Days after Chief Minister Buddadeb Bhattacharjee declared that Indonesia-based Salim group’s Expressway was put on hold due to the land acquirement problem, Prasoon Mukherjee, Salim Group’s pointsman and chairman of NKID (New Kolkata Infrastructure Development) expressed confidence that the other jumbo projects of the Group, including the PCPIR, are on track.

Mukherjee said “We have several projects in Bengal and the Expressway is a small part of it. The momentary hold on the Raichowk-Kukrahati project will not affect our other projects, which are bigger in proportion. I have full confidence on the state government and the chief minister regarding the industrial development in the state,”.

In the teleconference, Mukherjee, who is now abroad, said he is till now to get an official order from the state government indicating that the Expressway project is on hold.

“But I have heard of it,” he said. “Regarding the Expressway, we are prepared to wait. Our initial work and land survey is over. Whenever a consensus for land is achieved, we will go ahead with it.”

On the subject of the land acquisition problem in Bengal, Mukherjee said: “People’s consensus is necessary for land acquisition. The people must be made aware of the positive side of development, before one asks for their land. I trust the government is doing just that.”

Mukherjee stressed that all major projects in Bengal, including the PCPIR and township developments projects, are on track and moving on smoothly.

“We already have 13,000 acres and are in a position to claim another 12,000 acres.”

A non-resident Indian, Mukherjee had mediated the deal between the Salim Group and the state government in July 31, 2006, two months after Bhattacharjee took began his second term as the chief minister.

From mid-2006, the mega corp announced three separate projects. The largest, involving an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, was to be implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle, the New Kolkata Infrastructure Development.

The NKID was to set up two Special Economic Zones, a cluster or industrial estates, a 100-km Expressway and a clutch of townships, involving the acquisition of nearly 37,300 acres.

The NKID project received a setback in 2007, when people of Nandigram violently resisted the government’s attempts to acquire farmland for a chemical industrial estate and an SEZ without consulting them.

The result showed up this year: the CPM was routed in the elections to the three-tier panchayat setup in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas.

The huge project is being developed and executed in Chembur, Mumbai by GA Builders, an “RNA Corp Group” company that would provide “New Homes” to more than 1950 tenants, according to a media release. The Subhash Nagar Colony, built by MHADA, is about 55 years old and comprises 57 buildings that house 36 members each. On completion of the mass housing project, the tenants would be re-housed in flats with an area of 320 square feet plus 65 square feet in the form of a flowerbed, niche or dry area with all necessary amenities. After obtaining all the requisite approvals for the redevelopment of the project and after setting up the transits for tenements, the company is all set to make its mark in Mumbai real estate sector.
“We have so far built 744 flats for the residents in five buildings, and have finalized plans to build eight more buildings for 546 families who have signed for redevelopment.” Mr. Manoj John, spokesman for RNA Corp said. He added that more than 1300 families out 1950 have accepted their plan to turn Subhash Nagar into mini-township. Mr. John further said “Considering the sheer scale of this project, we have undertaken extensive infrastructure enhancement drive that includes setting up of drainage and sewerage infrastructure, underground water lines, recreation grounds, playgrounds, internal roads. Underground and overhead tanks will ensure uninterrupted water supply with an added provision for piped gas connection.”
Besides the amenities, RNA also provides for a “Zero Maintenance Cost” for the society by ways of issuing fixed corpus to each member of the society. A Fixed deposit of the aggregate of the corpus funds generates monthly interests to take care of the maintenance and also meets other costs to be borne by the society, the release added. Additionally, RNA will also help the tenants during the transit period by providing them with the cost towards brokerage for rental accommodation, the rentals and shifting charges. With over two decades in the construction industry, RNA Corp’s expertise and knowledge of local partners coupled with its strong focus on customer satisfaction, has resulted in gaining an impeccable reputation and setting up a successful track record of performance.

