of the lifestyle that new condominiums are offering to residents, many people now prefer to buy houses in the suburbs. Between 2003-04 and 2007-08, economy continued to grow in the region at 8%. Even, in 2008-09, which was badly affected because of the global slowdown, the GDP grew at 6.7%. In the current year also, as per the government's projection, economy should grow at around 7.75%. The per capita income of an average Indian during the decade more than doubled in the first nine years - from Rs 15,881 to Rs 37,490 - at the current price. The easy availability of home loan coupled with fall in the interest rates further fuelled growth in the sector. At the same time, the rise in the interest rates in 2007 and 2008 to over 12% per annum affected the affordability of buyers, which affected the sector badly. The onset of global financial crisis in September 2008 brought real estate sector to almost a grinding halt. As the crisis affected global economy, with developed countries going into recession, it was thought that India would also face a similar fate. But, timely action of the government in providing a stimulus package to the economy, coupled with the lowering of the interest rates, put the economy back on the revival path.

With this, the real estate sector also gained momentum in 2009. The good thing is that the slowdown in the sector made developers change their strategy. Instead of building premium class houses and apartments, where the profit margin used to be high, they turned towards constructing affordable apartments with low margins but in high volumes. Therefore, it would not be inappropriate to say that the new decade is starting with a ray of hope and opportunity. A number of townships are already being implemented. The Crossings Republic, which is being developed on the outskirts of Noida, has almost sold out. Besides that, a number hi-tech cities are being developed by DLF, Ansal, Omaxe, Unitech, Ireo and Vipul, among others. The improvement in road and rail infrastructure in the NCR will be a boon for the real estate development here.

The extension of the Metro Rail to Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad will be of great import to push growth in the sector. There are talks to take the Metro even farther, which will provide greater impetus to the realty sector.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 01-01-2010

Owning a vacation home is a dream come true for many and if this home is in a holy place like Vrindavan or Mathura, it is for the best. Builders too are offering quality real estate here

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.

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 from Iskon followers from Ahmedabad to New Zealand and 70% of the project is sold out," says a spokesperson.

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.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 01-01-2010

Designing homes for senior citizens involves careful planning and attention to detail in order to foster their requirements and make homes livable, says Suchita Patil

Most housing societies have a large number of senior citizens, and there is now a growing awareness that they need spaces that are adapted to their needs. Senior citizens have a number of requirements and a normal house or society complex may not be well equipped with the right facilities. Architects and designers point out the importance of building senior citizen friendly spaces, with facilities that will help them lead a healthy, pleasant and a hassle freelife.

M H Dalal, CMD, M H Dalal Architects Pvt Ltd, says, “The concept and ethos while designing a home for senior citizen should be such that it allows them to live independently with dignity. There are certain parameters, which need to be considered while designing. A few of the physical parameters are that all edges and corners must be rounded as far as possible, the width of all doors should be adequate enough to make them wheelchair accessible, there should be a sliding bathroom door to facilitate easy movement, wide passageways, grip rails at strategic locations, no level difference in flooring, anti skid tiles, and switches placed at manageable levels, among other things. Besides, the complex should also have good amenities and infrastructure that are unique to such a complex, such as a library, small canteen, and physiotherapy clinic instead of a gym, multi-purpose hall, advanced security systems like video door phones, panic buttons, and pendant buttons to help in case of emergency.”

Niteen Parulekar, design principal, Niteen Parulekar Architects Pvt Ltd, says, “With age, their bones become fragile and eyesight weakens. So stress should be given on maximum use of natural lights with cross-ventilation, dimmable lights with light switches located in accessible locations along with use of technology like video-door phones, alarm system. An old age home must have easy access to hotline services like hospitals, ambulance in case of emergency.”

Citing the demand, many developers too are showing interest and coming with senior citizen friendly facilities in their projects. R Karthik, senior vice-president marketing, Lodha Group, says, “There is a definite need for designing homes for senior citizens. With regards to safety, there are motion sensors for automatic lighting in bathrooms along with medical facilities to take care of any emergency. For example, we have signed with the Hinduja Hospital to set up a medical facility at our township at Dombivali for our projects Casa Bella and Casa Bella Gold.”

Kaizad Hateria, GM, Corporate customer relations and sales, Rustomjee, says, “ Townships or gated communities are the best for designing homes for senior citizen homes. Providing security through video conferencing, guard on call through videophones, grills at the door, through checks in gated communities while entry and exit of a person in the township will make it more user friendly. At our project Rustomjee Urbania, we have even consulted experts for fixing lampposts such that the height and distance between the two lampposts, avoids the falling of shadows directly on the ground, which will be very helpful for them.”

Manju Yagnik, vice-chairperson, Nahar Group, points out that the concept is still market driven. The demand exists but both senior citizens and developers are yet to wake up towards this need. She says, “The facilities enabling wheelchair entry into the lobbies, anti-skid tiles, accessible light points and bells in the house and providing at least one stretcherlift in the normal projects can really help senior citizens in their day-today life. Considering the security, avoiding multiple entries, video door phones along with providing easy shopping, medical and recreation facilities within their complex are necessary.”

Talking about the demand and response from the consumers, M H Dalal says, “Senior residences across the world are of different types including adult living, enriched living, assisted living and specialty care. In India, the demand is high for assisted living space, but at the moment, we mainly have the adult living module and we are trying to convince developers to develop some part of their huge projects in the form of an ‘oasis’ for senior citizens, and have at least 5% of their living spaces designed that are conducive to senior citizen homes. Golden Nest in Pune by Vascon Engineers has been developed and work is going on another project in Bhopal by Aakriti Dwellings Pvt Ltd. The developers in Mumbai too are actively discussing such projects. He strongly feels that there exists a vibrant demand and that entrepreneurs should take development and management of such homes as a business module as is prevailing in other parts of the developed world.”

With the trend moving towards nuclear families, creating an environment that enables an older person to feel independent and gives them the pleasure of staying in their own house should be the aim of all home design.

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

New-age windows, sky gardens that are weatherproof and are visually and acoustically planned out, are some of the novel elements that architects are trying. Rajati Bakshi writes

Amad rush of development in the Indian metros has resulted in the construction of over-bridges and causeways, unsurpassed vertical growth in residences and office spaces, and luxury apartments that are spread across cities. In this concrete jungle, green spaces are at a premium.

Today, million-dollar apartments are springing up all over the country, which boast huge structures, rich interiors, luxury amenities, all ensconced in premium locations. But the question still stands. What creates value in apartments?

While location is important, a business consultant points out, “Design is an equally necessary component. One needs to optimize the use of space even in grandeur.” The director of Raghav Realtors Pvt Ltd says: “Due to scarcity of space in Mumbai, the concept of outdoor living is almost non-existent. All open area is taken up by the apartment. Although outdoor culture is much more prevalent in Delhi, the utility-based integration of outdoor space is a must.”

Som Bakshi, a nationally and internationally awarded director-cum-cinematographer has used his visual acumen to provide simple design solutions that retain the grandeur and urbaneness of luxury apartments and also create outdoor spaces that are supremely unique.

Proportionate windows: The visual evolution of the human eye has progressed from a ratio of 3:4 vision to 16:9 and promises to move into the realm of 20:9 in the future. This can be seen in TV screens that were earlier rectangular in shape, but now, have moved firmly into the realm of panoramic screens.

This change is yet to be firmly incorporated as a design element in the construction of our windows. Currently, windows unfold the view of the city in vertical, rectangular or square-ish manner - a discerning eye invariably finds something amiss in this visual element. The hot glare of the noon sun pours in, requiring us to put heavy shades and double curtains.

To bypass this problem, in a luxury apartment created in Geetanjili Enclave, in the heart of South Delhi, Som Bakshi created windows that mirror the ratio that our eye demands today. These windows are in the ratio of 16:9 and provide panoramic views of the city.

“Although cinemascopic windows are now a fixture in the west, they have added advantages for India. Not only do they suit the visual evolution of the human eye, but they also slice off the hot glare of the Indian skies to reveal a gentler view of the city,” says Bakshi.

Experience the outdoors: Green spaces are at a premium everywhere. To transport the activities that would normally have taken place in the closed rooms of an apartment to a carefully constructed and cocooned sky garden with aesthetics, privacy and luxury was a problem that was put to rest. By bridging the gap between indoors and outdoors, the cinematographer created a permanent outdoor sit-out for up to a hundred people with a surround sound system and home theatre setup at the rooftop sky garden.

As a consequence, this increased the scope of the outdoor space and brought it to an experiential level - of music, a fireplace, an outdoor cinema, and a bar. Weatherproof, visually and acoustically planned out, and trend setting, this setup is perfect whether hosting an intimate evening or for a party.

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

At Hansmukhi we promise that we will change the way you live with real estate firm, because we are determined to give you the most luxurious living apartments, flats and villas at the most affordable prices. Race course valley is a mini township with affordable apartments and villsas that brings in world class housing standards. We believe that it is not only the comforts of your homes, houses, apartments and villas  which matter but also the location and environment you live in.

that is why we chose to build your dream houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa in the most sought after and premium address in valley. Surrounded by the green environment and the mountain back drop, Race course valley is in the heart of Dehradun city, but still away from the city crowd, traffic jam etc. You can be a part of the elite neighborhood with best of luxury houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa at best of prices.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Proximity to Sahastradhara Waterfall, famous picnic spot of Dehradun valley.      

 ‘VASTU’ based Design & Planning to ensure health and prosperity for you in dehradun afordable housing houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa.

 Eye Catching Landscape and maximum lush green coverage with waterfalls and fountains.

 Sports Club with modern facilities in your houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa.

 State of the art Gymnasium.

 Mini Shopping Arcade.

 Swimming Pool in your houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa.

 Jogging Track.

 Power Lifts for every tower.

Power Backup in your houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa

RO water system.

 Fire Fighting-System as per safety standards.

 Connectivity for Internet, Intercoms, Telephone & TV.

 Two Tier security system in your houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa.

 Wide approach road (100 ft. wide).

 Earth Quake Resistant  RCC framed Structure

Laminated Wooden flooring in Master Bedroom / Vitrified tiles in rooms. Non-skid Ceramic tiles in Kitchen and Toilets.

 Oil bound distemper with pleasing shades on the interior walls.

 Designer P.O.P. / Cornices in drawing & bedrooms.

 Glazed / Ceramic tiles upto 7’ height.

 Exterior Permanent finish – Texture (Paint / APEX).

 Good quality Modular Kitchen  in your houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa *.

Doors HDF (moulded skin) Type

Windows with Aluminum Frame & float glass.

 Bathrooms Best quality C.P. fitting & Chinaware.

 Electrical Modular Switches with Copper wiring.

 Sufficient open parking space in houses, homes, apartments, flats, and villsa.   

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

At Hansmukhi we promise that we will change the way you live, because we are determined to give you the most luxurious living at the most affordable prices. Race course valley is a mini township that brings in world class housing standards. We believe that it is not only the comforts of your home which matter but also the location and environment you live in.

that is why we chose to build your dream house in the most sought after and premium address in valley. Surrounded by the green environment and the mountain back drop, Race course valley is in the heart of Dehradun city, but still away from the city crowd, traffic jam etc. You can be a part of the elite neighborhood with best of luxury at best of prices.

HIGHLIGHTS

Proximity to Sahastradhara Waterfall, famous picnic spot of Dehradun valley.

 ‘VASTU’ based Design & Planning to ensure health and prosperity for you.

Eye Catching Landscape and maximum lush green coverage with waterfalls and fountains.

Sports Club with modern facilities.

 State of the art Gymnasium.

 Mini Shopping Arcade.

 Swimming Pool in in your Residential Apartments.

 Jogging Track.

 Power Lifts for every tower.

 Power Backup in your Residential Apartments.

 RO water system in your Residential Apartments.

 Fire Fighting-System as per safety standards.

 Connectivity for Internet, Intercoms, Telephone & TV in your Residential Apartments.

 Two Tier security system in your Residential Apartments.

 Wide approach road (100 ft. wide).

 Earth Quake Resistant  RCC framed Structure

Laminated Wooden flooring in Master Bedroom / Vitrified tiles in rooms. Non-skid Ceramic tiles in Kitchen and Toilets.

 Oil bound distemper with pleasing shades on the interior walls.

 Designer P.O.P. / Cornices in drawing & bedrooms.

 Glazed / Ceramic tiles upto 7’ height.

 Exterior Permanent finish – Texture (Paint / APEX).

 Good quality Modular Kitchen *.

Doors HDF (moulded skin) Type

Windows with Aluminum Frame & float glass.

 Bathrooms Best quality C.P. fitting & Chinaware.

 Electrical Modular Switches with Copper wiring.

 Sufficient open parking space.   

DLF has acquired Caraf Builders & Constructions (‘Caraf’), which owns DLF Assets Private (DAL), from promoter KP Singh’s family. DLF’s board approved the transaction recently. DLF’s wholly owned subsidiary DLF Cyber City will acquire Caraf in a cashless transaction.After the transaction, the promoter stake in Cyber City will be 40%, while DLF’s stake will come down to 60%.  

“The valuation ratio approved by the board accepted the relative valuation of Cyber City and Caraf in the ratio of 60:40. Consequently, the company would have an economic interest in the integrated entity of 60% with the residual 40% economic interest being held by the shareholders of Caraf (who are the promoters of the company),” DLF said in a statement. The transaction is aimed at consolidating the group’s rental assets under DLF to ensure a steady cash flow to DLF. It will also help in eliminating the conflict of interest between promoter entities and DLF,while facilitating management inte-gration and overlap elimination.

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

Promoters to gain from merger

Supriya Verma Mishra ET INTELLIGENCE GROUP

IT’S that feeling of deja vu. Delhi-based real estate developer DLF has announced a merger of its commercial realty arm DLF Assets (DAL) with itself — a move aimed at repaying some of DAL’s debt.

This merger is also aimed at consolidating all commercial properties under DLF, which will help add an annual income of close to Rs 500-600 crore in the form of lease rentals from 2009-10. DAL currently earns around Rs 325 crore from lease rentals.

The new structure involves the merger of DLF subsidiary DLF Cyber City Developers with Caraf Builders and Constructions, which is the holding company of DAL. The valuation ratio approved by the board for Cyber City and Caraf is in the ratio of 60:40. This means that DLF shareholders will have access to 60% and promoters to 40% of the merged entity. However, this will be a cashless transaction.

DLF sells commercial property to DAL, which is controlled by KP Singh who owns 78% in the latter along with his son and DLF promoter Rajeev Singh. DAL buys commercial property from DLF and collects lease rentals from it. With this merger, the debt on DLF’s books would be an additional Rs 2,460 crore.

Caraf, along with its subsidiaries, has four 3.3 million sq ft rent and a majority stake in DAL, which owns four SEZ properties with total leased area of 6.4 million sq ft. On the other hand, Cyber City has 6.7 million sq ft of builtout space across commercial buildings in Gurgaon and two operational malls in Delhi. Cyber City can further develop commercial and retail space in Gurgaon and Mumbai.

Due to non-availability of detailed numbers, we did some back-of-the-envelope calculations. Cyber City has a rental and development income of Rs 1,450 crore for FY09. The value of this company after the debt consideration comes close to Rs 11,300 crore, about 10 times its profit of Rs 1,100 crore. Capitalising DAL’s rental income at an average 10% capitalisation rate and considering a net debt of Rs 2,460 crore, DAL could be valued at roughly Rs 3,050 crore.

It shows that though the promoter’s share has come down in DAL, this merger provides access to high-rental yielding land. Whether the merger will really work out for the shareholders or not is yet to be clear, but it should certainly work out to the advantage of the promoters.

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

DLF Group Launches Commercial  complex in pune

Pune is at the confluence of the Mutha and Mula river, surrounded by hills and lies in the natural settings having pleasant climate.

         Regarded as Oxford of the East

         Location for Industrial Engineering, Logistics business – This has drawn <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf-it-park-pune.aspx”>investments from ITES / BPO</a>

      MIDC has set up 3 IT Parks:

      Hinjewadi

      Talawadi

      Kharadi    

      Access to Mumbai by Air, Rail & New Expressway ( with 2-1/2 hours from Mumbai)

      A <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf-it-park-pune.aspx”>multi-block development</a> of approx. 1.6 million sq.ft. (Phase I) set in large landscaped campus of 60 acres.

Specification

Design

    * Building designed by Renowned Architects.

    * Structure designed to Seismic Zone specifications-One level higher than mandatory requirement by the govt.

    * NFPA Compliant Building.

Systems

    * 100% Power Back Up.

    * Central air-conditioning.

    * Sufficient Stilt and Basement Parking.

    * Provision for Telecom Infrastructure.

Value Add

    * <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf-it-park-pune.aspx”>Professional Property Maintenance by DLF Services Ltd.</a>

    * Experience of Maintaining Over 6 million sq.ft. office buildings to global standards.

    * Low operating cost through economies of scale.

    * Committed delivery schedules.

    * Amenities like Food Court, Bank ATM's, Gymnasiums, Retail zone as a part of the complex.

for more inco log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/dlf-it-park-pune.aspx

Discover the land of opportunities – Indore

The city of Indore with a splendid past boasts of an equally bright future. Indore City is today the commercial and IT hub of central India.

Over the years, the city has welcomed people from all over to evolve into a truly cosmopolitan population.

As one of the fastest growing cities in India, dotted with lush green surroundings, brimming with new job opportunities and diverse talent pool, Indore is ideal for comfortable living and working. And DLF is here to complement the ever growing lifestyle of Indore with world-class homes.

Discover all you desire at Gardencity

The best way to understand nature is to make it a part of your life. DLF well & truly brings this sentiment to Gardencity, where you live amidst nature and enjoy a contemporary lifestyle. Gardencity's 82 acres of pollution-free environs gives the residents a perfect answer to beat their stressful lifestyle. The township has been aesthetically designed by Hafeez Contractor while the landscapes are beautified by a renowned Singapore based consultant.

With theme gardens like Ornamental Garden, Spiritual Garden, Bonsai Garden, Zodiac Garden, Gardencity brings you a step closer to nature. With a Club, School, Shopping Mall and a well-equipped Fortis Hospital within the vicinity, DLF fulfills its promise of bringing world-class lifestyle to Indore.

Clubhouse

Discover lavish clubbing facilities that pamper you

An exclusively designed club, one of the biggest in Central India, will pamper you and your family with lavish facilities. The club is built in an area of about 2.5 acres and will offer a whole new world of leisure activities. Whenever you'll want to take time out from your busy life and schedules, you'll end up feeling naturally relaxed and rejuvenated at the club. This world-class clubbing facility will cater to the leisure needs of its members.

Discover the new face of Indore at Gardencity

 Gardencity, New Indore brings a cosmopolitan lifestyle to Indore with homes equipped with all modern facilities, catering to people aspiring a luxurious lifestyle.

The lush green 82 acres of Gardencity offers plots in various sizes ranging from 1800 sq.ft. to 3600 sq. ft. enveloped by open spaces.

