affordable housing

Mahindra Group eyes low cost housing

by Paul Joseph April 30, 2011 Uncategorized
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NHB set to tighten norms on affordable housing

by Paul Joseph October 19, 2010 Uncategorized

India Property  NEW DELHI: The housing regulator plans to tighten the rules governing affordable housing as it looks to ensure that projects built on subsidised priority loans are actually delivered. The National Housing Bank is working on a proposal that seeks to make it mandatory for such projects to get rated by credit rating

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4K affordable homes on offer by Tata Housing

by Paul Joseph October 12, 2010

India Property In a major boost for mass housing, Tata Housing on Monday announced the launch of its new residential project, comprising 4,000 apartments, about 1.5 km from Vasind railway station on the Central Line. Of the total number of homes, about 1,250 flats will be in the low-cost category in its Shubh Griha brand that will be sold for Rs 5.79 lakh to Rs 7.82 lakh. These flat will

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Mhada to redevelop colonies at Vikhroli

by Paul Joseph September 13, 2010 Uncategorized

Mhada plans to redevelop two of its colonies at Vikhroli and build 31,370 new tenements, which it will sell via a lottery for those in need of affordable housing. The two Mhada colonies to be redeveloped are Kanamwarnagar and Tagore Nagar that jointly have around 15,000 tenements. After redevelopment, they will get a new stock of 31,370 tenements. The Mhada board met on Wednesday to approve the plans. State board chairman Amarjit Singh Manhas said they will be adding these new tenements to the stock of affordable housing for the public in three years time, if all the sanctions are obtained immediately. Final approval will be given by the authority shortly, he said. Mhada is taking steps to ensure that more old colonies come up for redevelopment but the response has not been good so far. It has now decided to give its old colonies, which are in need of redevelopment, a year to come up with plans. Otherwise, it will undertake the redevelopment itself. Builders approve of the new plan as it would give a fillip to Mhada activity in the affordable segment. The tenements being built will be for economically weaker sections as well as lower-income and middle-income groups. Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/mhada-to-redevelop-colonies-at-vikhroli?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+india-real-estate+%28Magicbricks+Property+Pulse%29 Filed under: Mumbai , New projects Tagged: affordable housing , Mhada , Mumbai

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Affordable houses in Sanand

by Paul Joseph September 8, 2010 Uncategorized

The bullish realty market has rendered dream homes in Ahmedabad just that — a dream — for people belonging to the middle-income group. But there’s hope, if they look towards Sanand. Seven to eight developers from the city are planning schemes in Sanand town to provide affordable housing to the middle-income group, said sources in the realty sector. The three town planning schemes announced in Sanand has increased the scope to build houses for the middle-income group. Developing Sanand Popular Group is one of the major developers eyeing Sanand. The group is launching an 800-unit residential township in Sanand. The project will be spread over 3.6 lakh sq feet. The township will have two- and three-bedroom hall kitchen (BHK) apartments. CMD of Popular Intrabuild Pvt Ltd, Virendra Patel said, “Right now, we are working on projects worth Rs 500 crore. We are building a residential luxury apartment in Gota, a high-end scheme opposite Rajpath Club and a residential township in Sanand. Most of the money is being invested in the township.” Same budget, more space “WITH LAND prices in Ahmedabad touching the sky, Sanand is the only affordable option left for developers. This enables the builder to pass on the same benefit to the buyers,” said Patel. Realty experts opine that middle-income group should look at Sanand as an option.A 2-BHK house would cost Rs 25 lakh-30 lakh in Ahmedabad. But the same budget can fetch a 3-BHK house in Sanand.CEO of Space Management Ltd, Hitesh Shah said, “Property prices are on an all-time high right now. This has forced buyers to either wait for a correction in the realty market or invest in projects in Sanand, which is a bit far from the city.” Bopal not an option TILL NOW, buyers looked at Bopal for affordable homes. “However, the Urban Development Department’s decision to interchange the zonal specifications forced property prices up by 10 to 15 per cent. “This has compelled buyers to look beyond Bopal,” said Shah. Another developer, on condition of anonymity, said he will soon launch a scheme offering 2,000 to 4000 houses on a 200-acre land near Sanand.He said “Many industries plan to establish their businesses here. There is greater scope for development here. Also, houses will always be in demand.” More Schemes MD OF b-Safal Group Rajesh Brahmbhatt is also planning a residential scheme between Ahmedabad and Sanand.“In the near future, this stretch will be the only option left for people in the middle-income group. Therefore, we are looking at a mixed development project for both middle- and high-income groups.” Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/affordable-houses-in-sanand?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+india-real-estate+%28Magicbricks+Property+Pulse%29 Filed under: Ahmedabad , Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: affordable housing , Ahmedabad , Bhopal