Indian logistics industry is expected to grow at 15% to 20% per annum, reaching its revenues of $385 billion by 2015, said a report prepared by Cushman and Wakefield, which term the sector as new powerhouse for the real estate sector in times to come.
As per C&W estimates, the market share of organized logistics players is expected to double to approximately 12% in the same period. The new logistics centers will give big boost to the industrial activities in the country.
The report revealed that 110 logistics parks spread over 3,500 acres at an estimated cost of $1 billion are expected to be operational by 2012. Around 45 million sq ft of warehousing space will be ready in the next four years.
Most of these developments are concentrated in 14 locations. Sanjay Dutt, joint MD, C&W India said, “Since almost one-third of the total realty development in the sector is expected to take place in emerging locations, many tier-2 and tier-3 cities and peripheral locations that offer good connectivity to multiple markets will witness increased activity from logistics players, providing a thrust to the real estate market.” Mumbai has emerged as the preferred location for the development of logistics parks with an investment of approximately $200 million. The city will witness the development of seven to eight logistics parks on 600 acres around Mumbai.
The other cities that fall within the established locations include Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. These locations are characterized by excellent port, rail and road connectivity and are witnessing significant investment in infrastructure, said the report. High concentration of organized retail, established manufacturing hubs and proposed SEZ developments will further augment the attractiveness of these locations.
Besides the established centers, a number of hubs like Nagpur, Vizag and Gurgaon have also emerged. But currently they are lagging behind in support infrastructure. However, due to high ratings on other parameters such as geographic location, existing and proposed manufacturing clusters and SEZs and accessibility, they are promising locations for the purpose.
A number of infrastructural developments are taking place in these locations, which would increase the attractiveness of these locations in the next 3-5 years, said the report. Gurgaon has advantage of being situated on the golden quadrilateral with easy access to the dedicated freight corridor.

Most Indian developers have hit the brakes on fresh land acquisitions as a slide in the stock market, rise in interest rates and aggressive demands of the private equity investors have limited funding options.

After five years of boom, real estate firms in India are grappling with tepid sales and cash crunches as inflated property prices and interest rates at near-decade highs scare away buyers.

“The aggression for acquiring land has disappeared. Deal volumes are down 35% to 40%, though prices still haven’t moved significantly,” said Anuj Puri, who heads property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

“My land division guys are crying.” This is a sharp turnaround from as recent as a year ago, when property firms, flush with funds from public offers or advance bookings, rushed to bid for land parcels, even at distant locations in metros, and in second-tier towns.

Even mid-size developers in India say they hold land reserves of 60-100 million square feet, sufficient for projects planned in the next 3-4 years. But slumping demand could drive down land prices soon, leading to some distress sales, officials say.

“We have not acquired an inch of land in 9 months. I think by December-January, land prices should soften,” Vyomesh Shah, Managing Director of Akruti City told last month. Analysts say that shortage of cash has also forced developers to put off new project launches and delay work on current projects. Some planned projects may not even materialize.

“Developers normally did construction through booking advances for planned projects. Sales are down, so obviously there are delays,” said an analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage that has revised downward target price on sector stocks by 15% to 25%.

Rising inflation and an expected slowing of the economy will only worsen the situation, say analysts, who are now reviewing their target prices on these stocks. An analyst at a domestic brokerage said it had recently changed valuation methodology to net-asset-value basis, which had led to some downward revision in target prices. The new method values companies based on current assets rather than future cash flows, he added. CLSA lowered its net asset value estimate for HDIL by 29%, citing higher costs on account of rising interest rates.

Developers today are offering discounts, freebies and value add items. This includes discounts in values, freebies in amenities like discounted parking space or lifetime club membership, value adds like providing interiors and ready-to move homes at little discounted rate.

Discounts would mean reduction in the upfront money the customer would be paying to the developer. Discount in parking spaces would mean anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Value-add interiors will include goods like fans, wardrobes and so on.

