KOLKATA: Rising retail industry in India would see a phase of consolidation in the medium term while ill-planned malls were likely to go out of business, an official of real estate management company Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) said.

“There is a enormous potential for the retail sector in the country since India is a large economy and 97 % of the country’s retail trade is still in the unorganized sector,” JLLM Managing Director (Kolkata market) A. Das told reporters.
With the country’s economy estimated to grow at a rate of 9% per year, there would be steady shift of the retail business from unorganized to organized sector, he said.
Despite of this, retail sector would see a stage of consolidation in the medium term. According to Das, malls which are ill-planned and of below average standards would be under severe pressure.
Companies like Reliance Retail, Future Group’s Big Bazaar are expanding their network in the country while new players are entering the market, he said.
He said a small player with an terrific mall in terms of design, positioning, tenant mix and value proposition would always do better than a big player with a below average mall, ill-designed and poor value proposition.
The sector would continue to magnetize investments in the subsequent 5 years, he said, adding that there was no scope for deceleration in the development of the industry in the country.

Township Rush Has Begun In PunePune:- By the 2020 Pune will be nothing like what the city is these days. The small city’s boundaries are being stretched in all directions. Now, the city is gaining suburbia around itself. Adding another totally new dimension to the city is the rush of integrated townships into Pune.

The city is set to reap a rich harvest for those having the capacity to invest and develop large tracts of land and put in the physical and social infrastructure. This is what the new Special Township Policy Act of the Maharashtra government stipulates. A minimum area of 100 acre, investment in public infrastructure, such as roads, water, sewage—an integrated approach to development of townships to decongest municipal corporation areas and encourage new settlements in the periphery though higher FSI (floor space index) than what is normally allowed in the municipal limits.
There is a rush to develop all these in Pune. Three of these townships have already started taking shape. City Development Corporation’s Amanora Park Town took off first with its four hundred acre for ten thousand crore rupees township, followed by Paranjape Schemes Construction’s One hundred thirty eight acres for three thousand two hundred crore rupees Blue Ridge and Megapolis, a Rs 1,500-crore 150-acre project by Pegasus Properties Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Kumar Properties and the Avinash Bhosale Group.
More are waiting to take off. HCC Real Estate, the 100% subsidiary of Hindustan Construction Co Ltd has announced plans to get into a township project in Pune. The company is in the process of acquiring land and is planning a five hundred acre township. It has indicated to analysts that it is in the process of acquiring two hundred thirty acre to create five million square feet of development.
Lalit Kumar Jain, promoter of Kumar Builders, said his company had received clearance from the state government for three townships in Pune. The first one coming up at Hinjewadi phase II will be spread over One hundred twenty four acre and will be launched in August 2008. Another Kumar township coming up spreads across One hundred twenty acre. The third township of One hundred ten acre is slated to come up in Kharadi in September 2008.
The recently listed Kolte Patil Developers has a four hundred fifty acre township at Hinjewadi with ICICI Ventures investing in this venture with a fifty per cent share in this project.

The transaction level has gone down drastically in various markets. It has resulted in price fall in realty market. This is also because residential capital values in some micro markets in the metros have shown a negative growth in the last 3 months. After tracking capital values in metros such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore as well as Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR), the result was that either there has been a fall in prices of residential values or they have not increased in the last three months. In fact, places like Gurgaon have seen a down of 15 percent, while the plot rates have come down by 20 percent in Noida. In Greater Noida, the plots which were selling at Rs 55000 to 60000 are now available for Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000. In Indirapuram, rates of flats have come down to Rs 2500 to Rs 2700 per square feet from Rs 3000 to Rs 3200 per square feet.

Even prime areas in Delhi such as Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, GK I & II, Prithviraj Road and Hauz Khas have witnessed a 5-10 percent fall in the prices.

A lot of township development projects and designs of residential complexes in Kerala were displayed at a property show in Qatar which aimed at attracting investments from NRIs.

Kerala Property Expo in Doha is featuring about 50 builders. The show organized by the Kerala Builders Forum (KBF), is sponsored by HDFC bank and State Bank of India.

Mr. V Raveendran,Executive Director, KBF, said, “Kerala gives good investment opportunities now. Earlier stress was given to the tourism industry. But now it has shifted more or less to the IT sector. A number of IT parks are coming up in major cities of Kerala, resulting in increase in population density here”.

