According to a survey, residential constructions are facing a great risk from fire in Mumbai this year. Inspections carried out by the fire department in the financial capital and its peripheries, between February to October, found that most of the buildings in the western and eastern suburbs violated the safety guidelines.

Out of the 1,492 buildings surveyed in the eastern and western suburbs, notices were issued to 1,354 constructions for breaching fire safety guidelines. But even after being warned to take curative measures, only 85 of these buildings filed the compliance report with the fire department.

Out of 3,105 residential buildings inspected in the island city, 659 were issued notices of which five buildings obeyed the guidelines given by the fire department.

The buildings inspected were high-rises residential units, high-footfall areas like malls, multiplexes, industrial estates and government buildings.

The inspection was carried out randomly under the Maharashtra Fire and Life Safety Measures Act (2006), which makes it obligatory for buildings over seven-storeys tall, to undertake fire safety report measures twice a year to the fire department building including malls, public space and multiplexes.

The safety act specifies that every building more than seven-storey tall must have an internal fire fighting systems and sprinklers, and a clearly marked refuge area which should be intruded.

In the city like Mumbai the residential societies take fire safety measures very casually and wake up only when there is a fire raging in their buildings.

The fire department is also planning to set up a special cell by mid-2014 to carry out inspections in the buildings.

Currently, firemen are burdened with the task of undertaking inspections in their areas and issuing notices, in addition to attending rescue calls. The new cell will help implement the guidelines more successfully and encourage frequent checks.

The Mumbai-based Shapoorji Pallonji Group is planning to extend its info-tech properties by 52 pc in near future. The addition by the real estate major will be in existing properties, adding its portfolio by around more two million sq ft by next year. This development is coming when most other bigger developers in the market are going slowly on commercial properties.

The group operates IT parks under the SP Ifocity brand in IT and IT-enabled services at software technology parks and SEZs. It has IT parks and SEZs in Gurgaon, Manesar, Pune and Chennai, with 5 million sq ft of space.

The group, headed by billionaire Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, is into construction, textiles, power and much more among other segments. The realty arm of the 150-year old group will further develop commercial hubs in its existing projects in different part of the country.

The development of IT space was noteworthy in 2005-06 but due to the slowdown which affected the requirements in IT and other firms, faced a huge set back in 2008 and had to pull back its plans. The group is very cautious, before adding extra space to its ongoing projects in the country.

Experts say the old Realtor is among the few who are adding commercial properties. Most of the developers are not launching new projects, clients are moving places to cut down the costs. It is indication a clear slow in demand for the commercial properties.

The demands for SEZs are improving, as availability of such places is limited.

The company is looking out for more opportunities  in the Mumbai, Pune, the National Capital Region, Kolkata, Chennai and other cities to develop residential and commercial projects.

The stamp duty and the registration department had drafted new norms to cut down an alarming rise in fraud in property transactions.

The changes said by an official notice recently issued, deal with authentication of Individuals, and adding an obligatory declaration of birthmarks and different marks in the body.

When the registration is on the parties will be requested to provide details of identification marks on visible areas of the bodies. Though it’s an optional, it will be in their interest, when they want to verify the identity during the deed.

Strengthening real estate prices have led to an increase in fraud transactions, with rising complaints about wrong doings in documents, especially by persons posing as property owners. At some places sub-registrar had to face legal action and 15 cases were filed last year against them and identifiers.

The department has been collecting photos and thump impressions of persons registering documents to verify the legitimacy of witness and identity papers also. Mobile numbers and e-mail IDs will also be sought.

A person can now testify as a witness for only one document a day. This is done to rein in the agents, who often pose as witnesses without knowing parties involved in the deal. Limitations have been leveled in cases involving registration of multiple documents at the same time.

When the developers across the major property markets are lamenting about the inferior infrastructure, Ahmedabad is probably the only major city where the developers are not complaining. With the state government focusing on investment and boosting infrastructure, Ahmedabad and other cities in Gujarat are ready to grow in all directions.

Mega projects, including the proposed Special Investment Region (SIR) at Dholera, the metro-link express and the state’s first International Tech- city are posed to transform Gujarat’s industrial scenario in next few years. These developments will have positive note on the realty sector.

