Choice Hotels India Expands Hotel Presence in Delhi NCR

Gurgaon, Haryana, October 29, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Choice Hotels India has recently launched two additional properties in Delhi NCR as part of its rapidly expanding portfolio. They are Quality Inn Bliss in Gurgaon and Quality Hotel Sewa Grand in Faridabad.

Quality Inn Bliss is conveniently located in the heart of Gurgaon amidst multinational companies and premier establishments. The hotel offers 39 well appointed guestrooms with modern facilities in an ambience of unmatched comfort. “Fusion” the Multicuisine Restaurant with a show kitchen is perfect for a working lunch or an exuberant dinner. “Celsius” the Lounge Bar offers imaginative quaint cocktails and housing some of the best wines & malt whiskeys of the world. “Viceroy” state-of-the-art Board room is ideal for small meetings and ?‘Ritz I & II’ are the fully equipped banquet & conference halls.

Quality Hotel Sewa Grand Faridabad is ideally situated at Mathura Road on the highway leading from Delhi to Agra. 82 spacious rooms and suites are elegantly and tastefully decorated to suit all modern needs.. ‘Cafe Pacific’ the all day dining Multicuisine Restaurant offers an extensive selection of mouth watering delicacies to tingle your taste buds. ‘Atlantis Bar’ is a great relaxing place to unwind and choose from a fine selection of spirits and cocktails. Fully equipped banquet & conference halls ‘Royal Ball Room’ and ‘Senate’ can accommodate upto 350 guests.

Apart from these two hotels, CHI has Comfort Inn The President and Clarion Collection in New Delhi. Designed to meet the needs of today’s traveller, all these hotels ensures exceptional value, courteous service and comfortable accommodation. They are in the most convenient location for both business and pleasure.

Mr. Vilas Pawar, CEO, Choice Hotels India, said, “Choice Hotels India now has four properties in Delhi NCR. We are also coming up with 160 rooms Clarion in Greater Noida to be operational by next year. In addition to this, CHI has also signed one more property under Sleep Inn brand in Delhi. Our multiple presence in Delhi NCR speaks out the success and phenomenal growth.”

Notes to Editor

Choice Hotels India

Choice Hotels India is part of Choice Hotels International, one of the largest and most widespread lodging franchisors of the world with over 5000 hotels across the globe. Today Choice Hotels India is one of the fastest and finest growing hotel chains with 29 properties over 21 destinations in India and another 14 properties under different stages of development. These hotels are in various destinations including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kodaikanal, Lucknow, Faridabad, Amritsar, Shimla, Manali, Corbett, Pune, Nashik, Haldwani, Chiplun, Tuticorin and Vijayawada. Its presence in all the gateway cities proves that the chain is widely accepted by business as well as leisure travelers who recognize and trust the brand.

Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International is one of the largest and most successful lodging franchisors in the world. Built on the foundation of the venerable Quality Inn? brand a pioneer in consistent mid-priced lodging, Choice Hotels today is the worldwide franchisor of Cambria Suites TM, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn brand hotels.

source:http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/leisure-travel/2009102936519.htm#at

Hotel with a helipad beats New Town blues

An artist’s impression of the Shristi-Westin hotel

Rajarhat the hospitality hub scored a rare victory on Tuesday with the announcement of a Rs 800 crore five-star property, crowned with a helipad.

Shristi Hotel, an arm of Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, has joined hands with global hospitality major Westin Hotels & Resorts, for the 323-key address which hopes to welcome guests by end-2011.

The twin towers of the G+35 hotel, a “bionic structure”, will boast a rooftop helipad, “a first by an Indian hotel”, and a high-tech fire-fighting system with Israeli collaboration, geared to evacuate 150 people in eight minutes.

This is the second hotel project with an overseas partner announced in Rajarhat in recent weeks, with Ambuja Realty confirming the Swissôtel Group as its hospitality partner for the five-star mall hotel atop City Centre 2.

The Shristi-Westin alliance on the eight-acre sland parcel would be the first standalone deluxe five-star hotel in a Rajarhat rocked by lack of infrastructure and land-grab allegations.

Calcutta, languishing at a five-star room count of just over a thousand — about a ninth of Delhi’s — was promised an injection of at least 2,000 new star keys over a five-year timeframe. Going by today’s status, not even 20 per cent of that room rack will be ready by 2010.

DLF, which had pledged to bring three star hotels to Calcutta with a combined investment of Rs 1,000 crore, is yet to break ground.

Bengal Unitech Universal, committed to adding three properties in Rajarhat offering 500-plus keys among them, has only completed the foundation for the Marriott Courtyard in its IT park, with little signs of moving a step further.

Emaar-MGF, which made real estate history in Calcutta by quoting a record Rs 213 crore for a 6.24-acre plot on the Bypass, is also going slow on its double-header there — a JW Marriott and a Holiday Inn — with 250 keys each.

So why is the Shristi-Westin hotel taking the plunge? “The feasibility analysis by Deloitte has thrown up very encouraging potential for hotel rooms here,” said Sujit Kanoria, the managing director of Shristi Infrastructure Development.

Designed by the Spanish firm of Cervera & Pioz, which created the New York Stock Exchange and the Acropolis Museum in Greece, the star address is banking on “building with the bear and running with the bull”, says an industry veteran.

“Thanks to the small inventory size in Calcutta, there’s always room for more, despite the low energy. When the Shristi-Westin hotel will become operational, the overall economy would have turned the corner and the rest of the hotel projects would not be ready,” he added.

The hotel will have a wrap-around shopping and entertainment arcade with “an eclectic mix of live entertainment, fun and fine-dining outlets, speciality retail and state-of-the-art cinemas”.

Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091028/jsp/calcutta/story_11664634.jsp

Majority of Dharavi dwellers may be ineligible for rehousing

Even as the Dharavi redevelopment project seems likely to be pushed with renewed vigour by the new state government, fresh revelations threaten to put a big question mark over the rehabilitation of over 3 lakh slum residents, with some officials warning of a potential law-and-order problem.

A preliminary assessment carried out by the competent authority—BMC assistant commissioner (G-North ward) Narayan Pai – to verify the status of slum dwellers has found only 37% of them eligible for rehousing in one of the five sectors of Dharavi. Pai has officially noted that out of 8,478 hutments (families) in Sector 4, only 3,127 are eligible.

The slum dwellers found ineligible in the survey are the ones who have been unable to produce proof of residence or documents that show they have been living in Dharavi prior to the government’s latest cut-off date of January 1, 2000. Several thousand hutments have been sold since this cut-off date and the new occupants do not possess photo passes, which are given only to slum residents considered to be eligible for rehabilitation by the government.

The sticky situation forced the project’s officer on special duty, Gautam Chaterjee, to write to the state government last week, warning that the Rs 15,000-crore scheme could not be implemented until all issues related to rehabilitation were sorted out. Chaterjee has termed this a “serious matter”.

Dharavi has been carved into five sectors, each of which will be awarded to a private developer. The 2 sq km enclave has about 60,000 families or over 3 lakh people to be rehoused by developers as part of the project.

Pai’s survey showed that in one of the slum clusters in Sector 4, only 17% families were eligible under the scheme. Said a senior Mantralaya official, “Will those who are ineligible be dumped in the Arabian Sea? The government is looking at a law-and-order problem if thousands of families find themselves being forced out.”

Several builders in the race have reportedly been constantly questioning the government on who will be responsible for shifting out ineligible slum families who might refuse to move when the redevelopment work commences. The government’s reply is that it will undertake the task itself after following the ‘due process of law’. The more sceptical among the builders fear that this ‘due process’ could take months or even years, and say that they cannot afford to wait that long, especially if they are expected to pump in several hundred crores into the project and pay a hefty infrastructure charge to the government.

Interestingly, the Pune-based NGO, Mashal, soon after it completed an exhaustive 18-month-long survey of the 590-acre sprawl, found that more than 5,000 shanties in Dharavi had been sold over the past four to five months to individual investors who expect the project to kick off shortly. Each slum tenement, which is barely 120-200 sq ft in size, was being sold for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. Commercial units, around 150 sq ft, are selling for anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh.

The Dharavi project has been mired in controversy for some time now. Early this year, the state government-appointed committee of experts described the project as a “sophisticated land grab” meant to benefit builders more than slum dwellers. The committee, headed by former chief secretary D M Sukthankar, was formed late last year by chief minister Ashok Chavan to monitor, supervise and advise the government on the humungous project involving the rehabilitation of slum residents of Dharavi.

“There is no study which shows the kind of physical infrastructure such as transport capacity, water supply, drainage, as well as the social infrastructure of schools, medical facilities etc available today and whether with the increase in the population after redevelopment, the increased infrastructure is really possible. Successive municipal commissioners and hydraulic engineers have indicated that such an enhancement in infrastructure will overburden the rest of the city and have an overall detrimental effect,” the committee has warned.

As reported by TOI in the past, there is a concerted effort by some developers to form a cartel to grab the project. According to sources both in the government and within the real estate industry, a few of the 14 shortlisted developers for the Dharavi project are backed by powerful state politicians. Only five developers will be selected to redevelop the five zones in Dharavi.

In July, the state government twice postponed the opening of the bids, giving the flimsy reason that it had not finalised the final notification for the project. However, sources said there were other reasons for the delay. Real estate industry sources claimed that there is huge money at stake. The project was expected to be cleared before the elections but there was a last-minute glitch. Now the new government will take a call soon, the sources said.

source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Majority-of-Dharavi-dwellers-may-be-ineligible-for-rehousing/articleshow/5170869.cms

Home prices may hold despite tighter norms

Home prices may not rise sharply despite an increase in provisioning norms on loans to the real estate sector by the central bank, reversing a stimulus measure and seeking to nip the formation of another asset bubble in the bud.

Shares of property companies slumped, with the Bombay Stock Exchange Realty Index, which has risen 78% this year, dropping 6.24% on Tuesday compared with a 2.31% decline in the benchmark equity index, the Sensex.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the provisioning for real estate loans to 1% from the earlier 0.4% at its quarterly monetary policy announcement on Tuesday. In November, RBI had reduced the provisioning requirement to 0.4% from 1% to boost the real estate sector, which saw residential sales fall as much as 50% during the downturn amid the global financial crisis.

In April-May, this year, the sector started to see an improvement in sales as developers launched homes in the affordable Rs15-30 lakh range and interest rates on home loans came down.

In the last quarter, however, due to the improved sales, developers in Mumbai and Delhi suburb Gurgaon increased home prices by 5-15%, signalling that the price drop seen during the slowdown was over.

“There is no asset bubble in the making but the market has turned around so significantly that the RBI is saying that last year we reduced provisioning norms in the interest of developers, so now that they are pricing products high, why should we give them leverage,” said Shobhit Agarwal, joint managing director, capital markets, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

Developers say that while the tighter provisioning norms will impact margins, they will hold prices.

DLF Ltd, India’s largest developer by market value, said the changed provisioning norms will not lead to an increase in the prices of homes, though an increase in the risk weightage for real estate will send out a negative signal to the sector.

“This is perhaps not required so early in the economic revival process,” said Rajiv Talwar, group executive director, DLF.

Agarwal agrees that the impact on the sector will not be significant. “This policy will impact developers, which we have seen in the way realty stocks have gone down, and not so much home prices,” he said. “There might be some developers who may want to increase home prices but the increase in provisioning is not so significant that home prices will shoot up.”

Not everyone is so sure. According to Mumbai-based Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), the third largest developer by market value, home prices may increase depending on the liquidity levels of companies.

“The new provisioning norm will make lending more expensive for developers, squeezing their profitability, and so those in need of cash flow may pass it on to buyers, leading to a rise in prices,” said Hari Pandey, vice-president, finance and investor relations, HDIL.

HDIL has in the past one year borrowed Rs400 crore from banks, at an average lending cost of 12%. The company has repaid about Rs200 crore to banks in the same period. DLF shares fell 6.4% to Rs401.70 each at the close on Tuesday, Unitech Ltd fell 7.71% to Rs85.60, HDIL fell 8.8% to Rs339.45 and Parsvnath Developers Ltd fell 7.61% to Rs114.20.

RBI’s signals favouring a tighter monetary policy could have a knock-on effect.

“Interest rates may also go up, and then the cost of lending will move up and developers will be affected,” said Pandey. That may not happen until the end of the fiscal, according to banks.

“I do not see any change in the interest rates till March. There is no liquidity problem in the system and credit offtake is less than expected,” Corporation Bank executive director Asit Pal told PTI.

M.V. Nair, chairman and managing director, Union Bank of India, told Reuters that he doesn’t expect rates to change in the near future. “There is a concern of low demand from industries,” Nair was cited as saying. “We expect demand to pick up from the second half of the (fiscal) year. The cost of funding for banks is coming down and lending rates have also come down over time.”

M.D. Mallya, chairman and managing director, Bank of Baroda, agreed with his colleague. “I don’t see any change in rates at this point of time. I think stable rates will prevail for the time.” Home prices are largely dependent on the demand-supply situation in the sector and the RBI measure will not affect them, said Pujit Aggarwal, managing director of Orbit Corp. Ltd, a Mumbai-based real estate firm.

“Considering that bank loans to the real estate sector are already expensive, at a premium of 150-300 basis points, it is likely that banks themselves will absorb this cost,” he said. Orbit’s consolidated debt (from bank borrowings) is about Rs450-470 crore.