The real estate industry in Kerala has off late witnessed an upward trend with about 70% of properties being sold to buyers in the Gulf region.

KBF is the organization of 75 builders and real estate companies of Kerala. It is affiliated to the CREDAI.

Deepika Padukone is now a brand ambassador of a foreign real estate company. Dubai-based realty development cum brokerage firm, Aspire Real Estate, has announced Deepika Padukone to be their brand ambassador and new face of their company. Aspire is highlighting its Dh5.5 billion portfolio of real estate developments at prestigious locations within Dubai.

Mr. Harshit Kantaria, Chairman, Aspire Real Estate, said that dubai has good investment opportunity for all kind of investors. He gave example of deepika and said that Deepika and Aspire both are rising stars of their respective era. He said that he is looking forward for giving aspiring service to real estate industry.

Past projects of Aspire Real Estate are Jehaan Residences in Jumeirah Village South, Sobha Ivory and The Sanctuary at Business Bay and Al Dua’ Marina at Dubai Marina.

New Delhi:- Smarting under a correcting realty market and sluggish buying sentiments, real-estate players are scrambling to raise end-user demand through offers that promise to ease Equated Monthly Instalments burden until possession. So, while realty companies together with Parsvnath Developers are broadcasting ‘No Equated Monthly Instalments until possession’, others such as BPTP and Gaursons are offering 2-yrs Equated Monthly Instalments holiday on specific projects. “For those who are presently living on rent, the scheme makes logic as the Equated Monthly Instalments load kicks-off only after possession,” says Mr Amit Raj Jain. BPTP’s group housing project, ‘Resort’, in Faridabad offers a 2-yr ‘Pre-Equated Monthly Instalments interest’ to the bank on behalf of buyers. Dr B.P. Dhaka, COO told that Parsvnath’s Sonepat project, ‘Parsvnath Preston’, reimburses the Monthly Instalments paid prior to possession. “Such value-addition is gaining popularity as the customer is motivated to make the down payment and can then relax till possession. From the point of view of the developer, it ensures timely completion of the project as the fund flow is assured. KDP Infrastructure has announced that ‘No pre- Equated Monthly Instalments for 18 months’ upon payment of fifteen per cent of the booking amount on its ‘Grand Savanna’ project in Ghaziabad; Gaursons India makes a ‘No Equated Monthly Instalments till 24 months’ offer to buyers of ‘Gaur Grandeur’ at Noida; and JMD Gardens’ project in Gurgaon promises that Equated Monthly Instalments payment would start ‘only after house entry.

PBEL PROPERTY Development (India) Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Israel based Property and Building Corporation (PBC), Electra Real Estate (ERE) and INCOR infrastructure, has invested twenty crore rupees in Mysore to build a residential township.

Announcing this progress, PBEL, executive director Anand Reddy said, “The Company has invested twenty crore rupees on a ten acre plot of land at Devanoor village along the ring road in Mysore to build a residential township. This is in tune with our strategy to build a land bank in secondary cities across south India. The company, in addition to Mysore, has short-listed Coimbatore in Tamilnadu  and Vizag in Andhra Pradesh for sizeable investments.”

PBEL has invested five hundred crore rupees so far and is actively pursuing more investment opportunities in the real estate sector across south India. It intends to develop and build high quality high-rise apartment buildings with modern amenities in environment friendly surroundings. PBEL will be bringing internationally known high quality products and consultants from abroad who have worked on renowned projects world wide to ensure that international standards are met. The investment has seen the company acquire ten acres of residential land  in Mysore. This is in addition to fifty eight acres in two land parcels in Hyderabad and forty two acres in Chennai for a mixed township project.

PBC, a subsidiary of the IDB group, is active in the realty space in three continents: North America, Europe and Asia. The IDB Group is Israel’s largest business conglomerate with global assets in excess of twenty seven billion dollar. PBC is a major participant in the development of the new plaza Las Vegas hotel. ERE is one of the leading real estate companies in Israel, owning over one hundred nine properties and fifty eight hotels in Europe and North America and is a subsidiary of Elco holdings, one of the main business groups in Israel.