It also boasts of a world-class club, international school for your child's future, a fully equipped 100 plus bed Fortis Hospital, shopping complex and a shopping mall with multiplex right on the AB Bye-Pass Road.

IPTV ready for enhanced entertainment.

Power distribution through underground cabling.

 Discover a new world of leisure and lifestyle near you

A stress free life awaits you when you enter Gardencity, New Indore. Located in the midst of green gardens where peace and tranquility prevails, every moment spent here will complement healthy living. State-of-the-art facilities like swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis & squash courts and pool side café, truly gives 'leisure' a new dimension. Besides, you can also engage yourself in a refreshing morning jog or make yourevenings delightful at the community centre. What's more, you can also enjoy the advantage of being located in the midst of nature. Along with other modern amenities, this place is a perfect retreat to calm your senses.

Subject to terms and conditions.

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

Project Name                                    The Residency Jaipur

Name of Builder                               Dreamline Clolnizers & Developers

Project Type                                      Residential Apartments

Price                                                      As below

Location                                               Jaipur

Agent                                                    Shri Aditya Estates  42470622, 9810445860

The jaipur Residency is Residential Apartment  located at Diggi-Malpura Road, Teh-Phagi, Jaipur. This  Residential Apartments Scheme is hardly 7 minute drive from The J.D.A. Residential Scheme, Rohini Nagar Phase- 1 and 2. River Dhund is also flowing near by 'The Jaipur Residency. Here you can admire the beauty of nature. This is a perfect place to relax in weekends after those busy working days. So throw yourself into the lap of nature and experience the divine peace and rejuvenate your body and soul.

About The Jaipur Residency  Residential Apartments

    Eco friendly & Green Environment Gated Project

    24 hours water supply

    Free hold Farm House available in various sizes in this Apartments

    Club House

    Swimming Pool

    Round the Clock Security

    Mega Park with water body

    Wide road for easy approach

    Religious place

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

Project Name                          Parsvnath Planet

Name of Builder                     Parsvnath Developers Ltd..

Project Type                            Residential Apartments

Price                                        Rs.2050@sq.ft(3BR & 4BR)

Location                                  Lucknow (UttarPradesh)

Price List Type of Unit   Accommodation Saleable Area (Sq.Ft.) Basic Rate Per Sq.Ft. (Rs.) Down Payment Rate Per Sq.Ft. with 6% rebate (Rs.) 3 BR  3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser), Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft & 3 Balconies 

1675    2200    2068 

3 BR+S  3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser), Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft & 3 Balconies & Servant Room with Toilet  1775 

4 BR  4 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 4 Toilets(2 Toilets with Dresser) Entrance Foyer & 3 Balconies   2050 

4 BR+S  4 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 4 Toilets (2 Toilets with Dresser) Entrance Foyer, 3 Balconies & Servant Room with Toilet  2175 

3 BR Bridging   3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser), TV Room, Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft, 3 Balconies   1790 

3 BR Bridging   3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser), Store, Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft, 3 Balconies         1875 

3 BR+S Bridging   3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser), TV Room, Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft, 3 Balconies and Servant Room with Toilet 

1890 

3BR+S Bridging   3 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 3 Toilets(1 Toilet with Dresser) Store, Entrance Foyer, Lobby, Loft , 3 Balconies and Servant Room with Toilet  1975 

4 BR+S PH   4 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 4 Toilets(2 Toilets with Dresser), Powder Room, Lobby, Entrance Foyer, Utility Balcony, Servant Room with Toilet & Terrace of 452 Sq.Ft.          3025 

4BR+S Bridging  PH 4 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 4 Toilets(2 Toilets with Dresser), Family Lounge, Lobby, Utility Balcony, Entrance Foyer, Servant Room with Toilet & Terrace of 452+ 291Sq.ft.              3300 

4 BR+S PH   4 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 4 Toilets (2 Toilet with Dresser), Family Lounge, Study, Entrance Foyer, 2 Balconies, Servant Room with Toilet & Terrace of 540+ 145 Sq.Ft.        3725 

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

In a development that could mark the end of Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani’s dream to build India’s biggest special export zone near Mumbai, Mumbai SEZ (MSEZ) is learnt to have withdrawn its review petition before the Supreme Court that sought to expedite land acquisition for its Maha Mumbai SEZ.

MSEZ’s decision to pull out its petition comes in the wake of the SEZ board of approval (BoA) refusing the company a further time extension for the land acquisition. The BoA recently directed the company to approach the Maharashtra government to begin the entire process afresh after it failed to mop up enough land within the stipulated timeframe. In June 2009, the SC order refusing to stay a Bombay High Court decision that declined to give any directive to state authorities to speed up land acquisition for the 10,000-hectare project came as a setback for the company. The Ambanipromoted MSEZ wanted the high court to direct the Raigad district administration to complete the land acquisition before the June 6 deadline under the Land Acquisition Act. It noted that the district authorities had not completed the process even two years after the Maharashtra government allowed the company to set up a multiproduct SEZ in the region.

The HC refused to grant relief by an order on May 22, 2009, against which the company filed an appeal before the SC. The apex court too in the first week of June rejected the company’s demand to stay the HC ruling. In its petition, Mumbai SEZ submitted that the HC failed to appreciate that the district collector was duty-bound to pass a consent award within two years of the land acquisition notification dated June 8, 2007, after declaration under Section. 6 of the Land Acquisition Act in cases where land owners had voluntarily consented for sale of their land and entered into sale agreements. The consent awards must be passed before June 8, 2009. If not, the entire acquisition proceedings would lapse, causing grave financial loss to the petitioners who had already invested Rs 600 crore in the project, the petition noted.

Though the SC rejected the demand, it allowed the company to file a review petition which was subsequently submitted. This has now been withdrawn by the company.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 08/12/2009

The Indian retail sector is expected to grow at a rate of 5.5% to $410 billion (around Rs 19,03,844 crore) by 2010 from the present about $300 billion, Assocham said on Monday. The chamber said that organized retail, which at present accounts for nearly 5 per cent of the overall retail market, is likely to touch $13 billion (around Rs 60,375 crore) by 2010 from $9.23 billion (around Rs 42,000 crore) currently. "The size of Indian retail sector is estimated to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%, to become $410 billion market by 2010," it said.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 08/12/2009

Are you planning to go in for a home loan in the near future? Kavita Sriram has a step-by-step guide to make the process of availing a home loan easy

The process of acquiring a home loan is a long one. Here is a step-by-step guide that can help a prospective homebuyer.

Formal application   

The process of acquiring a home loan starts off with an application supported with necessary documents. Some banks charge a processing fee at the time of applying for a loan. This fee is usually a non-refundable amount of around 0.5 percent of the loan amount. Most lenders seek personal details, income information and details about your education, property and estimated purchase cost in the application form.

Documents for proof   

The home loan applicant is expected to furnish certain valid documents as proof.

Some documents needed:

• Certificate of income

• Proof of age

• Photo ID

• Continuity of service

• Residence address proof

• Employment details

• Educational qualifications

• Property to be purchased

• Bank account details

Verification of application

The bank conducts an elaborate verification on creditworthiness, and on issues such as previous defaults and other debts. Depending on your income level and financial condition, the lender computes your loan eligibility. If the bank suspects your repayment capacity or if the information given by you is incorrect, your loan application may be turned down.

Property evaluation   

Experts visit and evaluate the property you intend to purchase. Banks usually have a team of legal experts who make legal verifications of documents. A home loan is a secured loan where the property you intend to purchase is used as collateral. Hence, the lender conducts technical valuations and monitors the various stages of construction through the tenure of the loan.

Home loan agreement   

The lender sends an offer letter that contains details of the loan amount sanctioned, interest rate applicable, tenure, repayment options and terms and conditions associated with the home loan. The applicant must read the loan agreement carefully and sign it if he has no objections to it. Apart from post-dated cheques that must be submitted to the lender, the applicant must pay stamp duty and other fees.

The original property documents are retained with the lender till the loan amount is repaid by the borrower.

Loan disbursement   

After the home loan agreement is signed, the loan disbursal process begins. There may be slight variations in the process/sequence from lender to lender.

Identify the right property that is free of litigations and is located in a good neighbourhood. Then select a good lender who offers low rates and doesn't levy heavy penalties and fees. If you have all documents in order and no previous history of defaults, getting a home loan will not be an ordeal at all.

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

With the real estate sector gradually emerging from the pangs of recession, there is need to create a mechanism to put the sector back on the growth track and avoid pitfalls Sandeep Rai

The recent global financial meltdown has completely shocked the world even though the Indian economy as a whole has largely been insulated against global economy slowdown. Despite that, the Indian real estate sector had been severely hit in the mayhem. Nevertheless, there have been some improvements in the market sentiments now and lot needs to be done to ensure the growth reaches its original momentum. Now we expect that normal buying cycle is back. But there are certain concerns. 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. As per Dr. M. Ramachandran, secretary, ministry of urban development, "There is a dearth of more than 24 million low cost households in the country", which is actually a whopping figure. The major question that arises in this context is of availability of land which according to the sector pundits is a scarce commodity by all means. Nevertheless, there are a few who do not agree that land is not available for development. According to Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CBRE India, "There is a general perception that there is shortage of land for urban or low cost housing development but the fact is that still we are using only a very small percentage of land. And I am of the opinion that there is enough land available. All we have to do is to create good infrastructure. The more the infrastructure is developed, the more the land can be brought in to use for development. And infrastructure here does not only mean roads and bridges but includes schools, hospitals, social infrastructure, etc., and that's where the government can play a major role. Second thing is the availability of low interest capital both for buyer and developer which will obviously allow more people in the range who can afford to borrow money to buy and this consumption will bring in more supply."

The second major concern has been the pricing. According to Jaipal Reddy, "We had real estate boom with mind boggling prices and we had a slowdown, but, part of this slowdown was caused by the rush of real estate companies for top end apartments and buildings." With complete focus on niche segment, the household prices hit the roof, a mistake the sector cannot afford to repeat. According to Rohtas Goel, president, NAREDCO, "To overcome the challenges, the real estate developers have already bottomed out the prices and have not only launched affordable housing but have also revisited their ongoing projects and redesigned them into affordable models. Now developers have started working on water thin margins and are also ready to work hand in hand with the government to achieve its social objective of providing housing for all through public-private partnership as a mission." However, to fulfill this task what is needed is a consensus model which will be ideal, transparent, workable and implementable and that will be of interest to all the stakeholders. Well there has been some focus of the government in introducing reforms, yet, to revive the real estate sector much is left to be done to increase the pace of growth and to fulfill the dreams of millions of houseless in India and the motto of government for housing for all there is need for government to provide some more relaxations at this point of time. Sums up Goel, "Given the demand and emphasis of the government on affordable housing, there is a need to re-introduce section 80IB10. Under the section a developer gets tax benefits if he constructs the property in four years time. It is requested to increase the time frame since these are the times of recession and developers find it increasingly difficult to complete construct within the allowed time frame. Government needs to take a re-look into the direct tax code which is likely to be introduced in 2011. And since it has certain negative points for individual buyers such as abolition of benefits under 80C for the return of housing loan, discontinuance of benefits under IT act for self occupied property, etc., encourage states to reduce stamp duty to 5% and provide a system of credit for each stage of sale. At this point of time every transaction has a stamp duty. If some property is sold at Rs. 10 lakhs and in the next stage it is sold at 15 lakh rupees so the levy should be on Rs. 5 lakhs and not on Rs. 15 lakh, since tax on Rs. 10 lakhs has already been levied. Similarly the custom duty on capital equipment used in construction should be reduced from 8% to 4%."

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

The interest component of home loan repayment can be deducted from income while computing your tax liability, says Ashish Gupta

Under the Income Tax Act, interest on a home loan is tax deductible provided the specified conditions are complied with. The deduction is available while computing income under the head ‘Income from House Property’. Deduction on interest paid is available even if the house is not rented out and is either lying vacant or has been self-occupied.

The relevant provisions are contained under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. The loan should be taken for construction, acquisition, repair or reconstruction of property. The main condition is the assessee should borrow the money for housing purposes. The interest should be payable on the borrowed capital.

For the purpose of computing income or loss under the head ‘Income from House Property’ for a self-occupied house, a normal deduction of Rs 30,000 is allowed in respect of interest on borrowed capital. However, a deduction on interest up to a maximum limit of Rs 1.5 lakhs is available if the loan has been taken on or after April 1, 1999 to construct or buy a house. The construction or acquisition of the house should have been completed within three years from the end of the financial year in which the capital was borrowed.

This higher deduction is not allowed for interest on capital borrowed for the purposes of repairs or renovation of an existing house. To claim the higher deduction, the assessee should furnish a certificate from the bank on the capital borrowed, specifying the amount of interest payable, and the purpose - construction or acquisition.

The two essential conditions necessary for availing the higher deduction are the amount must have been borrowed on or after April 1, 1999 and the acquisition or construction of the house

 must have been completed within three years from the end of the financial year in which the capital was borrowed. There is no stipulation regarding the date of commencement of construction. Consequently, the construction of the house could have commenced before April 1, 1999 too. As long as the construction or acquisition is completed within three years from the end of the financial year in which the capital was borrowed, the higher deduction is available. It is also to be noted that there is no stipulation regarding the construction or acquisition of the house being entirely financed by capital borrowed on or after April 1, 1999. A loan taken prior to April 1, 1999 will carry a deduction of interest up to Rs 30,000 only. However, in any case, the total amount of deduction of interest on borrowed capital cannot exceed Rs 1.5 lakhs in a year.

In case a property has been acquired or constructed with borrowed capital, the interest payable on the amount borrowed for the period prior to the previous year in which the property has been acquired or constructed is also eligible for deduction. The interest is deductible in five equal instalments commencing from the previous year in which the house has been acquired or constructed. The first instalment is deductible in the year in which the construction of the property is completed or the property is acquired. The balance four instalments are deductible in the four subsequent years.

The interest is allowed as a deduction on accrual basis i.e. on due basis. It is not necessary that it should have been actually been paid during the year. Under the Income Tax Act, only the person who has taken the loan can claim tax rebates.

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

Real estate developer Vardhman Group on Sunday said it has incorporated two separate entities to foray into the hospitality and food segments. "We have started two entities - Vardhman Fantasy and Vardhman Foods. Vardhman Fantasy will take care of the hospitality part," Vardhman Group's managing director Rajesh Vardhan said here.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 23/11/2009

Tax benefits on home loans have turned out to be an important aspect of home buying. Here's how you can benefit from the same

TAX BREAKS

For self-occupied house property, the annual value of the house property is considered to be nil. Further, an individual could claim a deduction for the interest paid on the home loan (for purchase or construction) up to Rs 1.5 lakh, subject to certain conditions. This would result in a loss under the head house property of up to Rs 1.5 lakh, which could be set off against other income. If the property is let out, the actual amount of housing loan interest, without limit, could be claimed as deduction. Also, an individual can claim a deduction up to Rs 100,000 for repayment of the principal amount U/S 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

JOINT BENEFITS

This advantage gets multiplied if the property is acquired in a joint name, as each individual is entitled to claim tax benefits. Thus, if a husband and wife have a property with equal share, both are entitled to claim these deductions. There is no restriction as to who the co-owner should be and there is no limit on the number of joint owners. Property can be jointly owned with your spouse, brother or parents.

Here, the following points merit consideration: First, the house should be bought in the joint name and proof of co ownership should be maintained. Second, the housing loan should also be taken in joint names.

The repayment of loan should preferably be made individually by the co-owners directly, if feasible, or from a joint bank account in which funds for repayment of loan should be contributed by the co-owners in proportion to their ownership/loan. All the co-owners should have their independent income sources from which the loans are re-paid.

Typically, the tax benefits are available in proportion to the joint ownership and the loan taken by the co owners.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Buying a house jointly facilitates a larger loan as income of all the co owners would be considered by the lenders. Also, in many states, a lower property registration fee is levied in case the property is owned by women either individually or jointly. Further, in case of husband and wife, joint ownership also helps reduce succession issues.

A point to be noted here is that under the proposed Direct Tax Code, these tax benefits are proposed to be restricted. Till then, however, one can enjoy the same.

Remember the above points and avail a good tax benefit!

Courtesy:- ET dt:-20-11-2009

Bangalore based real estate developer Nitesh Estates is learnt to have planned to raise nearly Rs 1,000 crore through sale of shares of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to finance setting up Ritz Carlton hotel in Chennai.

A person close to the matter said the hotel SPV would sell shares to private equity investors prior to its listing with a foreign stock exchange, preferably Singapore or London. The company would dilute over 70% stake through stake sale and foreign listing, he added. While this buzz is doing the rounds all over, executive director LS Vaidyanathan refused to comment on the issue.

Last week, the company entered into an agreement with US-based Ritz Carlton, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International, to set up a 200-room hotel and 80 serviced residences in Chennai. The project, which will be located on 9 acres of land in Chennai's posh Boat Club area, will also have one lakh sq ft of luxury retail space. The cost of the project is estimated to be around 1500 crore.

It is believed that the company is also working with the foreign company to develop a hotel in Bangalore in next two years. This is going to be another prime project of the company.

Daiwa Securities and Nomura are learnt to be in discussions with Nitesh Estates for the overseas listing of the SPV in next six months.

Meanwhile, the company is also expected to hit the market with a Rs 550 crore initial public offer (IPO) in January. It has learnt to have appointed Morgan Stanley, Enam, Kotak and JM Financial as advisors to the IPO. It might divest anywhere around 35% stake through the IPO.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 20-11-2009

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.

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

Step into Indore. and be a part of the culture that has its own story to tell, a city which captivates you easily with its charm and flavour. Known as the city of the Holkars, Indore, came to existence when Holkar Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India built it. Located in the Narmada River Valley in the western part of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Indore is an important industrial city of India.

It is also the centre of trade and textile industry and home to many historical monuments and temples. A must visit; Indore is also affectionately called 'Mini Mumbai'. 

And it is at this city, another beauty “Parsvnath Premier ”is taking shape. A part of Parsvnath City it's all set to transform and to dress up Indore with a better lifestyle.

Location

• Located at Parsvnath City, Indore

• Strategic Location

• Convenient Connectivity

• Well planned & wide approach roads

• Shopping Mall & Academic Institution 

Building and Interior 

• 2-3 Bedroom Luxury Apartment

• Rich construction specifications

• Vitrified tiles flooring / Dining & bedrooms

• Wooden flooring in master bedroom 

Amenities

• Beautifully landscaped complex

• Walkways

• Sit-outs

• Dedicated parking

• Play zone for children 

Recreational 

• Swimming pool, Sauna and Jacuzzi

• Gym, Billiards & Cards Room

• Tennis & Badminton Court

• Banquet and Conference facilities 

Cheque/Bank Draft to be issued in favour of "PARSVNATH DEVELOPERS LTD"., payable at Delhi/New Delhi, Indore only. Outstation cheques shall not be accepted. 

Timely payment of installments is the essence of the agreement. However, interest @ 24% p.a. will be charged for delayed payments, if any.

Other terms & conditions of the sale would be as per the standard Allotment Letter/Agreement of the Company. 