The state government has also approached the Cabinet for intervention to accelerate projects worth 1.1 lakh cr, promoted by top domestic and foreign firms. These projects are waiting the green nod from the Centre form last three years.

The expansion plan for RIL’s marine operations worth Rs 8,950 cr, the the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway worth Rs 19,850 crore and investments in the DMIC worth Rs 43,230 crore are among the projects waiting for a approval  from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The state government has completed 20 road projects worth Rs 2,088 cr and six projects amounting to Rs 2, 950 ce are under development. It has more than five projects in the pipeline and an equal number in a bidding stage.

On the urban development front, the state has completed six projects and the government is also thinking up to take 22 more projects at an investment of Rs 4,000 cr in the coming years.

The real estate growth in the city has witnessed the change. From affordable apartments and townships, the demands are sifting to villas, second homes and row houses.

The city has a very good water drainage system, ring road system, bus rapid transport system and stable power supply that provide a solid foundation for growth of the sector in the city.

According to the Government data 13 projects are waiting for clearance under the coastal regulation zone norms. The pace of development is likely to receive a major boost, once all the infra projects are given nod on a fast-track basis.

In the present scenario there must be a regulatory mechanism to make sure that a developer could not sell off a house until the legal approvals were in place and that residential units got the right to the land when there was a violation of law by the developer.

There is a urgent need for a change in the law to ensure that developments has been done according to the plan and the developer has to provide the rights to the societies in case of a breach of law on flat sales.

The Campa Cola case highlighted the lack of law to protect hapless flat buyers.

Under the Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act (Mofa), a developer cannot ink a sale deal until the plans are approved and flat-buyers can assume that all the provisions are in place. The Campa cola owners thought that approvals were coming and nothing was mentioned on their deeds. But the Mofa provides compensation only in the case of breach or for refunds. It is not authorized to allow illegal constructions.

Citing the Campa Cola case, a revision to the laws is required to deal with a situation, where illegal constructions eventually razing of illegal floors ought to take away the buyer s’ right.

The city civil court has upheld the BMC’s demolition orders in an interim application in a suit filled by the residents. The case is still pending in the court.

The apex court earlier this year held the buyers saying they have consciously acquired the illegal flats and the only remedy is to file a suit against the flat owners and the developers for return of money.

Demolition of illegal structures may be the immediate consequence.

It is most vital to protect owners with a controlling mechanism for sale of flats, to be followed by a deposit on duties collected from investors, pending completion and lawful timely certificated hand-over of the new construction, coupled with liquidated penalties for delays, defaults.

Pune, a major city in  Maharashtra, the eighth largest city in the country, has recently seen a huge run up in prices, rising almost 40 pc since 2011 with the average price in the city rising from Rs 4000 to Rs 5300 per square feet.

Sales have started slowing down, registering a 21 percent dip at the start of 2013 according to a survey. But sales in a much larger property market, Bangalore, registered a sharper decline of 25 percent.

What’s worked well for Pune this festive season is that it is still far more affordable than other cities. This is one of the big reasons this property market is not in the grips of a massive slowdown, the kind we are seeing in Mumbai and the National Capital Region.

Prices have now stabilized at these levels. While Pune is performing better than other cities like Mumbai and the National Capital Region, it would be incorrect to say it is totally inaccessible from the realty slowdown prevailing in other parts of the country.

The growth strips are flanked on the eastern and western side of the metropolitan city.

The overall inventory in Pune was alarming, but a large quantum of supply that has been brought out by the developers over the last 6-9 months. The home buyers continued their buying.

Salarpuria Sattva Group eyeing to enter Coimbatore real estate market

The Bangalore based Salarpuria Sattva Group is starting a venture in Coimbatore before entering the Chennai market. The present scenario of the property market in the city is under pressure due to the slowdown and the company is confident of the market bouncing back as it can see positive features than can draw investors to it.

From an investment view Chennai is a mature market, but Coimbatore market is just beginning so it is the right time to enter Coimbatore property market clarified the group.

The state government is also giving a push to the city development. As the city industrialization is growing, the widely travelled people are drawn towards it, top developers are also getting their foothold in the city’s market.

