June 2010

Maharashtra Govt to come up with Legislation for Affordable Housing

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

The Government of Maharashtra is prepared to come up with legislation for making affordable housing facilities available to curb slum dwelling in Mumbai if required, indicated Mr Sachin Ahir, Hon’ble Minister of State for Activities, Housing, Environment, Industries, Mines, Repairs and Reconstruction, Slum Improvement, Social Justice and Urban Land Ceiling, Government of Maharashtra. “The alternatives for effective affordable housing are that the private players take up opportunity or the government intermediates to boost or the government come up with legislation for creation of affordable housing,” the Minister said while addressing the National Real Estate Conclave – ‘Maximising Opportunities 2010 and Beyond’, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Mr Ahir also pointed out that the government has extended incentives in terms of FSI for parking facilities and Green solutions in the residential projects. “We have created single window clearance system for SRA projects in the city. We may amend the Township Act to create more residential space through satellite townships,” he said. A real estate sector report, ‘The Seven Stars of India,’ prepared by CII and Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj was also released at the conclave. The report covered trends of real estate in India providing overview of the best performing micro markets for occupiers on seven most prominent cities including, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. According to the report, the IT/ITES and BFSI sectors will lead the charge as net absorption of office space is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 29.5% from 19.6 million sq ft in 2009 to 42.6 million sq ft in 2012. Mr Arun Nanda, Chairman, CII Western Region & Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd requested the Hon’ble Minister for a definite government policy on real estate industry. “The average project completion time is about 4-5 years. Frequent changes in the government policy on real estate and infrastructure affect the projects adversely. There is a need of definite government policy on the real estate sector. Besides, after land acquisitions, it takes at least 18 to 20 months to receive all required government clearances. A single window clearance system for the same is also required for speedy clearances,” he said. Mr Nanda said, “With market recovery in 2010, the residential prices are shot up by 30-35%. The industry players should not out price the market as there is strong demand and hence, tremendous opportunity for many players in real estate.” Mr Anuj Puri, Conference Chairman & Chairman and Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj said, “Based on the recently released, Global Real Estate Transparency Report by Jones Lang LaSalle, The Indian real estate industry has its own challenges and opportunities. India was ranked 41st in an international survey on transparency in real estate transactions in Tier-II cities whereas, in 2008 we were ranked 50th. We are also ahead of China in the same manner which is due to increasing participation of international real estate companies’ participation and improvement in title recalls.”

Tagged as: chairman, city, country, green, industries, jones-lang, mumbai, property prices, real estate, residential, the-government, urban

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Realtors Seek Cap on Brokerage

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

In a bid to save Chennaiites from the clutches of haggling real estate brokers, leading realtors in the city on Monday promised to infuse fair practices in deals, rationalise brokerage fees and ensure greater transparency in realty transactions. The Chennai Real Estate Agents’ Association (CREAA), one of the member organisations of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), will organise the second national convention of NAR at Mamallapuram on July 16 and 17 to drive home these objectives. The convention would work towards adopting international practices and raising operational standards in realty deals, National Association of Realtors–India 2010 chairman C Suresh Reddy told media representatives. The role of brokers had evolved over the years and now they were being seen as consultants guiding buyers all through a deal, noted Ramesh Nair, MD, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, an international realty consultant. Chennai has more than 4,000 unorganised brokers, said Jayanth Hemdev, co-chairman of the convention, adding that CREAA would strive to bring many of them into its fold. Coming down heavily on mediators who charge abnormally high brokerage fees, Abdur Ravoof, president elect, NAR, said the organisation had fixed a cap of 2% on brokerage fees. “Our members are permitted to charge a maximum of only 2% each from sellers and buyers. Of course, there is scope for negotiation even within this 2% and many customers do bargain hard for lesser fees.” Noting that some mediators were charging 4-5% as brokerage fees, Ravoof said such practices were unethical. “In outlying areas of Chennai, our members used to collect higher brokerage fees in the past. Those were days when real estate prices were low and a realtor had to make several visits to the site with prospective buyers for clinching a deal. The situation has drastically changed now because property prices have shot up even beyond a 50-60 km radius of the city. We have instructed all our members to stick to the 2% brokerage fees in all types of realty transactions, whether it is within the city or outside,” said Ravoof.