The above areas include the covered area plus proportionate common areas such as corridors, passages, lifts, lift rooms, staircase, underground and overhead water tanks, mumties etc. 

Statutory Taxes, other Government Levies, Stamp Duty & Registration charges to be paid extra, as applicable. 

The company would pay penalty to its customer @ Rs.5/- per sq.ft. per month for any delay in handing over the flat beyond the committed period of 36 months from the date of start of foundation of Individual Tower. Similarly customer would be liable to pay holding charges @ Rs.5/- per sq.ft. per month if he fails to take possession within 30 days from the date of issue of offer of possession. 

Prices are subject to change without any notice before booking at the sole discretion of the company and the price ruling on the date of booking and acceptance by the Company shall be applicable.

For More info log on to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/parsvnath-premier-luxurious-apartments-indore.aspx

Accessibility is undeniably critical to business efficiency. At Eros Corporate Park, you are free from the choked arterial routes leading into Gurgaon. Located on the NH8, it is eminently accessible from Delhi by a new-age 8-lane expressway. So that travel time to the Indira Gandhi International airport is just 20 minutes. Also, the residential Manesar township next door - a boon for your employees - is minutes away via an over-bridge across the highway.

Now you can look far ahead to a business environment that surpasses anything you have considered till today. Eros Corporate Park at Manesar, Gurgaon. A commercial hub which encompasses all the mission-critical factors to drive your business to success. Located in the pulsating Gurgaon hub, the preferred home base in India of a host of multinational corporates, software development centres and BPOs. At Eros Corporate Park, the accent is decidedly on high-tech...high speed...high performance. We've raised the bar to bring you the environment that's future perfect.

At Eros Corporate Park, we have provided state-of-the-art telecommunication links. A high-tech network of fibre optic cables with last mile connectivity across almost five lac square feet of Wi-Fi enabled office and retail space. All to ensure that the day you move in, you can access business opportunities worldwide at high speed, 24x7!

In keeping with the dynamics of global business, Eros Corporate Park takes corporate mobility to another level. A helipad at the IMT business complex will allow you to ferry your VIP visitors by a helicopter. A facility that defines your international workstyle...your high-flying persona.

Eros Corporate Park is supported by infrastructural excellence that makes it a veritable business destination...Conference centre...Shopping arcade...Food court...even a golf course nestling amidst acres and acres of verdant green. Even more, the vast Special Economics Zone (SEZ) that is due to come up right next-door will have a cargo airport and metro rapid transit rail link.

At Eros Corporate Park, we have provided state-of-the-art telecommunication links. A high-tech network of fibre optic cables with last mile connectivity across almost five lac square feet of Wi-Fi enabled office and retail space. All to ensure that the day you move in, you can access business opportunities worldwide at high speed, 24x7!

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

ARIL is developing an Information Technology Park on land allotted by State Authority of Haryana at Manesar. The project will be developed on “Walk to Work” concept, and will be self sufficient integrated mini-township with all necessary and appurtenant facilities.

The proposed development plans for the aforesaid property includes:

100000 sq. mts. of office, production, commercial, recreation and residential areas

Intelligent Building

24 hours reliable power supply through dedicated substation - 100% back-up through DG sets

Earth station with high bandwidth providing direct connectivity with destinations across the IT City for rapid data transfer

Optical fibers backbone for internet and large volume

Data processing, ISDN and video conferencing with unlimited bandwidth and internet access

2000 line net-based digital telephone exchange expandable to 6000 lines - connected to the central exchange with fiber optical cables

Electronic monitoring system for vigil over fire, air conditioning, water supply, power, elevator and security

Comprehensive security system, fire alarm, fire fighting system, guard patrols, CCTV surveillance and door alarms

Efficient shuttle bus service - to Delhi and other major town

A multi-purpose 1000 seats capacity modem convention center, boardroom for meetings and conferences

Parking  bays

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

Spaze Palazo is ideally located on the 150 m peripheral road in Sector 69, Gurgaon. with a multi pronged approach, Spaze Palazo is accessible through the proposed metro rail corridor and from NH8 through a triple access on the proposed six lane Sohna Road highway and the new semi-circular peripheral link road emanating from the golf course and culminating at NH8. 

For more info log on to http://www.propertycafeteria.com/spaze-palazo-gurgaon.aspx

Sometimes a guarantor is required for a home loan. Many banks insist on one or two personal guarantors. The guarantors are required to meet the norms specified by the bank, which is usually similar to the norms for an applicant. Usually, only individuals can act as guarantors.

The guarantor basically provides a sort of security on behalf of the borrower to the bank, that in case the borrower fails to repay the loan amount or other dues to the bank the guarantor will make good that shortfall. The guarantor has to enter into a Deed of Guarantee where the guarantor agrees to make the payment in the event of the applicant failing to pay the dues by the due dates. A guarantor should satisfy all the norms relating to age and income of a borrower. The guarantor is equally liable to pay the loan in case of default in repayment. Through a guarantor, the bank puts some sort of a moral obligation on the borrower to repay the loan. Relatives may act as guarantors in case the policy of the bank permits it.

The need for a guarantor arises because of the inherent loopholes in the system. The foreclosure laws — laws pertaining to recovery of a loan by disposing off the property in case of default — are not very strong. As such, it is difficult to repossess the property of an applicant in case of default. In order to safeguard its interests and to ensure that the repayment of the loan comes on time, a bank insists on a guarantor. Usually a guarantor may be insisted on for loans above a specific amount, but conservative banks insist on a guarantor irrespective of the loan amount involved. Some require a guarantor in all cases while others insist on a guarantor only if certain criteria are not met by the borrower.

Conditions when a guarantor is required:

·         In the case of a sole applicant

·         If the applicant is residing in a city different from the city where he intends to purchase the property.

·         If the income of the borrower is variable in nature Lack of professional qualifications in a self-employed’s case

·         If the applicant’s job is of a transferable nature

·         If the borrower works in an industry where the likelihood of his going abroad for long is high

·         Absence of a co-applicant to the loan

In future, the guarantor can apply for a loan if he is capable of repaying both the instalments — on the guaranteed loan and his new loan. If his repayment capacity does not make him eligible for another loan, and he wants one for himself, the borrower may have to arrange for a replacement guarantee. This has to be done by releasing the current guarantor and providing the bank with another guarantor who meets all specified norms for a guarantor.

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

The Prestige Group presents their newest real estate development "Prestige South Ridge". Sprawled over 9 acres of sloping greens just off the Ring Road at Banashankari, It is situated on a natural elevation, so that one can experience the panoramic view of the Bangalore city beneath. The project comprises of 5 residential towers of Basement + Ground + Stilt+ 15 - 16 and offers 3 and 4 BHK apartments.

Planned with bright, roomy, well-ventilated apartments, the neatly landscaped gardens dotted with shimmering water bodies and cobbled paths are all an integral part of South Ridge. Additionally the development will also have a clubhouse block having many state-of-the-art facilities like the well-equipped gymnasium to stay fit, swimming pool, children's play area, party hall, health club, space provision for a supermarket etc ensuring every necessity of life in close proximity.

Live beyond your dreams. Take extra good care of yourself so that you can be the best in everything you do, and no wonder! Aaron Ville, from the SS Group, is one of the luxurious hubs where everything comes with the best. Best environs. Best lifestyle. Best ambience, and of course, best location. Its creator, the SS Group, has structured many edifices that have been solidified with their strong values and hardcore commitments. With their core value “Committed to Serve Better,” the Group has artfully structured 20 residential projects, commercial complexes and IT Parks, and many landscapes are still waiting for this real estate icon to transform them in to beautiful landmarks.

Aaron Ville is the domain where you rule life with the power called luxury. Bejeweled with ultramodern outlook and magnificence, it proliferates in an area of approx. 15 acres that offers much breathing space to life. Undoubtedly, Aaron Ville is the other name for luxury, magnificence and splendor.

The country’s second largest state-owned lender, Punjab National Bank (PNB), on Thursday reported a 31.1% growth in net profit at Rs 927 crore in the second quarter ending September. The growth in profit is fuelled by higher interest and treasury income.

PNB said the growth in profit was after making provisions for revised wages. Net interest income grew by 22.4%, while net non-performing assets was reduced to 0.14%.

The bank has initiated steps to buy majority stake in a bank in Kazakhstan, PNB’s first overseas acquisition. “The board today approved acquisition of 63.6% stake in Kazakhstan-based Dana Bank,” PNB’s newly appointed CMD K R Kamath told reporters after announcing the second quarter numbers.

The joint venture would have five branches, he said, adding that the bank would now seek necessary regulatory approvals for operationalisation of the JV. The deal size is expected to be $24 million (about Rs 115 crore). PNB is also looking at setting up a subsidiary in Vancouver, Canada and a joint-venture company in Bhutan. Recently, the bank opened branches in Hong Kong and UK.

Mr Kamath also said PNB expects to complete 26% stake sale in its wholly-owned housing finance subsidiary by December this year. Steps are also underway to merge PNB Gilts with the parent bank, he said.

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

If you are looking at buying property, the time is perfect to invest, for you can get a good deal at reduced rates, say experts

Jaago, yeh hi right time, scream property exhibition advertisements in newspapers. So what if residential real estate prices are going up, a majority of the middle class that aspires to own a home is still taking the plunge. The reason being that homes are still affordable, and also thanks due to availability of funds and rising trust in the borrower. SBI, Deutsche Post Bank, ING Vysya Bank and P&SB are funding up to 80-85% of property value.

It is perhaps the best time to look around for a value purchase in real estate. With lower price points in locations that were not earlier within the affordable range, buyers are scouting for good 'value' bargains at this time. And with developers going big on affordable home launches, the timing may just be one of the best for buyers seeking a steal deal.

The scene has improved with the Reserve Bank of India cutting lending rates to record lows and pumping in unprecedented amount of money into the system.

According to Anoop Pabby, joint managing director of Deutsche Post Bank (home finance), "The economy has improved and the liquidity situation is much better and interest rates have eased off considerably. It is only natural then that home buyers expect the reduced risks to result in reduction in interest rates and relaxation of margin money norms."

The housing finance company is now funding up to 80% of the property value to most salaried people, and 85% in a few cases, depending on the creditworthiness of the borrower. This is more than the 70% it used to lend a few months back.

According to Anshuman Magazine, CMD of global real estate consultancy CB Richards Ellis (CBRE), value buying is happening mostly in suburban locations, as that is where the current supply is. "Certain pockets in Gurgaon and Noida, where the price used to be Rs 65 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore earlier, have deals to offer anywhere between Rs 35 lakh to Rs 50 lakh today! Developers have reduced the total ticket sizes, adjusted area, and price and given amenities. This has got people back and is making them lust for value deals right now."

According to Navin M Raheja, chairman and managing director of Raheja Developers, "Locations such as Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida in Delhi NCR are some of the good locations for value buying. Anything that is available between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per sq ft is the right price depending, of course, upon the location and infrastructural facilities available in the vicinity with specifications offered.

"There are three kinds of value buying that are taking place in the real estate market right now. Ready to move in residential property in and around metros and their suburbs, ready to move in commercial property which is already leased, or generating income and low income and middle income housing ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 40 lakh are the primary types of value purchases," Raheja adds.

On the other hand, lenders such as ING Vysya Bank, and Punjab & Sind Bank have reduced the margin money requirement to 15-20% from 25-30% towards the cost of the home on their home loans, as they try to tap potential homebuyers. This leads to a borrower investing lesser capital than before. G S Vedi, the newly appointed chairman and managing director of Punjab and Sind Bank, said, "Interest rates are likely to harden over the next six months with the credit offtake improving and inflation moving into the positive territory."

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

The improving fundamentals of real estate developers on the back of the real estate price hikes, increased liquidity through QUIPs, real estate asset sales and pre-sales observed over the last few months is not lost on the real estate market. The BSE Realty index, the worst performer of 2008 is up 248 per cent since its March 2009 lows. This indicates that current valuations are not cheap. In a bid to cash in on the real estate recovery, leading realty companies are planning to raise money from the primary realty markets to the tune of over Rs 14,000 crore. This could also suck out liquidity and may cap appreciation of real estate prices of listed scrips, says analysts.

The uptick has however led realty players to increase property prices. Ramnath believes that new properties launched in Mumbai, for example, were offered at 10-15 per cent higher property prices as against their lows in March 2009 quarter. Moreover, real estate developers  are now offering properties without any discount and freebies (such as waiver of stamp duty and registration charges of properties).Says Dutt, “Real estate Developers in key cities have been hiking prices to test the flexibility of the real estate  market. At first, this trend was evident only in the luxury and semi-luxury segments, but it has now percolated down to the mid-income housing segment as well.” A good example is DLF’s Capital Greens project in Delhi. DLF increased its prices at Phase II of this real estate project to Rs 6,750 per square feet in September 2009, which is at a 30 per cent premium to those in Phase I launched in April 2009.

Reverse mortgage is a popular in the West among senior citizens who want to tap their realty 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 real estate 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 real estate 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 realty 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 home loan. A common form of security which a bank insists on is the mortgage of the house for which the home loan is being availed of by the borrower.

Mortgage refers to the transfer of interest in a specific realty property for the purpose of securing either the payment of money advanced or to be advanced by way of home 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 realty 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:- TOI dt:- 17-10-09

Real estate Developers will continue to launch affordable housing projects as this is one way to raise resources to service their accumulated debt, says Prabhakar Sinha

The real estate market may witness an oversupply like condition in the affordable property segment of residential real estate making prices range-bound in times to come.

Though the global financial crisis affected property developers badly, it brought cheer to the middleclass end users as property builders were forced to bring down their property 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 real estate affordable housing in residential real estate in the country. This helped revive realty market and instilled a new confidence among property developers and end users, according to Samir Jasuja, founder CEO of Prop Equity Research.

In order to bring down prices to drive sales, real estate developers cut the rate by lowering specifications and also by reducing the size of property 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 real estate developers even sold their entire realty projects in only a couple of days. This is mainly because real estate developers could successfully convey the impression to property buyers that availability of affordable apartments at prices at which they offered would not last long. This made the realty buyers queue up to buy these affordable apartments.

But as demand rose sharply in this realty category, more and more realty developers launched affordable apartments in the affordable segments and supply increased manifold. According to Jasuja, this realty 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 affordable 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 affordable 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 realty 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 realty, where it is only 25%. As sales in affordable range of apartments picked up, many property 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 realty projects in this affordable housing category resulting in an oversupply in the market, Jasuja says.

Interestingly, as demand picked up and number of transactions increased, many realty developers revised prices upwards, by around 10%. However, property consultants feel price hike is more cosmetic in nature as property developers are giving discounts over quoted prices. Some real estate 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 affordable housing category.

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

But realtors argue the prices are at rock bottom. In most of the areas of NCR, realty developers are selling apartments at 30% to 50% discount to the average price of affordable 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 real estate project itself. However, bankers and property consultants feel that most realty developers are under a huge debt. They need funds to service their debt. As they are not able to raise funds through equity-sell, they have no choice but to launch new real estate projects for the purpose. Therefore, the supply of affordable housings will continue.

As affordable housing is witnessing sales, realty developers are launching them. If the economy revives, demand for affordable housings will further increase. In fact, the requirement of housings in this segment is huge. If the economic growth picks up, the sentiments would improve and influence people to buy houses flats apartments. Besides, a better economic environment enhances financial security. This will also result in an increase in transactions. The prices, however, will remain under pressure for some more time.

Right Move DDA to denotify 230 Colonies; MCD to Take Them Over

Good news for residents of the 230 colonies that were unauthorized till last year.

After staying in limbo for the last three years, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has finally decided to de-notify these colonies in its board meeting held on Monday. Around 8 lakh people live in these colonies.

Till now, these areas were under DDA but post de-notification, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would immediately take over the control of building activities as per building bylaws and provisions of the Municipal Corporation Act.

The proposal will now go to the Union Urban Development Ministry for final approval before it comes into force.

These 230 colonies are part of the 1,436 unauthorized colonies that were regularized by the Delhi government last year. But since they were notified areas under DDA development control, their residents found it difficult to get their building plans sanctioned from DDA.

Besides, these areas were bereft of basic civic amenities like water and electric supply, roads and sewer lines as the MCD and Delhi government provides these basic services. All this will change with MCD taking over control.

"These areas would become developed as the civic agency is responsible for providing and maintaining these services," said a senior DDA official who did not want to be quoted as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Also, once it comes under the MCD's control, it would be the civic agency's responsibility to check that no unauthorized construction and encroachment takes place in these areas.

"We decided to de-notify these areas as they had remained undeveloped for a very long time despite being declared development area," said a senior DDA official.

Also, because of lack of enforcement, these areas had seen a mushrooming of unauthorized construction and development of unauthorized colonies.

"There has also been a persistent demand from various quarters to denotify these areas as the ground reality had changed," he added.

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 15-10-09

Placements May Have Brought In the Much-Needed Funds, But Developers Yet To Weather Slowdown Storm: Crisil

Real estate shares have been star performers since the turnaround in the stock market from March this year. What also boosted the sentiment was the fact that some of the leading names in the sector were able to raise equity funds by qualified institutional placements (QIPs), helping them tide over a severe liquidity crisis. Property developers’ shares suddenly find themselves in a virtuous cycle. The fact that institutional investors are willing to invest in these companies has pushed up stock prices, in turn attracting more investors. While QIPs may have solved short-term concerns of the real estate sector, a strong rebound in demand is imperative if the sector has to recover from the serious miscalculations

Made in the past, says Crisil Research in a note.

Aggressive debt-funded land acquisition had led to severe liquidity crunch among developers during the slowdown, which began in early 2008. QIPs helped improve the liquidity situation of developers and reduced their gearing. However, valuations of realty shares look stretched, as demand for property — residential and commercial — continues to be significantly below peak levels, the note says, adding that the QIP route should not be considered a fund-raising tool, but as the last and undesirable alternative to internal accruals. This is because developers may enjoy better short-term liquidity position, but at the cost of stake dilution. “QIP issuance results in dilution of shareholders’ stake, hence, it is not a preferred mode of raising funds, as a few investors would gain the ability to influence stock prices,” the note says.

Just like developers, equity shareholders also witness dilution in stake after a QIP. However, retail investors experience deterioration in earnings per share and also face the risk of institutional investors exiting their investments in the short term, which may lead to a sharp decline in stock prices. Hence, investors may have been able to earn short-term returns, but the gains are laced with certain risks.

Till October this year, seven real estate players have raised funds through QIP — Unitech (two issues), India bulls Real Estate, HDIL, Sobha Developers, Orbit Corp, Parsvnath Developers and Ackruti City. The promoters of DLF also offloaded some part of their stake to QIBs, but not through QIP, as the existing equity was diluted and no fresh issues were made.

Yet, some industry sources point out that despite its shortcomings; QIPs have their advantages as well.

“Both demand and liquidity is important. If developers are bound by liquidity constraints, they will not be able to complete projects or take up new ones. This will increase demand, and in the process spiral up prices,” said Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj chairman and country head Anuj Puri. “If there is a steady supply of projects, prices will be under check,” he added. The BSE Realty index has been the best performing sectored barometer since early March, rising 241%.