Ram Yadav, head of a finance company says, “It all depends on how you position your project. Builders are trying to put together all these three elements for their customers, but again, it is not across the board.”

Buyers can get good options and there is room for negotiations, point out industry sources. Builders are now ready to meet customers and do not want to let go of those coming in. Incentives are given across the table, depending on the project. Where there is 100% down payment, the incentives are greater. It can go up to 3-5 % depending on the developer and his need.

Explains Ramakant Sharma, a realty agent, banks are giving advance disbursement facilities, based on the developer and his project besides profile of the buyer. Where the developer gets a lump sum amount in advance at an early stage of the project, he is ready to give more benefits to the buyer. The benefits in such cases would be more compared to a project at its fag end.

“There are small discounts in the rates to accommodate customers,” feels Suresh Singh, a local builder. Builders who have purchased lands at high costs will find it difficult to offer discounts but those who have bought at cheaper rates will, depending on the project, offer 2-5 % discounts.

He adds that the rising interest rate costs means that banks too should come up with innovative products as their business too is affected.

Cash discount is the best discount, says Vinod Singhvi, a builder. Developers point out that a home buyer can get a good deal for himself by enquiring with various builder offices on discounts being offered. Brokers too will be in the know of the best discounts available and projects giving value for money.

The overall mood of the home buyer with the interest rate costs and inflation is to wait and watch, feel experts. He, however, adds that in new projects where a builder requires cash flow, he doesn’t mind going ahead with discounts. Also where there are five to six builders coming together for a project, they would like to come out of the project at the earliest and would be offering discounts even to the tune of 2-7 %, as they need to run the show. Such discounts will definitely trigger sales amongst the fence sitters.

Transport Corporation of India, so far engaged in movement of cargo over land and sea, is planning to venture into the real estate sector with pan-India presence.

“We plan to get into the real estate sector as we have land bank all over the country,” TCI Executive Director Vineet Agarwal said.

The company has 200 properties and would develop a number of them for residential and commercial projects.

“We have identified quite a few of our land properties for a foray into the sector. We have even set up a real estate division in our company for the business,” Agarwal said, but declined to give the investment figure for the foray.

Apart from the foray, TCI also plans to build a number of large warehouses across the country. It already has 7.5 million square feet of warehousing facility available which it plans to increase to 12.5 million square feet in the next 2-3 years.

It is also looking at opening offices in China, Thailand and in few European countries in the current financial year.

“We will open offices in the countries with which India has respectable volume of trade. We have recently set up our offices in Indonesia, Hong-Kong and Singapore. Now we are considering China, Thailand and Europe,” Agarwal said.

The company would also be investing Rs 200 crore in the next two years for purchase of trucks and ships.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which runs the Taj chain of hotels, has earmarked Rs 1,800 crore for funding inorganic growth in the subsequent 3 years, said chairman Ratan Tata.
Talking to shareholders at the company’s yearly general meeting, Mr Tata said IHCL would set up four airport hotels in the country, including one in Navi Mumbai, over the next few years.
Also, the company is looking at establish its presence in the Andamans and has entered into marketing associations with hotels in Japan and Korea. The company will continue to purchase iconic standalone properties across the world.
IHCL witnessed average room occupancy of 73% last year. The company is likely to hike its room tariffs by 10-15% from September 1. Responding to a shareholder’s query, he said rising real estate prices have made expansion of the low-cost brand Ginger difficult. However, the company is not seeing any liquidity crunch despite the tight money conditions existing in the market. The company last week opened a Ginger hotel at Panaji in Goa.
Commenting on Orient Express Hotel (OEH), he said IHCL would not mount any hostile takeover bid on the Bermuda-based company. Previous year IHCL picked up 11.5% stake in OEH and expressed willingness to strike a strategic alliance to grow business together. The Tata overture was rejected by the OEH management, which also spoke despairingly about the Taj brand.
According to Mr Tata, the group has initiated Tata Realty and Infrastructure and has put IHCL vice-chairman Krishna Kumar at the helm of its affairs. This entity could be listed in the future, Mr Tata added.