Tagged as: national, over-the-years, property prices, real estate developers, salle-meghraj

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Chennai Witnesses Rise in Property-Related Crimes

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

In recent years, Chennai has expanded rapidly and so has crime in the city, particularly those relating to property. A survey of the statistics put out by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) for the past four years, from 2006 to 2009, show that Chennai ranks high in all crimes relating to property, followed closely by Tirunelveli and Coimbatore. Property crimes, as defined by the SCRB, include murder, dacoity, burglary, robbery and theft. ADGP A Radhakrishnan says that good flow of money and the good economy could be a reason. “In the case of Chennai, due to a general increase in economic prosperity, land prices have gone up. This may have led to an increase in such crimes.” According to T Chitty Babu, president of the TN Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association, the causes range from increasing land prices to land itself being viewed as a way to earn some quick money. Moreover, with agricultural land in the city suburbs and districts being sold for commercial purposes, farmers, who become millionaires overnight, find themselves a vulnerable target for robbery, burglary and other means of extortion. This has also led to an increase in organised crime in matters of real estate. However, in 2009, Chennai does not rank among the top five with regard to property crimes. But this is not because crime rate in the city has reduced, police officials say. It is only because crime in the districts have gone up. Interestingly, neighbouring Kancheepuram too has registered the highest general’ crime rate for the past four years. Police attribute this to the town’s proximity to Chennai and its expansion.

Tagged as: chennai, city, confederation, property prices, real estate, real estate india

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Teaser rates on home loans to go as base rate debuts

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

India’s top lenders who have offered teaser rates on mortgages through special schemes to boost off take of loans will withdraw such schemes on Wednesday, as banks move to a new system of pricing loan s from July 1. The special loan schemes launched by mortgage lenders — HDFC, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India last year, featuring lower rates at fixed rates for the first couple of years — will end on June 30. According to bank officials, none of these schemes are likely to be extended. India’s largest bank — SBI’s and ICICI Bank’s pricing of home loans will shift to the new benchmark — the base rate from July 1. SBI, which was the first to kick off this special scheme or teaser rates, is offering home loans at 8% for the first year, 9% for the next two years and linked to market rates in the subsequent years. HDFC, which was then forced to follow suit, offers a fixed rate loan of 8.25 % up to March 2011, 9% for 2012-13 and the prevailing rate thereafter. ICICI Bank’s scheme offers a fixed rate of 8.25% during the first year, 9% in the second year with the loan then being shifted to a floating rate linked to the prevailing benchmark. SBI’s aggressive move succeeded with the bank sanctioning an average Rs 2,000 crore of home loans every month. The bank then extended the scheme, as did HDFC, the leader in the mortgage lending segment. However, with the shift to the new benchmark, there is uncertainty relating to how banks would price their home loans. Banks have indicated that their base rates would be in the range of 8-10%, but there is no clarity now on the spread at which they would lend. So far, banks could structure special home loan schemes to attract new customers as they were allowed to lend below the prime lending rate. Under the new system of pricing loans, which comes into force from July, no bank can lend below the base rate. Old borrowers will have the option to shift to the base rate as the new benchmark. But some bankers say they may have to continue announcing the prime lending rate as a benchmark simultaneously since they have already contracted with borrowers to peg interest rates to the PLR. The base rate will favour borrowers in a falling interest rate regime as lenders would have to revise the base rate to reduce lending rates. RBI has made it clear to banks that any changes in the base rate will have to be applicable to existing customers as well. However, what needs to be borne in mind is that the central bank has only told banks to adopt the base rate system, which is not applicable to housing finance companies and NBFCs. In the last interest rate cycle, many old customers complained that they did not receive the full benefit of lower rates on their homes loans as banks offered lower rates to new customers while old customers continued to pay higher rate. Banking analysts say if the base rate is in the range of 8-10%, home loans would have to be priced higher than this. Further, home loan rates are expected to go up as interest rates are now headed northwards. Many banks have held back a review of their interest rates until the adoption of the new benchmark. RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty said the base rate system will not increase the effective cost of borrowing as projected by the corporate lobby and that it was aimed at bringing more transparency in the lending rates. Bankers are of the view that interest rates on home loans will continue to be competitive since it is a secured loan.