Developers such as the Bangalore-based Ozone Group also said that new projects that have not tied up funds for construction finance and have not received a commitment from banks are the ones that will be directly affected.

“Just when the sector was heading for a complete turnaround, this comes as a setback to the overall sentiment,” said K.S. Sudarshan, chief executive of Ozone Group. “It has to be seen how banks react to this change and shoulder it themselves or changes interest rates.”

Source:http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/28001128/Home-prices-may-hold-despite-t.html?h=B

Park View Spa Next

Gurgaon, a modern suburb of Delhi, is witnessing a flurry of activities in real estate sector. Well-known realty majors are developing a large number of projects to meet the growing demands in the commercial and residential sectors. Bestech Group, a twenty-year-old company with construction background and a prominent name in north India, is owned, managed and led by Dharmendra Bhandari and Sunil Satija. The group has a portfolio that boasts of real estate development, hospitality and construction.

Bestech Group is developing commercial and IT projects over an area of approximately 2.5 million sq ft, 50% of which will be delivered within the next 6-9 months. A few of its landmark commercial projects are Bestech Cyber Park, Park View Business Tower, Bestech Chambers, and Orient Bestech Business Tower.

In residential arena, it has already developed and handed over 1,000 dwelling units at Park View City and Park View City-2. Another 700 flats in Park View Residency are ready for possession. Approximately, 1,200 flats are under construction in Park View Spa, Park View Delight and Park View Spa Next.

The overwhelming response to the Park View Spa resulted in the sale of the entire project in 45 days flat. It inspired Bestech to launch a new residential project — Park View Spa Next, an affordable luxury apartment located in Sector 67 Gurgaon.

Park View Spa Next

Billed as ‘Dreams to Desire, Everything Fulfilled’, Park View Spa Next “gives another chance to those who have earlier missed the opportunity to own a marvel home at affordable price”, its developers claim. Park View Spa Next is spread over 11 acres, comprising 440 units of 3 B/R, 4B/R and 4 B/R plus family lounge. These apartments are priced between Rs 65 lakhs to Rs 95 lakhs. Bestech has designed this project keeping in mind modern-day requirements of end users.

Each apartment is airconditioned with imported marble flooring in living and dining area, complemented with modular kitchens, wooden flooring and wall-hung WC’s in all bathrooms. “Park View Spa Next is all this and much more and definitely meant for those with distinctly refined taste,” says the developers’ catalogue.

Strategically located in Gurgaon’s Sector 67, Park View Spa Next has direct access from Golf Course extension road. It is on a 6-minute drive from NH-8 and is only 3 minutes from the proposed Metro station. Other highlights of Park View Spa Next include central lush green landscapes, a fully-equipped gym, swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, power backup, children’s play area, 3-tier security and ample parking space to accommodate a fleet of cars for every apartment owner. Daily necessities can be acquired from the shopping store inside the complex. “Park View Spa Next is a model of living at its best,” the developers say.

An official of the company says they have started new projects based on “exciting new concepts of modern lifestyle” – and in keeping with it, “Bestech Group is further launching a project in the heart of Mohali. The project ‘Bestech Square’ consists of a residential group housing, a mall and a commercial office building. It is spreads over 13 acres of land and is strategically located next to the residential Phase XI of Mohali. The group housing consists of 2 B/R and 3 B/R apartments, starting from Rs 25 lakh onwards.”

The hospitality divisions of Bestech Group have two 4-star hotels that are fully operational – ‘Park Plaza’ Noida with 88 rooms with two specialty restaurants, and ‘Radisson Suites’ at Gurgaon. Further, two 5-star hotels – ‘Radisson Indore’ and ‘Radisson Nagpur’ – each comprising more than 200 rooms are soon heading for completion.

The group is in the process of developing new and exciting projects targeting a different set of customers. An official of Bestech says, “The company is forging new methodologies and technological backups for building a new and better tomorrow. The landmark projects initiated by the group, independently, are symbols of perfection and precision and the result of concerted efforts of its professionals, engineers, design specialists and suppliers. Bestech is steaming ahead with innovation and commitment, striving relentlessly to better its previous performance. Bestech Group is building more than trust.”

Source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12493c2f56b21b46

Banks Combat With Each Other To Attract Buyers For Luxury Home Loans Segment

With banks elbowing each other out to have premium customers in their fold, borrowing more than Rs 50 lakh to buy a high-end home has become a breeze. Standard Chartered Bank has joined a couple of others in offering enticing interest rates on home loans above Rs 50 lakh. State Bank of India (SBI), with its 8 per cent fixed rate for the first year offer, has been able to draw a good number of premium customers for home loans as it seeks to get the rich to bank. On the other hand, Development Credit Bank (DCB) has the lowest offer among all lenders. In the first year, the bank charges 7.95 per cent for loans up to Rs 5 crore and the existing floating rate from the second year onwards.

Source : Financial Chronicle

London-Based Firm To Exhibit Housing Project In India To British Investors

With the global economy recovering, a London-based firm plans to organise a property show to showcase residential projects in India to British investors. The event, to be organised by real estate agent Hamptons International, will be held Oct 30 to Nov 1 at the firm’s head office in London. “India has always been a major market for Hamptons International, given the UK’s long and close ties with this country,” said company international sales manager, Mr. Dean Foley. The firm has organized the event in partnership with leading developers including Emaar MGF, Spire Edge, Ansal, ANR Infrastructure, Santa Fe Realty and Godrej.

Source : indianrealtynews.com

DLF Likely To Scrap Bangalore Row House Project

DLF Ltd is reconsidering its decision to set up 270 row houses spread over 38 acres, a part of the firm’s large development project coming up in Jigani Industrial Area. Each row house was supposed to cost somewhere between Rs 70-80 lakh. Now, the company has changed its plan to exploit potential in mid-segment housing that is sensing strong demand. The main focus will now be on mid-income homes and commercial complexes, with deferment of high-margin launches in luxury homes and retail space, the company said in a statement released in the beginning of this year. However, unlike Bangalore, in Mumbai, the premium housing segment is witnessing enough traction. Mumbai-based realtor, Indiabulls Real Estate sold all the slots that were open in the first phase of its residential project Indiabulls Sky at Elphinstone Road. The company has launched three residential projects next to its commercial vertical, One Indiabulls Center.

Source : DNA Money

Vasavi Housing Launches Green Residential Apartment Project In Chennai

Vasavi Housing Infrastructure has announced the launch of a Rs. 20 crore residential project ‘Anicham.’ For this project, a complete green house concept would be adopted which consists of 54 apartments (two and three bedrooms) at Kelambakkam on the outskirts of Chennai. The project is expected to complete by June 2011.

Source : The Hindu Business Line

DDA May Start The Allotment Process By November-end

If everything goes fine, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) may begin the process of allotting flats to its allottees of the 2008 housing scheme by November-end. The draw of lots to 5,238 flats was held in December 2008. This year, in January, the Union Urban Development Ministry froze the allotments after allegations of irregularities in the reserved category cropped up. A group of builders had forged documents to get flats under the reserved category. According to sources, Union Urban Development Ministry (UDM), the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), where the software report of the draw has been sent for investigation, is expected to submit its report by October end. “Once C-DOT submits its report and we get a green signal from the UD Ministry, we will start the allotment process,” said a DDA official who did not want to be quoted.

Source : Hindustan Times

Low Cost Homes – A Boon For Real Estate Developers

The earnings of DLF and Unitech in this quarter were better than the June quarter as sale of low-priced homes brought in hopes of revival, But this may fizzle out if developers keep raising prices. During the current fiscal, Unitech and DLF have sold over 7 million sq ft and 4 million sq ft of space, respectively, from their new launches.

Source : indianrealtynews.com

Mumbai’s super-rich back to house-hunting

Mumbai, Oct. 24 Luxury homes are back in the reckoning and it appears that the days when sales are complete before the shovel is put to earth is not too far off.

A niche Mumbai expo, with just seven developers show-casing their high-end offerings in the price Rs 4.5-22-crore price range, attracted substantial high net worth individuals’ interest, with the sponsor, Deutsche Bank AG, stacking up a large number of applications for funding.

Total Environment Building Systems, Bangalore, is looking to sell 180 duplex apartments in Whitefield, near Bangalore, priced around Rs 4.5 crore each. Mr Alexander John Kurian, Assistant Vice-President, Marketing, says the company has already sold 73 villas, also in the same price line, in the same area. Unlike six months ago, today, enquiries today are translating into sales, he says.

Total Environment provides customised furnished homes. Another of its other properties in south Bangalore priced upwards of Rs 1.8 crore has been sold out.

Mumbai-based Ahuja Constructions has on offer Rs 20-crore-plus properties in central Mumbai. Ms Malvika Chandra, Head, Marketing, says the company has luxury apartments across Mumbai — from Bandra to Navi Mumbai — and has always been able to sell without much publicity.

From terrace gardens to private swimming pools with underwater lighting and central air conditioning, builders such as Hiranandanis, Sobha Developers, Kumar Developers and RNA Corp, had them all.

Brushing aside the numbers he logged in the opening hours of the ‘Millionaire Homes’ exhibition, Mr Sriram Kalyanaraman, Director and Head, Business Banking and Asset Products, Deutsche Bank, says it was primarily the profile of the customer and the access the event could provide that determined the bank’s participation in the programme. He said the overall sentiment was improving and the bank was getting good response for funding across all segments of the residential space. Though the bank wants to cap advances at Rs 5 crore an apartment, it could go higher in exceptional cases, he said.

Mr Sunish Tom of Dun and Bradstreet, the event organiser, says D&B has identified in Mumbai one lakh HNIs who intend buying property, either as an investment or a second home across the country. About 3,000 such HNIs were short-listed and invited to the expo, he said.

Source:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/10/25/stories/2009102550880100.htm

Royal Palms Launches 4 More Affordable Housing Projects

Royal Palms Estates, Mumbai’s leading developer, has made the festive season even more cheerful by launching 4 more affordable housing projects at Goregaon East with completion dates of 24 months. The move comes in the wake of the tremendous response to the sale of ready possession properties last month with those who were left out urging the company to launch more such projects. In August 2009, the company had announced a sale of ready possession properties – both residential and commercial – @ Rs 3,999/- which had generated sales of over 350 ready possession units worth Rs 90 crore in a span of 9 days.

Royal Palms Estates is a sought after destination in view of the greenery it offers and the close connectivity with Powai and Western Express Highway. The township has developed into a bustling mini-city with not just the golf course for which it has always been known, but also a health spa, recreation club, a lake, a man-made beach, a shopping mall, restaurants, a cafeteria, a shopping village, 5 star hotels, offices and IT parks. All this is in addition to residential properties that also include studio apartments, villas, bungalow plots and row houses. Having delivered close to 1600 residential flats and the same number of offices in its sprawling 240 acre complex, Royal Palms is set to achieve a critical mass of 2500 residential flats and 2500 offices by 2012 which will turn it into one of the most promising locations for stay, leisure, recreation, entertainment, shopping and business.

Says Dilawar Nensey, Jt Managing Director, Royal Palms Estates, “Given the repeated requests by those who felt they had missed giving their families the perfect home during our previous offerings, we have launched four new residential buildings @ Rs 3,999/- per sq ft.”

The new projects are: Ruby Isle Apartment, Diamond Isle Apartment, Crystal Isle Apartments and Palms Island Apartment 4. Between the four projects, the prospective buyer can choose between 1RK (Condos) from Rs.13.19* lacs, 1 bhk from Rs.21.75* lacs, 2 bhk from Rs.31.91 * lacs and 3 bhk from Rs.43.26* lacs depending on the budget. The biggest plus point in these projects is the low ratio of carpet area to the saleable floor space. So effectively, one will find the 850 sq ft to be more spacious when compared to similar offerings in Mumbai. The four projects – having beautiful views – offer a home with all natural advantages and modern infrastructure at a price never before heard of.

Adds Nensey, “Royal Palms is the ideal example of making available modern infrastructure and amenities without disturbing the environment. In fact, with each new project the management at Royal Palms invests more in greenery and environment and ensures a bigger green cover. What’s more, the affordability factor makes it possible even for the middle class to live amidst world class amenities – something which they could only dream of in the past.”

For the harried Mumbaikar, the cool, silent environment is the beginning of the ideal lifestyle which brings everlasting happiness in their lives. The location of Royal Palms at Aarey Road, adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park makes it an ideal abode as well as a quick getaway for the stressed out Mumbaikars looking for solitude and serenity amidst natural and unpolluted environment.

Source:http://www.equitybulls.com/admin/news2006/news_det.asp?id=62352

Guj builders plan permanent property show

Gujarat based builders are planning to replicate the Japanese model of permanent property show to display large number of real estate projects at a single venue near Ahmedabad.

The idea of developing a facility for displaying built sample houses along with layouts has come from a recent study tour of Gujarat chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) to Japan and South Korea. Around 120 real estate developers from across Gujarat visited the two countries earlier this month.

The permanent property show near Osaka drew attention of the entire delegation. “Most of us believe it would make sense to replicate the model somewhere near Ahmedabad instead of holding property shows periodically,” said Jaxay Shah, president CREDAI (Gujarat). Prospective buyers also don’t have to waste time by visiting different construction sites.

