Real Estate

Overseas investors have pumped in over Rs 3,500 in the Indian debt market so far in January, when the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to start reducing its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of debt securities worth Rs 8,155 crore and sellers of bonds to the tune of Rs 4,609 crore till January 10, resulting in a net inflow of Rs 3,546 crore ($572 million), according to Sebi data.

FIIs also invested Rs 545 crore in the equity market. Their total investment in debt and equity was about Rs 4,091 crore.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT) today said national and international developers have shown interest for development of commercial and residential buildings in the GIFT city.

The company recently floated Request-for-Proposal (RFP) for development of commercial and residential buildings in GIFT-SEZ and non-SEZ areas.

At the pre-bid meeting on December 31, 2013, and thereafter, several developers visited GIFT city to explore the opportunity, it said.

The Competition Commission has dismissed allegations of abuse of dominant market position against real estate developer Akshaya Private Ltd with respect to residential markets in Tamil Nadu.

Noting that Akshaya had competitive constraints owing to presence of other developers in the market, the Commission said that the realty firm prima facie was not a dominant player in the determined relevant market.

Leading estate developer Lodha Group today said it will launch the second phase of its mega city project ‘Palava’ on Saturday.

The Mumbai-based realtor is developing ‘Palava’, a mega city in Dombivli, a suburb of Mumbai located in Thane district.

The entire project, spread over 5,000 acres, is to be completed in four phases by 2025. The second phase consists of 800 buildings and is slated be completed in the next 5 years.

Tata Group real estate arm Tata Housing Development today launched a luxury residential project in the northeastern suburb of Mulund.

The project, named Gateway Towers, is spread across 8.5 acres and is a part of the 19-acre redevelopment project.

“We have invested around Rs 2,000 crore for the entire redevelopment project across 19 acres, out of which the saleable component would be around 8.5 acres, where we will be developing six luxury residential towers,” a company source said.

Real estate firm Hubtown Ltd, formerly known as Ackruti City, has paid Rs 2 lakh to settle a Sebi probe into alleged irregularities with regard to correct disclosure of promoter shareholing in the company.

Investigations conducted by Sebi had found that the company had publicly disclosed a total promoter shareholding of 82.83 per cent as per the details received from the company’s Registrar and Share Transfer Agent (RTA).

India has launched the third phase of a housing project in Sri Lanka by expanding the category of beneficiaries to include Indian-origin Tamils who are settled in the central part of the country as plantation laborers.

India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y.K.Sinha told All India Radio in an interview that the second phase was completed with successful construction of 10,000 houses in the north and eastern parts of the country for internally displaced people who were affected by the civil war.

Realty firm Brigade Enterprises has bought 2.25 acres of land in Bangalore from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages for almost Rs 69 crore.

The Bangalore-based company plans to develop a premium real-estate project on the acquired land.

The company “purchased a prime property measuring 2.25 acres at Hebbal, Bangalore, from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd for a consideration of Rs 68.83 crore for developing a prime real estate project,” Brigade Enterprises said in a filing to the BSE.

Realty firm Sobha Developers’ sales bookings fell by 6 per cent in the third quarter ended December 2013 to Rs 502.3 crore due to lower sales volumes because of a slowdown in the real estate market.

The Bangalore-based company had achieved sales bookings of Rs 533.4 crore in the year-ago period.

“The company, during the quarter ended December 31, 2013, has sold 0.74 million sq ft of new space valued at Rs 5.02 billion at an average price realisation of Rs 6,786 per sq ft,” Sobha said in an operational update for the third quarter of financial year 2013-14.

Fair trade regulator CCI has dismissed the allegations of abuse of dominant position against two realty companies — SG Estates Ltd and SKI View Hotel — with respect to development of a commercial real estate project in Vasundhara in Ghaziabad region.

As per the complaint by two residents of Vasundhara, both the firms imposed one sided unfair terms in the purchase agreement and sale deed for an office space at a commercial complex developed by them, charged higher price for maintenance and abused their dominant market position, among others.

IT hub Bangalore is expected to witness the second highest demand for office space in the Asia Pacific region during 2014 in a list topped by Tokyo, according to property consultant Cushman and Wakefield (C&W).

“Bangalore is expected to see the second highest absorption in the APAC region and the highest demand in the country owing to expansion of the IT, ITeS and multi-national companies,” C&W said in a statement.

A day after the state government steeply hiked property prices in major cities in spite of falling sales, realtors association has flayed the decision saying the move will harm the industry in particular and the state in general.