The expansion plans of retail companies have taken a hit due to the rising real estate rentals.
Talking to media persons, K Dasaratharaman, president (specialty retail), Spencer Retail, the retail arm of the RPG group, maintained that the real estate prices are a critical aspect while choosing the location of new stores.”
Dasaratharaman said that while they were planning to open another 50 specialty stores by this fiscal end, the rentals would be a critical element, while choosing the new locations.
Dasaratharaman added, “We definitely want to add another 15 ‘Book and Beyond’ store and 40 Music world Store by this fiscal end but the location of the upcoming stores would be decided keeping the real estate prices in mind. We are in talks with the real estate developers for opening the new stores, but it would be too early to comment about the location of the next store”.
K Dasaratharaman was in Chandigarh to announce the opening of a new vertical of the Spencer retail “Book and Beyond”. This is the sixth outlet of ‘Books and Beyond’, specialty store by the RPG retail group.
Commenting on the new store opened at IT Park, Dasaratharaman said that the store would offer wide selection of reading options and entire gamut of art and stationary related merchandise for home and office use.
The store with a collection of around 35,000 books and magazines would be a part of the initiative to make brands accessible to all book lovers in the city.
The store, besides housing music store for entertainment seeker, would also store academic text book, exclusive Punjabi literature section books on religion and spirituality.

Real estate firm SRK Group is planning to invest Rs 5,000 crore in developing various properties across the country over the next five years with plans to expand to new cities.

“The group has identified many projects in south India and other parts of the country to pump in about Rs 5,000 crore in the next five years in developing residential as well as commercial projects,” industry sources said.

When contacted, the Pune-based SRK Group’s Chairman and Managing Director K Rasheed Malik said, “We are looking into new areas and different projects. In Kerala, we have already identified some projects, which we will be developing in the future.”

He, however, declined to comment on the size of the investment the group is planning to put in.

According to the sources, SRK group plans to invest about Rs 2,000 crore in Kerala in five years. It is also likely to launch 3-4 residential projects in the state within the next six months.

Malik said, the group was looking at markets like Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai.

“Currently we are talking to land owners to acquire land, but nothing has been finalised yet,” he added.

Apart from Delhi, where SRK Group plans to develop only commercial projects, in all the other cities it will develop both residential and commercial properties.

“We are looking to develop about 15 projects in these five new cities with over 100 acres of land in total,” Malik said.

The group, which is currently developing 20 projects in south India, is also planning to construct 100 housing units for Adivasis and poor people in Kerala free of cost, he said.

“We will also be launching healthcare facilities and ambulance services in rural Kerala,” he added.

With the stock markets down in India, the realty market here offers a reliable investment avenue.
There are three reasons why NRIs invest in India — they remit money for family expenses or investments or for maintaining their bank accounts and investments here.
According to RBI records, NRIs’ annualised remittances to India have grown from $26 billion in 2006 to $40 billion in October 2007. A big percentage of this is going into buying property here.
Developers say NRIs now account for 15-30% of sales in branded developments as against 5-15% three years ago. Properties in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Goa are attracting most of the buyers but enquiries are coming for other cities too.
And it’s not just biggies such as Shapoorji Pallonji, Unitech, DLF, Hiranandanis, K Raheja that are benefiting from the NRI wave but also middle-level players such as Rustomjee and others.
Aniruddha Joshi, executive director of real estate investment company Hirco Group, says India as an investment destination has gained prominence over the last 10 years. “Real estate is a key asset class for any investor looking at India,” he adds.