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Affordable housing emerging around city

by Paul Joseph August 27, 2010 Uncategorized

Bangalore The gradual economic growth is expected to change India’s income pyramid by creating a sizeable chunk of the middle income segment. This segment is expected to be the primary driver of affordable housing, according to industry analysts. A KPMG Advisory on affordable housing points out that private developers have been aggressively pursuing affordable housing post the economic slump of 2008. Developers have realised the opportunity and need for affordable housing, and have taken several steps to tap the potential. Demand from middle income segment A Knight Frank research on affordable housing estimates that the middle income population in Bangalore will require approximately 3.27 lakh housing units by 2011, which assuming an average unit size of 800 sqft translates to approximately 262 million sqft of residential space. Approximately, 80 percent of this total middle income housing requirement will be accounted for by the Rs 3-5 lakh income segment. As per survey results, this income group prefers property prices in the range of Rs 13-18 lakhs. Affordable housing on outskirts Gauging the rising demand for smaller, yet affordable homes with premium facilities, established builders in the city have announced projects on the outskirts offering homes in the price range between Rs 19 lakhs and Rs 40 lakhs. Improved connectivity linking these far-flung locations to the city centre as well as the development of social infrastructure is creating attractive housing options for homebuyers. Five major residential BDA layouts have been planned around the city along the planned Peripheral Ring Road (PRR). The five layouts comprise Dr Shivarama Karanth Layout, D Devaraj Urs Layout, S Nijalingappa Layout, K C Reddy Layout and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout. Once completed, these layouts together will cater to housing needs of one lakh people. Areas where there is industrial activity are a good bet for affordable housing units. This is primarily because of the vast number of those employed in the industries here which make a potential market. Just the way the IT parks propelled a walk-to-work culture, having affordable homes close to the places of work on the outskirts can make this concept work for a different segment of the employed too. North Singularly driven by the sixlane road to the international airport, this zone is waking up to hectic real estate activity. Peenya, Jalahalli, Yelahanka, Sahakarnagar, BEML Circle, Devanahalli, and Doddaballapur Road will see affordable housing options in the range of Rs 20-25 lakhs. The widened Doddaballapur Main Road and the Hennur-Banaswadi Road are potential locations for affordable housing options in the next two to three years given the availability of large land parcels here. Areas around Devanahalli up to Doddaballapur Road, about 40 km from the city centre, have options in the price bracket of up to Rs 20 lakhs. The upcoming hardware, logistics and warehousing, textile, IT and non-IT SEZs are slated to drive the boom for affordable residences.The Shivarama Karanth Layout has been earmarked along Phase I of the PRR. South The Sarjapur Main Road leading to Sarjapur Village, and the Sarjapur ORR, is where most of the affordable residential property activity is centred around. The emergence of quality social infrastructure, with malls and int e r n at i o n a l schools, has created a mix of both luxury and affordable residential options in the vicinities along these roads.The option of owning a budget apartment is also available in localities near Kanakapura Road, Bannerghatta Road, Hosur Road, Anekal, Jigani, Begur, and Electronics City in the price range of Rs 25-40 lakhs.D Devaraj Urs Layout, S Nijalingappa Layout and K C Reddy Layout have been planned along Phase I of the PRR. East In the east, the Hoskote Industrial stretch on NH-207 is fast-emerging as a budget home belt. With Hoskote becoming a prime logistics and warehousing hotbed, this locality is expected to reign in more employment.Whitefield and Kadugudi are gradually having a spurt in budget residential clusters with established developers homing in on these locations. West Mysore Road, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Kengeri, and Magadi Road have people opting for affordable homes. Along the improved Tumkur Road stretch new industries are setting up bases and hence will fuel the need for budget housing for those employed here. The Kempegowda Layout is slated to be a model one and will be self-sustained having both residential and commercial establishments. All amenities like parks, roads, playgrounds etc as well as educational institutions and healthcare facilities will feature in the layout making it on par with any other township. It is touted to be one of the biggest layouts and will span across 4,814 acres, including 12 villages between Magadi Road and Mysore Road on Phase II of the PRR. Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/affordable-housing-emerging-around-city?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+india-real-estate+%28Magicbricks+Property+Pulse%29 Filed under: Bangalore , Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: affordable housing , Bangalore , Knight Frank