Tagged as: base, home-loans, india, lending, real estate, real estate india

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‘Mahagun Metro Mall’ – The extravagant mall launched in Vaishali

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

Mahagun Metro Mall is one of the first ever mall in Delhi NCR with equipped with Travalators to make shopping convenient & easy. Mall has three sets of Travalators for vertical connectivity from both the basements to lower ground and upper ground. AFTER MAKING history in residential development, Mahagun Real Estate Pvt Ltd, one of the leading North-Indian Real Estate & Infrastructure Developer has launched Mahagun Metro Mall that would redefine and revolutionize the shopping experience for all in Vaishali, NH-24 in Ghaziabad. Mahagun Metro Mall is ready to change the face of the region with a mega lifestyle experience. This fast developing neighborhood is home to many premium and mass housing projects and offers tremendous potential for the retail, entertainment and leisure business. Mahagun Metro Mall sprawls over 7.5 lakh square feet. With national and international brands to choose from, across categories including menswear, women wear, youth wear, ethnicwear, sportswear, kidswear, eye wear, watches, footwear, cosmetics & fragrances, jewellery, hand bags and much more, the mall guarantees to offer an unparalleled shopping experience. With its operational Hypermarket (Easy Day), Multiplex (PVR) and a few more stores, the mall enjoys an average footfall of approx. 8000 shoppers per day. Thus, Mahagun Metro-Mall is staged to become the next big lifestyle sensation in this NCR region. Naturally, the mega landmark is shaped to become a big crowd-puller and a boon for retailers, shoppers and visitors alike! • Shopping, Entertainment, Food courts & Multiplex all under one roof. • Hyper Market – “EASY DAY” spread over an area of approx. 50,000 sq. ft • 360 Degree Visibility of Mahagun Metro Mall • Adjacent to upcoming Metro Station, KB – Vaishali. • Catchments of more than 6 lacs (3 kms. Radius) • Middle and higher income group with high disposable income. • 2 level basement car parking to accommodate approx. 600 cars • Ample no. of Lifts, Escalators & Travalators for free circulation of customers to all floors. • Service Apartments to cater business and leisure travelers. According to Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun India (P) Ltd. “ Mahagun has constantly sought to give to its client’s an enhanced and elevated shopping experience and with the launch of Mahagun Metro Mall – Vaishali , we have reinforced our mission to deliver world class malls. Mall would prove to be the best shopping and entertainment destination for the visitors from nearby areas who otherwise had to travel to distant places for their shopping & entertainment needs. The mall is designed by the famous architecture – Hafeez Contractor who has designed the interiors keeping in mind international specifications and standards. With this Hyper Market in the region there will not be any reason for local residents to go outside for shopping and entertainment. For movies buffs, PVR brings a 4 screen multiplex which is one of the utmost attractions at the Mahagun Metro Mall with state of art ambience & PVR food union as it provides a great relaxation package of entertainment with Food. Easy Day, the hypermarket chain by Bharti Retail has opened its first king size super specialty hypermarket over an area of 50,000 square feet, one of the largest in north India that will provide an exclusive & cost competitive product mix with the largest choice of brands under various categories, leaving its customers with umpteen options to choose from along with distinct signatures for convenient shopping. Bharti Retail is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Retail provides consumers great value with products at affordable prices, of great quality and a wider choice. This include items ranging from apparels for men, women and kids, home furnishings, home ware, cosmetics, a wide range of kids’ toys, small appliances, mobile phones and stationery. These stores also have live bakery, meat shop, poultry and fish and the freshest of fruits and vegetables, grocery and general merchandise. The rates are subsidized to great margin keeping in mind the reach of its common household. The Hypermarket is well equipped with the latest technology, it is equipped with the Bar Code Systems & machines at various places in the market that help customers check barcodes themselves. The shoppers will be treated to a whole new world of shopping as the concept of the mall allows customers to an experience at par with the best anywhere else. The mall offers tremendous potential for the retail, entertainment and leisure. The layout of the mall allows for easy access to products and a good opportunity to quickly compare between brands. Mahagun Metro Mall is one of the first ever mall in Delhi NWith CR equipped with Travalators to make shopping convenient & easy. Mall has three sets of Travalators for vertical connectivity from both the basements to lower ground and upper ground floor. virtually every product range covered, Mahagun has made it a point to offer top of the line brands in each category to make this a true one stop shopping destination and is clear to see that Mahagun has stopped at nothing to entice shoppers to lounge around and eat to their heart’s content. Source : http://www.merinews.com/article/mahagun-metro-mall—the-extravagant-mall-launched-in-vaishali/15824340.shtml Filed under: Builders/ Developers , Delhi , New projects , Retail/ malls Tagged: Delhi NCR , Ghaziabad , Mahagun Real Estate Pvt Ltd , mall