Mehsana-based builder Sandeep Sheth, who coordinated the study tour, said, “Under one roof, customers would get an idea about overall realty development across the state and developers will have the advantage of a large platform which would attract a broad base of prospective buyers.”

The Osaka model has excellent landscaping, gardens, restaurants and an entertainment zone for children where families spend considerable time before taking the crucial decision on which residential or commercial space to buy.

Suresh Patel, vice-president of Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED), said if the state government supports the idea, it could generate good revenue out of rentals from developers who book space in the project.

There were other unique schemes which impressed the local realtors. Ahmedabad-based realtor Dushyant Pandya said he was eager to replicate a solar bungalow project. The one he saw had 120 dwelling units running only on solar energy. “Cost-wise, these would be expensive initially but they would be cheaper in the long run,” he said.

Among other projects they visited was one especially developed for artists like painters, sculptors, designers and creative people. The homes offer an ambience which helps creativity blossom.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Guj-builders-plan-permanent-property-show/articleshow/5158544.cms

Home loan processing just got tougher

The emergence of “affordable” housing has revived the real estate market, but for prospective buyers, getting a home loan
approval has just got a little more difficult.

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

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

Kotak Mahindra Bank takes into consideration only the monthly income to calculate the EMI. “We don’t look at other incomes such as bonus because it may not be there every year,’’ says Kamlesh Rao, executive vice-president, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Some banks are assigning sector wise installment-to-income ratios so that there is consistency in loan disbursals. Such ratios are determined on the performance and the credit rating of the industry.

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

Even when it comes to documentation, banks are more stringent before disbursing home loans. Apart from the pre-requisite documents like IT returns of three years, PAN card copy and bank statements of the last six months, banks are also scrutinising details such as passbook entries to check withdrawal patterns.

“Banks like us are actively tapping the Cibil (Credit Information Bureau) list to check among other things the credit card payment history of borrowers. Such checking
is now integral to the credit buying process,’’ says Rao.

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

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/loan-centre/home-loans/home-loans-news/Home-loan-processing-just-got-tougher/articleshow/5155667.cms

Foreign hotels jack up star value in India

Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel chain, is popular among international travellers as a budget hotel. But in India, where it will Hotel open its first hotel in Bangalore early next month, Premier Inn is pitching itself as a value-for-money mid-market brand.

“In India we realised that the consumers’ connotation of a budget hotel means something that might not offer quality. So we decided to term ourselves as value for money mid-market hotel brand,” says Aly Shariff, managing director of Premier Inn, which plans to build 80 hotels across the country for an investment of 300 million pounds.

It’s not an exception, though. As a rule, most international hotel chains are positioning themselves higher than their global equity in India, thanks to the country’s peculiar business model for building and running hotels that just can’t survive here without restaurants and banqueting facilities. For example, Park Inn, an international three-star hotel chain belonging to the US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, is branded as four-star hotel in India.

“Mid-market hotels in the western countries do not have elaborate food and beverages options or room service since people tend to be select service hotels. But in India, food and beverages contributes significantly to the overall hotel revenues and so most international mid-market brands tend position themselves as 4 star,” says Ajay Bakaya, executive director of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts that runs Park Inn and Park Plaza hotels in India under a franchisee agreement with Carlson.

In India, where the concept of ‘select service hotels’ does not exist, food and beverages account for about one-third of a hotel’s overall revenues, according to industry estimates. Total ancillary services in a 5 star hotel, which also include renting of banquet halls, spas and night clubs, could constitute as much as 45% of a hotel’s business here.

“In India, hotels are food and beverages destinations and host weddings unlike the western countries,” says Rajiv Menon, area vice president (India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Maldives) of Marriott International, a US based hotel company.

This has forced moderately priced brands like Courtyard by Marriott to offer elaborate in-house dining services, concept restaurants or banqueting services in India, while globally they have elaborate dining options outside the hotels, he says.

Another aspect that’s making hotels to upgrade their positioning is the high real estate costs, says Siddharth Thaker, executive director of hotel consultant HVS India. According to him, real estate costs in India at 35-40% of total project costs is double that of global average. “This leads most international hotel brands to position themselves higher than what they are branded globally so that they can become profitable faster.”

This trend, however, can confuse international travellers visiting India and Indians traveling abroad. It can even lead to cannibalisation of brands, warns Larry Malarkar, an independent hotel consultant.

The former Starwood Hotels regional director expects stricter branding standards in the future as most international hotel chains are now
Hotel introducing multiple brands in the country. “If international hotel brands do not work towards uniform branding, it could lead to cannibalisation of brands,” says Mr Malarkar.

Some hoteliers have started doing that, by realigning hotel brands to position them as per global markets.

For instance, ITC Maurya Sheraton in Delhi was recently rebranded as ITC Maurya-The Luxury Collection as the hotel offered far more facilities than what brand Sheraton offers globally. This made Starwood Hotels and ITC Hotels to rebrand the hotel, an ITC spokeswoman said.

Single-brand chains like Premier Inn may not be too bothered about such confusion, but the Carlsons and Marriotts may go the Starwood way as India steadily climbs to the top of the world.

Source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/124844cdcdeb2131

UK’s Premier Inn to open its First Hotel in Bangalore

Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel chain, is popular among international travellers as a budget hotel. But in India, where it will open its first hotel in Bangalore early next month, Premier Inn is pitching itself as a value-for-money mid-market brand. “In India we realised that the consumers’ connotation of a budget hotel means something that might not offer quality. So we decided to term ourselves as value for money mid-market hotel brand,” says Aly Shariff, managing director of Premier Inn, which plans to build 80 hotels across the country for an investment of 300 million pounds.

It’s not an exception, though. As a rule, most international hotel chains are positioning themselves higher than their global equity in India, thanks to the country’s peculiar business model for building and running hotels that just can’t survive here without restaurants and banqueting facilities. For example, Park Inn, an international three-star hotel chain belonging to the US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, is branded as four-star hotel in India. “Mid-market hotels in the western countries do not have elaborate food and beverages options or room service since people tend to be select service hotels. But in India, food and beverages contributes significantly to the overall hotel revenues and so most international mid-market brands tend position themselves as 4 star,” says Ajay Bakaya, executive director of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts that runs Park Inn and Park Plaza hotels in India under a franchisee agreement with Carlson.

In India, where the concept of ‘select service hotels’ does not exist, food and beverages account for about one-third of a hotel’s overall revenues, according to industry estimates. Total ancillary services in a 5 star hotel, which also include renting of banquet halls, spas and night clubs, could constitute as much as 45% of a hotel’s business here. “In India, hotels are food and beverages destinations and host weddings unlike the western countries,” says Rajiv Menon, area vice president (India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Maldives) of Marriott International, a US based hotel company.

This has forced moderately priced brands like Courtyard by Marriott to offer elaborate in-house dining services, concept restaurants or banqueting services in India, while globally they have elaborate dining options outside the hotels, he says. Another aspect that’s making hotels to upgrade their positioning is the high real estate costs, says Siddharth Thaker, executive director of hotel consultant HVS India. According to him, real estate costs in India at 35-40% of total project costs is double that of global average. “This leads most international hotel brands to position themselves higher than what they are branded globally so that they can become profitable faster.”

This trend, however, can confuse international travellers visiting India and Indians traveling abroad. It can even lead to cannibalisation of brands, warns Larry Malarkar, an independent hotel consultant. The former Starwood Hotels regional director expects stricter branding standards in the future as most international hotel chains are now introducing multiple brands in the country. “If international hotel brands do not work towards uniform branding, it could lead to cannibalisation of brands,” says Mr Malarkar.

Some hoteliers have started doing that, by realigning hotel brands to position them as per global markets. For instance, ITC Maurya Sheraton in Delhi was recently rebranded as ITC Maurya-The Luxury Collection as the hotel offered far more facilities than what brand Sheraton offers globally. This made Starwood Hotels and ITC Hotels to rebrand the hotel, an ITC spokeswoman said.

Single-brand chains like Premier Inn may not be too bothered about such confusion, but the Carlsons and Marriotts may go the Starwood way as India steadily climbs to the top of the world.

http://www.indianrealtynews.com/hotel-industry/uk%e2%80%99s-premier-inn-to-open-its-first-hotel-in-bangalore.html

Home loan seekers can now expect greater transparency

A panel from Reserve Bank of India has proposed a transparent pricing structure for floating rate loans. As per the proposal the benchmark rates would get automatically revised with the reduction in cost of funds.

The panel has suggested the banks to discontinue using bank’s prime lending rate in pricing floating rate loans and arrive at a base rate that reflects the cost of one year deposits. It has also proposed a cap on the extent of loans granted below the benchmark lending rate.

RBI governor D Subbarao said that though RBI slashed its repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, by 425 basis points the banks reduced their PLRs by 200 basis points only. Most of the benefit was passed only to the new borrowers.

MV Nair, Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association said that if the proposal is accepted, it would bring more transparency in the system and the prevalent practice of lenders arbitrarily quoting low rates for new borrowers will stop.

“The new system of base rate will help banks to price their loans more efficiently” said AC Mahajan, Chairman of Canara Bank.

However, some bankers say that though the base rate system would be transparent, it would not consider the non performing assets, which play an important role. Bankers also said that the proposed system would not make the home loans cheaper or more expensive since the present base rate for most of the banks is around 8.55 percent while most of them charge 9.75-10 percent.

In another development, the apex bank has put a limit on Third Party ATM usage (Oct 20). According to the new regulation, a customer would be allowed Rs 10,000 per withdrawal and the number of transactions would be limited to five per month. The banks would charge Rs 18-20 per transaction in excess of five.

Source:http://www.rupeetimes.com/news/home_loans/home_loan_seekers_can_now_expect_greater_transparency_2884.html

RBI moves to make loans transparent

If you have a home loan at floating rates, its a fair bet you have had the frustration of reading about banks reducing their rates only to find it makes no difference to you. However, when rates were revised upwards, you could be sure the interest on your loan would mount too.

There is now the first clear sign of the RBI trying to do something about this, by proposing a base rate which would be the sum total of various cost elements for banks.

Today, banks fix floating rates at a discount to benchmark prime lending rate. When rates are cut, the discount is increased, giving new customers a lower rate, but the BPLR is usually left untouched . So, existing customers whose discount rate is already contractually fixed dont benefit. When rates are hiked, banks typically leave the discount unchanged and move the BPLR up, ensuring all customers pay a higher rate.

source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12479fe4db6da1ac

Century Textiles to develop Worli land

Centure Textiles and Industries, part of the BK Birla Group, plans to start commercial real estate development at its Worli mill land and will float a separate division to control it.

Century Textiles is fighting a legal battle with the Wadias for control of 10 acre of land on the same Worli mill property. Century has 40 acre land in Worli, including the 10 acre leased to it by the Wadias.

RK Dalmia, senior president, Century Textiles, said: “We have almost finalised the plan, which is expected to be approved within a month. We will develop commercial complexes that will be leased to banks, financial institutions and for other commercial purposes.” Century Textiles also has interests in cement and pulp and paper manufacturing businesses. Mr Dalmia said the initial estimated cost for the first phase of the real estate project will be over Rs 600 crore. “There will be no equity dilution by the company, as our banks are ready to lend money for our projects.”

The pay back period will be two years, after which the company may start generating revenues, he added. The BK Birla Group flagship company is also expecting a robust growth from the new venture as rental prices have started looking up. “By the time the project is completed, rents may touch the level it was a year back,” said Mr Dalmia. Century had moved the Bombay High Court against Nusli Wadia, chairman of Bombay Dyeing, and member of the Wadia family, in the dispute over the use of leased land for real estate development. In 1898, the Wadias leased 10 acre of land to the BK Birla Group for textile manufacturing purposes. However, since BK Birla’s textile business didn’t function well, it closed its textile operations at Worli in 2007 and planned to unlock land value through real estate development. However, Mr Dalmia denied reports that Century would sell the land.

Source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12479fe4db6da1ac

Realty builds on affordable homes

NEW DELHI: Ekam and Roma Bansal’s (names changed on request) dream of owning a home came true last month when they booked a 12th-floor

two-bedroom apartment on the Greater Noida Expressway, near Delhi. They will be paying about Rs 30 lakh, of which some Rs 20 lakh will financed by a loan.

The Bansals are thanking their stars that they failed to seal a deal in the past two years they were looking to buy an apartment. Prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) are currently down a third from their peak at the end of 2007 and the slowdown has forced property developers to drop prices and build cheaper, compact homes that fit the budget of those such as the Bansals. Their builder Unitech was down in the dumps earlier this year as real estate prices crashed and buyers disappeared. The company is now patting itself on the back after deciding to launch so-called affordable homes, the relatively lower-priced apartments that are attracting buyers such as the Bansals.

Unitech says it sold 8.16 million sq ft of residential space between March and September out of a total of 10.11 million sq ft, helping it post revenues of Rs 3,913 crore that are higher than in the boom years of 2006 and 2007. And all the apartments it sold were in the affordable category, costing less than Rs 30 lakh apiece.

For Unitech and other real estate developers, building affordable homes is paying rich dividends. A survey of India’s top property firms and estimates from industry body Confederation of Real Estate Developer’s Associations of India (Credai) show that over 70 million sq ft of residential space was sold in the first six months (March-September) of the fiscal 2010). Bulk of the sales happened in the last 90 days and majority of the homes sold were in the affordable segment.