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IFC looks at affordable housing projects in India

by Paul Joseph August 23, 2010 Uncategorized

The International Finance Corporation is in talks with several real estate developers to create large affordable housing projects in India. “IFC has been talking with everybody; there have been discussions with the Tatas and with other corporate groups on this,” said Mr Paolo Martelli, Director, South Asia, IFC. “Everybody” includes both real estate developers and housing finance companies, he said. “We are working on this and we hope one of these projects will be developed in the next six months,” he said. Lessons from others If the estimated housing deficit in India is 25 million units, then such a large requirement cannot be tackled completely from a real estate point of view, according to Mr Martelli. IFC can help the Indian sector with advice on how affordable housing has been tackled in other countries such as Mexico where “literally, they are building cities at a time, 15,000 to 20,000 homes, costing between $7,000 to $15,000”. (The Corporation is also in talks with home builder Homex in Mexico for such projects here in India.) But both the real estate and financial sectors here must understand the underlying concept – that such projects will not entail speculating on land. “I mean if you had to sell 15,000 houses, you cannot speculate on the price of land,” said Mr. Martelli. With respect to the financial sector, one “cannot look at affordable housing with the same concept as mortgage,” he said. “I try to help build institutions that can finance or build, say five million homes. We are trying to show the market what has been done in other countries. We are talking with private players here. Low income housing has a multiplier effect – as low as four times and as high as seven-eight times. It can have tremendous impact on the growth of the country,” said Mr. Martelli. In India, IFC continues to go by its mandate: its three-pillar strategy of inclusive growth, climate change and regional integration, said Mr Martelli. With respect to micro-finance, Mr Martelli pointed out that 75 per cent of the industry in India is still in the four southern states. IFC is increasingly trying to focus on the low income States, said Mr Martelli. A special point of interest for IFC is the non-banking financial sector. “We have basically tried to support the transformation of NGOs into development institutions and to help them scale their operations, and to operate in these other low income parts of India.” In India, climate change, trade finance, creation of wind, solar and other types of renewable energy, micro finance, micro-insurance, development of infrastructure such as power, cold chains and the likes have been IFC’s areas of interest. For both FY-09 and FY-10 (fiscal year ending June 30), IFC’s highest exposure has been in India. Out of the $3.5 billion that IFC has committed in India, $2.5-2.6 billion have been disbursed. IFC will continue to invest roughly $1 billion in India every year for the next two or three years, said Mr Martelli. Around 22 per cent of IFC’s exposure in India consists of equity and the rest, debt. Source:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/08/23/stories/2010082351830300.htm Filed under: Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: affordable housing , The International Finance Corporation