Courtesy:- Et dt:- 14-10-09

Low-cost housing will lead the recovery process, stresses a FICCI survey

Even as the economy picks up and reports speak of crore-plus apartments being sold within hours, `affordable' is still the operative word in the residential property segment, as indicated by figures in a latest FICCI survey report.

According to the report, `Indian real estate: the current scenario', 34 per cent demand in residential realty lies in the Rs 5 lakh-Rs 15 lakh segment; 26 per cent in the Rs 15 lakh-Rs 25 lakh segment; 22 per cent in the Rs 25 lakh -Rs 40 lakh segment; 12 per cent in the Rs 35 lakh-Rs 50 lakh segment; and only 6 per cent demand is for properties priced above Rs 50 lakh.

Parking funds in affordable housing projects has emerged as the safest bet, says the survey, followed by the development of demand based commercial spaces. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the retail segment are expected to be the least preferred asset class to drive the sector towards recovery.

Experts predict a 25-30 per cent renewal in demand in the residential segment by the end of 2009. In contrast, demand in the commercial segment is expected to pick up only after the third quarter of 2010. Till the end of this year, a demand rise of only 10-12 per cent is expected in the retail segment.

Transparency needed

According to the survey, the stimulus packages and interest rate cuts have made it easier for developers to access bank finance.

However, banks are still cautious when it comes to lending and prefer lending to credible developers and for projects that are nearing completion. The developers surveyed feel that transparency in operations could enhance their credibility and bring credit within reach.

While qualified institutional placement (QIP), a process of selective equity issue, has emerged as one of the most popular modes of raising funds in recent times, lack of awareness about real estate mutual funds (REMFs) and the ambiguous policy framework have prevented the funds from really taking off in the Indian market. Issues relating to taxation and exit need to be resolved and the guidelines made clearer for the REMFs to perform better.

Not seeing green

According to the report, the biggest hurdle facing the `green building' concept in India is that of ignorance - about the long-term benefits of such buildings and, as a result, there is resistance to this new practice among builders.

The next major obstacle is the lack of integrated designing and insufficient infrastructure to support green building construction. Bylaws should make it mandatory for developers to adopt sustainable and green methods of development.

Courtesy:-  HT Estates dt:- 10-10-2009

Nouriel Roubini, the high-profile US economist who foresaw the credit crunch, warned that house prices could fall by another 10 per cent, underlining the fragility of America's nascent economic recovery.

Property prices in the US have already dropped by almost a third from their peak, as the crisis spread from lower-paid sub-prime borrowers to engulf the entire housing market. But Roubini said there could still be worse to come -- and added those banks' heavy losses on home mortgages are likely to be repeated in the sliding market for business premises.

"The stress is moving from residential mortgages, that are still in deep trouble, to commercial real estate, where they are just starting to recognize that they're going to have massive, massive losses," he said.

First-time buyers have been helped by an $8,000 tax credit, but this is due to run out at the end of next month.

Roubini's latest warning came despite several pieces of upbeat news from the recession-hit US economy in recent days, including official figures released on Thursday which showed that the pace of job-shedding is beginning to slow.

Fewer workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week than at any time since January -- 521,000, down from 554,000 a week earlier. "The notable downturn in jobless claims shows improving labour market conditions," said Michelle Meyer of Barclays Capital.

Courtesy:- HT Business dt:- 10-10-2009

PRESTIGE ESTATES PLANS RS 900-CR IPO, TO DIVEST 15%

Realty firm Prestige Estates is planning to raise Rs 800-900 cr through an IPO that would see the Bangalore-based company offloading 10-15% stake. Senior investment bankers confirmed the development indicating that the company could get listed by March next.

It is believed that the company has mandated investment banks like Kotak Mahindra Capital and Enam to prepare the road map for the eventual listing.

When contacted, Prestige Estates CMD Irfan Razzak said: “I am unable to comment on the matter at this juncture.” The move, it appears, comes after discussions between Prestige Estates and leading private equity players like HDFC Property Ventures and Singapore’s Temasek, reportedly failed over valuation issues. ET, in its September 7 edition, had spoken of Prestige Estates initiating discussions with these two entities.

The talks were aborted as the Bangalore-headquartered firm was looking at a valuation between $800 million and $1 billion, which the potential PE investors were not willing to fork out.

Started in 1995, Prestige Estates has over 180 developments with a built-up space of 20 million square feet. Prestige Estates joins the ranks of Emmar MGF Land, Lodha Developers and Sahara Prime City all of whom have made a beeline for raising finance through the IPO route. Conservative estimates indicate that real-estate IPOs could easily mop up over $5 billion.

The revival in the stock market since March has incidentally seen a spate of qualified institutional placement (QIP) based offering from realty companies. Unitech, Indiabulls Real Estate and Sobha Developers were some of the listed firms which rose funding through the QIP route.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 12-10-09

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has awarded Delhi’s first slum redevelopment project, worth Rs 500 cr, to a local builder, Raheja Developers, in a move that may see more such projects in the national capital resulting in better living conditions for urban poor and thousands of crores of businesses for builders.

DDA has awarded 5.22-hectare, or 13-acre, project at Kathputli Colony near Shadipur Depot in west Delhi to Raheja Developers for Rs 6.11 cr, a DDA spokesperson said. Under the scheme, the builder pays only Rs 6.11 cr—the bid amount—for the land, but has to build 2,800 homes, of 30 sq meter size each, for existing slum dwellers of Kathputli Colony named after its majority residents of puppeteers and craftsmen. In the bargain, the builder gets for commercial exploitation 10% of the total space slated for 2800 homes and also close to a hectare for high-end residential development. Therefore, the cost incurred in building 2800 homes for slum-dwellers will be offset by the sale of commercial space (office, shops) and high-end houses in the project, while land would come dirt cheap at Rs 6 cr.

DLF has recently sold 1,250 apartments in its Capital Greens project, just 3-4 kilometers from Shadipur Depot at a rate of Rs 5,677 a sq ft. Raheja Developers will have to create temporary accommodation for the slum dwellers at a piece of land close to the project site that will be given by the DDA in a month or two. The builder will be expected to build homes for slum-dwellers within two years of the allotment of the land for temporary accommodation. Usually, slum redevelopment projects offer a very high margin of 70-75% to the developers, mainly because land comes cheap even as projects are fraught with political risks. In Mumbai, developers have to get the consent of 70% of the slum-dwellers and many a time face opposition from political interests as well as voluntary organizations. In Delhi’s Kathputli Colony project, the government has already got slum-dwellers on board. And Navin Raheja, CMD of Raheja Developers, said the project is a ‘loss-making proposition’, but he has taken this up because he is engaged in a social ‘mission’ to help urban poor get homes. He estimates this project to be worth Rs 500 cr.

DDA had invited technical bids for the project over a year ago. Eight developers, including Unitech, HDIL and Raheja, met the technical qualification criteria, but only one of them submitted financial bid early this year amid cash crunch faced by most realty firms.

Unitech, country’s second largest realty firm, declined to comment on why it didn’t submit a bid.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 06-10-09

As part of its strategy to unlock the value of its 1,100 acre land-bank, Patel Engineering plans to foray into the realty business and build commercial and residential property, IT parks and SEZs over the next three years, a top company official said. “The idea is to unlock the value of our huge land-bank which has been lying with us for nearly 30 years,” Patel Engineering Managing Director Rupen Patel said.

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

It is believed Goddess Lakshmi appreciates cleanliness in a house on Diwali and that she visits the cleanest house first. So, get into the act and make your house shine, exhorts Vivek Shukla

With Diwali hardly a fortnight away, have you started ‘mission clean’ of your home or office to appease Goddess Lakshmi? If not yet, don’t delay this important assignment! You’re clean and clutter less space can fetch you huge returns, in case you either rent out or sell it. It is believed Goddess Lakshmi appreciates cleanliness in the house on Diwali — there is also an age-old belief that Goddess Lakshmi visits the cleanest house first.

Lamps are lit in the evening to welcome the Goddess and to light up her path into the house. Now, despite all our claims to modernity in our outlook, we start with the mop and swab at our homes and offices as the festival of lights approaches. However, some property owners don’t make any effort even during Diwali to make their properties neat and clean. Realty experts also strongly emphasize on the fact that properties that are aglow easily fetch better deals for their owners than those that are unclean.

Islam also requires a Muslim to clean his body, his clothes, his house, and the whole community’s living space. According to Khalid Ahmed, an Islamic scholar, Prophet Muhammad said: “Removing any harm from the road is charity (that will be rewarded by Allah).” Khalid says, “While people generally consider cleanliness a desirable attribute, Islam insists upon it, making it an indispensable tenet.” In the real estate, shabby-looking and badly maintained properties fail to attract the attention of prospective buyers and tenants.

Just visit any residential or commercial area, and you will easily find some properties that are spick and span inside out, while there are several others in an active state of neglect. It is really sad that some properties are hugely undervalued due only to the sheer apathy of their owners, who spoil the premium these properties can otherwise command. Unlike the shining and glowing offices and homes, unclean properties look very ominous too.

“It is a well-known fact that many properties suffer due to either sheer irresponsible attitude of their owners or when only the aged owners live in their house and their kids live abroad or elsewhere,” says Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed, CMD of ILD group. Realtors are of the opinion that apart from the fact that houses situated at nice locations like near parks or close to bus stands; the neat and clean houses are liked by one and all. Properties that are given a coat of whitewash at regular intervals, apart from granite polishing, and having nice fixtures in kitchens and bathrooms make a house attractive. And a house with manicured lawns is the most sought after. Even the minutiae matter - like clean switchboards!

Such properties will fetch their owner fabulous returns unlike those that are left to the mercy of god. R K Arora, CMD of Supertech Ltd, says, “It goes without saying that those who care for their houses also get nice returns. But often, in cases of property disputes, houses tend to be neglected and they fall into disrepair. In such a scenario, the disputant parties hardly spend any money on the maintenance part of the house.” Meanwhile, realtors have suggestion for all those who don’t keep their properties neat and clean — even if one were in some financial crisis, they must whitewash the property during Diwali time, or on some such occasion, regularly, if only to keep the price of the establishment intact.

Mahatma Gandhi used to say in his prayer meetings that “cleanliness is next to godliness”. And more often than not, he used to write in Navajivan the importance of cleanliness in our lives. On the issue of our unhygienic habits, Gandhiji strongly emphasized upon observing cleanliness in lavatories, and wrote in Navajivan on May 24, 1925: “I learnt 35 years ago that a lavatory must be as clean as a drawing room. I learnt this in the West. I believe that many rules about cleanliness in lavatories are observed more scrupulously in the West than in the East. The cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing of excreta anywhere and everywhere. I, therefore, believe in the absolute necessity of a clean place for answering the call of nature and clean articles for use at the time, have accustomed myself to them and wish that all others should do the same. The habit has become so firm in me that even if I wished to change it I would not be able to do so. Nor do I wish to change it.”

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 03-10-09

Real estate sector in the country will witness a prolonged and robust demand with the top seven cities accounting for most of it. ET Realty explores this positive development

Real estate sector in the country will witness a prolonged and robust demand. According to a report by global realty consultation firm Cushman & Wakefield, the pan-India residential demand for 2009-2013 could be around 7.5 million units and that for office space at 196 million sq ft. The Cushman & Wakefield India Real Estate Investment report 2009 Survival to Revival Indian realty sector on the path to recovery estimates demand for retail space at around 43 million sq ft while the hospitality sector is expected to see a demand of approximately 6,90,000 room-nights in the same period.

According to Anurag Mathur, MD of C&W, India, though the high growth trajectory of the previous years saw a setback during the global economic slowdown, the inherent strong economic fundamentals, low exposure to debt and state intervention, would help the sector gradually return to the path of recovery and witness robust demand for real estate across sectors.

The pan-India residential demand is estimated to be over 7.5 million units by 2013, across all housing categories, of which 85% is expected in the mid segment and affordable housing segment, the report says. Of the total demand expected across India, 60%, equivalent to 45 lakh units, would be generated in top 7 cities (see chart). Mumbai is expected to witness the highest cumulative demand of 16 lakh units by 2013, followed by the National Capital Region, which is expected to see a demand of 10.20 lakh units in the same period. That means, on an average, every year there will be a demand of two lakh units. This is far than the pecked supply in the area.

According to the report, the demand for housing units will keep on rising year after year. The total demand for the housing units in all the seven cities will rise from 11.96 lakh units in 2009 to 13.32 lakh units in 2010 and to 14.86 lakh units in 2011. The figure will further rise to 16.63 lakh units in 2012 and to 18.64 lakh in 2013. Bangalore and Hyderabad are expected to see the highest compounded annual growth rate of 14%.

Retail sector is expected to see a demand of approximately 43 million sq ft, mostly concentrated in the seven cities. Bangalore would see the highest demand of approximately 6.8 million sq ft however; Pune is expected to record the highest compounded annual growth of 51% for the next five years. The demand for the hospitality sector is expected to see a surge and is expected to be approximately 6, 90,000 room-nights between 2009-2013. NCR and Mumbai are expected to see the highest demand due to the higher volume of business travelers to these cities. Mathur says, While the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games have been the key demand driver for hospitality segment in NCR, the significant expected rise in office demand in the peripheral locations is also likely to play a role is boosting room-night demand. Factors like increase in urbanization, income growth, relatively high disposable incomes are likely to positively impact retail as well as residential demand in the city.

NCR is expected to see the highest demand in the hospitality sector, owing to its growing importance as commercial and political centre. The maximum surge for demand in hospitality is expected to be witnessed in 2010 during the Commonwealth Games. The retail demand is expected to be 66.6 million sq ft by 2013 and the residential demand in the same period is expected to be approximately 10.20 lakh units. Mumbai is expected to see the highest demand for residential space of approximately 16.40 lakh units due to the large scale urbanization. The mid-scale and affordable housing in suburban and peripheral areas will be the focus of this demand. The demand for hospitality in Mumbai is expected to be strong at over 98,500 room-nights, by virtue of the fact that the city is regarded as the financial capital of India and therefore the volume of both domestic and foreign business travelers is expected to grow steadily. Demand for retail is expected to be 6.19 million sq ft.

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

A deal struck last week between one of India’s biggest builders Lodha, its key investor Deutsche Bank and an old associate has paved the way for the realty group to move ahead with the planned initial public offering by its flagship, Lodha Developers.

The deal settles a complicated, pending litigation, which Lodha Developers will now not be required to disclose in the draft red herring prospectus it plans to file this week. It also spares the company from mentioning that there has been a delay in interest payment to Deutsche.

But more interestingly, the agreement reaffirms Deutsche Banks’ right under which, in the event of a default the German bank can take absolute control of the main Lodha subsidiary which owns most of the group’s projects.

This right was questioned by one Vilas Samant, who had earlier dealings with Lodhas. Samant had moved the Company Law Board, seeking to assert his alleged right over 200 shares held by his father in Cowtown Land Development, the concerned Lodha group subsidiary. Deutsche had invested Rs 1,640 crore — the single biggest FDI in the real estate sector — by subscribing to fully convertible debentures issued by Cowtown. These debentures carry an interest, and if Cowtown fails to pay it, Deutsche can convert the debentures to get a 99% stake in Cowtown and other entities floated by Cowtown.

Even though the CLB order was challenged by Deutsche at the Mumbai High Court, the litigations made it difficult for Deutsche to effect a possible conversion of the debentures into shares. This roadblock has now been cleared. Deutsche has also agreed to restructure the terms to give Lodhas more time to make the interest payment.

When contacted by ET, a Lodha spokesperson said, “On Thursday Vilas Samant agreed to withdraw all his claims against Cowtown land Development Pvt Ltd and consent terms were filed to the said effect. This validates Cowtown’s contention that there was no valid claim by Vilas Samant.” The Deutsche spokesperson in India said the bank has nothing to comment on the matter.

Sources said that as part of the new terms, Lodhas has agreed to mortgage two more properties at Walkeshwar, a tony address in South Mumbai, in favour of an institutional trustee which has a back-to-back arrangement with Deutsche. Responding to this, the Lodha spokesperson said, “...the company creates mortgage in favour of various lenders as part of general business practice. However, the arrangement with Deutsche Bank is an unsecured arrangement and hence there is no mortgage created in favour of Deutsche Bank.”

The pivotal aspect of the Lodha group structure is the presence of Deutsche Bank as an investor. While Deutsche subscribed to convertible debentures of Cowtown, the latter in turn reinvested a substantial part of the money by subscribing partly and optionally convertible securities issued by other Lodha group companies. Even though the proposed IPO is being planned by Lodha Developers, the bulk of the group’s projects and land assets are with Cowtown and its subsidiaries. And if Cowtown were by any chance to default, Lodha Developers would lose control of the assets.

It’s in this context that Vilas Samant’s decision to move the CLB had assumed a sudden importance. Mr Samant curiously moved the CLB just weeks before Cowtown was supposed to make an interest payment to Deutsche. The CLB order had put a question mark on the very investment terms between Deutsche Bank and Cowtown. The deal entered into last week puts to an end this uncertainty for Deutsche, which in turn has endorsed Lodha Developers decision to go for an IPO.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 29-09-09

Devyani International, Indian franchisee for global chains Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee, is setting up its own branded restaurant chains across the country and food outlets at airports.

The Rs 250-crore company is planning three restaurant chains under its own brands— Southern Spirit, Curry Republic and Oriental Cuisine—that will serve south Indian, north Indian and Chinese cuisine, respectively.

“The portfolio expansion from serving international cuisine to local food is aimed at broadcasting our business,” said Raj Gandhi, president and group CFO of holding company RJ Corp.

The company recently signed a 60: 40 joint venture with airport operator GMR to set up food outlets at Delhi airport’s international terminal.

The Ravi Jaipuriaowned group is also the biggest bottler of PepsiCo beverages and owns Cream Bell ice-cream.

Devyani has gained sufficient expertise in running food joints after the company set up the first franchisee outlet in January 1997 for Pizza Hut. The company now wants to test waters with its own brands, beginning with Southern Spirit.

“The plan is to set up 100 Southern Spirit restaurants over 4-5 years, starting with the national capital region. Our focus initially will be on Southern Spirit,” said Virag Joshi, CEO of Devyani International, which plans to invest Rs 300 crore across all its brands in the next five years.

These restaurants have been targeted at the mass market, which makes Devyani confident of turning in profits soon. “We feel the timing is right. Beverages sales are at a high, as is the case with PepsiCo. Overall, the economy is on the verge of a recovery,” Mr Gandhi said.

The increasing air travel by Indians presents a lucrative business opportunity at the airports that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Devyani. Even before signing the joint venture with GMR for food outlets at the Delhi international airport, the multi-restaurant chain set up a food court at Delhi airport’s domestic terminal 1D. It will soon open a 24-hour bar at domestic terminal 1C. The food court serves all the group’s brands: Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee specialties, Pepsi-Co beverages and Cream Bell ice-cream.

“The food court is being run as a single entity and serves a combination of our locally-created brands and international ones for which we are the franchisees. We will replicate this model at other airports, malls and other institutional areas,” Mr Gandhi said.