By the end of the fiscal in March 2010, builders hope they will have sold close to the 190 million sq ft they managed in 2007.

Across the expressway, where the Bansals plan to shift in about two years, Jaypee is building Wish Town, a 1,162-acre swish golf township with premium homes, malls, school, colleges and hospitals. It originally launched apartments with a view of a golf course and priced these at a minimum of around Rs 1 crore. But over the past few months, it has launched smaller flats starting Rs 25 lakh.

“In six months, we sold 10,000 affordable homes, while we also managed to sell another 2,000 luxury apartments around the golf course,” says Manu Goswami, head, sales and marketing, Jaypee Greens.

Unlike three years ago, when most developers were not offering affordable houses, now everyone is in that segment, says Hiranandani Group chairman Niranjan Hiranandani. Mumbai, where Hiranandani is based, has seen close to 8.4 million sq ft of housing sold in the past 6 months.

“Sanctions have picked up and we are already at 70% of the peak. We expect home loan disbursals to reach the peak levels of 2007 by the end of this fiscal, subject of course, to the fact that developers do not increase rates further,” says SN Nagendra, senior general manager, HDFC, one of the country’s largest housing finance companies
.
Developers say enquiries for homes began around March 2009 and conversions started to happen July onwards, with bulk of the demand in the affordable segment.

There was latent demand but it was not converted into sales due to economic uncertainty, observed Mr Hiranandani.

“The sudden spurt in demand due to perceptible change in the economic environment in the past three months, combined with lower interest rates, has bolstered the confidence of home buyers.”

Among the major developers who have ridden this new real estate wave are Unitech, the Jaypee group, DLF, BPTP and Omaxe, witnessing a sharp rise in demand, particularly for new projects.

Home loan trends bolster this claim. In the first six months, State Bank of India’s disbursements were in excess of Rs 10,000 crore, compared to Small is beutiful

Rs 3,900 crore in 2007-08 and Rs 4,900 crore in 2008-09 for the April-September period.

“We are sanctioning much higher volumes now for home loans. The growth in home loans has been even higher than in 2007,” says P Nandakumaran, head retail banking, SBI.

However, due to lower pricing, average realisations for most real estate players is down 25-30% per sq ft in comparison to 2007-08. Unitech has seen its average sales price coming down from Rs 4,000 per sq ft before September 2008 to Rs 3,234 per sq ft in the past 6 months.

The profitability of these companies will surely come down due to the decline in realisation, says Aditi Vijayakar, executive director, residential service at real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

“The profit margin of these companies depends upon when and at what price these developers bought the land,” she added.

Jaypee, which has sold close to 11.5 million sq ft of residential space in six months, has seen a decline of 25-30% in average basic sale price, primarily because it is selling more affordable homes.

Unlike during the last boom period when developers concentrated solely on luxury housing, this ongoing surge is seeing a mix of both affordable and luxury housing.

“The market was overheated and people were waiting for it to come back to a realistic level. The expectations of developers and buyers were mismatched. Everyone was working on the wrong product, including us,” says Manu Goswami.
A senior official of DLF, the largest real estate player in the country, said that the company has sold 2.5 million sq ft of space in the past three months. Of this, about 2.1 million sq ft has been sold in the past 30 days.

“The confidence of the people is back as the economy is turning around. This has led to robust demand for housing at good locations and affordable prices,” says Rohtas Goel, CMD, Omaxe. The company has sold close to 1.8 million sq ft of housing space over the past three months.

Delhi-based developer BPTP has sold about 6,800 homes across three properties in Faridabad totalling about 7.76 million sq ft. According to Prakash Challa, vice-president (south) at Credai, the southern region has seen sales of around 20 million sq ft in the past 6 months. The eastern region saw close to 3 million sq ft of sales.

Ashish Puravankara, director of Puravankara Projects, says that while demand was always there, it is sentiment that has changed.

“Now, with companies showing great results, hiring again and even giving a 8-10% hike in salaries, the sentiment is getting better.”

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real-Estate/Realty-Trends/Realty-builds-on-affordable-homes/articleshow/5147148.cms?

Banks Compete to Attract Customers for Premium Category Home Loan

Borrowing more than Rs 50 lakh to buy a high-end home has become a breeze, with banks elbowing each other out to have premium customers in their fold. Standard Chartered Bank, a major foreign bank in India, has joined a couple of others in offering very attractive interest rates on home loans above Rs 50 lakh. “Our focus is on the premium category and hence we underwrite home loans only above Rs 50 lakh,” Shyam Srinivasan, head of consumer banking at Standard Chartered Bank, told Financial Chronicle. Standard Chartered is the only foreign bank operating in India that is offering home loans at such attractive interest rates.

State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank, with its 8 per cent fixed rate for the first year offer has been able to attract a good number of premium customers for home loans as it seeks to get the rich to bank with it for services ranging from regular banking to wealth management. Standard Chartered is charging a low floating interest rate of 8.2 per cent, against SBI’s 8 per cent for the first year, 9.5 per cent for the next two years and thereafter, the prevailing rate.

With the onset of the festival season, many people think about buying their dream home. Buying a premium property in metros such as Mumbai means spending more than half a crore. Public sector lender SBI is trying to garner as much market share as possible with their special home loan scheme. “The 8 per cent interest rate has found favour among first-time home buyers because people want to make the most of the low interest rate regime,” said a senior SBI official, who did not want to be named. According to him, more than 20 per cent of the home loan customers avail of loans more than Rs 50 lakh.

Development Credit Bank (DCB) has the lowest offer among all lenders. In the first year, DCB charges 7.95 per cent for loans up to Rs 5 crore and the prevailing floating rate from the second year onwards. According to several home loan advisers, interest rates should not be the only criteria for taking out a home loan and one should also look at the processing fee and foreclosure charges that the bank levies. Private sector banks such as HDFC and ICICI Bank are offering home loans above Rs 50 lakh at lower interest rates but these lenders also charge hefty processing fees and have hiked foreclosure charges also. Most of the banks charge loan processing fees, which are not refundable, ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the loan account. A customer can, however, based on their credit history, bargain on these charges and get a better deal.

Source : http://www.indianrealtynews.com/home-loans/banks-compete-to-attract-customers-for-premium-category-home-loan.html

BPTP sells Rs 1,600 cr worth housing projects in six months

NEW DELHI: Real estate firm BPTP has sold properties worth Rs 1,600 crore during the first half of the current fiscal from its three housing  projects in Faridabad in the national capital region.

On the back of improved sentiment in the property market, BPTP has sold nearly 7,000 units in these three projects, part of a 1,900 acre integrated township ‘BPTP Parklands’.

“All the three projects are completely sold out. We have sold more than 6,000 independent floors since April in two projects. The company has also sold about 800 premium flats,” BPTP Director Sudhanshu Tripathi said.

The company has earned revenues to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore by selling these units, he added.

Asked about investment on these three projects, Tripathi said it would be close to Rs 1,000 crore. The company would complete these projects within two years.

He said the end-user demand for affordable housing have increased over the last six months and this reflects in the number of units that company has been able to sold between April and September.

“Developing independent floors is cheaper by about 40 per cent than constructing high-rise buildings, which we passed on to the customers,” Tripathi said.

Besides, he said the Haryana government’s recent decision to allow separate registration for independent floors resulted in higher sales.

Other real estate developers, including DLF, Unitech, Jaypee Greens, have also reported robust sales in their housing projects.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news-/BPTP-sells-Rs-1600-cr-worth-housing-projects-in-six-months/articleshow/5136168.cms

Mall developers rebuild their hopes on housing projects

With declining demand making commercial projects increasingly unviable, a host of  developers are busy converting mall projects into residential ones.

Rituraj Verma, director of retail services at Knight Frank India, a global property consultancy, estimates that  about 25 out of the 375 mall projects planned two years ago may see the light of day in the next four to five years. “Developers say they will get only half the value if they go ahead with malls instead of residential projects,” he adds.

That explains the rush among developers to convert their projects. For instance, Mumbai-based Orbit Corporation has decided to convert its 250,000 square foot (sq ft) Hafeez Contractor House in Lower Parel into a residential project. Its Andheri project will also be turned into a residential complex.

Mumbai is not the only city to see this trend. Prozone Liberty, the mall development joint venture between Provogue and UK’s Liberty International, plans to follow suit. Prozone is planning to convert a part of its mall projects in Jaipur and Indore  residential development owing to lower demand for mall spaces in smaller cities.

Bangalore is seeing the same trend. A month back, the TTK Group said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it was changing its plan for a mall project on a 6.3 acre site in Dooravani Nagar, Bangalore, and was planning to set up a residential project instead.

Dhiraj Shah of West Pioneer Properties says the company initially wanted to build malls and lease them out. “We changed our plans after the slowdown in the retail sector,” Shah says. The London Stock Exchange’s AIM-listed company wanted to develop a 726,000 sq ft mall in Kalyan on the outskirts of Mumbai. The mall, built on a part of the land, is named Metro Junction but the company is now building Metro Residency as well on the remaining area.

Estimates by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) suggest that retail rents have fallen up to 50 per cent across the country in the last one year.

The country has a ready supply of 38 million sq ft of retail space and around 30 million sq ft is expected to hit the markets in the next two years. The absorption of retail space is 4 to 5 million sq ft every year leaving a huge supply-demand mismatch, JLLM says.

Real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield gives the break-up of the fall in retail rentals. Mumbai saw the sharpest decline in rental values for both malls (about 42 per cent in Mumbai suburbs) and main streets (about 38 per cent in locations such as Colaba Causeway).

In the National Capital Region, the main street location of Greater Kailash saw a 25 per cent decline in rental values, while mall rental values in Noida dropped 17 per cent. Ahmedabad saw a serious downturn in rental values in malls and main streets, with corrections ranging from 20 to 36 per cent over the last quarter.

Though the housing sector also took a few knocks, the impact was much less. In any case, demand has revived, with several developers cutting prices and interest rates looking more benign.

According to government estimates, the country is facing a shortage of 20 million units, especially in middle and lower income segments – which has caught the fancy of developers such as DLF, Unitech and Omaxe among others.

Costs have also played a part. Malls require a construction cost of Rs 3,000 a sq ft; residential projects Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800 a sq ft.

Besides, developers pre-sell homes and finance their construction through these advances. Mall developers, by contrast, have to raise own funds and earn returns after they lease space.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mall-developers-rebuild-their-hopeshousing-projects/373606/

Residential Prices go up in Mumbai

Mumbai’s residential property prices are on on the rise even as the buyer is not in a hurry to finish a deal. According to the city’s property registration data, there has been a 13% month-on-month drop in the number of apartments registered in August 2009 this year as compared with the previous month. This trend was holding out in September as well.

“As prices increase, customers shy away and this is evident from the registration data,” said Ram Yadav, CFO, Orbit Corporation. The slowdown in demand comes after an average month-on-month increase of 6% since March 2009. “The drop in sales is clearly visible in Mumbai as compared to other parts of the country. It is more visible in projects that cost over Rs 3,000 per sq ft,” said Pankaj Kapoor, CEO, Liases Foras, a real estate research agency.

On the back of the global crisis, property prices were affected quite seriously and fell 15-30% starting April last year. This trend continued till the end of 2008 and prices showed a semblance of stability early this year. As the economy started to pick up, a change was being felt from March this year. “A lot of pent up demand found its way into the market beginning March this year. However, with a 10-15% price hike, projects are not so attractive now,” said Hari Krishna, director, Kotak Realty.

Real estate agents profess a similar view. “Builders have increased prices faster than expected. This has forced buyers to defer their purchase decision,” said Vipul Shah, a property consultant. Builders have merely reacted to the sentiment which revolves around the demand picking up in the residential segment. “An increase in prices has directly affected the demand for secondary homes. This shows demand is elastic enough to weather any increase in price,” said Ambar Maheswari, director, Investment Advisory for international real estate consultancy, DTZ India.

Source : http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-india/mumbai/residential-prices-go-up-in-mumbai.html

Major Hoteliers Make Big Plans for Asia-Pacific

Two major players in the international hotel scene—Starwood and Accor—have carved out significant expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific. Starwood has opened its 150th hotel in the region, the ITC Royal Gardenia, a Luxury Collection hotel in Bengaluru, India. The hotelier has signed 23 new deals for Asia-Pacific this year; 15 are slated to open by the end of 2009.

Starwood’s hotels span 20 countries in the area, with the most significant growth occurring in China and India. Within China, Starwood is set to double its current footprint to 100 hotels by 2012. So far in 2009, the company has signed 18 new deals and opened three hotels. Among the four hotel openings in China for the remainder of the year are Le Meridien hotels in Qingdao and Chongqing, a Westin hotel in Tianjin, and a Four Points by Sheraton in Lianyungang. Next year, the W brand will strengthen its presence with the opening of W Guangzhou, and the Luxury Collection brand will make its Chinese debut.

The opportunities in India are equally promising. The country is home to 23 Starwood hotels, with another 15 under development. In 2009, two Four Points by Sheraton properties debuted, while the Westin brand has three new hotels coming on board later this year. In 2010, Starwood will launch Aloft in India.