Tagged as: delhi, director, india, infrastructure, retail, retail/ malls, shopping

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Land deals are back with revival of demand

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

After a short lull in the land transaction market during the time of recession, the market is again buzzing with land deals on the back of improved economic environment. However, real estate developers, who have learnt their lessons during the time of recession, are relying on joint development plans than outright sale of land parcels. “Land transactions have started happening in the market with better outlook of the economy. However, many real estate companies still prefer joint development agreements as against outright land purchase as it reduces the equity exposure and increases the number of transactions that a developer can engage in,” Karun Varma, managing director-Bangalore of real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Megharaj said. He, however, said that land deals are not confined to the real estate companies, rather spread across sectors that were planning to set up their units in Bangalore. As per sources, while Maruti Udyog (Automobiles) had bought around 2 acres of land on Bellary road for building up a brand centre, NetApp bought around 15 acres of land in Whitefield. Among Bangalore-based real estate companies, Prestige Developers bought 13,000 sq ft of land at Edward Road and HDFC Real Estate Fund bought around 40,000 sq ft of prime real estate land located off Kasturba Road. HDFC’s land parcel is proposed to have a high-end residential centre in the near future. Sources in the real estate industry also said that companies like Godrej, Shriram Properties, RMZ Corp and Prestige Developers were in constant look out for land parcels in the city. “Companies with IPO plan in near future want to build up a sound land asset base before hitting the market as sound land base helps in enhancing the valuation of a company,” a top executive of real estate consultancy firm said. However, industry experts said that most of the land deals were not ‘distress sale’ by real estate companies. “We don’t see a distress trend in the market as of now. Developers that had huge land portfolios available for sale in the market last year to reduce leverage have pulled back such transactions from the market,” Varma said. He also said that most land sellers in the market were land bankers or land owners. Regarding appreciation of land value in near future, Varma said, “ We don’t see an appreciation of more than 10 per cent in next four quarters as many developers are still sitting on a huge land bank that need to be developed. So, lack of effective demand will not push prices to higher level.” Source : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/land-dealsbackrevivaldemand/399569/ Filed under: Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: Jones Lang LaSalle Megharaj , land , Real estate in india

Tagged as: builders/ developers, city, new-projects, real, real estate, real estate in india

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Arvind to form JV with Safal Group for residential projects