On the plan of entering a market that has huge unsold inventory, the main advantage of the first residential project that the Salarpuria Sattva Group will be shortly launching was it location. The location they have chosen is between the railway station and the airport.

The company is planning to enter the market with an affordable price range. The firm would bank on its quality of construction, lifestyle and timely deliverance.

The city was going through a rough phase but it has industries to IT, support services, educational institutions, health care, retail etc. The Group is hopping that the down time is the best time to invest to reap awards when the market will bounce back in near future.

The real estate firm is also thinking to acquire more land in future and is also thinking to develop commercial, retail and township projects in near future.

The Bangalore based Salarpuria Sattva Group is starting a venture in Coimbatore before entering the Chennai market. The present scenario of the property market in the city is under pressure due to the slowdown and the company is confident of the market bouncing back as it can see positive features than can draw investors to it.

From an investment view Chennai is a mature market, but Coimbatore market is just beginning so it is the right time to enter Coimbatore property market clarified the group.

The state government is also giving a push to the city development. As the city industrialization is growing, the widely travelled people are drawn towards it, top developers are also getting their foothold in the city’s market.

On the plan of entering a market that has huge unsold inventory, the main advantage of the first residential project that the Salarpuria Sattva Group will be shortly launching was it location. The location they have chosen is between the railway station and the airport.

The company is planning to enter the market with an affordable price range. The firm would bank on its quality of construction, lifestyle and timely deliverance.

The city was going through a rough phase but it has industries to IT, support services, educational institutions, health care, retail etc. The Group is hopping that the down time is the best time to invest to reap awards when the market will bounce back in near future.

The real estate firm is also thinking to acquire more land in future and is also thinking to develop commercial, retail and township projects in near future.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) of Karnataka has asked to make amendments in Karnataka Land Reforms Act which was announced recently.
According to the new Land Reforms Act, a non-grower cannot buy agricultural land for the owners. The association has requested the state government to give freedom to the lands which are marked under BDA, BIAAPA, BMRDA among others in Bangalore.
It also requested that all lands marked for development in Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga and other cities should be excused from the application of Land Reforms Act. As all these lands are marked for development either for residential or industrial purposes so these lands should be exempted. Also it can assume that all these lands have lost their agricultural status, so the body requested the Government to exempt the lands.
The governing body said that the state has not declared the policy for quarrying of sand due to which the construction industry is facing a lot of problems in getting sand for development. The body was worried about the situation it the problem continues for more one or two months, then the entire construction will come to a standstill.
Enormous people who depend on the construction activities will lose their jobs and due to ban on crushing of jelly industry, which was barred by Pollution Control Board.
After the reform the registration of sites in BIAPPA and BMRDA area has been stopped for the past four months on the ground that the khatha extract, which is used for registration issued by the panchayat authorities concerned, should be from a computer format.

Real estate has appeared as a hot investment target with banks in recent times. The projects in other sector have faded, prompting banks to fund commercial reality despite slow demand in the real estate sector.

Of the 180 projects of Rs 280 cr that came for funding in the first half of 2013-14, 56 were real estate projects that are estimated to cost nearly Rs 65,000 cr. The sector lags only iron and steel, where the cost of 14 projects is around Rs 64,300 cr.

Funding for commercial properties in addition to home loans, which rose by 21 pc to almost Rs 5,700 cr by October-end this year compared to last year.

In the middle of a slowdown, experts send out a cautionary note is if real estate exposure of banks is going up, then the market demand seems to be going down and the market risk is supposed to be higher. But several projects are covered through lease rentals, which reduce a little amount of risk.

Merchandise bankers and property experts, however, play down the concerns. The property sector offers them the possibility to earn more compared to telecome or pharma.  Basically bankers believe funding real estate is not risky as it is shown to be.

The funding is much lower at around 12 pc of the project cost and the expenditure will be over the next five-seven years. It also helps steel, cement and employment sectors.

NEW DELHI: The Aditya Birla Group has invested Rs 130 cr in a residential housing project which is being constructed by Tata Housing and Sidhartha Group on the Dwarka Expressway.

The organized deal is expected to offer an internal rate of return of 25-27 pc to the Aditya Birla Real Estate Fund in next four years.