The company has also bid for similar food courts at Jaipur, Amritsar and Chandigarh airports.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 29-09-09

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Some of the country’s largest real estate developers such as DLF, Unitech and HDIL have started hiring again, as they look to launch new projects and speed up execution of existing ones to cash in on a pickup in home demand, reports Sanjeev Choudhary from New Delhi. “We are launching new projects and plan to hire in large numbers,“ said a spokesman for DLF, India’s largest real estate firm that fired more than 300 people during the downturn. Unitech, which has 1,200 people on its rolls, has added 300 employees at different levels in the past few months. Its project sites, where construction had stopped for lack of funds last year, are again humming with activity, a company spokesman said.

Real Estate Cos Start Hiring Amid Signs of Revival

Some of the country’s largest real estate developers such as DLF, Unitech and HDIL have started hiring again, as they look to launch new projects and speed up execution of existing ones to cash in on a pickup in home demand.

“We are launching new projects and plan to hire in large numbers, “said a spokesman for DLF, India’s largest real estate firm that fired more than 300 people during the downturn.

He said the company hired people with specific skills such as mall management even during the crisis. DLF on Tuesday launched a project in Delhi and sold the entire stock of 1,250 apartments in two hours, he said.

The companies expect high demand in the coming fiscal quarters with the economy showing clear signs of a revival in the fiscal year started April 2009. The financial year ended March 2009 recorded 6.7% growth after two bad quarters pulled down annual growth rate from 9% plus levels seen in the previous three years.

Unitech, India’s second-largest property firm that struggled for months to avoid bankruptcy is back in action with two rounds of share sale and a revamped business model. The company, which has 1,200 people on its rolls, has added 300 employees at different levels in the past few months. Its project sites, where construction had stopped for lack of funds last year, are again humming with activity, a company spokesman said.

Unitech had raised $900 million through two rounds of stake sale to qualified institutional buyers to bring down its debt level, which was hovering around Rs 10,000 crore last year. The company also changed its business model and launched homes in the ‘affordable’ category and hired more people to sell directly to customers.

A revival in demand has prompted more firms such as Omaxe, Lodha, Ansal and Gera Developers to launch new projects, while some others like Parsvnath Developers and Prestige group are still playing it safe.

Rohtas Goel, chairman of Delhi based Omaxe, said he hired around 70 people, almost the same number the company had fired last year.

“Much of the hiring will happen at mid-level and in sales and project management. These are the categories where maximum jobs were lost,” said Vivek Gandhi, senior vice-president with Delhi-based Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (API), which plans to hire at least 200 people in three months. He expects salaries to remain at levels marginally lower than those during the peak of boom in 2007.

The years between 2004 and 2007 saw Indian property market booming with hundreds of new projects being launched and property prices going up several folds. The boom and the resultant scramble for talent saw salaries in the sector shooting up.

But a property slump, which started as a result of extremely high property prices and high interest rates early last year, deepened due to the impact of the global recession. This saw companies shelving several projects resulting in mass job losses at several property firms.

“We offered an average 10% salary hike to our staff. The new people too are joining us on a scale similar to our old staff,” said Abhisheck Lodha, director with Lodha group that has hired 80 employees since August. The company, which has a 1300-strong workforce, plans to add 350 more in a year.

Another leading Mumbai-based developer HDIL is also hiring. “We require additional manpower as we are speeding up on execution of existing projects and planning to launch more,” said Sarang Wadhawan, managing director of the company.

However, a few other players such as Delhi-based Parsvnath Developers and Bangalore-based Prestige group are moving cautiously. “We didn’t fire people in the first place and so don’t immediately need to hire new people,” said Prestige group director Uzma Irfan.

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

To Develop 10 lakh sqft In Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai & Mohali

The $2.5-billion Godrej Group has embarked on a strategy aimed at leveraging its strength in three verticals — consumer products, property development and foods. Its property division, which is poised for an IPO by year-end, is trying to cash in on the affordable housing segment.

By moving its manufacturing facilities from prime business locations to Himachal Pradesh and the North East, the group is gearing up to use the now available land banks for property development, its chairman Adi Godrej told reporters here on Friday.

The vacated space would be used to develop both residential and commercial properties. It is developing around 10 lakh sqft in these two segments which are coming up in places like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Mohali. Mr Godrej said Chennai too was on its radar, where the group is seriously evaluating the joint development route.

Anticipating a 20 to 25% growth year on year for his company, Mr Godrej said the group is confident of doubling its turnover every three to four years.

During the last two years, the group has already started re-organizing its business by consolidating some of its businesses and acquisitions. He also sounded upbeat about the economy showing rapid recovery signs.

The Godrej group is also looking at making deeper inroads into the rural market by using technology and introduction of new products in the consumer durable space. It is test-marketing a Rs 3,500 refrigerator (45 l) which would operate on pettier technology compared to the regular compressor. This fridge is capable of keeping products cool though it cannot make ice cubes. The initiative is the second test marketing venture for the product, Mr Godrej said.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 19-09-2009

In a bid to encourage investment in the hospitality sector, the RBI recently notified that hotels be taken out of the high risk category of real estate exposure. This will ensure that banks will give loans to companies at a lower interest rate.

The tourism ministry has been pushing for incentivizing the hospitality industry. A ministry statement said, ‘‘RBI has notified that hotels be taken out of the real estate exposure for banks to those entrepreneurs who themselves run these ventures. This new incentive would enable hotels to avail larger credits at better interest rates, which would help to lower the overall cost of such hotel projects.’’

The tourism ministry had taken up with the finance ministry and the RBI earlier this year to accord infrastructure status to hotel projects and provide fiscal amenities for creation of additional hotel room capacity to meet the surge in demand in the sector.

The hotel segment of the tourism industry is highly capital intensive in nature and has a long gestation period. India is facing a shortage of good quality accommodation for both international as well as domestic tourists.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 16-09-09

Max City Developers brings to you state of-the-art architectural and engineering excellence called "Park Sapphire". Strategically located, just 2 km east of Delhi (Anand Vihar) in an integrated township spread over 100 acres of Ramprastha Greens in the very heart of Vaishali, the project has three high-rise 15-storey towers with luxurious two and three bedroom apartments and penthouses. The construction is in full swing with December 2010 the project completion time.

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

Residential markets are stabilizing in major parts of the country, while residential rentals are seeing corrections, says a report

The second quarter (April-June) of 2009 brought some stability in the residential markets across the major cities of India. Markets such as NCR, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad remained largely stable while some micro markets in Mumbai registered marginal growth, says a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

The residential rental market on the other hand saw some correction in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad as well as NCR, of which Bangalore witnessed the maximum drop in values ranging from 2-24 per cent across categories and locations. Hyderabad Kolkata and NCR witnessed marginal correction in rental values with a few micro markets also holding steady during the period. Mumbai and Chennai residential rental markets remained stable over the previous quarter.

Positive steps by the government in controlling lending rates, subsidies for low cost and affordable housing sector and general economic stability has led to a slow but steady revival of demand in the residential sector, especially from the end-user sector. With residential values eroded to levels as existed three-four years ago, most end-users have been viewing this as their best opportunity to enter the market. The developers' focus on 'affordable' or low-cost housing, too, is attracting the end-users.

However, there is still apprehension in terms of whether developers would be able to complete projects on time. Thus, only reputed developers have actually been able to take advantage of this development. In the interim, the secondary sales market has seen heightened activities where current owners are able to command reasonable prices, the report says.

Mumbai residential has seen a spike in demand as a result of which capital values have seen stability. There has been a rise in demand in the mid range segment, especially in the suburban locations, which has led to an increase in values in these locations. The high-end market has registered marginal correction however; it was not very profound as in the previous quarters.

Supply for new ready-to-move-in apartments has been constrained due to slowdown in construction activities while there is an improvement in demand.

The residential markets in NCR are likely to be at the trough with minor price adjustments anticipated in the short term. Renewed interests from end-users have been witnessed with the launch of several projects catering to the affordable segment in the suburban locations. Capital values are, however, likely to remain stable in the short term due to improved sentiment.

In Chennai, the capital values for the residential properties in the key residential locations have stabilized over the past few months.

This is mainly due to the launch of various projects by leading developers by offering discounted prices along with the regional players who have come up with several projects within the city limits. However, high-end developments in Boat Club and Poes Garden have proved to be exceptions in Chennai registering a minor correction in the range of 5-6 per cent. These locations are likely to correct further in the short term.

The property prices in Kolkata residential market across all categories exhibited no major fluctuations during July 2009.

High end segment in Ballygunge, Queens Park, Rainy Park, Gurusday Road, Alipore Park Rd, Ashoka Road, Belvedere Road and EM Bypass have already attained significant corrections. The market recorded interest from end-user driven segment in anticipation of a spurt in the property prices in the near future.

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

Project Name                           The Villa

Name of Builder                       Unitech Ltd.

Project Type                            Villas

Price                                        As below

Location                                   Sector - 33 & 48, Sohna road, Gurgaon

Agent                                       Shri Aditya Estates
42470622, 9810445860

Home Specifications

Universal

Structure                                  Earthquake resistant structure

Flooring of Flats

Living/Dining                             Marble

Bed Rooms                              Laminated wooden flooring

Domestic Help Room               Ceramic tiles

Kitchen & Toilets                     Ceramic tiles

Lobby/Lounge              Marble

Balconies & Terrace                 Ceramic tiles

Staircase                                  Stone/wood

Wall Finish

Internal                                    Choice of acylic emulsion on PoP base, ceilings in oil bound distemper

Domestic Help Room               Oil bound distemper

External                                    Texture paint finish and accent stone cladding; painted steel trellis; slate/mangalore roof tiles for sloping roofs  

Kitchen         

Dado                           Ceramic tiles till 600mm height above counter level on all walls in villas

Fittings             Working platform surface in granite with recessed double bowl sink and drainer in villas 

Toilets

Dado                Select Ceramic tile upto ceiling

Fittings              White sanitary fixtures, single lever CP fittings, 5 fixtures bathrooms for master bedroom. Other bedrooms with 3/4 fixtures bathroom in villas  

Doors

Main Entry       Seasoned hardwood frames with European style moulded shutters

Internal             Seasoned hardwood frames with European style moulded shutters

Ironmongery                 Brush stainless steel handles and latches

Windows / External      Doors Powder coated/ anodised aluminium frame with glazed shutters  

Balconies & Terraces

Handrail           Toughened glass infill stainless steel handrail in selected area

Glass                6 mm toughened glass to enhance security

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

Project Name                           Spaze Buziness Park

Name of Builder                       Spaze Towers Pvt.Ltd.

Project Type                            Commercial Project.

Price                                        As below

Location                                   Sector-66, Gurgaon

Agents                                      Shri Aditya Estates
42470622, 9810445860

Ground & First Floor -:            Corporate Retail space
Minimum Area 0n Ground Floor Corporate Retail space is 550 sq.ft (Approx.)
With an average size of floor plates measuring 50,000 sq.ft (Approx) each.
2nd to 10th floor (approx.) -: Office space
Minimum Area 0n Commercial Offices space is 1000 sq.ft (Approx.)
With an average size of floor plates measuring 18,000 - 20,000 sq.ft. each

Price-List

Type                Inaugural discount                     BSP Per sq.ft.              Final Price

Ground Floor   Rs. 260/- Per sq.ft.                   6250 /- Per sq.ft.          Rs. 5990 /- per.sq.ft

Office Space    Rs. 200/- Per sq.ft.                   4950 /- Per sq.ft.          Rs. 4750 /-per.sq.ft

Payment Schedule for Office Space

On Booking                  Rs. 5 Lac (At the time of Booking)

Within 60 days             20 % of BSP (less amount paid at the time of registration)

On start of the Excavation work at Site             7.5 % of BSP

"These are investors who are taking an opportunistic view of the situation where prices have corrected considerably in many locations," says Sanjay Dutt, CEO business at Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM). He estimates that a good 40 percent of the stock sold in the last few months would have gone to investors. In Delhi-NCR, this figure might be higher at 50 percent. "Investors are back in good numbers and before the curve goes up, they want to buy. Some who have bought are already hoping to book profits during this Diwali," he adds. This could be a precursor to further improvement in investor sentiments, since investors would take this as a sign to look towards a sustainable run in the future.

Investors took flight from the residential real estate market when the market crashed last year and many have been shy of venturing back. The last few months though have seen a number of affordable launches at price points, which have stimulated the market. Most developers have launched mid come housing in the Rs 20-40 lakh range, which has created a movement. While the short-term investor is there, quite interestingly, a good number of the investors are medium to long-term investors. "These investors are flocking to real estate business because of the lack of other investment opportunities in the market at the moment," says Ajit Krishnan, partner, real estate practice at audit firm Ernst and Young who feel the trigger for these investors was the drop in price points in the residential segment in the last eight months.

Courtesy:- ET Realty dt:- 11-09-09

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that the US recession "is very likely over" technically but that the economy may remain weak for some time.

Bernanke said the economy is likely to show growth in the third quarter after a slump that began in late 2007. "Even though from a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time as many people will still find that their job security and their employment status is not what they wish it was," he said. "So that's a challenge for us and policymakers going forward."

Bernanke said that there is "agreement among the forecasting community at this point that we are in a recovery," and that growth is occurring in the third quarter and will continue into 2010.

"But the general view of most forecasters is that the pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate, less than you might expect given the depth of the recession because of ongoing headwinds," he said.

Bernanke said that activity outside the regulated banking system — the so-called shadow banking system — appeared to be reviving even though that sector may be less important than before the recession. He said he saw "encouraging" signs in securitization — the repackaging of loans that are sold to investors — even in areas not supported by the Fed.

"I imagine that the shadow banking system, at least in the medium term, will not return to the size it was before," he said. "There are a lot of securitizations that have proved their viability — mostly plain-vanilla securitizations of various types, in consumer products, lending, student loans, a variety of other things.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 16-09-09

Homebuyers in North India have traditionally preferred flats that are located between the <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/emerald-estate-gurgaon.aspx”>ground and fourth floors,</a> says Vivek Shukla

Hardcore Mumbaikar Zafar Iqbal, an ex-IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, who came to the capital recently on a special three-year assignment with a wellknown industrial group of Maharashtra was surprised to see people in Delhi and NCR still preferring to live up to fourth floor, in contrast to Mumbai, where people prefer top floors of highrise buildings.

Realtors say there is no pan-Indian thinking as far as preference for floors are concerned. But given a choice, North Indians definitely opt to live on or below the fourth floor. However, new generation North Indians are beginning to buy flats on fifth floors and above as well.

Sources in realty sector say <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/”>lowrise independent floors launched by many builders</a> in the last couple of months have sold like hot cakes. This is quiet evident from the success of the lowrise floors launched by builders like BPTP, Emaar MGF, SRS, Era, etc.

It may be recalled that <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/bptp.aspx”>BPTP started lowrise-floor project</a> in the Elite

Park Floors in Faridabad; Emaar MGF in Emerald Floors on Golf Course

Extension Road in Gurgaon, and SRS & Era in Naharpar, Faridabad. These floors are delivered much faster by developers — in approximately 18-24 months, as against 36-month norm in case of a highrise. The cost of independent floor is also lower.

According to a spokesman of Integrated Pan Realty Solutions, even in these G+2 independent floors, buyers prefer ground or first floor. This forced BPTP to make allotments by the draw of lot. Emaar MGF charged High PLCs for ground and first floors.

On the other hand, Devender Gupta of Century 21 India says that during his long career in the field of realty, he has observed that those who travel and have even been abroad are comfortable with even top floors of tall buildings. Even if they are from this part of the country, they do not care much for ground floor. “If a youngster is <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/bptp.aspx”>buying a house</a> and his parents also live with him, then he would prefer ground to fourth floor for the convenience of his parents,” he says.

Nikhil Sehgal, an engineer with a foreign airline, says he lived with his parents in a house in Kamla Nagar before marriage, but after that he purchased a sixth floor flat in a group housing society in Mayur Vihar. “I was not sure whether I would adjust in that flat but later things started settling down. I am happy there with my wife and kids. My parents also stay with me. They wanted me to buy a ground or first floor flat,” Nikhil says with a smile.

Realtors also say despite greener areas in <a href=“ http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/bptp.aspx”>high-rise apartments, high-speed lifts, and underground parking,</a> most buyers prefer lowrise independent floors. Even in the case of highrise apartments, most of the north Indian buyers prefer lower floors, up to the fourth or fifth floor.

These are in such obvious demand from buyers that BPTP had to increase the number of apartments — from 500 to over 3000 apartments. Emaar MGF had many waitlisted aspirants, who are now looking at options available in the resale market from original allottees.

While not denying categorically about this phenomenon, Sunil Jindal, CEO of SVP builders, says it is a fact that people still prefer either independent houses or flats up to the third floor. Things, nevertheless, are certainly changing. Even North Indian youngsters opt for flats on the higher floors. “What I have observed is that as a very large number of youngsters from north Indian cities have started shifting to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and even abroad, in order to pursue their careers, their approach to various issues change. Then, they do not insist upon houses on either ground or first floor — they happily settle for houses even on top floors of buildings,” Jindal says.

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

While Jinnah and his understudy, Liaquat, moved over to Pakistan after the Partition in 1947, they left behind palatial properties in Mumbai, Delhi and Karnal, which cost a bomb on current market rates, says Vivek Shukla

While the book on M A Jinnah by Jaswant Singh generated a lot of heat and kicked up a great deal more dust in political as well as intellectual circles, somehow, most people missed out a curious fact about Jinnah, and his deputy in the Muslim League, Liaquat Ali Khan, both of whom left huge properties in India. In terms of valuations of their properties in present context, they must be costing close to Rs 700 to Rs 750 crore.

Jinnah had one house each in the most exclusive areas of both Mumbai (then Bombay) and in New Delhi. While he sold off his 10 Aurangzeb Road mansion in New Delhi before he left for Pakistan in the aftermath of Partition, Jinnah chose not to sell the house on Malabar Hill in Mumbai. This house was designed along European architectural lines and Jinnah’s estranged daughter Dina, claimed that house many times after the demise of her father in 1948, but Indian government never accepted her claim over the property. Pakistan, too, has been asking for the custody of the house of their founding father to start their Mumbai consulate - Indian government rejected this request too.

Mumbaikar Zafar Iqbal, an ex-IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, says that considering the prime location it is located, Jinnah house is a gold mine. It would cost not less than Rs 125 crore at today’s prices, he says.

Delhi’s Jinnah house has not been so fortunate and unlike the Jinnah House in Mumbai, this has never been in news. Jinnah’s visits to Delhi and northern India increased in frequency after 1940, when the Muslim League demanded a separate state for Indian Muslims. Before he purchased the Delhi house, he used to stay either at Hotel Maidens or Imperial Hotel, instead of staying with some of his party leaders.