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Ahmedabad developers set to provide affordable housing

by Paul Joseph July 20, 2010

A group of developers in Ahmedabad are focussing on providing affordable housing within the range of 7 lakhs to 12 lakhs for the people having income between Rs.10,000  to Rs.15,000 a month and can afford to take bank loans up to Rs 3- 5 lakh at prevailing rates. Ahmedabad, with six such affordable housing schemes coming up in and around the city, is now next to Mumbai which has ten such schemes for people with low or medium income group. These schemes are enlisted by NHB – The National Housing Bank of India. Cities like Pune and Nagpur in Maharashtra, Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and Bangalore has two such projects respectively. The trend of developing affordable housing is increasing in India. There is a huge demand for affordable housing in the country. Though the profit margins are less in such projects, the volumes are huge, so many builders are now coming forward for development of such housing schemes. Source : http://www.accommodationtimes.com/real-estate-news/ahmedabad-developers-set-to-provide-affordable-housing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AccommodationTimes+%28Accommodation+Times%29 Filed under: Ahmedabad , Builders/ Developers , New projects Tagged: affordable housing , Ahmedabad

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Maha govt may come up with legislation for affordable housing: Sachin Ahir

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2010

Ahir also pointed out that the government has extended incentives in terms of FSI for parking facilities and Green solutions in the residential projects 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 Sachin Ahir, 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 – ‘Maximizing Opportunities 2010 and Beyond’, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 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. Arun Nanda, Chairman, CII Western Region and 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. Nanda said, “With market recovery in 2010, the residential prices are shot up by 30-35 per cent. 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 Nanda said. 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.” Source : http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Government-might-have-to-come-up-with-Legislation-for-affordable-housing-Sachin-Ahir/4868954167 Filed under: Legal questions , Mumbai , Navi Mumbai Tagged: affordable housing , Real Estate in Maharashtra

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Century Real Estate earmarks Rs 800 crore to launch seven projects

by Paul Joseph June 25, 2010

Bangalore-based Century Real Estate is planning to launch seven projects this year involving an investment of about Rs 800 crore. Of the proposed projects, five will be in the affordable housing segment, one will be a villa project and the last a mixed-use development that will comprise commercial building and high-end residential apartments. The company plans to fund the projects through pre-sales and bank finance. P Ravindra Pai, managing director, Century Real Estate, said, “Our rich heritage in land bank and historical purchase price gives us an edge when it comes to lower costs. Together with our design efficiency and superior planning, we are able to offer homes that exceed customers’ expectations. With a vast land bank, we are able to give our customers houses with a perfect mix of location and price.” The names of the proposed project are Century Paradise, Century Marvel, Century Square, Century Prakruti, Century Arcadia, Century Koruna, and Century Constella. Century Paradise, which is located off Bannerghatta road, comprises a total of 52 apartments with 2 and 3 bhk units. Century Marvel, which is located at Kempapura across 66,721 sq ft, comprises 90 units of 2 and 3 bhk apartments. Century Square, located at Bellary Road, is a G+21 building with all civic amenities and a helipad. Of the 1.43 million sq ft in super area, 0.75 million sq ft will be for residential, 0.58 million sq ft for commercial and 0.10 million sq ft for retail. Century Prakruti is a mix-use project located at Devanahalli and spread across 68 acres, of which 25 acres will be for villas and IT SEZ each, and 18 acres will be for apartments. This property is situated just 1.5 km from the Bengaluru International Airport. Century Arcadia is located at Bellary Road and is spread across 11 acres. The project will have five towers with G + 7 floors. Century Koruna, located at Yelahanka new town, is a residential project spread across 33 acres. The project will have 2 and 3 bhk units sized between 880 sq ft – 1,200 sq ft. Century Constella is located at Chikkajala, which is spread across 65 acres of land. Source : http://www.realtyplusmag.com/rpnewsletter/fullstory.asp?news_id=9135&cat_id=1 Filed under: Bangalore , Builders/ Developers , New projects , Retail/ malls , Serviced apartments/offices Tagged: affordable housing , Bangalore , Century Real Estate , Commercial Project , Villa Projects

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