Other development highlights in the region include the first Sheraton resort and a Le Meridien for Vietnam; a second Sheraton for South Korea; St. Regis hotels in Tibet, Thailand, and Japan; the introduction of W in Thailand and Indonesia; and the debuts of Four Points by Sheraton in Malaysia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Accor is on track to open more than 50 hotels throughout Asia-Pacific by year’s end. To date, the company has opened 32 hotels comprising 6,155 new rooms, with China representing the largest market for hotel openings. Another 22 hotels representing 4,410 guestrooms are scheduled to open by late 2009. In addition, Accor plans to have 50 hotels in India by 2012.

This year, 21 hotels under Accor’s economy brand, ibis, will open. Ibis has also expanded to Thailand, where three properties have opened in the past year. This week, Accor announced its plans for the largest ibis hotel in Asia Pacific: the 550-room ibis Hong Kong Sheung Wan (pictured). The property is scheduled to open in early 2012.

For the 5-Star Pullman brand, 13 hotels are in operation throughout Asia-Pacific and another 18 are committed to development. Pullman officially launched in Asia in January 2008 and will expand to include 100 hotels throughout the region by 2015. Meanwhile, 17 mid-scale Mercure hotels will open this year in China, Thailand, Japan, and Australia.

Source : http://www.hdmag.com/hospitalitydesign/content_display/industry-news/e3ib70ace379b80f09ac19a6fa77c2f8f9b

Disha Direct and Ansal Housing Present Thai Villas in an Island of Luxury at Shahpur

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, October 15, 2009 — (Business Wire India)

Disha Direct Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd, a leading property and Real Estate Marketing Company based in Western India, has associated with the New Delhi-based Ansal Housing & Construction Ltd to present Suvarna Vilas, an ultra premium Second Homes project.

Located in Khaire Village near Shahpur, off the Mumbai-Nashik Highway at a distance of just 95 kms from Mumbai; Suvarna Vilas is an epitome of luxury and comfort. This luxurious retreat is a striking blend of Thai architecture & a touch of Indian glory.

The project is inspired by the elements of Thai architecture, which is believed to have originated from ancient Indian civilisation. The striking similarities in culture and tradition and the sense of oneness between Thai & Indian societies are harmoniously manifested in this architectural splendour.

Suvarna Vilas comprises of 1-, 2- and 3-BHK (bedroom-hall-kitchen) Thai Villas with a private pool & deck that have been designed thoughtfully to create a premium class lifestyle. Villas in Suvarna Vilas are categorised into 3 groups: The Royal Orchid, The Royal Silk and The Royal Emperor. The Royal Orchid comprises of 1 & 2 BHK villas with areas starting from 1070 sq.ft. The Royal Silk and The Royal Emperor comprise of 3-BHK villas with sizes ranging between 1800-sq.ft. and 2980 sq.ft. Royal Emperor villas come with a private swimming pool. The villas at Suvarna Vilas sit on plot sizes ranging from 2400 sq.ft. to 16000 sq.ft.

Accentuating the luxury of Suvarna Vilas is an excellent mini golf course characterised by lush greenery and captivating layout for avid golfers Other recreation facilities include an exclusively-designed club house, well equipped gym, swimming pool, state-of-the-art spa, restaurant and a wide range of indoor games.. The natural topography of the area makes it a great location for adventure sports and motoring through the landscape in All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). A natural stream in the vicinity presents leisurely boating opportunities. The slightly hilly terrain around is great for people interested in hiking, rock climbing and rappelling. Well-laid jogging tracks and walking trails ensure that residents of all age groups will enjoy a good time. A special play area has been designed to ensure creative recreation for children.

Suvarna Vilas is the result of the creativity and dedication of Ansal Housing and 999 Architects, a renowned Thai architectural firm. A premium project, considerably greater effort has been put into make it truly magnificient. The main entrance is a gracefully contoured gate inspired by the grandeur of plush palaces of Thailand. Complementing the rich ambience of Suvarna Vilas are a water body, a well designed landscape with hill features and 225 acres of breathtaking expanse which are bound to generate a feeling of complete rejuvenation.

Sharing his views on the launch of Suvarna Vilas, A. Shyamsunder, ED & COO of Disha Direct said, “Targeting NRIs and the upper class through this township, the teams of Disha Group and Ansal Housing are presenting a golden opportunity to be part of a new community in the luxurious ambience of Suvarna Vilas.. All conveniences required for modern living have been made available within the township. And our joint efforts are targeted towards creating an architectural splendour that evolves into a landmark of the future.”

About Disha Direct:

Disha Direct is an ISO 9001:2008 certified leading real estate and property marketing organisation. It offers services across the entire spectrum of real estate – be it residential properties in cities and towns, 2nd homes away from the city, plots of developed land, commercial properties, expansive acres of land or some rare charismatic homes and investment opportunities. Well-equipped with a team of over 200 professionals, 7 brands, 10 offices, International Offices at Dubai & New York, 1 Real Estate Expert Advisory, 12 completed projects, 35 ongoing projects and 4000 happy customers; Disha Direct is not just a conglomerate but a philosophy etched in the minds of many. For more details about the project, log on to www.dishadirect.in or speak to a Disha Direct executive on 022-25817900.

About Ansal Housing:

Ansal Housing & Construction Ltd. is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company engaged in the business of real estate development in India and overseas. Since its inception in 1983, Ansal Housing has given a new dimension to Indian infrastructure development. The company has developed world-class townships, residential complexes, commercial complexes, retail space, hotels and movie halls that have set new standards in quality and architectural excellence, delivering the best to its customers, stakeholders and investors. Today the company has more than 100,000 happy customers through its 25 years in existence. To know more about the company & its various past and ongoing projects, please log on to www.ansals.com

http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=20342#

Home buyers stay off as builders hike rates

MUmbai’s residential property prices are on the rise even as the buyer is not in a hurry to finish a deal. According to the city’s property EMIs and tenure registration data, there has been a 13% month-on-month drop in the number of apartments registered in August 2009 this year as compared with the previous month. This trend was holding out in September as well.

“As prices increase, customers shy away and this is evident from the registration data,” said Ram Yadav, CFO, Orbit Corporation. The slowdown in demand comes after an average month-on-month increase of 6% since March 2009. “The drop in sales is clearly visible in Mumbai as compared to other parts of the country. It is more visible in projects that cost over Rs 3,000 per sq ft,” said Pankaj Kapoor, CEO, Liases Foras, a real estate research agency.

On the back of the global crisis, property prices were affected quite seriously and fell 15-30% starting April last year. This trend continued till the end of 2008 and prices showed a semblance of stability early this year.

As the economy started to pick up, a change was being felt from March this year. “A lot of pent up demand found its way into the market beginning March this year. However, with a 10-15% price hike, projects are not so attractive now,” said Hari Krishna, director, Kotak Realty.

Real estate agents profess a similar view. “Builders have increased prices faster than expected. This has forced buyers to defer their purchase decision,” said Vipul Shah, a property consultant. Builders have merely reacted to the sentiment which revolves around the demand picking up in the residential segment.

“An increase in prices has directly affected the demand for secondary homes. This shows demand is elastic enough to weather any increase in price,” said Ambar Maheswari, director, Investment Advisory for international real estate consultancy, DTZ India.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news-/Home-buyers-stay-off-as-builders-hike-rates/articleshow/5129329.cms

Office rentals in Mumbai, Delhi slip on oversupply

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Excess supply has made office rentals in key commercial centres in Mumbai and Delhi come down by half over last year, and realty
analysts fear that with business houses waiting for economic activity to pick up speed and a raft of new commercial facilities nearing completion, the rates could head further southwards.

Residential prices have firmed up after the lows they hit late last year, but the recent uptick in macro economic activity is yet to trickle down to sectors such as retail. Realty consultants said in Mumbai there are vacant commercial properties in Malad, Thane, LBS Marg and Andheri MIDC despite the fall in rentals. Rentals have crashed from Rs 400 per sq ft in December last year to around Rs 250 per sq ft now in Mumbai’s commercial hub, the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

ET has learnt that an FMCG company is asking for rentals at 35% lower rates than what it was a year ago for its 1.5 lakh sq ft office space in south Mumbai. Samsung recently took 90,000 square feet on rent on Gurgaon’s Golf Course Road for Rs 58 per sq feet against the asking price of Rs 80 a sq feet. In another deal, a tenant has leased out 50,000 sq ft at DLF Cybercity in Gurgaon for Rs 45-50 per sq ft while the quoted rent was Rs 60-65 per sq ft. “Since there is a downward pressure on many developers and building owners, one may witness even bigger deals at further lower rates,” said Kaustuv Roy, executive director, Cushman & Wakefield.

In Mumbai, supply of the commercial space has gone up with constructions of new buildings and shifting of offices to the cheaper complexes giving the buyers a chance to bargain. For example, JP Morgan is shifting its office from Mafatlal Centre at Nariman point in South Mumbai to Kalina near BKC. This will free up close to one lakh sq ft of space in Nariman Point, further suppressing rentals.

Vacancy — the difference between demand and supply — at Lower Parel is estimated to be around 22%. The number is as high as 35% in North Mumbai and 25% in BKC. Many developers prefer to hold on to their vacant properties rather than leasing them out on lower rentals just to keep the premium tag of the properties intact, said real estate consultant Anckur Srivasttava.

However, the capital value of commercial properties is not falling despite the fall in rentals. New Delhi, in particular, has seen a strange anomaly between rental and capital values. While rentals are still in the Rs 50-70 per sq ft range, capital values are in the Rs 11,000-13,000 per sq ft range.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news-/Office-rentals-in-Mumbai-Delhi-slip-on-oversupply/articleshow/5129336.cms

Shivom Group adds an extra element of appeal to affordable housing with a host of Diwali offers

Mumbai based Real Estate developer; Shivom Group today announced that it will be providing customers a range of exclusive offers to choose from for bookings made at Shiv Aum Gardens, Karjat this Diwali. Buyers will be given the opportunity to opt from either, a free Bajaj motorcyle, free stamp duty registration, free modular kitchen or free lifetime club house membership for all apartments booked at Shiv Aum Gardens, Karjat until 31st October 2009.

Announcing the offer Mr. Amardeep Gambhir, Managing Director – Shivom Group said, “There has been a good response from buyers for our affordable housing projects in and around Mumbai over the past several months. It is evident that buyers today are seeking additional tangible values to support their investments. The festive season inevitably brings in a lot of positive sentiments amongst home seekers and we intend to add value to our customers by these offerings.”

Shivom Group recently announced the launch of Shiv Aum Gardens, Karjat, Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s first ‘By Reference’ affordable housing project. Shiv Aum Gardens is an integrated residential township offering 600 apartments, ranging between 600 sq.ft & 850 sq.ft, at an affordable price as low as Rs 9 lacs for 1 BHK and Rs 12 lacs for 2 BHK complimented with best in its class amenities.

Some of the company’s key completed residential projects include Shiv Om Holiday Homes (Karjat), Shiv Om Complex (Karjat), Shiv Om Tower (Andheri), Shiv Om Apartments (Andheri), Gem Apartments (Hiranandani Gardens, Powai), Shakuntala Apartments , (Hiranandani Gardens, Powai).

For the past ten years Shivom Group has been offering real estate consultancy and has been involved in major real estate broking deals and services for leading real estate developers in Mumbai.

http://www.webnewswire.com/node/472490

Big Homes Regaining Demand

Two and three bedroom homes, which commanded high popularity among home buyers from Pune in pre-meltdown times, have made a comeback. The last three months have demonstrated that the aspirational buyer is returning to the residential market again to check out developers’ sites in search of good deals, a report by real estate research and advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) said on Wednesday.

In the twists and turns realtors took during the recession, a major shift was seen from the large size homes in the 1200-1600 sq ft area bracket to one bedroom and studio units in the “affordable” category. The general buyer preference has once again evolved to 2-3 BHK flats, the most popular price tags falling within the range of Rs 25 to 35 lakh, the report said.

According to the report, projects that were put on indefinite hold during the financial crunch are now seeing the light of day, with construction once again on a war footing across the city. Projects that are due to be launched within the next six months are being advertised heavily. For projects to be launched within the festive season, developers are not offering freebies and esoteric incentives, but are focusing on price discounts for limited periods, the report added.

“The slowdown has brought about residential space affordability and availability in areas that were previously out of reach for middle-income buyers. Due to reduction in pricing, residential property buyers now have a choice of attractive deals in preferred areas,” Mohammed Aslam, head of Pune market for JLLM said. Apart from a resurgence in positive sentiments, this renewed demand can also be attributed to the fact that housing finance institutions have brought down home loan interest rates to 8-8.5 per cent on fixed interest loans for three years, which stands in marked contrast to the 10-11 per cent that prevailed just six months ago, the report said.

Lalit Kumar Jain, vice-president of Confederation of Real Estate Associations of India (Credai) said the pent-up demand for homes has begun coming back to the market as there is an improvement in the buyer sentiment in the wake of better economic indices. “The feeling of uncertainty in buyers’ minds is reducing and stability is returning. We see demand picking up for property in the Rs 30 lakh -Rs 1 crore price bracket. On either side of this bracket there were always buyers,” Jain elaborated. Vice-president of Credai Pune, Rohit Gera, said there are other factors responsible for the renewed interest in property buying, apart from conversion of pent-up demand. “The increased feeling of job/income stability and the realisation that the prices have finally bottomed out are driving the buyers,” Gera observed.