It is said Jinnah was not very keen on having a house in Delhi, to begin with. But after some of his close Muslim League colleagues, including Liaquat Ali Khan, persuaded him to have one here, he purchased the 10 Aurangzeb Road house. In fact, many Muslim League leaders also convinced him that as he would have to visit Delhi to meet and organize the Muslims, he must have a house of his own here. Altaf Hussain, editor of The Dawn, the organ of Muslim League, used to stay here. The Dawn, during those days, used to be published from Darya Ganj.

However, before departing for Pakistan, Jinnah, who belonged to Islamia Khoja community of Gujarat, sold this house to Ram Krishna Dalmia for less than Rs 3 lakh - a very big sum in 1947. Realty experts say the current price of 10 Aurangzeb Road would not be less than Rs 200 crore. The likes of Laxmi Mittal and K P Singh of DLF now have huge mansions on this road.

And from the exclusive Aurangzeb Road, Tilak Lane is also not very far away. Liaquat Ali Khan used to live with his wife, Gul-e-Rana, who taught English in IP College, Delhi University. Liaquat Ali Khan, who later became the first prime minister of Pakistan, had huge properties in both Delhi and Karnal. Unfortunately, he too could not dispose of his house while going to the county, which he helped create. Indian government later handed over the house to Pakistan government, which is now used as the official residence of their Delhi-based high commissioner.

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

Documents checks for freehold properties are simpler

Many of you must be finalising property deals as the auspicious festive season approaches and don't of course need to be reminded that the papers for residential properties in freehold areas have to be thoroughly scrutinised before you take the final call on the purchase.

The good news is that the paperwork check for residential properties in freehold areas is relatively simpler than that of leasehold areas.

Leasehold properties come under the purview of land owning agencies, be it the Land and Development Office (L&DO) or the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) entered into lease with the buyer, generally a perpetual lease for 99 years. The lease is considered to be an agreement between the President of India as the lessor and the person allotted the land, called the lessee.

Another category of the leasehold property includes those that were earlier leasehold but were converted to freehold by the property owner after paying the prescribed charges to the authorities.

The conversion from leasehold to freehold was made possible when the government in the 1990s allowed for the conversion on payment of specified fees to the land owing agency. But even as the rules permitted conversion of land type not everyone grabbed the opportunity. This was mainly for two reasons. One was that not everyone wanted to pay the conversion charge. Secondly, under the rules the conversion is of the land and therefore it would be the entire property on that land that would then become freehold. There were problems then in homes or buildings with different owners of different floors. Even if one or two of the owners are interested, the others were not willing to pool in for paying their share of the conversion charge.

Buyers of residential property should now first check if it is freehold or leasehold. Then go through the papers. For freehold check the title deed. In case it is a second sale then check the sale deed.

If the property has been bought by a private coloniser then look for the sale deed between that company and the owner. Also ensure that you get the copy of the building plans and check if the same has been cleared by the concerned civic agency, the latest property tax bill duly paid as also the water and electricity bills.

For leasehold property check the leasehold document be it that of the DDA or the L&DO, the building plans with due clearance, water and electricity bills paid up to date. In case the property was earlier leasehold and later made freehold an important document to check is the Conveyance Deed issued by the land-owning agency. The Conveyance Deed is given to the owner by the land-owning agency as an ownership document when he converts the leasehold property to freehold.

Do make it a point to check whether the property, even if it has sanctioned building plans, has been made as per plan. If any extra construction work has been done, and not according to what is authorised then this could mean either a demolition of unauthorized construction or at least regularisation by the authorities on payment of specified charges and necessary paperwork.

It is not easy to run checks on property papers. The best and easiest way is to entrust the document check exercise to a lawyer specialising in such checks as he would also have the property records verified in the land-owing agency offices. No doubt these lawyers charge a fee, but it is well worth it. The other way is to verify the documents in the land owing agency oneself, but getting information in most offices is not easy and officials don't take much interest.

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 05-09-2009

An overwhelming 79 per cent feel that the realty sector has revived in the last three months, says a report

The last nine months (September '08 to May '09) have been extremely challenging for the Indian realty sector. The meltdown affected the sector, including builders and property seekers. While builders were unable to raise capital for their projects, property seekers were deferring purchases due to job uncertainty and doubts about future earnings prospects.

Over the last three months (June '09 onwards) the scenario has taken a positive turn and the sentiments in the property market are echoing some initial signs of revival. According to the report `The Real Picture', conducted by, a realty portal, in leading metros and Tier II cities of India, an overwhelming 79 per cent of national respondents feel that the sector has revived in the last three months, 11 per cent are still waiting for the market to boost further and another 10 per cent are unsure if the segment has improved.

The study was carried on the portal between August 11, 2009 to August 20, 2009 and saw participation from over 3271 brokers / realtors, nationally. Most of the respondents who participated in the survey belonged to the age group of 26 - 35 years.

Signs of revival

The recovery in the sector can be attributed to the steps taken by the government to infuse liquidity and reduce interest rates on home loans, thereby encouraging people to invest in real estate. Clear signs of an economic revival have boosted property seekers' confidence.

Respondents across cities believe that the Indian property market is on its way to recovery. The scenario is echoed in both metro and non-metro cities, as a majority of the respondents agree that the property market has improved both in case of sentiments and transactions; although respondents from Bangalore and Chennai seemed less optimistic about this recovery.

Affordable housing ­ the need of the hour

Realtors across the country are experiencing a high demand in the sub-40 lakh segment, 66 per cent of the respondents confirm that majority of homebuyers today want to buy houses in this segment. The the same time, 26 per cent of those who participated in the survey received enquiries for houses within the range of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 75 lakh.

Respondents in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai feel that maximum demand for property is in the under Rs 40 lakh segment. However, there exists a sizeable demand for the mid-segment (Rs 40-75 lakh). The luxury segment (above Rs 75 lakh) continues to have few takers. Among the metros, Bangalore has the maximum demand (75 per cent) for affordable homes followed by Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi with 65 per cent, 53 per cent and 52 per cent demand in the segment, respectively.

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 05-09-2009

Lower home loan rates, property price cuts, apartment downsizing and a recovery in the job market have helped to increase demand for residential projects. On showing interests by buyers, developers and builders have launched many new affordable projects across the cities. During early period of this year, interest in properties were being shown by business class and professionals whereas service class was not showing any interest owing to risk of job layoffs. Now on diminishing the risk of job layoffs, service class has also started showing interest in properties. Low property price is another aspect which has attracted the service class to real estate sector leading to a strong revival in demand for residential apartments.

With the return of liquidity to the real estate sector in form of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), QIPs and bank loans in recent months, the financial position of realty players has started improving. Motivated by this, the developers and builders have started launching new affordable apartments to boost the real estate sector.

RBI has relaxed certain norms for realty companies. Loans granted by banks to housing finance companies for further lending to individuals for purchase/construction of dwelling units, may be classified under the priority sector if the loan amount granted is less than Rs 20 lakh. Priority sector lending attracting lower rate of interest will boost real estate sector.

Price reduction by 20-40% depending on project location and reduction in apartment size have brought a greater section of buyers into the fold. The increasing demand has induced many builders and developers to launch many new projects. The new launch tally is on increase. Downsizing apartments has reduced the cost of dwelling units by 50% enabling a lower segment of society to select a house at a better location or at the same location but at a lower cost. Cheaper home loans have further attracted more and more home buyers.

All these aspects have shown signs of recovery in real estate sector.        

With the intensifying competition and the difficult market condition, the real estate agent should always strive to improve himself. There are too many strategies and ways for improvement as an agent. Followings are the effective strategies that a striving real estate agent should adapt :  

1. Success should be the motto : It is imperative you learn to envision your very own success for you to be able to become truly successful. Many other real estate agents find it easier and more engaging to identify things they dislike the most about themselves or about the situation. Doing so is only creating bubbles of negativity. When this happens, even more negativity is drawn in. If he has been into this practice, it is the right time to end this vicious cycle once and for all.

2. Have good and effective business plan : Being an agent is like being a business owner. Treat your profession like a business so you could spell success correctly. You have to invest in self improvement and learn many new tricks and ideas about the real estate selling. Do not stop to find and learn ways to create good and working business plans. Yes, as a real estate agent, you should also have business plans that you should adhere to.

3. Own good marketing team : The real estate industry is a cutthroat one. You have to gain and be ahead in terms of exposure so you could always attain necessary attention and support from prospective buyers and clients. Spend time, energy, and capital to market your real estate business well.

4. Be innovative : when establishing and trying out new ideas. New ideas and new techniques could provide an edge to any real estate agent. Take note that there is always a constant stream of innovative and new information, resources, and tools that are aimed at equipping real estate agents with the necessary aid to success. Be willing to try them, be revolutionary, and be enthusiastic in doing things less conventionally.

5. Be yourself : Many real estate agents fall to the pitfalls of putting on an ideal persona just to be able to impress client and sell properties. Customers are smart. They could always tell when an agent is putting on a show. This is a real turn off to them. If you want to be more impressive and effective in selling properties, it is best if you could be sincere, be genuinely helpful, and most of all be yourself. In no time, the industry would appreciate you for doing so. 

Developers Jack Up Prices In Mumbai & NCR; Move Likely To Dampen Demand

With residential property buyers gradually returning to the market, especially in key regions like New Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) and Mumbai, realty prices in these areas have moved up 10-15%. While some developers have increased prices across projects, others are doing it on a project-specific basis.

Industry trackers say the hike in prices could result in demand moving southwards. Realty fund Kotak Investment Advisors’ director, Vikas Chimakurthy, said, “There was a substantial demand, especially in the mature markets, after prices dropped a few months ago. Today, potential customers are not willing to buy properties at these (higher) prices.”Developers, meanwhile, confirmed the decision to hike prices. “We have increased prices across all our properties by 10%. It is not much and is the result of the improved market conditions,” said Abhishek Lodha, director, Lodha Developers, a Mumbai-based company that has projects in and around the city.

Delhi, like Mumbai, is witnessing a hike in prices of realty projects. DLF, the country’s largest real estate company by market capitalisation, is one of those whose properties will be dearer. “Yes, there has been a price increase though it is still limited to some projects nearing completion,” said DLF executive director Rajeev Talwar.

How long these prices will hold out is hard to determine. “Mumbai and some parts of New Delhi have been witnessing some rise in price and it will be interesting to see if these prices are sustainable. In other markets like Bangalore, supply still exceeds demand,” said real estate consultant Saffron Asset Advisors managing director Ajoy Veer Kapoor.

As realty gets pricier, there has been concern among buyers about whether this is purely on account of the economic scene improving or due to builders reaching an understanding among themselves. Though prices have not reached the 2007 levels, the hike has been enough to make buyers think twice. “We are still a while away from the 2007 levels, which could take two more years. In our case, we have increased prices by around 5% for our projects and are hopeful of a recovery by the end of this year,” said Hiranandani Constructions managing director Niranjan Hiranandani.

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

In a providential turn of events, the global economic slowdown has provided end users a unique opportunity to buy their long cherished 'sweet homes' as prices in many pockets in the National Capital Region have fallen steeply. In particular, apartments in the new launches are now available in some markets at almost 50% of the prevailing price a couple of years ago. The average price in Gurgaon has fallen by almost 30% and in Noida by over 15% since 2007. Samir Jasuja, founder CEO of realty research firm PropEquity, says prices have fallen to the prevailing levels of 2005.

The impact of global slowdown on the Indian residential real estate market was most visible during the second half of 2008 with sale of apartments and villas almost coming to a grinding halt. Particularly, in the third quarter, between October and December 2008, the total number of new units sold in Gurgaon came down to an all time low of 256, as shown in the chart. According to PropEquity, by June 2009, Gurgaon had an unsold supply of 17,680; Ghaziabad had 17,028, and Faridabad 11,026. Interestingly, the unsold supply in Noida and Greater Noida is very low as developers effected a sharp price correction.

As absorption levels fell sharply, developers not only deferred launch of new projects but also delayed the construction of ongoing ones as well. Jasuja said India witnessed a significant nationwide drop in the residential real estate supply statistics as many developers adopted a cautious approach and deferred all plans for new launches. But the sluggish sale increased their inventories, which put extra financing burden on them. With rise in interest rates, developers found themselves in dire straits and were forced to adopt strategies to lure end users to the market.

In fact, property prices trebled in many micro-markets in the last five years, taking them out of the reach of common buyers. At the same time, with rise in interest rates, the financing cost had also gone up substantially, which pushed investors completely out of the market. According to Jasuja, in the second half of 2008 there was another paradigm shift that developers were quick to notice - the market had transformed from an investor driven one to an end user dominant one. Therefore, developers had no choice but to change their strategy in favour of constructing affordable houses in the country, and in the NCR in particular. Recognising that end users were seeking homes that were affordable, developers altered their product portfolio and launched affordable housing across India to revive demand

Courtsy : ET REALTY DATED 21.08.09

Larger-than-expected improvements in U.S. housing prices and consumer confidence on Tuesday lent new weight to signs the economy is emerging from the longest and deepest recession since the 1930s.

U.S. home prices rose for the second month in a row in June, according to a closely watched S&P index, and consumer confidence jumped in August.

In addition, President Barack Obama nominated Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, removing some niggling doubt from investors' minds as the decision promised a consistent approach to monetary policy in the years ahead.

The developments helped buffer the blow of projections for the U.S. budget deficit to reach its highest level in 2009, relative to the total economy, since World War 2. "The recession appears to be over, with consumer attitudes lagging behind broad economic developments," said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics in Danville, California.

Major U.S. equities indexes climbed to new 2009 highs on the day's events, while bond prices fell as signs of a resurgent economy reduced interest in safer investments.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said consumer confidence climbed to a reading of 54.1 in August from 47.4 in July, handily outpacing forecasts, on an improved outlook for the job market and the overall economy.

The rise sent the index to its highest level since May. Still, some analysts warned not to get carried away. "Confidence remains well below its historical average of 95 and it has not even regained the level of 61 seen before the collapse of Lehman almost a year ago," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

The weak labor market remains a sticking point to recovery, and especially a revival in consumer spending. Even the Fed has conceded the likelihood of a "jobless recovery," with the unemployment rate staying high long after growth resumes.

Americans saying that jobs were "hard to get" in August dropped to 45.1 percent from 48.5 percent but those saying jobs were plentiful were just 4.2 percent.

"Most of the strength was in the 'expectations' component, so it looks like even though the near-term conditions are still a bit rocky, there is hope for the future," said Kim Rupert, managing director, global fixed income analysis, Action Economics LLC in San Francisco

Other data supporting recovery hopes came from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index, with prices of U.S. single family homes rising by 1.4 percent in June from May, after creeping up by 0.5 percent in April.

The data gave fresh evidence that the three-year housing slump is finally easing. The housing market is considered a critical component to a broad economic recovery.

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 26-08-09

Are Indian REITs ready to make a mark or are they losing business to those from overseas markets? Kamlesh Pandya analyses

In a scenario where real estate is becoming out of reach for small investors, to invest and reap profits, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a good way for the investor class to invest in the sector. It also benefits developers, as more funds are pumped into real estate. REITs/REMFs offer an innovative option for investors to buy and trade shares in the real estate sector and collect dividends from capital appreciation and rental incomes, explains Atul Modak, head, Kohinoor City Project.

REITs are generally classified into three broad categories - equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. "The best benefit of REITs is fast and easy liquidation of investments in the real estate market, unlike the traditional way of disposing real estate," he explains. However, it is important to have proper regulation and utilisation of these funds and total transparency in the whole process. For REITs to be a success and contribute to the growth of the economy, initial tax sops to the investors and REITs will be helpful, he feels.

REITs in the Indian scenario, are yet to take off, says Ashok Kumar, principal and managing director, CresaPartners India. "Certainly, we are losing out on such opportunities to overseas REITs, as it does not seem to be a priority for the government," he regrets. The real estate sector in India is still complex and the regulators have to fix a lot of policies and valuation issues, in advance, for REITs to become functional, he adds. "If one considers the union budget 2009-10, there was no mention about FDI in real estate or REITs and REMFs. However, we hope that the FM will announce some relief for the sector, post the budget," adds Kumar.

Realtor Bharat Mailk points to a paper, 'Indian REITs: Are We Prepared', by the ASSOCHAM and CRISIL and says that REITs in India would have the potential to hold at least five per cent share of the total global real estate market, by 2010. The size of this global market would touch US $ 1,400 billion, according to the paper. "According to the paper, by 2010, REITs alone would hold a market size of US $ 70 billion of the total real estate market, as the concept is gaining ground in countries like India and other developing nations," he says, laying out the statistics. In the Indian context, REITs can help provide an exit route for developers, to revolve funds more efficiently. It will also provide opportunities to retail investors to participate in the real estate sector and provide asset diversification to corporate investors, besides building a vibrant secondary real estate market, adds Malik.

REMFs are the Indian version of the international REITs, adapted to the Indian mutual funds platform, explains Shobhit Agarwal, joint MD (capital markets), Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. "In the current context, while everybody is now working on entry and creating assets, the important question of who will buy these assets to provide an exit to the developers / investors needs to be addressed,'' he points out. The leveraging allowed in the case of Indian REITs is the lowest (at 20 per cent of the value), compared to 35 per cent in the case of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan and 200 per cent in the case of Korea. This could result in a lower yield and because it is not really leveraged, the risk taken is also more," he cautions.

Mihir Dhruva, CEO of Siddharth Group is of the opinion that REITs should be more preferred by the 'low-risk, low-return' investor segment. "Sentiments, which contributed significantly to the depressed market in FY 08-09 are now reversing," says Dhruva. "This has been reflected in reports coming from different cities, showing revival of real estate transactions and REITs should have a positive response as a result," he concludes.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 31-08-09

After successful phase 1, co to build 350 low-cost houses in kundli

Delhi-based realty firm TDI is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore to build lower priced homes in the national capital region in the next three years, a senior company executive said.

“The demand for homes is coming back slowly,” said TDI managing director Kamal Taneja, adding that the company was focusing on lower priced homes to attract buyers. TDI, which has its real estate projects spread over Delhi, Kundli and Panipat in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab, recently launched 350 residential units in Kundli and claims to have sold all of it in just a month. The company is now planning to launch another 350 homes over the weekend in Kundli, around 35 kms from central Delhi. The 900-sqft independent floor homes will be priced between Rs 16.50-19.50 lakh. The company will invest around Rs 1,000 crore to build a total of 700 homes in Kundli over the next three years, Mr Taneja said.

TDI has tied up with architectural firms Drew Dickson Associates of Australia and HO Partners of Hong Kong for development of its 1600-acre Kundli township. Following a revival in the capital market, many listed real estate companies, including Unitech, HDIL and Sobha, have raised funds via QIP, while some other unlisted firms such as Lodha Developers and Emaar MGF, are lining up their initial share sale. But Mr Taneja says the market is still volatile and an IPO is not on the cards for TDI immediately.

He says his company is relatively less leveraged and doesn’t intend to go in for any private equity deals either immediately and would focus on selling homes to raise cash. “There is very little private equity money available and there are too many developers chasing it. Also, private equity investments made these days are actually debt structured as equity,” he says, explaining why he is not excited about getting PE fund infusion in his company.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 21/08/2009

In a move to bring relief to property buyers and make transactions hassle-free, Haryana government has introduced a people-friendly scheme for depositing stamp duty at State Bank of India counters by substituting stamp papers.