“I think the government has taken an upfront decision. There is no synchronisation in the decision-making. The decision should have been taken by the chief minister and the cabinet and not by the revenue department alone,” Credai chairman Lalitkumar Jain told PTI today.

With the new Land Acquisition Act coming into force, government on Wednesday sought to allay apprehension of the industry, saying there is no bar whatsoever on purchase of private land.

“You want land? Go buy the land,” Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said when asked about his message to private industry on a day the new law came into force.

Investors had expressed apprehension that the new law, which replaced over a century old act, would make land acquisition more expensive for industrial and infrastructure development.

With high property prices and costlier borrowing hitting real estate, developers are hoping for a reversal of the slowdown in the new year and sales picking up post general elections.

Low demand for flats, subdued commercial leasing, huge unsold housing stocks, buyers’ protest against delays, limited launch of projects and debt-ridden developers clocking lower revenue-net profit numbers marked the year for real estate.

Indicating the worsening stress on the realty sector, an estimated Rs 7,700 crore worth of commercial and residential properties loans are up for sale, according to an industry report.

Data compiled by NPAsource.com, a portal that focuses on resolution of stressed assets, shows that there are around 2,200 units in the commercial category and nearly 11,000 units in the residential segment funded by banks and other financial institutions and valued at over Rs 7,700 crore, which have turned NPAs and are on the block.

Delhi Development Authority will be launching a new housing scheme under which people from all the segments of the society will get affordable flats through a draw this year.

The flats will be made available in different parts of the city and the scheme will provide accommodation ranging from one room tenement to three bedrooms flats.

According to sources, under the scheme, DDA will allot about 5,000 to 6000 flats.

The ongoing slowdown and steep rupee fall are among the factors making the country a riskier realty destination for global investors, even as it continues to be a high return market, say experts.

According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), mature markets like Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Manila and Sydney have emerged as the most preferred real estate investment destinations compared to the domestic market.

Business and leisure hotels company Lemon Tree Friday announced the opening of its 500-room Delhi Aerocity property here.

According to the company, the new property comprises of brands – Lemon Tree Premier and Red Fox which will focus on the transit clientele segment in the region.

“We are very positive on the growth prospects in the transit and corporate segment. Air traffic from Delhi is bound to grows and so will this sector,” Patu Keswani, chairman and managing director, Lemon Tree Hotel Company told IANS.

Outstanding investments in the country’s real estate sector were six per cent lower at Rs 14.51 lakh crore in September 2013 as against the same month previous year, according to a study by industry body Assocham.

The study also revealed there is likely to be no respite for the realty sector atleast till first half of 2014.

“Outstanding investments attracted by India’s real estate sector have plummeted from Rs 15.39 lakh crore as of September 2012 to Rs 14.51 lakh crore as of September 2013 registering significant drop of about six per cent,” Assocham said.

Economic slowdown, inflationary pressures, volatility in foreign exchange and stock markets, together with liquidity crunch and costly debt, took a toll on India’s real estate sector in 2013, with investor sentiment taking a severe beating despite a number of reform initiatives undertaken by the government.

Economic slowdown, inflationary pressures, volatility in foreign exchange and stock markets, together with liquidity crunch and costly debt, took a toll on India’s real estate sector in 2013, with investor sentiment taking a severe beating despite a number of reform initiatives undertaken by the government.

Total mall space availability across seven top cities is expected to increase by almost 26 per cent to 95.7 million square feet by 2015, a recent survey said.

The stock in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune is expected to increase from 76 million sqft in 2013 to 95.7 million sqft in 2015, said a survey by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.

Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra on Tuesday followed State Bank of India and mortgage major HDFC by announcing a rate cut of up to 0.25 percent on their housing loans for a limited period.

Accordingly, new home loans under Rs 75 lakh will be available at 10.25 percent per annum, down from the earlier 10.50 percent, while ones above Rs 75 lakh will cost 10.75 percent as against the earlier 10.90 percent.

The reduced interest rates will be applicable till January 31.

In a relief to settlers in highland areas, the Congress-led UDF Government in Kerala has decided to waive restrictions on transaction of farmland held by them as part of the condition for issuing title deeds.

A meeting of the state cabinet today decided to take away the restrictive provision in this regard by amending the rules under the Kerala Land Assignment Act.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Information Minister K C Joseph said the ceiling set on such land held by each title holder would also be increased to 4 acres from the present one acre.

Office space absorption in NCR, the largest office market in the country, is slightly higher at 4.9 million sq ft during January-September period of this year despite economic slowdown in India as well as globally, according to property consultant Knight Frank.

In the first nine months of 2012, office space absorption stood at 4.8 million sq ft.