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

As part of its plans to unlock its large land bank, denim major Arvind Ltd has taken first major step by announcing its plans to form a 50:50 joint venture with city-based real estate developer B Safal Group promoted by Rajesh Brahmbhatt. With a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to be formed later, the joint venture will develop about one million sq feet of residential complex in one third of the area of Ashoka Cotsyn, a division of Arvind Limited, situated at Khokhra in Ahmedabad. When fully developed, the project will be worth Rs 225 crore, an official communique stated. In addition, B Safal group will also buy 1/3rd of the land area. B Safal will pay Rs 70 crore consideration for buying this land and for 50 per cent stake in the joint venture. Talking about the joint venture, Jayesh Shah, director and CFO of Arvind said, “This is a good proposal for Arvind as it is not only realising cash up-front but is also keeping the upside of appreciation open as Arvind is retaining about one third of land with it for future development. We expect to realise about Rs 200 crore from sale and development of said land at Ashoka Cotsyn over next two years.” The joint venture is expected to result in development of anywhere between 1,200 and 1,500 2BHK and 3BHK residential units. “There is a very large unfulfilled demand of quality housing in East Ahmedabad. We will aim to fulfill this demand by providing superior quality facilities and we are very excited about this venture,” said Rajesh Brahmbhatt, chairman of B Safal Group. Arvind, which holds about 600 acres of land in and around Ahmedabad, has applied for two townships as per the new township policy of the Gujarat government. Arvind has floated a 100 per cent subsidiary company Arvind Infrastructure Limited which is engaged in the real estate development. Source : http://www.realtyplusmag.com/rpnewsletter/fullstory.asp?news_id=9171&cat_id=1 Filed under: Ahmedabad , Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: Ahmedabad , Arvin Group , Residential Projects , Safal Group

Tagged as: ahmedabad, gujarat, joint-venture, project, residential projects

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IL&FS PE bullish on real estate and infrastructure

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

IL&FS Private Equity plans to take investments in the infrastructure sector from the current $660 million to around $1 billion by the end of this financial year. On the real-estate front, the company already has investments of around $1.6 billion. The fund company is also looking at a number of deals both in the real estate and infrastructure segments. “We will invest close to a billion dollars in infrastructure as well by about the end of this financial year,” said Shahzaad Dalal, vice chairman, IL&FS Investments Managers Ltd. In infrastructure, the company expects to complete full deployment of this $660 million by the end of this year. The infrastructure fund is spread across Asia and will be looking at investments in China and Malaysia. At present, partial deployment of the fund has already taken place. In real estate, the company currently has raised funds worth $1.6 billion, of which $1.2 billion has been spent on more than 30 deals. The company is now actively looking at around 10 more deals. The remaining deployment of $0.4 billion is likely to be completed by the year end. These are expected to be mainly in the residential space, with a couple of commercial deals. Dalal is highly bullish on the opportunities available in both the infrastructure and real-estate segments. “The outlook is fairly bullish on both real estate and infrastructure. We believe there are a lot of opportunities. There may not be many good projects, but because of our reach and reputation, we do see some really good projects,” he said. IL&FS Private Equity has exposure across various segments in the infrastructure sector-ports, roads, power, logistics and others. Source : http://www.realtyplusmag.com/rpnewsletter/fullstory.asp?news_id=9177&cat_id=2 Filed under: Venture funding / P.E Tagged: IL&FS Privae Equity

Tagged as: china, financial, opportunities, private-equity, real, real estate, residential, the-residential, year

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Two exclusive residential towers

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

Water Lily & White Lily at Nahar’s Amrit Shakti is a dream come true. It is well connected to all modes of transport and has every facility within the complex. Nahar’s Amrit Shakti which is one of best housing complex- Landscaping, Greenery all around, Club House, Diagnostic Medical Centre, Mini Shopping Plazas & Departmental Store also Nahar ICSE School and a Temple are under construction, a Multiplex is proposed and a Commercial Complex for office space is being built here too. Apartment will be uniquely configured, offering great views on all sides, with Premium Flooring, International Style Modular Kitchen Cabinets with Granite Platform and Piped Gas Connection, Designer Bathrooms and Finest of Fittings, Finishing & Accessories matching the high standards of luxurious living. The towers with have a grand air-conditioned, furnished entrance lobby with landscaping and water bodies, and will have exquisitely designed lift lobby on every floor. Source: The Express Indian Source : http://propertybytes.indiaproperty.com/index.php/newsbytes/two-exclusive-residential-towers Filed under: Builders/ Developers , Mumbai , New projects Tagged: Mumbai , Nahar Group

Tagged as: city-trends, international, school

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June 2010

WEBSITES FROM BOLENAY MEDIA