State revenue secretary Urvashi Gulati says that under the new scheme, an executant will have to deposit the amount of stamp duty at authorized counters of SBI branches after filling the requisite challan form in triplicate.

The bank will then issue a receipt on specially designed security paper, duly signed by an authorized officer for the amount deposited. The bank would charge nominal service charges ranging between Rs 20 and Rs 1,000 based on the value of stamp duty leviable, she added. Gulati says the depositor has to then paste this receipt on the deed that is to be produced for registration and present the same before a competent authority where the registration officer would accept the document after verifying the deposit of stamp duty from SBI over internet.

Presently, stamp papers worth up to Rs 10,000 can be purchased from stamp vendors. If the stamp papers required are over Rs 10,000, the executants have to purchase the stamp paper from the state treasury. Under the present system, the executant has to shuttle between the treasury, treasury banks and tehsil offices many times while executing a transaction. The instruments cannot be prepared and executed by an executant on a plain paper in the absence of a stamp paper.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 22-08-09

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IPO To Make Firm Second Most Valuable Player In The Segment After DLF

The Lucknow-based Sahara Group is planning to take its realty arm public and raise up to $1 billion, which, if successful, would make the company the second valuable player in the segment after DLF.

A person with direct knowledge of the development told ET that investment bankers JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and Enam will advise the initial public offering of Sahara Prime City Ltd (SPCL) along with legal firms Amarchand Mangaldas Shardul Shroff & Co, Hirani & Co, Luthra & Luthra and Milbank of UK.

The IPO is expected to hit the market by end of this year, the person said on condition of anonymity. Another person — close to one of the three investment banks — said the group wants to offload 10% of its stake in the wholly-owned company, valuing itself at $10 billion (Rs 49,000 crore) behind DLF which has a market cap of Rs 63,000 crore as on August 19, 2009.

Currently, the second valuable firm in the Indian realty firmament is Unitech with a market cap of Rs 17,000 crore. The draft red herring prospectus for the offering will be submitted in a week, the person said.

A Sahara Group spokesman declined to comment for this story, which was broken earlier in the day by ET Now, this newspaper’s business news channel.

According to a real estate expert, the proposed IPO indicates that the group is refurbishing its real estate business after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked it to pull out of its mainstay parabanking activities over a period of time. RBI has asked Sahara India Financial Corporation not to accept any new deposit which matures beyond June 30, 2011. It has also been asked to stop accepting installments of existing deposit accounts with effect from that date.

The Sahara group had announced its intention to launch a real estate IPO two years ago. SPCL owns a plethora of firms including Sahara City Home, Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai, Sahara Super Speciality Tertiary Care Hospital in Lucknow and Sahara Grace. It has acquired land of 8500 acres for its township projects. It plans to set up 217 townships, spreading over 100 acres each, in various parts of the country. Of this, the first phase is expected to set up 102 townships while the remaining, in the second phase. The first phase is expected to be over in next five to seven years while it will kick-off the second phase from 2015.

Sahara’s plans aligns with the larger trend in the realty industry, which is crawling out of a market slump. A clutch of real estate companies are in the process of launching IPOs this year in order to cash in on the slow reversal of fortunes in the sector. Emaar MGF, Lodha Developers, Nitesh Estates and Oberoi Constructions are some of the firms waiting this year to launch IPOs. Of this, Lodha Developers’ is expected to be pegged at over Rs 2,000 crore which is value the company at around Rs 20,000 crore.

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

Housing requirement in affordable section across seven cities in the country will be approximately 2.06 million units by 2011, according to a study. Prabhakar Sinha writes

With fall in interest rates in the last eight months, affordability factor of house buyers has improved substantially. During the period, interest rates on home loans up to Rs 30 lakh have declined by around three percentage points to 9%, from 12%.

This sharp decline in rate has improved the capacity of borrowers. For instance, at 12%, the EMI on Rs 10 lakh loan to be repaid in 20 years is Rs 11,010. But, with interest rate at 9%, a person can borrow Rs 12,30,000 with the same EMI. That means, now he can buy a house that is almost of 20% higher value than what he could have done in 2008.

In the meantime, since January, prices of residential units have also fallen by up to 30%. Together, these two factors have led to an increase in construction activities in the country. This has also brought housing within the reach of a large number of buyers. According to a study conducted by Knight Frank Research, there will be an additional demand for 45,000 affordable housing units in the next two year in the National Capital Region. However, the cumulative demand in the region would be around 5.45 lakh units.

The total housing requirement in affordable section across seven cities — Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR), Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune — is approximately 2.06 million units by 2011, according to the report. With the average housing unit size pegged at 800 sq ft, this translates to a requirement of 1,650 million sq ft of residential space. Assuming a price of Rs 2,000/sq ft, this total space requirement translates to a market size of approximately Rs 3,30,000 crore.

While the Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh income group would drive this demand, the research findings further indicate that the largest contributor to this market size is expected to be the group earning Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh annual income.

As per the Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), the largest lender in the housing loan market in India, the maximum affordability of a household has been computed to be 5.1 times its annual income. In other words, for a household earning Rs 3 lakh a year, an affordable house should cost at most Rs 15 lakh. The report of a high level task force under the chairmanship of Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC, delves into the various aspects of providing affordable housing and has recommended a similar definition of affordability.

In fact, it has been seen that if one buys a house within these limits, the chances of default go down substantially. A prospective buyer’s purchase decision is influenced by a host of factors ranging from price points to location. Due to the growing awareness among consumers, choice of facilities and amenities are also found to be important determinants.

Uninterrupted power supply, water supply and safety and security are the other three important factors influencing a buyers decision with respect to residential project in a preferred location. The potential buyers are not much concerned about developers brand and goodwill.

The survey has brought out factors influencing preferences of potential buyers pertaining to locations, projects and amenities within the projects. In the NCR, the average budget of buyers varies between Rs 19 lakh and Rs 31 lakh.

Keeping in mind factors influencing choice of location, buyers in the NCR perceive Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon as the most favoured ones. In the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, Sectors 93 (A and B), 105, 119, 137 and 151 have been identified as the most preferred locations. NH-24, Raj Nagar Extension and Crossings Republik also emerge as preferred locations for affordable houses.

Similarly, potential buyers have expressed strong willingness to consider locations near NH-8, Sushant Lok (II and III), extended Golf Course Road and Sohna Road in Gurgaon. In addition to good connectivity, Noida and Gurgaon have the advantage of commercial attractiveness, which is guiding the households towards these locations.

Ghaziabad has also been considered as an important location for house purchase. The stretches of Indirapuram, Vasundhara and Vaishali, which are very close to Sector 62, the emerging commercial hub in Noida, have emerged as important locations where potential buyers have expressed their preferences to buy a house. While the unit size preference amongst most households is 550-1,200 sq ft, many of the so-called affordable projects are offering apartments with an area of 1,200 sq ft and above. In such cases, even though a project is affordable on the basis of rate per sq ft as calculated by Knight Frank research, the larger size of the apartments make them unaffordable. Higher cost of living and lifestyle have adversely impacted affordability of households in Mumbai and Bangalore, compared to cities like Kolkata and Hyderabad. For instance, middle class households in Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad can afford houses valued at Rs 14-45 lakh, whereas households of a similar status in Mumbai can only afford houses valued at Rs 12-38 lakh. The primary deterrent in providing affordable housing in cities is the high land cost involved in developing such projects. While construction cost has increased marginally in the last few years, land cost in contrast has gone up several times.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 22-08-09

With the C'wealth Games round the corner, major developers and hotel chains are now eyeing the keys to serviced apartments, especially in Tier I and Tier II cities, says Vandana Ramnani

Anil Gupta arrived in Delhi for his IT training last year and was put up by his company in a serviced apartment, for which his office coughed up Rs 90 lakh a month. It's now time for him to leave the city but he's made up his mind to take up a house in the same complex if he were to be transferred. Well, this one surely is a case of `serviced conversion'.

A serviced apartment is a home away from home with the frills of a luxury hotel at a fraction of the cost. It offers personalised services catering to the occupant's requirements, especially his day-today needs. Most important, it lacks the cold perfection of a hotel and enables one to relocate with just a suitcase.

It's no wonder then that several developers and hotel chains are seriously looking at this segment to cover the huge shortage of hotel rooms and apartments for business travellers, expatriates, families and tourists, especially so with the Commonwealth Games slated for 2010. Occupancy levels are usually around 90 per cent, suggesting that there is tremendous latent demand in the market.

Raheja Developers Pvt Ltd is planning to come up with 70-80 units in Sector 31 and 100 units in Sector 78 in Gurgaon. They also have plans for their Dharuhera project. The size of the apartments will vary between 400 and 600 sq ft. Assotech Limited, already with 272 keys serviced apartments named Cabana in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, plans to introduce 110 keys within its housing project in Bhubaneshwar. Parsvnath, too, is in the process of executing its first serviced apartment complex in Bhiwadi.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has signed up for a three-star apartment hotel named Sarovar Portico in Vaishali in agreement with Mahagun Hotels Pvt Ltd. It will have 100-110 keys. DLF is readying its 28 keys facility in Aman Hotel Resorts, Delhi.

IFCI Infrastructure Development Limited (IIDL) is constructing 100-170 keys green serviced apartment facility on a one-acre plot in Mayur Vihar, a stone's throw away from the Games Village. "We're optimistic that the nine-floor structure with three basement parkings will be ready by March 31. As far as operation and management is concerned, we're in the process of finalising the collaboration with a foreign partner," reveals Shivendra Tomar, CEO, IIDL.

According to Sanjay Dutt, CEO - Business, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, serviced apartments are still an emerging segment, the potential growth of which was somewhat stunted by the global financial meltdown and concurrent slowdown in the domestic and global economies. "We would peg the sector at between 3-5 per cent of the overall hospitality segment in India. There has been a marginal increase of about 7 per cent in tie-ups between corporates and serviced apartment players. However, the potential for future growth is considerable in the long term. The potential for serviced apartments lies in the future, when improving economic dynamics will once again warrant longer periods of business travel," he says.

Serviced savings

Serviced apartments can translate into 20-40 per cent savings on hospitality costs, especially with corporate discounts. Given the latent demand, most hotels too are branching out into the serviced apartments category. "They cater to the needs of the business travellers, people who've been transferred, multinational companies, diplomatic missions and the outsourcing sector," points out Shweta Jain, head (residential) at Cushman and Wakefield, a property advisory firm.

Serviced formats

Currently, the market offers a wide range of serviced apartments varying in facilities, space and ambience to suit the needs of the clients. The most recognised format is the stand-alone development (built as apartment complexes for purposes of being leased as servicedapartments). Another popular format is the mixed-use development, which incorporates serviced apartments in the larger commercial development including office and/or retail spaces. The concept of `Hotel-serviced-apartments' (apartments which are a part of a larger hotel development) is also on the rise.

Serviced rentals

Location is the prime factor in determining the rental values of serviced apartments. Rents also vary depending upon quality of construction, furnishing / interiors fit outs and services provided in the apartment. Typically, rental values range between Rs 35,000 to Rs 75,000 per month for budget apartments. Mid-segment apartments range between Rs 75,000 to Rs 1,25,000 per month and Rs 1,25,000 to Rs 5,40,000 per month for luxury serviced apartments.

"Rentals are a direct function of the facilities that are on offer. For a five- star serviced apartment facility the benchmark is the hotel tariff and the real estate aspect. For a long-term space requirement for a period of over six months, rentals are decided on the basis of rentals in that location with a 20-30 per cent premium due to the facilities on offer, says Jain."

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

Ground breaking for new US homes fell unexpectedly in July, but a rise in single-family home construction for a fifth straight month kept hopes alive the economy was poised to recover from recession.

The commerce department on Tuesday said housing starts fell 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 581,000 units, well below market expectations for 600,000 units.

June’s housing starts were revised up to 587,000 units from the previously reported 582,000 units. Groundbreaking for single family homes, the worst-hit part of the housing market, rose 1.7% to an annual rate of 490,000 units — the highest since October.

“The single-family sector continued to edge higher and that was the silver lining of the report,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York.

US stock index futures pared gains, while US government debt prices trimmed losses after the weak housing and prices data.

While data has pointed to the likely end of the recession, analysts have warned of a weak recovery as rising unemployment crimps consumer spending.

A higher-than-expected quarterly profit reported by Home Depot Inc on Tuesday helped ease investor fears as the world's largest home-improvement chain partly offset weak sales with cost cutting. Compared to July last year, housing starts dropped 37.7%. New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, fell 1.8% to 560,000 units in July, and were down 39.4% from a year ago.

The inventory of total houses under construction fell to record low 609,000 in July, the department said, while the total number of permits authorized but not yet started also hit a record low at 102,300. A separate report from the labour department showed US producer prices fell 0.9% versus a 1.8% gain in June.

GROUND REALITY

The housing starts fell 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 581,000 units, well below market expectations

Ground breaking for single family homes, the worst-hit part of the housing mkt, rose 1.7% to an annual rate of 490k units

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 19-08-09

Unitech’s focus on mid-segment housing seems to be paying off. Between April and July, the property firm sold bookings for close to 7 million square feet and a good part of this was at price points of between Rs 2,700 and Rs 3,000 per square feet. Should the momentum sustain, the company will meet its target of selling 20 million sq ft in the current year. In fact, the June 2009 quarter saw launches for around 16.5 million sq ft.

The Unitech stock has rallied sharply to levels of Rs 95 from the lows of Rs 25 that it hit in March this year. Despite raising Rs 600 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), Unitech’s net debt levels didn’t come off too much. Compared with Rs 8,400 at the end of March 2009, the net debt at the end of June stood at Rs 7,600 crore; analysts had hoped for a smaller number.

However, with the company having raised around Rs 2,800 crore from a second QIP, the net debt-to-equity ratio is down to 0.6 and is expected to fall to 0.4 by the end of the year.

Analysts are also disappointed with consolidated earnings for the June quarter; even though expenses on interest fell, earnings declined 63 per cent year-on-year to Rs 156 crore.

It’s possible the company didn’t recognise revenues as anticipated — net sales fell 48 per cent year-on-year to Rs 539 crore though they were up 34 per cent sequentially.

Nevertheless, Unitech now has a much cleaner balance sheet and a lower weighted average cost of capital. ICICI Securities has estimated a net asset value of Rs 91 per share for 2009-10

Courtesy:- BS dt:- 14-08-09

LIC Housing Finance would mobilize funds through non-convertible-debentures (NCDs) and term loans to disburse loans worth around Rs 15,000 cr this year, a top official of the bank said here on Friday. “The liquidity is good and this year we want to raise Rs 15,000 cr. Already, Rs 6,000 cr has been raised”, LIC Housing Finance Director and Chief Executive R.R.Nair told reporters here. The company had disbursed Rs 8,000 cr in loans last year.

Courtesy:- BS dt:-15-08-09

Co Sole Bidder As Unitech, Bharti Realty Disqualified

DLF is set to bag a 350.71-acre land parcel in Gurgaon for Rs 1,703 crore after it emerged the sole bidder for the land put up for auction by the Haryana government.

India’s largest real estate developer offered to pay Rs 12,000 per sq ft, a tad higher than the reserve price of Rs 11,978 per sq ft, for the land, said a member of the government panel that oversaw the tender process. An announcement is likely to be made in the next few days, he said, requesting anonymity.

The deal is the biggest since last March when Delhi-based developer BPTP outbid DLF for a tract of land in Noida near Delhi with a Rs 5,000-crore offer. But the deal was called off after BPTP failed to arrange funds to complete the deal.

The country’s second-largest real estate player Unitech and Bharti Realty, the real estate arm of the Bharti group, too had bid for the piece of land located on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road, but were disqualified on technical grounds. The project will offer 5-7 million sq ft for development, said a leading property consultant, who asked not to be named.

The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) had invited bids for the land in January. The land will house a golf course and sports, commercial and residential projects. DLF, which was the sole bidder then, had sought an easier payment plan. HSIIDC reinvited bids in July, giving bidders the facility of a staggered payment plan over seven years and an additional 20% FAR (floor area ratio or the developable floor space over a piece of land).

The winner is expected to pay 10% within 30 days of the bid’s acceptance and another Rs 100 crore in two installments in two years.

Appetite for prime property remains

The balance amount is to be paid in six monthly installments between the third and seventh years. The winner will have to pay an interest at 11% on the outstanding amount through the seven-year term. An additional 3% interest would be payable in case of payment defaults.

“This is a well-located land and a good investment opportunity. In the past, the golf course development in that location has done well,” said Anshuman Magazine, South Asia chairman of international property consultant CB Richard Ellis.

A demand slump that saw sales of homes, offices and shops fall dramatically resulted in major cash flow problems for real estate players. Burdened with huge debt to service and little internal accruals, several realty companies had to sell land to generate cash. DLF sold some land in Mumbai and NCR and exited some large projects in Karnataka and West Bengal.

During the realty boom of 2004-07, when real estate prices went up several times, developers invested huge amounts in buying land. Developers started chasing land to enhance valuation in the capital market. And this left them with little cash to execute projects, when the downturn set in last year.

But now with realty companies getting access to cheap funds from the capital market, the interest in buying land seems to be reviving.

“This shows that there is an appetite for well-located property that are rationally priced, but it can’t be seen as the beginning of a frenzy of land deals as we saw in the past,” says Mr Magazine of CB Richard Ellis.

For DLF, this property was worth bidding as it lay in its backyard, just behind its existing golf course and with many of its land parcels located close to this. “We already run a golf course and have seen its business advantages. Also, a staggered payment plan will not put much pressure on our cash flow,” said a senior DLF executive, who asked not to be named. The Gurgaon auction is the second major land deal in a month after Lodha Developers purchased NTC’s Finlay Mill land for Rs 710 crore.

Coustesy:- ET dt:- 19-08-09

The Rohini success story is stupendous, if only it could curb the rising crime

Delhi has a taste for makeovers. The 1982 Asian Games saw the city going full-on with infrastructure development. Almost 30 years later, the city is again pulling up its socks for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Rohini, developed in 1981 and situated in northwest Delhi, did not have much exposure during the Asiad, but the 2010 Games have ensured that it has a stake. In sector 36, a 25-acre area has been earmarked for a heliport.

Rohini scores well on other fronts, too. Considered one of the prime residential areas in the city now, it gives its inhabitants a hassle-free and easily connected life. Much of the credit for the uplift goes to the Delhi Metro, which reached here in 2004.

Breathing space

Gaurav Kumar, a young man who works in Connaught Place, says, "Not for a single moment has my family regretted buying a house in Rohini. I have friends who live here on rent, and believe me, it's much cheaper than any part of the city. And look at how well connected it is both by road and the Metro."

Developed by the DDA, Rohini is the second largest sub-city in Asia after Dwarka. Comprising more than 50 sectors and with a population of over 9 lakh, Rohini does not disappoint you when it comes to living in style, while still being environment-conscious.