Acacia Real Estate has acquired a twenty-six percent stake in a retail development mall in India. The retail mall in Delhi was acquired through a joint venture with Anant Raj Group. Anant Raj group is a publicly listed company with a market capitalization of 1.2 billion dollars.
The project is expected to generate a return on equity for investors of eighty-three percent over 3.5 year holding period.
TAIB Bank has been appointed as the exclusive placement agent for the project.
The two hundred twenty million dollars’ retail mall development will consist of six lacs square feet of retail space upon completion.
The mall will be managed by Sandalwood, a JV company of Jones Lang LaSalle and Colonial First State Property Management, an Australian retail management firm.
The joint venture partners are in currently in advanced discussions with the potential anchor tenant of the mall.

The Indian real estate sector is breaking new ground, by adopting information technology (IT).
In recent years, many real estate companies have been taking to end-to-end IT solutions in a bid to automate their business processes. This has not only helped to increase efficiency and cut cost but also to make their functioning more transparent, they say. It has enabled them to grow, as well.
Rapid growth in business opportunities, inflow of foreign investment into the sector, and the entry of second-generation owners or managers into companies are largely the reasons behind the real-estate industry adopting IT solutions, say industry watchers.
Using IT is linked to the opening up of foreign direct investment in the real estate market, says RahulChawla, Chief Executive, In4velocity Systems, a provider of IT solutions to the real estate sector. Most of the new developers funded by private equity or real estate funds use IT, he adds.
The spread of IT could be attributed to the second-generation owners or managers in a company, says Rajesh Ponnan, SBU Head, Construction Solutions, Sobha Renaissance Information Technology Private Ltd. They have more exposure, are aware of technology and rely on technology to a great extent, he points out.
However, the use of complete end-to-end solutions is still fairly recent. Chawla says it is a three-four-year-old phenomenon. In4velocity introduced its product in 2005. Initially the response was slow, but in the last two years, things have begun to change. At present the company gets about seven to ten enquiries a week, he says.
Earlier, different departments in a company would independently decide on the software they would use, but now enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become popular, says Ponnan. He says the industry has moved from fragmented software to consolidated ERP solutions, though it involves a substantial cost escalation.

South-based Jain Housing and Constructions have launched its two mega residential ‘Carlton Greek’ projects.

Company’s CEO Vijay Kumar Managing Director Sundeep Mehta said that company will construct 1,120 apartments in two phases investing Rs 950 crore.

He said that the project would be completed by 2011. The company’s last year turnover was Rs 280 crore with profit after tax was Rs 120 crore.

Jains’ portfolio includes over 150 residential projects that include 4.5 million square feet of completed project and over 10 million square feet of on-going projects.

Mr. Mehta said “Exuding elegance, grandeur and style, this ultra indulgent residential offering unfolds a refreshing idiom of home design that radiates a pleasing balance of form and function”.

Lack of transparency surrounding land deals in the state will soon be a thing of the past with the Rajasthan government all set to introduce a Guaranteed Land Title Act. The new law will be initially made applicable in 11 cities of the state with the state capital itself introducing it as a pilot project.

The draft of the bill has already been prepared and is currently with the law department. After the draft is cleared, an Ordinance will be issued later this month, just in time to avoid the code of conduct which will come into force sometime next month.

The introduction of the Act for granting land titles is part of reforms that states have to undertake as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM ). Besides, it was also one of the promises in the budget speech of chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

An official said, “Till now, most real estate dealings have been done on lease hold lands as the concept of free-hold land was absent. This means that parties were given lease of the plot by the government on which they built their property and even after they sold this property, the land title stayed with the government and no mutation could be done”.

The only way an owner of a property could establish his claim on it was by getting his name incorporated in the receipt of the property tax that he pays every month or through the sale deed. But once the Act comes into being, provisions will be made where the title of a land can be changed to that of the new buyer giving him permanent ownership of it.

Initially, it will be optional for the old allottees of land to go in for the guaranteed land title but it will be made compulsory for all future projects. The land title would be made applicable on all the properties of JDA, Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Limited, the official added.