Sidhartha Group has pledged the 49 pc share it hold in the JV with Tata Housing for the Gurgaon project to Aditya Birla Real Estate Fund. The pact is planned in a way that if Sidhartha Group is unable to provide the funds and promised returns, the group’s stake will get transferred to the fund.

Last year, Tata Housing and Sidhartha group had inked a 51:49 JV to construct a project on 20.8 acres. The location of the project is the first on Dwarka Expressway when one enters from Delhi and is very close to the international airport. The proposed land was originally owned by the Gurgaon developer.

Both the parties are hoping to earn huge revenues around Rs 1,300 cr over the project, which means Aditya Birla will get Rs 550 cr on its investment of Rs 130 cr. Tata Housing has already sold 23 pc pf the project in the first phase.

In another transaction on Dwarka Expressway, ASK Property Investment Advisors had infused around Rs 180 crore in a residential project being constructed by ATS Infrastructure.

The slowdown has been observed across most markets, with the economic slowdown and an uncertain job scene, buyers are shying away from the market.

Some correction in prices is already happening by way of freebies and promotions by developers to attract the buyers.

The secondary market, has suffered as investors who had invested in projects in Gurgaon and other parts of the country are finding it difficult to get buyers.

MUMBAI: India’s one of the top developer Parsvnath Developers Ltd is planning to list its two and half million square feet of shopping mall and commercial place as a real estate investment trust (REIT), potentially the first firms to use the instrument to raise money in the country.

Parsvnath, which depends on JP Morgan and PE firm Red Fort Capital among its investors, is ready to list the assets once the Sebi and the Government issues final norms on REITs by the year-end.

The firm will take a final decision after the guidelines are out. The realty firm reported a 32 pc dip in net for the second quarter of this fiscal year.

The property firm is also looking for new road maps to raise capital to pay down their debts and invest in future growth after the bank funding drying up in recent past.

The realty firm has invested about Rs 600 crore in more than 12 malls located at metro stations across the country.

DLF Ltd, India’s biggest developer with a market value of more than $4.5 billion, is also gearing up to raise capital by issuing asset-backed bonds to cut down its debt.

Most of the developers in the country are burdened by high borrowing cost, inflation and low customer sentiments as the country is growing at its slow pace in last decade.

From being an affordable residential unit, Noida and is periphery is slowly renovating into a hub of luxurious private residential apartments and high-end projects to give a stiff race to the other parts of the Delhi-NCR region.

With Rs 1,500 -crore infusion Bhasin group is building Mist Avenue IT Park in sector 143 along Noida Expressway. The group under its Mist project is offering bungalows ranging between Rs 8 crore and Rs 12 crore.

Premia, a Noida-based builder will be using extensive art styles in design with a merger schools of art – Middle East, European and Contemporary. The township will have a blend of plotted development, villas, group housing, commercial establishments, club, institutions, hi-street and luxury retail, 5-star hotel, business hotel, etc.

Noida and Greater Noida real estate market set a new high after hospitality giant Four Seasons and 3C JV launched their private residences named Delhi One with an estimated cost of RS 3,600 cr.

At a cost of Rs 12 crore to Rs 27 crore, the service apartment owners can enjoy hotel like facilities.

The hospitality giant has chosen Noida to enter the North India market. The giant is looking to exploit the  natural beauty and greenery of the place.

The private residences having size of 7, 900 sq ft to offer in the mega project. These branded residences’ interior is inspired from London Decor, California and Manhattan.

The Delhi One mega project spread on 14 acres next to DND toll Plaza in Noida, features Four Seasons Hotel, three towers of Four Seasons private residences connected to the Hotel via a sky bridge, five commercial  towers with luxurious  retail joints, high end restaurants and cafes.

Even Supernova has roped in World renowned Italian artist Giorgio Armani to design one of its projects. The cost of the specially designed flats will be Rs 5,000- Rs 7,000 sq ft and the estimated cost will be around Rs 12 crores.

The Government has declared to start a grievance resolving instrument for SEZ (Special Economic Zone) developers with a view to expeditiously address their problems, quires and to boost exports.

The Commerce Ministry is working with Export Promotional Councils and SEZs to prepare the online system for the multi-purpose activity.