Aslam said on the downside however, there are first stirrings of price escalations. “Based on the fact that the demand revival is still in its infancy, this represents a worrisome scenario which seems to indicate that the slowdown did not deliver a sufficiently convincing message,” Aslam noted, indicating that owing to the price-conscious buyer profile that generally defines Pune, demand for residential spaces will only continue to grow as long as rates remain rational. Gera said the supply in 2-3 bedroom space will be limited as the developers who were simply not there in the below 1,300 sq ft units game had held back their schemes. Projects in this category which are on hold will roll and more will be planned leading to price stabilisation, he explained.

Source : http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-trends/big-homes-regaining-demand.html

Govt housing stimulus package may galvanise housing activity

KOLKATA: The UPA government’s latest Rs 1,000-crore housing stimulus package, under which new home loan borrowers will get an upfront 1% interest  rate waiver, is expected to galvanise housing activity nationally. Property consultants expect at least Rs 2 lakh crore worth of greenfield real estate ventures to happen in the next one year alone, thanks to the new stimulus package.

Significantly, the housing stimulus scheme is also expected to result in Rs 1 lakh crore of home loans between October 2009 and September 2010.

Under the scheme, the 1% interest subsidy will be offered by banks and housing finance companies (HFCs) on new loans disbursed post-October 1, 2009 for a one-year period. The scheme will be applicable for all individual loans up to Rs 10 lakh for property priced upto Rs 20 lakh.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had indicated in his budget speech for 2009-10 that such a scheme would be developed.
For the first time, the UPA government has come up with a direct interest subvention plan for the vast middle class borrowers. Earlier, in late-2008, banks started offering low-cost housing loans for loans upto Rs 20 lakh, on being prodded by the government. But no subvention was available for offering a lower interest.

It may be mentioned that economically weaker sections (EWS) and the low income group (LIG) used to get 5% interest subsidy for loans up to Rs 1 lakh.

“The latest subvention scheme is well crafted. It is expected to support the real estate sector, besides helping the home loan financiers like us to enhance our lending portfolio,” said GIC Housing Finance vice president Rajib De.
Bankers are also happy. “The benefit will be passed on to borrowers upfront in the time of loan disbursement. So, the scheme will be easy to implement as well,” a top official with a public sector bank said.

A home loan borrower may get a maximum of Rs 10,000 as interest subsidy for the first year only. At this juncture, there is no plan to extend the benefit for the second year

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/Govt-housing-stimulus-package-may-galvanise-housing-activity/articleshow/5124847.cms

DLF Marine Drive Kochi – DLF New Projects Kochi – Marine Drive Apartments Kochi

DLF Marine Drive Kochi Project

DLF Developers soon launching New Affordable Residential Housing Project on a prime location in Marine Drive, Kochi. DLF Marine Drive is located on the waterfront and over looking the water channel leading in to kochi harbour. The landscape is beautiful with spacious Houses. DLF Marine Drive Project apartments are fully air conditioned and have Full with all modern amenities like children play area, round the clock security, gymnasium, swimming Pool, doctor on call facility and house keeping services. Get full details about DLF Marine DriveKochi Project log on to http://www.affinityconsultant.com

DLF Marine Drive Kochi Location
CBD, Marine Drive

DLF Marine Drive Kochi Common Amenities
Gymnasium, Swimming Pool, Children play area, Car Parking, 24×4 Power Back-up, Clubhouse, Swimming Pool, Sewerage Treatment Plant, Water Treatment Plant,

DLF Marine Drive Kochi Type Size & Price
2 and 3 Bedroom Apartments with area 1860 Sq. ft.

About DLF Developer
DLF is the largest real estate company in India. The group has over 224 million sq. ft. of existing development and 751 million sq. ft. of planned projects. DLF is committed to quality, trust and customer sensitivity, and deliver on promises with agility, financial prudence and in tune with the highest global standards. DLF Homes provides a wide range of products including condominiums, duplexes, row hoses and apartments of varying sizes, with a focus on the higher end of the market. The company has also entered into several strategic alliances with global industry leaders.

About Affinity Solutions (P) Ltd
Affinity Consultant is a Real Estate Consultant in India operating since last 10 years. Affinity Solutions have a team of dedicated professionals with more than 10 yrs of experience in real estate services handling the entire project in India. Affinity Solutions (P) Ltd. is a paramount name among Indian real estate consultants and service providers with all leading brands likes DLF, Unitech, Jaypee, Ansal, BPTP, Parsvnath, Mahagun, Omaxe, Emaar MGF, Eldeco, Indiabulls, Amrapali, Mantri, Lodha, Indu, Kolte Patil, Ramprastha, TDI, Uppals etc.

Source : http://www.bignews.biz/?id=818705&keys=DLFHousingKochiDLFApartme-MarineDrivekochiDLFkochip-DLFMarineDrivekochiDLFpro-DLFprojectsKochiDLFkochip#

FIRE Luxur launches township project in Bangalore

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Real estate major FIRE Luxur Developer has started developing the first phase of its Bangalore township, “The Empyrean”, the company said Wednesday.
FIRE Luxur, a joint venture between private equity fund FIRE Capital Fund and the city-based Nilgiris Group, will invest $350 million to develop the first phase of the project.

Sprawling over 210 acres, the township will be the largest low-rise residential development on the outskirts of the city.

Om Chaudhry, chief executive of FIRE Capital Fund, said: “Bangalore is a fast growing city where the real estate market is still in its nascent stage”.

The township will have multi-housing option including five spacious options of villas with sizes ranging from 2,095 square feet to 5,500 square feet, priced at an average price of Rs.2,250 per square feet.

The project will have a total 2,200 units, which FIRE Luxur plans to launch in different phases.

The first phase will be ready for possession in two years.

Source : http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/fire-luxur-launches-township-project-in-bangalore_100260711.html

Loan offers lend colour to the festive season

It is that time of the year when banks and finance companies lend color to the festive season by rolling out the red carpet for customers. Yes! We are talking about the special loan offers by the financial institutions that are up for grabs during this festive season. The offers span across the entire spectrum of loans including car loans and home loans. A quick look!

The home loan scenario

The home loan offers this season get even better with the dip in home loan rates expected to continue even past the magic “8 %” figure that was on offer to improve the lending scenario and breathe new life into the realty market.

Reports suggest that the home loan market is all set to show a growth of 30 per cent and this is likely to become a fact given the current home loan interest rate trend. Check ou the options available.

State Bank of India has announced that it is waiving off the processing fee for three months. It had reduced its new home loan rates to 8 per cent. Bank of Baroda [ Get Quote ] has plans to waive off the processing fee too.

HDFC bank offers a floating interest rate of 8.75 per cent for loans up to Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million), and at 9 per cent for loans between Rs 15 and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) and 9.5 per cent for loans above Rs 50 lakh up to a tenure of 20 years.

ICICI bank offers home loans up to Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) at 8.75 per cent interest rates this festive season. And it will be 9.25 per cent for loans between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

Development Credit Bank, a recent entrant into the home loan segment and GIC Housing are offering below the 8 per cent interest levels. In the first year DCB charges 7.95 per cent for home loans up to Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) at fixed rate of interest. From the second year onwards it will be on the floating rate of interest method.

Bank of Maharashtra [ Get Quote ] has joined the fray this festive season by offering 8 per cent home loan rates for loans up to Rs 30 lakh (Rs 3 million) for the first two years. Thereafter, it will be 8.5 per cent for the third year, 9.5 per cent in the fourth year and 9.75 per cent in the fifth year making it 8.75 per cent the average rate of interest during the first five years. The reset clause will come into play at the end of every fifth year.

Source : http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/14/perfin-loan-offers-lend-colour-to-the-festive-season.htm

Micro Housing Finance Corp Gets Rs 25 Cr PE Funding

Micro Housing Finance Corporation is the first such institution to foray into the low-cost housing finance segment.

Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC), the first such institution to foray into the low-cost home segment, has attracted Rs 25 crore in private equity funding from India Financial Inclusion Fund (IFIF) and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

MHFC is looking at disbursing loans to urban buyers, who may constitute the unbanked population, looking at buying a sub-Rs 5 lakh home. The firm, which started operations in June, is forecasting 1,500 loan sanctions amounting to disbursal of Rs 60 crore in the first year of operations. The firm will look at another round of funding in next one year to expand its equity base. After the current round, the equity base will rise to Rs 33 crore, which could be leveraged 4-5 times, feels Rajnish Dhall, director, MHFC.

The Mumbai-based firm received its license from National Housing Bank (NHB), the housing finance sector regulator, in February. MHFC plans to give loans which will not exceed 80% the cost of the house, typically ranging from Rs 4-6 lakh. The loans carry an interest rate of 12-14%.

The firm provides loans on a project basis, and is not involved in retail loans. “We approve projects and then do lending on those projects,” said Dhall.

For instance, MHFC has tied up with Tata Housings’ Shubh Girbha project in Boisar which has 1,500 flats in the Rs 3.9-6.8 lakh range. The firm has also tied up for five other projects in Ahmedabad and Virar and Karjat in Maharashtra.

MHFC will ideally target developments of around 1,500 flats where it can finance around 20% of the flats. Besides private developers, MHFC is also looking to tie up with state housing boards.

“But that’s just scratching the surface as the demand is very strong,” said Dhall. MHFC has a target of 50,000 homes in five years, which would mean a loan book of Rs 2,000 crore.

Dhall was a senior director with American Express before leaving his job to work for an non-governmental organisation helping street kids in Mumbai. Last year, Dhall resigned from the NGO to set up MHFC, that combines his social sector and banking experience.

The demand for affordable housing in India is huge as Planning Commission has predicted a shortfall of 25 million homes. “This under-served segment is estimated to represent over 90% of the workforce, but has no financial institution catering to its needs,” said MHFC chairmen Madhusudan Menon, in a release.

“Despite the presence of many strong mortgage lenders in India, home loans have have not been easily made available to lower income segments and primary reson for this informal nature of borrowers’ occupations,” said Mona Kachhwaha, Director-Investments of Caspian Advisors, which advises IFIF, a MFI focused fund.

Source : http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/micro-housing-finance-corp-gets-rs-25-cr-pe-funding

In Surat, a flat gets you a free car

Surat: Unlike builders in Ahmedabad, real estate developers in Surat are offering freebies and attractive prizes, including four-wheelers, to woo customers. This is something new to Surat and even experts are divided in their explanation of the new trend.
click here

Some experts see the trend as evidence of Surat developers’ obsession with wealthy customers. Other experts said that housing schemes launched in Surat in 2007 and 2008 had failed to attract customers and, hence, builders were offering freebies to woo buyers.
In Surat, during Navratra, builders of Raag Rang Residency at Jahangirpura in Surat had offered a Maruti Alto car with every 3BHK flat and a Maruti 800 car with every 2BHK flat. Their offer, however, was open only till Dashera.

“Builders offering attractive freebies and prizes to consumers are common in Mumbai, Delhi and some other places,” said Bharat Shah, secretary of Surat Builders Association, “but this is the first time that developers in Surat have come out with such schemes.”
Other builders in Surat are offering free parking space, air-conditioners, and imported bathroom & kitchen fittings, among others, to their customers. Some builders are also offering to share with their customers, the stamp duty and registration expenses incurred on their purchase of property. Yet others are offering even cash discounts.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_in-surat-a-flat-gets-you-a-free-car_1298784

Attibele–the new low-cost housing capital

Attibele, Karnataka: This quiet town, 35km from Bangalore on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, could well be the lab where India’s next big real estate revolution is being incubated.

Value and Budget Housing Development Corp., promoted by Citibanker-turned-IT-entrepreneur Jaithirth Rao, Bangalore’s CSC Constructions Pvt. Ltd and Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd are among the companies that have either announced projects at Attibele or are looking for land there. The common thread that runs through their plans: affordable housing.

Zoning in: Attibele, 30km from Bangalore, has attracted attention from big developers such as Tata Housing, which is keen to buy a 100-acre plot there. Prices range between Rs70 lakh and Rs1.5 crore an acre. Hemant Mishra / Mint

Zoning in: Attibele, 30km from Bangalore, has attracted attention from big developers such as Tata Housing, which is keen to buy a 100-acre plot there. Prices range between Rs70 lakh and Rs1.5 crore an acre. Hemant Mishra / Mint Attibele would seem to have all that is needed to build affordable homes: land that isn’t priced out of the market and proximity to an industrial hub as well as to a big city.

Ramesh Ramanathan, another former Citibanker who runs citizen’s movement Janaagraha, has identified Attibele for his low-cost housing initiative that will sell 1,500 homes, developed on a 12-acre piece of land, for Rs5 lakh or less. Ramanathan, who is also a Mint columnist, says he was agnostic about the location for the project, but admits that Attibele met all his requirements. It is close to Electronic City, where firms such as Infosys Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Hewlett-Packard Co. are located. The four-lane road that connects the town to Bangalore passes by factories of firms such as TVS Motor Co. Ltd and Hindustan Granites Inc. Then there’s the cost: analysts and executives in the real estate business say land can be bought in Attibele for between Rs70 lakh and Rs1.5 crore an acre. That compares with around Rs1.5-4 crore an acre in Delhi satellite town Noida or Rs2-3.5 crore an acre in Bangalore suburb Whitefield.