Through the Act, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) would also be guarantying land titles when a property changes hand. In the event of a dispute, where a buyer gets cheated by the seller, JDA will be giving full compensation to buyer. However, initially, only provisional titles would be given, but after two-year tenure, permanent tiles would be issued.

The official added, “In places like Delhi, the initial response for going in for a certification that would guarantee land title to the buyer was poor. But as people understood its advantages, more and more of them now prefer to deal only in those plots that guarantees a title. We hope that even here it would be the same. However, owners wanting to get a JDA certification for his property would have to pay a sum for the same as before issuance of a certification, lots of exercises have to be done by the JDA”.

Violate building bylaws, construct residential or commercial complexes in blatant violation of regulation, just pay 10-20 % of the reserve price as penalties and enjoy it for ever. This is what the regulation 2000, a notification by the government of Rajasthan to deal with the unauthorized constructions across urban settlements in the state, envisages. The regulation has not only created a mess in urban areas but also offset the efforts of the town planners and the master plans.

Another aspect of the regulation deals with the change in land use. Any person who wishes to change the usability of a property other than the assigned use, the assignee only needs to apply for change in use in the respective local body and the latter will grant the permission subsequently. Notably the regulation has no technical rider for not granting the permission for change in use. At the same time there is no mechanism to stop the misuse of land earmarked for public utilities like parks, schools, colleges and other open spaces.

Cities like Jaipur have been adversely affected by the blatant violation of bylaws and irrational politically loaded regulations. The land use committee, which is the apex decision making body for the purpose, is headed by the mayor and other members are CEO JMC, local MLAs and senior town planners. Taking a leaf out of the irrational regulation the vested interests have got their residential properties changed into commercial ones. There are hundreds of applications lying in the JMC for such changes. This indiscriminate change in land use has created chaos in the city. Areas like Bani park, Govind Marg ,Bapu Nagar, Tilak Nagar JLN Marg have witnessed gross violations of commercial parameters.

In similar veins many hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments have come up in residential areas, often nullifying the master plan and affecting the quality of life of citizens.

Ex-chief town planner B L Mehra said, “The regulations have been like a blank cheque for the offenders, which allow illegal unauthorized constructions and after paying a little bit of amount every thing becomes legal and ok. If this indiscriminate permission continues to be granted then what is the use of town planning and planned development. It affects the peace of ordinary residents of an area if commercial activities come up, besides it encourages speculative investment in real estate. If we alter plans like this then where is the scope for creating space for public utilities and green spaces, this trend also incurs loss to public exchequer as interested people will not prefer buying commercial plots earmarked by the government because converting their own residential premises in to commercial ones is easier and cheaper”.

Situated on the eastern part of Jharkhand, Dhanbad is fast rising, as a center of real estate business after Ranchi and Jamshedpur. It has a cosmopolitan culture as people from different parts of the country, mostly Gujarat and South India, have settled here because of the presence of Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL). This is the 3rd largest city of Jharkhand.

Experts say the city’s real estate sector started growing much before Ranchi and Jamshedpur and it is poised for a considerable growth in the future as more and more companies open centers here.

“A significant feature of this city is that the rates are realistic as the flats are not used as an investment tool,” says Shekhar Agarwal, a prominent builder of the city who runs Sristhi Builders. “Therefore, there is no scope for speculation,” he adds.

Besides BCCL, Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) have its office here and Tata Steel has mostly underground mines. These companies have developed townships for its employees, with roads, water, and power and sanitation facilities.

Dhanbad has witnessed an entry of a number of branded companies, bank and insurance offices in the last few years. No wonder, Dhanbad, popularly called the ‘coal capital’ of India, has seen construction of about 20 lakh square feet in the last few years.

The City Centre, located at the Combined Building Square, has almost all the major branded shops, making it the hub of the city. The biggest Reliance store of the state was set up in the City Centre around eighteen months ago though now a new and bigger Reliance Mart is coming up at Ranchi.