The Ministry is gearing to launch the system by December end and the main motive is to provide a platform to SEZ developers where they can post their operative complains which would be taken care off in shortest period of time by the concern department.

The online instrument will be a single grievance redressal system, after the operationalizing success of this system the Govt will start the second phase where policy and other related matter could be discussed and sorted out.

The Government would start test runs of the proposed system and criticisms concerning to any department such as green or any state Government should be posted on the online system. The online instrument will help in reducing transaction cost and will boost exports and manufacturing form these SEZ zones.

The SEZs which emerged as major export hubs and infusion destinations started losing their sheen after the slowdown and imposition of Minimum Alternate Tax.

The Government is taking drastic steps to revive interest for SEZs, as it has disclose to soften some norms including easing land laws for the SEZs. There is a decline in exports seen in these zones in the first half of the fiscal year.

The Gurgaon administration made it compulsory for residential societies in the district to install CCTV cameras in the society premises.

The order issued by the district commissioner Shekahr Vidyarthi which also covers pubs and bars in the city. The order says the camera must be installed at the entry and exit gates and the storage period must be 30 days minimum. The order is issued after some unlawful events occurred in the recent past. The order comes into force with immediate effect and the violators will be punished.

Except some high-end societies, large number housing societies do not have cameras installed. The order was lauded by the residents. The resident associations are ready to install the CCTVs in their premises which will boost the securities of these high-end societies.

The city cops have been complaining about the absence of cameras in colonies and the order will also help the police to investigate thefts and burglary in the area. Many societies are also thinking to install CCTVs not only in entry and exit gates but also in other common areas to bolster the safety.

The CCTVs will monitor the movements of the visitors, theses days security guards are maintain manual register on visitors in most of the societies.

The once-thriving Eternity mall today bears all the indications of a phantom mall. The detail doom reflects the reality at over half of the 40-odd malls in Mumbai, which shows low footfalls and high vacancy.

The credit card machine at the desk of Supriya Maiti burst into a fit of helpless laughter as the mahine hasn’t burped a bill in almost a year, despite the sign board outside the glass door saying 20 pc off loudly.

Even if the numbers of customers are 50, Maiti is sure no one would walk into her store, where since January, escalators became stairs. The store has suffered 100 pc losses this year.

According to a survey, 54 pc malls in the financial capital are lying vacant, second to Delhi-NCR region. It is because of failure of design and not having adequate brands in the stores to satisfy the customers.

Bad parking facility, poor location, and competitions with multinational brands are can be the other reason. Recently, many International brands have shut down while others are dragging their feet.

NEW DELHI: Real estate firm The 3C Company said it will infuse Rs 3,500 cr on developing a project which comprising a 5-star hotel and branded residential units in Noida, to be managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

In 2011, the Noida-based realty major had stated its JV with Four Seasons for management of its hotel and 190 residences, each costing more than Rs 20 crore.

All the regulatory approvals, including the green nod, have been taken for the project. The project named Delhi One which comprises hotel, branded residences, retail chains and office spaces.

The investment on Delhi One will be around Rs 3,500 cr spread over 12.5 acres of land. About 3.6 million sq ft area would be developed, adding 2 million sq ft of office spaces and 3,00,000 sq ft of retail chains.

The residential cost would be around Rs 23,000-27,000 per sq ft and the flat size is about 7,600 sq ft. The project is estimated to be complete by 2016 end.

The idea of branded residences are growing in India as earlier this year, PE Firm IREO had entered into contracts with Hyatt Hotels for Grand Hyatt residences in its large township in Gurgaon.

Super tech JV with Italian fashion brand Armani group for interior designing of 100 super luxury residences at Noida.

Recently, Mumbai-based Lodha Developers has also followed the trend by tying up with US-based Donald Trump to bring Trump branded residences in the country.

MUMBAI: World Bank group company IFC declared it will give $85 million loan to Dewan Housing Finance for affordable and energy-efficient residential units in the state.

Of the total loan, given with the support of the Canada Government, IFC will provide $ 70 million through borrowing, and the remaining $15 million will come from the IFC-Canada climate change program to financing green mortgages.

The green loan will decrease 6,200 tonne carbon emissions. By show casing the benefits of green homes, the project is expected to help the low and middle income segment society to acquire affordable energy –efficient homes.