With a large number of parks and spacious accommodation, residents feel they have got a good bargain. Rohini aimed at providing housing facilities to all income groups. However, DDA specifically focused on LIG and MIG buyers. Currently, sectors 2 to 8, 15 to 18, 23 and 24 have 2-bedroom DDA flats, while society apartments are available in sectors 7 to 14.

Rohini has a lot going for it commercially as well, since it is surrounded by industrial areas as Mangol Pur, Badli Village, Mukarba Chowk, Shahbaad Daulatpur, which has Delhi College of Engineering, and Bawana.

Vicky Ahuja, an estate agent, says, "The boom initiated by the Metro saw both residential and commercial areas grow at a phenomenal rate till about a year ago. However, currently it has slowed down considerably, and once again the middle income group is looking forward to buying homes here, and small investors can start thinking of buying commercial space. Sectors 13, 14 and Prashant Vihar are the most sought-after addresses in Rohini."

SK Arora, another agent, says, "I would rate Rohini quite high on the commercialisation scale -- a 6 on a scale of 10. The Metro walk mall can house a huge number of shops. Then there are a large number of multiplexes like M2K, G3S and PVR for youngsters.

"Even educational institutions and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities are in close proximity to the area. All in all, a Rohini resident now has a world complete in itself. Currently, commercial space costs around Rs 200 per sq. ft per month."

The Rohini district centre was the first commercial district in the Capital to be connected by the Metro. Again, entry of big builders and developers like Parsvnath and Unitech has meant that Rohini is all set to take a major leap commercially. The Adventure Island has also added to the area's value.

Sudha, a homemaker, says, "I feel as if everything is balanced here. I can hop on the Metro and reach anywhere within half an hour, or I can shop to my heart's content nearer home. Fun, games, entertainment... the children are really spoilt for choice. The elders can have their pick of parks -- the Japanese park is the most famous. Above all else, we don't face water and power shortages here. The Haiderpur plant near Badli takes care of water, and the society provides power back-up."

All's not well

As with every action, there is a reaction here, too. The real estate boom has meant property prices slip out of the grasp of the middle class. A member of the Kumar family in sector 13 says, "We think that the property prices are a little too high for the middle income group, despite the slowdown.

"Worse, the crime rate is soaring here, with thefts, snatching and even murders becoming routine. Something needs to be done really urgently."

As more and more people flock to find accommodation in the area because of its positive feaures, Rohini looks unstoppable, but the crime level could prove to be a major deterrent. Is this a sweet story about to turn sour?

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

The great connectivity of Dwarka sub-city has been negated by the lack of basic facilities and a fuzzy commercial policy, finds Yog Maya Singh

Bulbul Sharma has fond memories of the one year she spent in Dwarka, before shifting with her family to Dhaula Kuan. She loved the open spaces, the congestion-free residential areas with no parking problem, the greenery...everything. However, mention `water', and her face falls. That is the one problem that Dwarka, the largest subcity in Asia with a 10-lakh population, has still not been able to solve.

Dwarka must be thanking its stars that it is not hosting any of the segments of the Commonwealth Games 2010. Only a few major hotel projects have been sanctioned, and there are talks of providing rooms for athletes in Dwarka and Jasola areas. The locality, spread over 29 sectors, of which 23 are currently functional, has lost out on other counts as well. A recent Delhi Police report claims that Dwarka is the most crime-hit area in Delhi.

Vantage point

Parts of this sub-city were developed as a part of DDA's Urban Expansion Projects. Dwarka is connected by the NH-8, Outer Ring Road, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road and the Rewari Railway line. Residents have easy access to both the domestic as well as international airports. Vasant Kunj, Vasant Vihar, Janakpuri and Delhi Cantonment areas surround the sub-city.

Dwarka was developed in two phases by the DDA, which had wanted it to reflect the contemporary concepts of urban planning with a huge emphasis on environment and socio-economic factors. Keeping these in mind, around 40,000 residential units under selffinancing, mega-housing, HIG, MIG and incremental housing schemes have been developed in the sub-city. For the economically weaker sections, DDA planned a number of EWS, LIG and Resettlement Housing Schemes. Co-operative Group Housing Society (CGHS) forms a major component of housing type here. The six remaining sectors are to be developed as a Diplomatic Enclave on the lines of Chanakyapuri, and will be home to diplomats from around 39 nations.

As already mentioned one of the best things about Dwarka is its connectivity. Besides the Metro, which opened in 2005, it is also well connected to the domestic and international airports. There are plans of an Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) to be developed near Sector 23, which will supposedly be Delhi's largest ISBT.

Of the seven sports complexes planned, one has already been constructed. DLF has also proposed to build the country's largest exhibition-cum-convention centre in sector 24 by 2010. Sanction for five- and sevenstar hotels have been given and these are to be finished before the Games. The opening of the 32-lane Gurgaon Expressway is also a boon.

Commerce wanted

Connectivity notwithstanding, Dwarka does not fare well on the commercial front. While Gurgaon and Noida have become huge corporate hubs, Dwarka has not. The Metro changed things for the better, but a lot still needs to be done.

Naresh Arora of Paras Associates in Sector 9 says, "We look into both residential and commercial properties, and feel that Dwarka must do more to attract buyers. Currently, only the centrally located sectors like 4, 5, 6 and 9 see a high rate of occupancy. The Metro might have caused a 10 per cent increase in prices, but the effect has been negated because of recession.

"While earlier a 2-BHK flat could go for Rs 45-70 lakh, the current price is Rs 35-55 lakh. A lot of facilities need to be upgraded here. However, Dwarka is a really good option for those who like less crowded localities."

According to Shyam Chaddha, a real estate developer, "Dwarka has been able to establish a large number of district centres, community centres, numerous local shopping and convenience shopping centres, yet it still lacks the excitement of a vibrant neighborhood.

"We feel Dwarka needs to have a clear commercial policy, and has to move its attention beyond retailing."

Manisha Padhi, 15, has been staying at sector 6 with her family since December 2007. She says, "I think Dwarka is a very well planned residential area, but sooner or later one gets bored. Good markets are few and far between.

"Not all areas are connected by the Metro, and it's difficult to travel for miles to just watch a movie or hang out with friends. We need more development."

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

Now you can be the king of the urban jungle. Where you have your own space and the joys of having your own floor. TDI brings you “My Floor’ – the concept of having your own floor at a very affordable cost. TDI has been in the real estate business for over 2 decades with shopping malls, commercial complexes and prestigious TDI cities at Mohali, Panipat, Agra, Moradabad, Indore and Meerut each received with great enthusiasm.

The ‘My Floor’ complex is located in the “B” block of TDI City Kundli, barely 2.5 km from the Delhi Border. The Metro Station is not too far and Connaught Place is at a convenient distance away. So you can be near Delhi, yet be in the midst of peaceful greens.

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

There’s finally some good news for those waiting to get possession of flats that were part of DDA’s scam-ridden housing scheme in 2008. Sources in the land agency said that allotments were expected to take place in October.

The decision was taken after the L-G, who is also chairperson of DDA, acknowledged at the annual budget meeting that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had given its staff a clean chit. Even the forensic laboratory in Hyderabad has apparently seconded the EOW’s findings. Said a source: ‘‘The hard disks will now be sent to another lab, C-DAT in Pune, for a final check. The report will be available in September. We expect to start allotments in October.’’

Several other decisions were taken at DDA’s budget meeting on Monday.The cricket and football stadium proposed to come up on the Yamuna riverbed has also been shelved. Bowing to increasing public outcry, DDA has struck off all proposed concrete structures from the zonal plan for the riverbed. Apart from existing structures, no new one will be built now. Instead, the focus is on green development.

Not only did the land agency pass changes for the zonal plan (called ‘O’), it also promised to lay emphasis on development of waterbodies and green stretches on the riverbed. This, however, won’t affect construction of the Commonwealth Games Village. Existing structures such as Akshardham temple, the bottling plant at Madanpur Khadar and the IT Park will also remain unaffected.

Interestingly, DDA has also promised that its green development will be devoid of any pucca or permanent structures. The plan for zone P-II, an area north of Wazirabad Barrage, was also approved. The agency has also given the go-ahead for a light and sound show in Qutub Minar. The proposal had been sent by ITDC and it will now get land for the show, which will depict the history of Delhi from the Mahabharat era to Mughal times.

That’s not all. DDA has decided to declare Nehru Place a ‘no hawking zone’ to clear congestion in the area. The move also comes in the wake of heightened security concern for the many high-rise buildings located there, added sources. Apart from this, the land agency approved an increased budget of over Rs 1,000 crore to provide housing for the economically weaker section.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 11-08-09

  Energy-efficient green townships now promise cost and ecological benefits, says Vandana Ramnani

In the United Arab Emirates, they are building a township that will be cooled by wind towers or windmills, water supply will be routed through desalination l plants, and solar energy will l be used extensively. As global warming assumes alarming proportions and threatens s the very existence of man, c developers the world over t are exploring the options of dwelling units with eco friendly systems in place that keep pollution at bay and conserve energy.

In India, after green homes, it's the turn of green ILLUSTRATION: ABHIMANYU SINHA townships to catch the fancy of builders and developers. s Besides the upcoming i Commonwealth Games t Village in Delhi, there are a s slew of green townships in the country. These include Pioneer Urban's township in s Gurgaon; Mahindra Splendour and Palais Royale in Mumbai; Aliens space station I in Hyderabad by the i Aliens Group, the first realty s company to be pre-certified s with a platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in the c residential townships category; Merlin Tropical Greens in Kolkata; and the Uttarayon township in Siliguri, being built on what was earlier a tea estate.

So, what is a green township? It is an integrated planned habitat that lays emphasis on protection, use and recycling of natural resources, besides promoting public health, safety and general welfare.

Several parameters govern a green township, right from the time of site selection to the post-occupancy stage. These include the site topography, water conservation, eco-friendly measures such as installation of wind turbines and solar panels, creating bio gas from sewage, rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling etc, using glass of high ultraviolet value and ACs with chillers, leading to high output and lower costs, selection of landscaping species and usage of local and salvaged materials such as fly ash and stone slabs instead of concrete blocks. The focus of the architectural design is on passive heating and cooling methods to utilise maximum natural energy and minimal artificial resources.

The interiors have energy efficient measures, too. These could be in the form of wood for door frames sourced from an old ship, insulated rooftops and terrace gardens to reduce solar heat. The walls can have cavities to capture the heat so that the building stays cool.

Socially sustainable

A green township is one that is ecologically and socially sustainable. The design of settlements must be accountable for the amount of resources used, the ever-changing social and economic patterns of the inhabitants, and the amount of waste and its reuse/disposal.

Resources like land, water, electricity and other fuels, and construction materials must be judiciously utilised and recycled. The garbage, too, should be planned, explains Sonali Rastogi, Director, Morphogenesis, a design firm that is developing a green township in Siliguri.

Close to nature

The Uttarayon township in Siliguri, spread across 600 acres, used to be a tea estate, which was on the verge of collapse due to topographical reasons. Given the setting, the aim was to develop something that would give back to the community with minimal impact on its environs. The entire development is a largely low-rise, low-density township with minimum demands on its surroundings. The site has been developed around the concept of clusters -different house types arranged around a central green focal point. The clusters are further linked to form a zone where vehicular and pedestrian movements have been segregated.

Based on detailed GIS studies of the land, a drainage system has been developed to provide for virtual elimination of all stormwater drains using natural slopes. This results in disposal of rainwater without flooding. Natural methods like planting of reed beds and sewage treatment plants will be utilised for the waste water to be reused within the site for horticultural purposes. The cost of the development is about $9 per square metre, an amount significantly lower than the average cost of such developments in India, points out Rastogi.

Pioneer Park in Gurgaon is yet another example. It is a 75-acre mixed use community located on Golf Course Extension Road. It will offer residential living, corporate work environment and will be an entertainment destination. Its environmentally sensitive and sustainable design has been awarded a `Gold Grading' by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

All buildings here incorporate green design strategies that maximise energy savings and reduce environmental impact. The landscape uses several additional aspects of sustainability such as indigenous woodlands, green roofs, photovoltaic panels, xeriscaping (a landscaping and gardening technique used to conserve water) and the use of local materials, says Manish Periwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Pioneer Urban.

Is green here for good?

A green building typically calls for practices such as energy efficiency and recovery, water recycling and use of environmentfriendly materials in design, operation, construction and maintenance to sustain the environment.

According to the US green building council, savings of up to 30 per cent in energy, 50 per cent in water use, 50 to 90 per cent in waste cost and 35 per cent in carbon savings can be made by shifting to green norms before starting construction.

Low on costs

According to Vidur Bharadwaj, Director, the 3C Company, green townships address national issues like handling of consumer waste, water efficiency and reduction in fossil fuels. Most importantly, a green township can enhance the occupants' well-being and take a step forward in eliminating the threat of global warming.

"What is at present considered a `trend' or termed `green' will become the norm and standard in the near future, and anything that's not ecofriendly and sustainable will probably be prohibited through local bylaws.

"High energy efficiency, health and environmental benefits are standard for all green developments," adds Saacketh Chawla, National Director, Project Management Consulting (PMC), Colliers International India.

It's time the whole world started turning green.

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

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Located on prime property in Indrapuram, very close to commonwealth games site, spectacular landscaped greenery, swimming pools and Wifi connectivity.

Courtesy:- HT 08-08-09

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

DIFFERENTIAL RATES CAN LEAD TO SUBPRIME-LIKE CRISIS: PAREKH

The State Bank of India reduced its home loan rates further by announcing a three-month-long "SBI My Home Campaign", starting from Saturday. In SBI's home loan scheme, interest rate for the first year is 8%, and for the next two years is 8.5% to 9% depending on size of the loan. It is linked with benchmark lending rates.

However, the chairman of the country's biggest home loan lender HDFC, Deepak Parekh criticized the lending institutions like SBI, which gives home loan at differential rates — low rates for the earlier period and raising it later. Parekh warned that such artificial lower rates could lead to a subprime-like crisis, which happened in US housing market.

‘‘We are seeing some variations of teaser type housing loans being offered. The lure of low interest rate at the start of taking a housing loan is enticing. But are customers being made aware of future implications of this?" he asked.

SBI has effected the steepest reduction in interest rate on home loan between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. However, the interest rate will remain same for the first year at 8%, it will be brought down to 8.5% from 9.5% during the second and third year. For the period beyond third year, the floating rate on the loan has been cut by 1.25 percentage points. Earlier, the rate was pegged at 1.5 percentage points below PLR, which has now been increased to 2.75 percentage point below the bench mark rate. So the effective home loan rate will become lower. If the present condition remains the same and the bank does not change PLR, the new rate will be 9% as against 10.25% earlier.

Parekh noted that main reason of the US housing loan crisis was such kind of loans — that offered artificially low interest rates in the initial years but once the rate normalised later, many found themselves unable to service the loan. "These are the lessons one should learn from," he said, pointing out that the same disturbing trend being seen in India where some variation of teaser type housing loans are being offered in the market.

However, in its latest offerings, the interest rates on home loan offered by SBI will be lower that that of HDFC for the entire period of repayment, Even for the later half, the rate will be lower than HDFC. In fact, this aggressive stance of SBI will force the other banks to follow suit soon.

State Bank of India said the market response to its special initiatives on home loans has been encouraging, which is evident from the fact that the bank's net lending to individual home loan borrowers has increased by Rs 10,076 crore during the year ending May 2009. Besides this, it is also not taking any processing fees.

In case of home loan up to Rs 30 lakh, the benefit for the first year will remain the same with interest rate at 8%. But for the next two years, the interest rate has been cut by 0.5 percentage points to 8.5% from 9%. The fall in the interest rates after that will be 75 basis points

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

Affordable houses, commercial centres and shops, and a host of environmental friendly initiatives like setting up of bio diversity parks.

All these are part of the budget proposals of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and is expected be a reality by the next year. The proposals for 2009-10 will be presented on August 10. 

The agency would build about 65,000 houses in the Capital in next four years. A majority of these — about 78 per cent —will be built for economically weaker sections and low-income groups. Of the total houses, 15,000 will be in the middle-income group category.

These houses will come up mainly in Rohini, Dwarka and Narela. They will be constructed in phases and will be ready by 2013. In the first phase work has started on 15,000 houses.

The DDA, in its Master Plan for Delhi-2021, has proposed constructing 50,000 houses for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) involving private players.

In its budget for 2007-08, a budget of Rs 290.70 crore had been earmarked for approximately 7,034 EWS houses and approximately 1,160 HIG/MIG/LIG houses.

The developing agency would also be setting up four biodiversity parks in the Capital, funds for which will be sanctioned in the 2009-10 budget. With this, the total number of such biodiversity parks in the city would go up to six.

The new biodiversity parks are coming up in Northern Ridge, Maidan Garhi, Nila Hauz Khas and in Zone O (Yamuna riverbed).

Courtesy:- HT dt:- 07-08-09

Floors with a back entry need not put off prospective tenants as their rents are, on an average, 30% less than those with a front entry,

Rajesh Malhotra knows the back lanes of New Rajinder Nagar like the back of his palm. As he goes out for his job every morning and returns only in the late evenings, he has no idea about the front lanes of his area.

As Rajesh has been living on the second floor of a house with a backside entry rather than main gate entry, he hardly goes through the main lanes of his area. Even though he and his family members have to take the stairs at the back of the house, he is still happy. He says for just taking the backdoor entry to his house, he pays almost 30% less rent compared to tenants who have a front side entry to their house.

While builders are changing the very face of private colonies in Delhi by joining hands with owners and landlords in order to build floors after razing down old houses and kothis, there are still many houses here where the occupants of first and second floors have to take the back entry to reach their floor.

New Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Kirti Nagar - almost all of South and North Delhi colonies, and some areas in East Deli like Vivek Vihar , Nirman Vihar and Preet Vihar too have houses with exclusive front entry for the owner of the house. Residents of first and second floor houses have no choice but to take the back entry.

Devender Gupta, CMD of Century 21 India, says it is bad news for all those who have a limited budget as such houses are giving way to brand new houses. "I am saying bad news because houses with backdoor entry can be taken on rent on far less rent than the market rates. If somebody wants to buy a floor with back entry, it can be taken on really less amount, compared to those houses with main-gate entry," Gupta concludes.

Alimuddin Rafi Ahmad of ILD group says houses with separate entries would become a thing of the past in the years ahead. "Such houses are old and they have to be demolished, so that new houses with only one entry can be made", he says.

Ashok Singh, who works for a media house, has also been living in a house in East of Kailash, which has a back entry. Even then, he is not an unhappy man. Ashok says, "When I came here around seven years ago, the state of affairs at the back lane of my house were really bad. Residents have converted the back lane as an all-purpose dustbin. During those days, it was really tough getting to my house after crossing the filthy back lane. Things have improved and now I have no problem in taking the back lane in order to reach my place," he says.

On the question of rents going for lesser rates for such houses, Anil Makhijani of Mak Realtors says it is very natural for two reasons. Of course, back entry is factor one. The second being that the first and second floors of such houses have far less covered area than the ground floor. Naturally, these factors play a crucial role in determining the rent and costs of the houses.

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