“We were looking at other industrial hubs before we selected this location because we got a decent price,” says Pramod Kumar, executive director (operations) at Value and Budget Housing.

The company will spend Rs100 crore developing around 300-400 houses on 16.5 acres and will sell them at a sub-Rs7 lakh price tag. It hopes to see demand from people working in factories along Hosur Road or in firms in the Electronic City.

To be sure, the concept of affordable housing isn’t a new one. It is at least a few decades old, with the local development agencies of big cities being the original pioneers with their LIG (lower income group) flats. While a market for affordable homes never went away, large real estate firms started focusing almost exclusively on premium and luxury developments between 2004 and 2008 as the economy expanded rapidly and banks loosened their purse strings and issued loans to almost all loan seekers.
Since 2008, however, the bottom has all but fallen out of the real estate market and companies, even large ones, have turned to low-cost housing projects with a vengeance. In June, Unitech Ltd, India’s second largest real estate firm, launched its first Unihomes project in Chennai with flats on offer for between Rs10 lakh and Rs30 lakh.

“Affordable housing projects that have been launched in the last few months clearly brought back homebuyers and boosted sales. Not just price correction, developers launched projects at reduced price points,” says Shailesh Kanani, senior research analyst at Angel Broking Ltd.

Still, even these affordable housing projects are out of reach of most people. The existence of a market for extremely low-cost housing was proved by Tata Housing, among the first large real estate developer to enter the space. In May, the firm announced it would build and sell 1,500 houses at Boisar, near Mumbai, for between Rs3.8 lakh and Rs6.7 lakh.

There’s no telling whether such prices would be economically viable at Attibele. Ramanathan says that his low-cost housing initiative is a not-for-profit venture. The project also received a grant of $2 million (Rs9.3 crore) from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

Typically, land accounts for around 30% of the cost of a housing project in a city like Bangalore, according to Praveen Kumar, chief executive (CEO) of One Third Earth, a Bangalore-based property advisory. However, in some premium areas in Mumbai, land costs sometimes touch a high of 40-50%, he says.

The boom-in-the-making in Attibele hasn’t escaped the attention of Tata Housing, which, according to two real estate consultants who didn’t want to be identified, is looking to buy a 100-acre plot there for its second low-cost project after the one at Boisar.

In an email response to Mint’s query, Brotin Banerjee, CEO and managing director (MD) of Tata Housing, says the company is in talks with a few landowners nationally. “We will announce our next project at an appropriate time.”

One low-cost project begets another, says a developer.

“The real estate has a herd mentality. If one developer shows a positive sign, then others follow too,” says P.C. Sukanand, MD of CSC Constructions. The company has several projects in Attibele and recently sold a chunk of a total 500 units, that were 250 sq. ft studio apartments for Rs5 lakh each. It is also developing around 4,000 homes on a 40-acre plot and plans to sell them for less than Rs10 lakh each.

That mentality is beginning to make itself evident in Attibele. Much of the area looks undeveloped, but some parts sport empty sites with billboards hawking projects in the making.

Attractive it may be to developers of low-cost housing projects, but Attibele isn’t the easiest place in which to acquire land.

It took Ramanathan almost two years to sew up a deal for his 12-acre plot. “Much of Attibele’s land is agricultural and needs to be converted to either residential or commercial for development and (this) is time-consuming,”?says One Third Earth’s Kumar. The two consultants mentioned in the first instance say the Tata Housing deal is stuck because of similar issues. Tata Housing didn’t respond to a separate email sent by Mint on zoning issues.
Such zoning issues that require conversion of land use mean that only large developers operate here because only they can afford to do this, says a senior executive at Vakil Housing Development Corp. Pvt. Ltd, which has sold around 100 acres around Attibele.

Interestingly, Boisar, despite being the location of Tata’s Housing project, hasn’t seen any other low-cost housing activity. Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd does have 100 acres in the area, acquired over a period of time, but it is yet to announce any project in the area.

Source:http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/14003200/Attibelethe-new-lowcost-hou.html?pg=2

Real estate industry may exclaim crackers this Diwali

The real estate industry is reviving, but yet to get back to its old pace, which was impressive and estimable in the past four years. Even the festive season shows not much spur in the sector. Yes, Diwali looks a bit glimmer then the last year with not many offers. Leaving a few, developers have nothing to offer in terms of discounts. It’s just that they are launching new projects now with the hope that the season will show some productive results.

Developers like Omaxe, DLF, Amrapali, Meriton Group, SVP Group and Assotech believe that with the festive season India’s real estate market will revive further. “The festive season, which starts with Navaratra, is considered to be an auspicious time to purchase a house and when coupled with bottomed out real estate prices and home loan rates starting at 8% per annum along with other benefits offered by developers, we expect a good revival in demand”, said Rohtas Goel, chairman and managing director, Omaxe.

Last Diwali, developers were showering festival offers in plenty. Along with flats they offered cars, holiday packages and gold coins to buyers. But this year, the baits have almost disappeared. Yet, builders are expecting good sales during the festive period. Their justification is – “the buyers will come as the market is picking up and the prices on offer are good for investment.”

The developers feel that market is picking up and soon the real estate market will see a boom again. Talking more about the reasons behind the optimism, Jindal said, “With eased cash reserve ratio (CRR), statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and prime lending rates (PLR), banks have good liquidity now. They will definitely come out with attractive home loan schemes to draw fence sitters during the festive season. Bottomed-out real estate prices coupled with new home loan schemes should ensure a good deal for all types of property buyers.”

Developers are not giving exorbitant gifts but are offering some good rates and discounts. To delight the customers in this festive season, Omaxe has recently launched attractive projects like Omaxe Eternity in Vrindavan, Villas at Omaxe City in Bathinda, Omaxe Sangam City in Allahabad, Omaxe New Heights in Faridabad etc.

“All these newly launched projects are very attractively priced. While our recently launched projects saw impressive turn-out of customers, we have also received more than the expected response with in a short span of time”, said Goel.

Talking about the Meriton Group, all those who missed its Orange county flat offers in Indirapuram, can still feel proud to buy a three BHK apartment in its new tower, which will be the part of the same project. “Offered at the same price as other Orange County Flats, the new tower, having three BHK flats, will be launched before Diwali”, said Avnish Agarwal, director, Meriton Group.

The Supertech builders seems to offer something different, as R K Arora, chairman and managing director, Supertech Limited, said: “For the festive season, we have come up with some special offers and schemes at various projects to bestow our customers with a “special” feeling of buying their dream home on this auspicious festive season.”

Supertech will be organising “Green Village – Lucky Draw offer” in Meerut around Diwali. The Lucky Draw will be held for all the buyers who will book their flats in this township till October 11, 2009. The winner of the lucky draw will be gifted with one BHK flat in the same township. Green Village is the first township of Supertech in Meerut, which spreads in approximately 25 acres of land with around 1500 units of high and low rise buildings.

For other projects such as 34 Pavilion and Emerald Court (Noida), Czar Suits (Greater Noida), Palm Greens (Meerut & New Moradabad) and Livingston (Crossing Republik, NH 24, Ghaziabad), Supertech had offered Air-Conditioners to its buyers which were equivalent to the number of rooms which they had booked in aforesaid projects. It was a special festival offer for a limited period up to September 27, 2009.

To conclude, gifts and offers are can’t match pricing of a flat anyhow. Even developers say that buyers should not get swayed by attractive offers alone or get disheartened by the lack of offers. Buyers must assess their requirement and repayment capacity, along with the financial capabilities and delivering capacity of the developer, so that they are not trapped by the offer mania.

Source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/1244bae3cc84c62c

Indian Property Developers Expects Higher Sales

DUBAI — Indian property developers expect bigger post event sales as a large number of Non-Resident Indians, NRIs, visit IndiaHome, an annual real estate event in Dubai, concluded 
on Sunday.

Around 18 prominent builders from across India showcased their projects during the three-day event for the Indians working in the UAE.

Organisers of IndiaHome claimed over 5,000 footfalls during the last two-days of the event.

Cityscape Dubai 2009, the region’s largest property show, concluded last week on a subdued note, with preliminary estimates showing a 50 per cent drop in visitors.

“This year’s show is much better than last year despite the global economic downturn,” Sidharth Sengupta, Senior Sales Executive of Gera Developments told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

Majority of the expats in the UAE belong to India and according to recent government statistics Indians account for 1.8 million of total 6 million population of the country.

Despite a good number of visitors no purchase or booking was done till the third day and developers are expecting the deals after site visits by the interested buyers.

“We are expecting some site visits by NRIs in November and after that any booking can be done,” 
Sengupta said.

Citibank NA was the sponsor of the event, which was jointly organised by the Dubai based Media Agency Middle East and Signature Events.

Citibank NA offered a loan of up to Rs.50 million to NRI customers for ready-to-move and under-construction properties which can be obtained under flexible repayment plans.

Radhakrishnan, one of the visitor and NRI, said that he does not need to go to India for site visit as the location of the project, he is planning to select, is close to his native town.

Another exhibitor Jackbastian Nazareth, Executive Director of Sobha Group, said that the first two days were ‘super busy’.

Sobha Group showcased 15 properties at the event. “No booking done because site visit a must before buying a property, Nazareth said, adding: “Even domestic buyer prefers site visit first.”

An NRI Ghulam Roshan, Managing Director of Dubai-based BlackHood Real Estate, said that there is a big gap between supply and demand in India. There is a demand of 6.5 million units in India in only mid-sized segments, Roshan said.

Companies participated  at the event included Brigade Enterprises, Chaithanya Projects, Emaar MGF Land, ETA Star Constructions, Fairy Land Foundations, Gera Developments, Goel Ganga Group, Hiranandani Constructions, Hiranandani Palace Garden, Hiranandani Upscale, Jaiprakash Associates, K Raheja Corp, Kalpataru, Kumar Properties, Lancor Holdings, Paranjape Schemes (Constructions), Sobha Developers and Three C Universal Developers.

Source : http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2009/October/business_October258.xml&section=business&col=

Indian Residential property prices rise 15%

Wonder why Indian realty woke up so late when the US realtors started this almost 3-4 months back and are about to wind up their campaigns as there aren’t anymore buyers left for them to lure at these prices. Is RE really getting better in India, let’s see. Residential property prices rise 15%

The upswing has begun. Not only have the sales picked up, but the prices of residential property too have increased 5-15 % in the last couple of months. With a long festive season ahead, realty experts believe property markets could see heightened activity, provided developers desist from increasing prices of residential space any further. “After almost a year-and-a-half, we see a renewed demand in the residential sector.

During the last three months, sales have picked up by almost 100%, and with a long buying season ahead, the property prices will definitely move up the graph,” says Sameer Sinha of Savvy Infrastructures Ltd. “In Ahmedabad, going by conservative estimates, the prices of residential property is expected to rise by another 25-30 % in the next one year”, Mr Sinha said adding that the prices in the city have already risen by about 15% since the markets bottomed out earlier this year.

The fresh demand in the housing sector has boosted the confidence of developers as well. Earlier this month, the city-based body of developers, GIHED (Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers) displayed about 500 projects worth Rs 3,000 crore at property show in Ahmedabad. “As the economy recovers and grows on a pan-India basis, residential demand is expected to grow along side. C&W Research estimated demand to be over 7.5 million units by 2013 across all categories such as Economically Weaker Section, affordable mid segment and luxury segment. The residential demand for NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata is estimated to be 4.5 million units by 2013”, Ms Aditi Vijayakar added.

Has the author actually gone to ground zero. If you walk around Wakefield/IT park in Bangalore, you will see 1000’s of flats in vacant position either to be sold or lent out with NO takers. In fact, you can easily find an apartment that is NOT even ready at this time being sold at a discount of upto 40% to what the builder is quoting.

For example, if the builder is quoting 50L for a 2 BR in wakefield, Blore, you can easily find the same sized flat on some of the RE websites where owners have put up theirs for sale at a whoppingly low price of 30L. Now that’s the kind of demand these analysts who write all “hypothetical stuff” are seeing. Sentiment is improving in Hyderabad is another article. Hindu Business Line article

Referring to the supply situation, Mr Agrawall said that while there is glut in the Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1crore apartment and villa segments, the supply in the affordable segment is inadequate. In the Rs 1 crore and above category too the number of builders and projects are very few, he added.

All these projects costing 1 crore are at least 10-15 Kms away from the city. Traveling within city, from one end to the other takes an easy 2 hours. One can only imagine the pain one would need to take to travel if they buy at these places that too at exorbitant prices. This is a trend that is way too familiar. Stock market rises 100%. Everyone blindly puts money in it. Makes ton of money. They now move to RE. RE picks up for a little bit. Folks start the “cat and mouse” chasing game and force the prices to go up. When the number of such folks are done. RE comes crashing down.

One can write up a program depicting this behavior and pattern in india and put it in a loop. Unfortunately, common man who may not have access to gory stock markets or higher salaires is the one that gets trapped in all this mess. Common man always gets inot the chasing game at the very end. Like folks who have bought stocks in the last month are trapped for a good 6months to 1 year before they could realize a profit. Similar is the case with RE too.