Mentioning on the development, Dewan Housing Chairman and Managing Director Kapil Wadhawan said the investment will establish the viability of offering housing finance to low and middle income clients to buy homes.

IFC, in 2003 also provided a loan of around $12.5 million to Dewan Housing Finance. IFC also co-invested in Aadhar Housing Finance, a company jointly promoted by DHFL Group and IFC, which provides affordable home loans to low income borrowers.

, Dewan Housing Finance Lts (DHFL) is the second housing finance Company to be established in the country, however, with a unique mission, which is today benchmarked as a model of financial inclusion in the Indian financial services sector.

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The overall vacancy levels in the malls has declined by 0.5 pc to 15.01 pc on account of constant leasing activity while supply has been only 0.79 msf gets added in Kolkata and Pune, according to a survey.

Transaction activity led to lessening in overall mall vacancy of Pune and Kolkata despite the addition of fresh mall space. Pune witnessed the opening of a new mall measuring 800,000 sf, while Kolkata witnessed the partial opening of a mall with only anchors stores operational at 60,000 sf.

Surged leasing and lack of infusion of new mall space led to a 2 pc low in Bengaluru’s mall vacancy. Chennai and Ahmedabad witnessed slight reduction .While, Mumbai and NCR however recorded slight increase in vacancy levels in various malls.

As per second quarter 2013 estimates, 9 malls were expected to be operational by the third quarter in this fiscal. In Bengaluru, one mall got deferred due to construction delays while the other went on hold due to liquidity issues to commence.

In Chennai out of two malls, one got delayed to early next quarter due to delay in construction, while the other mall had to be late due to lack of sufficient demand from retailers.

A mall space of 225,000 sq ft was tardy in NCR to later quarters because of delays in acquiring necessary approvals.

The internal reconstruction of a mall in Mysore road led to 13 pc rental drop, 8 pc dip in Pune owing to oversupply of mall spaces. Main streets like South Ex I & II in NCR, CP recorded 4-5 pc rise in rentals owing newer transactions at higher price points.

Mumbai: In 2009, the then municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak brought a system where all the building plans would be submitted on a compact disc and the approvals and concessions will be granted online. The approved plan then was to be shown on the civic body’s website for eth common people.

This was created to ensure the buyer that the property is legal and for transparency in the transaction also.

The process was introduced in the eastern part as very few difficult plans were received in this part. The date when the soft and the hard copy submitted to the authority, it was taken as a day of submission. The correction will be only made by the officials whom he has to inform to his senior. This system was to be followed up to top level.

The concession file was submitted only as a hard copy and all approvals, including concessions, were to be put up on the BMC website, every time a plan was revised, the version was to be put on it.

But not a single construction plan was uploaded in the website and the building proposal department ensured the system never got implemented.

The municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar tried to revive the system in his last day in office but failed due to political unwillingness. Despite obtaining loans for flats live in fear of demolition in future.

Many Engineers, Architects and Town Planners’ Association has for long been asking the civic body to upload all approved plans form time to time. A flat buyer can always ask the developer for approved plans and completion certificate before buying a flat. Often builders hesitate to give the approved plans and in the absence of the CTS number, a buyer cannot seek information from the civic body.

Hyderabad: The western part of Hyderabad is expected to witness an addition of three million sq ft office space in next few months. A majority of this demand will be absorbed by mid-size to large corporates.

The rental price in this area is Rs 40 per month per sq ft, which is 12-15 pc lower compared to the commercial market in Bangalore and Chennai. The average rise in rentals here was around 11 pc last year but in the last 3-6 months the price hasn’t rise. The price might rise after the General polls next year.

In terms of housing unit the region was among the preference buy as 40 pc of the workforce travels from the eastern parts and buying a home in this periphery will carry a good value for them. The other avenues in the city have relatively higher rates as compared to the western part.

The buzz in this part is due to global IT and financial institutions, wide and hassle-free roads, directly connected to the international airport. The Centre also gave a green signal for setting up a Rs 200,000 cr IT Investment region, which is expected to hike the property price in the area.

In recent times, there had been a steady 25 pc price hike seen in completed projects and villas in the area. The southern part is also promising good returns for the investors.