According to estimates, as many as twenty five building are under construction while some residential colonies are in the pipeline. “The city has seen enough ‘ertical’ growth (apartments). Now there is a big demand for horizontal colonies. With the entry of more and more retail and telecom players, the real estate scenario is set to see a tremendous growth in the city,” Mr Agarwal adds.

Property prices in mumbai suburbs have started cooling down and by March 2009 the fall would be anything between 10% to 20% from now, real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj said.

“There is no sign of propoerty prices coming down in the heart of Mumbai because of almost zero supply. But, beyond Borivali (a suburb) and in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai, supply is well in excess of demand. Hence, prices in those areas is likely to come down by 10% to 20%”, said Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

While in Borivali, prices are likely to come down by 10%, the drop would be in the range of 15% to 20% in Thane and Navi Mumbai by March.

There might be price correction beyond Thane as well, he said, adding it would take a long time for the real estate industry to recover from the current slump.

Puri said Punjab has been the worst hit due to the current macro economic environment of the country where property prices have already decreased by 15%.

“Tier-II cities like Indore, Nagpur and Raipur have also seen sales come down by 10% to 15%. If sales did not pick up during Diwali, there could be an additional 5% to 10% correction,” Puri said.

Private investment company Berggruen Holdings (BH) has forayed into the realty space in India, lining up a slew of commercial and residential projects. It plans to take advantage of the sluggish market scenario to make investments.

Berggruen Holdings founder Nicolas Berggruen said, “The real estate market is going to be difficult for a couple of years. It will be bad because the projects will be slower. But it will be a better opportunity for people willing to invest. But the valuations are more reasonable now”.

Also, the investments are not constrained in terms of sector or asset classes, because BH is not answerable to investors. It manages and invests its own proprietary capital, which exceeds $1 billion.

The firm has pumped in $30 million so far and will add another $20 million to this. Its first project in the realty space, a Rs 350-crore commercial project in Hyderabad, will kick off at the end of the year. The other locations for the realty space include Nagpur, Coimbatore, Mysore, Raipur and Vizag.

Mr Berggruen said, “We have a group of people who can execute property development from A to Z. They will acquire land, develop capability, deliver projects in housing and retail formats. Quality and aesthetics will be a major component”.

In India, the firm’s been active for the past two years and invests across asset classes — private equity, real estate and public markets. The firm has invested $100 million in the country so far. In terms of sectors, it’s spread across hospitality, education, car rentals, warehouse & logistics, equipment rental and real estate. Berggruen typically invests $10 million to $100 million in any single transaction.

Mr Berggruen added, “India has the advantage of being vast and presents dynamic opportunities. We decided to start business from zero, instead of buying into existing ones”. Retail and energy are the other sectors that the firm is looking at in India.

Mr. Ramesh Prabhu, Chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association said that Flat owners wanting to take benefit of Maharashtra Government’s stamp duty amnesty scheme.

The scheme, launched in June this year, says that flat owners have to pay stamp duty at the rate that was applicable when the property was bought until September 2008.

Circular issued in 2006 by the state inspector general of registration and controller of stamps says that the current owner is liable to pay the unpaid stamp duty of the previous occupant of the flat at the current market value.

Mr. Prabhu said, “If there has been a chain of transactions involving a flat over the past two decades and no stamp duty has been paid as required under the sale deed, the present owner must pay the stamp duty on all the earlier sale deeds”. Further he added that people are unaware that such a circular exists.