Coming to affordability, with Labor pains growing not many folks are out there who could a) afford to buy a house, b) qualify for a loan to buy a house. If US market is any clue, then Indian RE market too will go down further. At the current juncture the oversupply of units is hurting and NOT the demand. Demand is and will always be there in a country that is growing. However, unrealistic predictions got Realtors into building too many units when they did not need. Another case in example is Raheja builders who are stuck with a multi-crore residential project in Bangalore whose construction has been shut-down after almost 70% of it being complete. What we at SB would like to state is that do NOT get swayed by those analysts articles and get too pumped up.

Always do your own research before jumping into any ship. Internet is a great resource, make the most of it. We have gotten so many feedbacks stating that we are always on the pessimistic side rather than being optimistic. Please do realize that you switch on TV, everyone will say buy stocks, buy houses. There wouldn’t be anyone who would say do NOT buy. Because everyone has a vested interest. We do NOT and hence our analysis is unbiased and true to our knowledge. And truth is always bitter.

Source:http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article14114.html

Prajay to invest Rs 600 crore in hospitality biz

Prajay Engineers Syndicate Limited (PESL), a city-based construction and hospitality company, will be investing Rs 500-600 crore in various hospitality ventures in and around Hyderabad.

Currently operating a 30-room Celebrity Boutique Hotel in Begumpet and 70 rooms at the company’s Celebrity Club near Shamirpet on the city outskirts, PESL is planning to build a 260-room business hotel at LB Nagar.

The company has signed up Best Western International – an Arizona-based hotel brand with more than 4,000 hotels in 80 countries – for this project christened Pristine Towers, which will be ready by December 2010. Besides, a 130-room three-star hotel with an investment of Rs 55-60 crore is currently under way.

“We have already received funding to the tune of Rs 150 crore for the Rs 200-crore Pristine Towers from a consortium led by the State Bank of India, while the rest is the equity from the company,” PESL chief financial and operating officer, N Ravinder Reddy, told Business Standard, adding that the company aims to create a 1,000-room capacity in the five-star, four-star, three-star business class categories by 2011.

“Since the current market is not greatly conducive for debt raising, we have decided to infuse fresh capital through promoters’ resources and had already received approvals from the regulators for the same. Currently, the promoters’ holding is 26 per cent (10 million shares of the total equity of 3.96 million), which will be increased to 49 per cent post the infusion. It will take 14 months from now for the entire process to be completed,” Reddy said.

PESL’s current consumed debt, Reddy said, was Rs 130 crore, while the total sanctioned debt is Rs 270 crore. Last year was a watershed year for PESL, when the real estate market was in a stalemate condition. The company reported revenues of Rs 80 crore in FY09, as against Rs 340 crore during the previous year, he said.

“We expect to see a 50 per cent growth in revenues this financial year, with our net margins being in the range of 10 to 12 per cent, as against a net loss of Rs 1 crore in FY09,” he added.

Prajay Engineers Syndicate’s stock was at Rs 30.25 at the end of the trade on the BSE on Friday, down 2.89 per cent as against the previous close of Rs 31.15.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/prajay-to-invest-rs-600-crore-in-hospitality-biz/372929/

Low-cost flats to boost demand in real estate sector

Affordable housing seems to be the flavour of the day. This is not just among salaried class, real estate players on the ground too visualise fortune in building low cost flats.

A survey on current scenario on country’s real estate sector reveals that 34 per cent of demand in residential segment is in the price bracket of Rs 5-15 lakh; 26 per cent in the bracket of Rs 15-25 lakh; 22 per cent in the range of Rs 25-40 lakh; 12 per cent in the range of Rs 35-50 lakh. In luxury house segment with properties costing above Rs 50 lakh the demand level is just six per cent, the Ficci survey shows. Interestingly, the survey reveals that parking funds in affordable housing projects has emerged as safest bet for developers followed by developing demand based commercial spaces. Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and retail segment are expected to be the least preferred asset class to drive the sector towards recovery. Although real estate sector has started to show some signs of revival a majority of the industry experts expect the residential segment to recover by the end of 2009 with a 25-30 per cent renewal in demand. The commercial segment expected to pick up after the third quarter of 2010.

Realotrs believe that retail segment will revive only marginally by end of 2009 by approximately 10-12 per cent rise in demand and will recover only by the last quarter of 2010. Developers now seem to concentrate on high volumes and lower margins as against low volumes and higher margins and have shifted focus towards affordable housing segment, the survey reveals. As per the findings the stimulus packages and interest rate cuts have to an extent eased accessibility for bank finance for the developers. However, banks are still cautious in lending and prefer lending for projects nearing completion to lower risk.  Most respondents feel that there is an urgent need for a real estate regulator (RER) that would not only act as a nodal agency for all real estate developments but also quell the concerns of consumers as well as the real estate industry as a whole.

The Ministry of Urban Development has already floated a Discussion Paper in the public domain on the need for setting up a RER.

Source:http://www.deccanherald.com/content/29872/low-cost-flats-boost-demand.html

Parsvnath to focus on existing projects

Cash-starved real estate major Parsvnath Developers Ltd ( PDL) has decided to go slow on its non- housing projects such as development of special economic zones ( SEZs) and focus on the completion of its existing projects.

The New Delhi- based developer through its subsidiary company, Parsvnath SEZ Ltd ( PSL) is to carry out activities to develop and operate SEZs. PSL is to develop 17 special SEZs across 10 states covering an area of over 1,780 hectares ( 4,400 acres) in the next five to seven years. Of these, four SEZs have already been notified.

The company that expects a revenue of over Rs 5,000 crore in the next two and half years is looking to raise about Rs 500- 600 crore this fiscal by selling equity at project level.

PSL had raised Rs 115 crore from private equity ( PE) firm Red Fort Capital by selling 22 per cent stake in the 17- acre premium housing project ‘ Parsvnath La Tropicana’ at Civil Lines in North Delhi.

Speaking on the sidelines of a presentation on public- private partnership in the housing sector by the National Real Estate Development Council ( Naredco), Parsvnath chairman Pradeep Jain said, ” The company also plans to cut down its debt to Rs 800- 900 crore by March next year from the existing Rs 1,420 crore. We have put construction of 42 million sq ft on fast track. In the next 25- 30 months, we are expecting to realise Rs 5,300 crore from the sale of these areas.” Jain added the company is about to finalise two PE deals. He further said out of this 42 million sq ft area, around 97 per cent is earmarked for housing. The company has sold 35 million sq ft and expects to sell the remaining area in six to nine months.

“From this 42 million sq ft of saleable area, we expect a total sales realisation of Rs 8,150 crore. The company has received Rs 2,850 crore from the buyers,” he said.

Jain added, “Our focus is to create a huge base of internal accruals and retire the debt. In the next two years, we may become a debt- free or very low- debt company.” The company currently has a land bank of 3,400 acres with a saleable area of 193 million sq ft.

“Of the total land bank, about 97 per cent is fully paid and we have received all regulatory approvals and licences for about 85 per cent of land,” Jain said.

Source:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=110&id=65750&Itemid=1&sectionid=110

Ansal to develop over 500 ‘villas’; expects Rs 400 cr turnover

Real estate firm Ansal Housing & Construction today said it would develop over 500 luxury housing units in Maharashtra, which could fetch the company a revenue to the tune of Rs 400 crore.

The company has already launched the 225-acre project — Ansals Suvarna Vilas — at Shahpur in Thane, near Mumbai.

“In all Ansal Suvarna Vilas will have over 500 Thai style villas with an expected turnover of Rs 400 crore,” Ansal Housing & Construction said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The project would be developed in phases with the first phase of 25 acres expected to complete within two years, the filing added.

Shares of Ansal Housing & Construction today closed at Rs 57.75 on the BSE, up 0.52 from the previous close.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ansal-to-develop-over-500-villas-expects-rs-400-cr-turnover/75592/on

Nyati Group forays into hospitality business

Nyati Group, a Pune-based real estate developer, has forayed into the hospitality business by setting up the Corinthians Boutique Hotel. Nyati Hotels and Resorts, a SPV floated by the group for this venture, has invested Rs 120 crore in the hotel. The 120-room hotel, which is located on a hill top, has been built in a Moroccan style with Greco-Egyptian elements of architecture.

The hotel has Brew House pub with a brewery, where 2,00,000 litres of fresh beer can be produced. There are plans to launch another property with 60 spa villas at Khadakvasla and build a second boutique hotel on the Pune-Bengaluru highway.

Source:http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=6399&sid=1

Office rentals stabilise: CBRE Report

Office rentals, which dropped 40% from their peak in the middle of 2008, stabilised across the country in the September quarter as fresh bookings for office spaces partly reduced inventories, says a report by international property consultant CB Richard Ellis.

There was no change in office rentals in some of the major office locations in the national capital region, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, while rentals at some others in Chennai and Pune fell by 5-6 % in the quarter ended June 30. In contrast, rentals in Connaught Place in Delhi and Gurgaon in Haryana registered an increase of 5-8 % in the last quarter.

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

While most locations in the national capital region saw no change in rentals compared to the preceding quarter, some locations faced significant vacant spaces which was highest for Jasola at 50% and Saket at 25%. In Mumbai, vacant spaces were high at 25% in Bandra Kurla Complex and 22% in Lower Parel even after corporates took up new office spaces. Mumbai is expected to witness an additional supply of 3.5 million sq ft by 2010 that may add to the vacancy level and keep rentals under pressure, says CB Richard Ellis.

Source:http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/1243c34b4e87b665

Residential realty prices moving up

Residential real estate prices are going up. In the last three months, prices of affordable apartments have appreciated by around 10%
across the country.

“With improvement in the sentiment in the economy, transactions in the affordable range of residential real estate have gone up. This has made developers to increase prices by 5% to 10% in the last three months,” said Anshuman Magazine, MD of real estate consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis, South Asia.

The developers had cut prices by around 30% in first two quarters of calendar 2009 to revive the demand of residential units, which plummeted to a low due to the global financial crisis. Magazine said the price cut led to some recovery in demand. Enthused by the partial recovery, he said, the developers, who had sold a substantial portion of their projects at hugely discounted prices, decided to increase them marginally in the next phase.

According to an IIFL report, in Mumbai, prices are up 25%-40% from the bottom in early 2009, while in NCR, the corresponding figure is 15-20%. ‘‘Constrained supply and a revival in demand drove up prices in Mumbai, and NCR,” the report said.

In Mumbai, the prices of apartment in Metropolis, being developed by HDIL appreciated by 38% since March to Rs 10,500 per sq. ft. Similarly, the project, Planet Godrej, has become 20% costlier to Rs 25,000 per sq ft in the last six months. In NCR also, many developers like DLF, Unitech, Jaypee Greens, Mahagun and Amrapali among others, have increased prices by around 10% from the launch prices in March-June. In the premium segment also, there is revival in demand, said Vibhor Gupta, senior official of Jaypee Greens. However, the prices have not witnessed any escalation in the premium segment. Similar trend has been noticed in cities like Bangalore, Pune and Chennai.

“The current trend of price escalation can not be sustained as it will affect the demand,” said Aditi Vijayakar, ED of Cushman and Wakefiled, adding, as the demand has revived following interest rate cuts by banks, many developers have announced projects in the affordable range. This will increase the supply and will put pressure on the price rise.

At the same time, another consultant said the financial condition of the developers has not improved to a level that they can hold a project for long. They need cash flow to service the debt, which they have taken to buy lands. The source said the money from other sources like dilution of equity is still not easily available. This has forced developers to depend on the sales proceeds to service debt.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Residential-realty-prices-moving-up/articleshow/5103968.cms

Provogue invests Rs 1,500 cr to develop 6 new malls

Provogue India has invested over Rs 1,500 crore for setting up six new malls, which would be developed by its real estate arm, Prozone Enterprises, and come up in the next two years.

Apparel maker and retailer Provogue also plans to open 50 new retail stores in the next two years at an investment of around Rs 20-30 crore.

“We have invested Rs 1,500 crore in our mall business and three of them will be opening soon this year,” Provogue Managing Director Nikhil Chaturvedi said adding that the first one would come up at Aurangabad, followed by one each at Nagpur and Coimbatore.

Each mall would be of one million sq ft and will include residential and office space as well, Chaturvedi said.

Provogue today announced Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan as its new brand ambassador.

Asked if the company was scaling down its mall- developments, Chaturvedi said, “We are not scaling down and are very aggressively expanding both our businesses (retail and mall development).”

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/provogue-invests-rs-1500-cr-to-develop-6-new-malls/75505/on

BMC hikes taxes on Nariman Point bldgs 5-10 times

Mumbai: Nariman Point, Indias premier commercial district, is in a state of turmoil. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has slapped notices on building societies here by increasing their taxes by as much as five to 10 times.

The BMCs assessment and collection department recently hiked what is commonly known as the rateable value in buildings where offices have been given out on leave and licence. The rateable value is fixed on the basis of the rent a particular office space is expected to fetch the owner.
There are close to two dozen buildings in Nariman Point. Some months ago, several societies received notices, informing them that the new rates would be applicable with retrospective effect from April 2008. The 15-storey Mittal Court is a case in point; the BMC has hiked its rateable
value from Rs 2.86 crore a year to a phenomenal Rs 21.31 crore, an eight-fold increase.

Source:http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?publabel=TOI&city=Mumbai