On an average every year, Hyderabad has been adding 22,000-26,000 housing units for its overflowing population from different parts of the country.

There some big news coming up for the home buyers as the prices are expected to be slashed to 12-17 pc in select markets over the next few month, according to a survey. The developers are trying to cut down the stock up inventory and push sales in next few months to cover up their gaps.

By Diwali next year, the prices could come down 12-17 pc in Delhi-NCR region, Mumbai and other high-end markets. But the overall property market is flat and new launches are very low in the recent time period.

But in the secondary market, prices have slashed down on paper but people are actually holding on to the older rates.

Since previous Diwali, prices are almost stagnant or shown minor increase. According to a data at the end of the first quarter prices in cities like Gurgaon and Mumbai rose 10 and 5 pc. But according to another data prices in 26 cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur, etc. have fell in the first quarter compared to the previous one.

The decline in price gives an idea that the developers are now ready to take some cuts in margins, which will allow them to clear their huge backlog inventory, have liquidity and increase demand.

Mumbai has an inventory of close to 45 months, while the National Capital has 25 months and Bangalore has 26 months. Real estate firms battling slowdown are betting big on festive season to push their sales. The sector is roping in big celebrities and sportsperson to endorse their projects across the country.

For January-July this year, the new launches have dipped down extremely between 35 pc and 62 pc in big markets like Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Noida and Kolkata. Overall, launches in major cities this year were down 16 pc to 188,348 units across segments.

Housing sales have risen by 20 pc in Delhi-NCR region during the first half of this year at 37,000 units, showing slight improvements signs in the real estate market that has been facing slowdown in demand.

During the first half, the NCR-region residential market witnessed a total captivation of 37,000 units showing a surge of 20 pc. This hike in sales is due to high number of launches in affordable category.

The absorption in Greater Noida rose almost three times compared to the same period last year suggesting a strong demand for affordable units in the area. It witnessed sale of 14,300 units.

But the occupancy level dipped in both Gurgaon and Noida, due to unavailability of affordable housing units in these markets.

The NCR property market is pushing for better balance and the developers are focusing on project completion and avoiding new launches seeing the market condition.

The slow buyer sentiments have discouraged the sales but in areas like Dwarka Expressway, Noida Expressway, Greater Noida would woo the investors.

Almost 5.6 lakh housing units are under construction in NCR and the unsold inventory has surged to 10.32 lakh units. These days the developers are keeping the new launches at way to bridge the supply and demand gap.

On the other side, 50,000 units were launched during the first half showing an increase of 12 pc compared to 2012.

Over the past two and half years the NCR has witnessed a fall in launches by nearly 37 pc compared to the peak levels of 2010.

The NCR market showed some signs of stability in the first half but it’s a long way to go.

Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway, the Northern Peripheral Expressway, will be one of the most significant area for investment, the property sector has vast latent for growth in coming years.

The prices in Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway have almost more than doubled from Rs 2,550 per sq ft to Rs 6,450 per sq ft.

The 155- mt wide and 18 km long Expressway is likely to be completed in next three-four years. The expressway will provide quicker access to the airport and connect to the 100-mt wide road under taken in the new master plan.

Dwarka and Palam Vihar will have a new road through Dwarka with Gurgaon by an eight lane link and the planned SEZs in Gurgaon to join the NH-8. The new road will decrease the traffic burdens on existing roads connecting Delhi-Gurgaon.

The new expressway will touch the National Capital near Dwarka Phase II, and connect the Metro corridor to the road. Once the project is complete the area will become one of the hottest real estate zones in the NCR-region.

Top real estate firms like Chintels India Ltd, Sobha Developers, Puri Construction, Antriksh, Rahejas, MGF EMAAR,  Indiabulls, Earth Infrastructure, etc, have launched their projects in this developing periphery.

The Chintel group is developing a township over 450 acres on the sectors of Gurgaon. These new residential units bordering Dwarka Phase II, are being seen as the next big deal in property market.

Raheja Group and Sobha Group has launched many projects in the area.

There are many other projects of Ansal Housing, Puri construction, MGF EMMAR and many others. It has been a beehive of developers developing various projects in the northern periphery.