An old Mumbai neighborhood has made it to the list of the World’s ten most expensive addresses.
A survey conducted by Wealth Bulletin, a UK based online news service has named Altamount Road, as the tenth most expensive street address in the world and the residents believe the honor is fully justified.
Falguni Patode,Resident,Altamount Road, said, “No where else in Mumbai would you find so much greenery, where you can just look out of your window at a Koyal singing on a Gulmohar tree”.
Altamount Road is one of Mumbai’s most posh residential areas and is home to several old business families including the Mafatlals, the Khandelwals and the Tatas.
It is also the location for Mukesh Ambani’s upcoming multi million-dollar skyscraper Antilia.
Real Estate rates in the area are pegged Rs 60,000 per square feet.
However, what makes Altamount Road so special.
Pranay Vakil, Chairman, Frank Knight, said, “Apart from the view and the location, it’s the gentry”.
But things are changing in this quaint neighborhood. Rampant construction and lack of adequate parking space threaten to erode its old world charm. It can only be hoped that Altamount Road manages to hold on to its newly acquired distinction.

Tata Housing Development Company Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, announced its foray into the North Indian realty market with the launch of a residential property in neighboring Gurgaon. “Raisina Residency will be jointly developed by Tata Housing and Raheja Builders. Aedas, one of the top five architects in the world, has designed this unique project,” Tata Housing Managing Director Brotin Banerjee said.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Banerjee said Tata Housing would be developing 200 lakh sq. ft. worth over Rs. 12,000 crore across India in the next four to five years. The projects will be developed by the company on its own as well as in partnership with land-owners and other real estate firms. “The projects are coming up in 8-9 major cities such as Delhi and its neighboring townships, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata,” he informed.

Talking about the project in Gurgaon, Mr. Banerjee said it would be spread across a sprawling 11.73 acre campus. “Raisina Residency has nine aesthetically designed towers that complement modern lifestyle. It will have two and three bedroom apartments and also duplex and penthouses. The master plan ensures that maximum flats get unhindered views of both the Aravalis and the city landscape,” he added. Raheja Builders Chairman Navin M. Raheja, said: “Raisina Residency will be the new luxury address in the Gurgaon metropolis. Air-conditioned condos, penthouses with island bathtubs and a state-of-the-art clubhouse, fluid landscape are some of the luxuries that are fit for a king which are being offered.”

Finding the right kind of place to live in is not that easy when you come down to a different country.

Coming from a foreign land and making India their home is not an easy task for most expatriates, considering the differences in culture, language, lifestyle, habits and so many other small things that we don’t even realize in our everyday lives. It’s definitely not child’s play. Setting up a new home, taking care of intricate details and also making a large number of adjustments is what comprises an expatriate’s life in the initial phase of settling down in a new country. Jim Gainsford , Regional Director (North), CEC shares his experiences of settling down in India.

Talking about how he found a home for himself in the National Capital, Delhi, Gainsford, who comes from the United Kingdom expresses, “I live in DLF Central Park, Gurgaon, Haryana, just outside Delhi and I chose to live here because it is very close to my office. I am single and needed a single apartment close to my office.”

He states that he was extremely fortunate that he was saved of a lot of time while he was house hunting, because he was shown a suitable place in Gurgaon within the first few times only, and thus, did not have to waste his time ‘house hunting’ for long.

Though for Gainsford, Gurgaon is just the perfect place to live in, there are a few changes that he feels will make this area a better area to live in.

“Hopefully, the main developer in Gurgaon will one day make an effort to finish off and tidy up the roads and open space areas linking and between their buildings. Most of the traffic problems in Gurgaon stem from the badly constructed roads which are already in a state of disrepair, a situation exacerbated by the total absence of a traffic plan and/or controlled signaling, adequate signage and illegal breaks in central reserves that are not policed at all,” he avers.

It’s not all that easy to settle down in a country which holds no similarity to one’s own homeland. A lot of adjustments need to be done and some major changes have to be made to one’s lifestyle too apart from the basic change in the living environment.

Kolkata-based RDB Industries Limited, one of the foremost real estate company has informed that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, have granted a tender in favor of the Company for setting up Residential Complex at AIIMS Patna, the projected value of which is thirty crore rupees.

RDB Industries Limited works in the real estate. Its real estate business includes the development and construction of residential units and commercial complexes.

The company also makes and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products.