Fearing a supply glut in the housing and commercial property markets, real estate companies are pinning hopes on the booming hospitality sector.

It’s not that the trend has just set in. It has certainly gained momentum of late, with practically every developer announcing hospitality projects.

All major players in the real estate sector, such as DLF, Parsvnath Developers Ltd, Purvankara Projects and others, are looking to grab a piece of the action in the hotel industry. Builders undertaking sprawling township are also including hospitality in their project.

Mr. Ashok Narayan, L Lachmandas & Co, said, “Of all segments in the property market, hospitality seems to be the best bet, with average room rates (of hotels) still shooting up and supply remaining subdued. It also offers permanent income as against one-off earning in other realty projects”.

Indiabulls Real Estate  Ltd plans to invest 10 billion rupees to expand its retail business in the next 2-½ years. Mr. Gagan Banga, Group spokeman said that the real estate firm, which also houses the group’s retail and power businesses, expects lease rentals of 10 billion rupees from two of its properties under development in Mumbai by the end of the next financial year.

Mr. Banga, also the Chief Executive Officer of Indiabulls Financials Services Ltd, said that the finance firm plans to launch its first mutual fund scheme by October. Mr. Banga further said that the Indiabulls group plans to focus on agri-based spot trading for its proposed commodity exchange, which is awaiting approval from the commodities market regulator.

Brigade Enterprises, a Bangalore-based real estate developer, has bagged 5 acres in Kochi to build up IT office space. The company acquired the land in the processing area of Kochi’s Info Park Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Government of Kerala will develop IT Park in Kochi which will be known as Info park. For the project, the government has transferred hundred acres of land which is at present under the ownership of Info parks Kerala, an independent society owned by the state government.
“We have just got the bid and it is under the planning junctures to establish the price of the project. The built-up area is likely to be just about 4-5 lakh sq feet of IT office space and Brigade will co-develop the space along with Info Park, Kochi,” a senior Brigade company official said.
IT office project investment in Kochi is part of the company’s expansion plans in South India. The company all these years had been focusing only in Bangalore and Mysore, catering to IT and BPO sectors.
“This is for the first time we are increasing our base after having gained enough knowledge and expertise in managing a large number of domestic and global firms as our clients,” the official said.

DUBAI: Dubai’s third-largest traded real estate company Deyaar Development Co said 7th may that a deal to develop projects with India’s Ansal Properties & Infrastructure has been canceled.
“The memorandum of understanding between Deyaar and Ansal Properties to develop a project in India has been terminated by mutual consent,” Nasser al-Sheikh said in a statement on the Dubai bourse website.
The announcement comes amid a financial investigation into alleged embezzlement at the company, which has already led to the detention of it’s former chief executive Zack Shahin and three other people in connection with the probe. Deyaar shares closed flat at 2.37 UAE dirhams ($0.64), after falling intraday to 2.31 dirhams. The stock is down almost twenty per cent this year.
Ansal shares ended down 0.7 per cent to Rs172.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Termination of the agreement came into effect from 7th may, Deyaar said in the statement.
Deyaar had granted to take up to forty per cent stake in a project to develop a township comprising of residential and commercial real estate in India, as par an Ansal disclosure previous year posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange website.
The company, which said in November it was thinking over a five billion dollar real estate project in India, added that it still plans enter the market and is in discussions with other prospective associates.

Indiabulls Real Estate said the Justice of High Court of the Isle of Man in England has sanctioned the proposal to acquire 100% shares of Dev Development Property (DPD).
Finalization of the acquisition shall be competed by issue of fresh 13.8 crore shares of DPD and by canceling the old shares, it informed the stock exchanges.
Dev Property is listed entity at the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.
It focuses on investment in commercial real estate developments for IT and ITes companies, and residential complexes in tier-1 cities in India. The firm has stake in some of Indiabulls’ projects in India.
The acquisition, announced a few months ago, is valued about $270 million.

It’s not just the consultants, funds and law firms that are coming to India. The booming real estate sector has attracted yet another important segment of the global industry—the architects. Celebrated British architect Lord Norman Foster, who shaped London’s 21st-century skyline with buildings such as the Gherkin, the new Wembley stadium, and has designed other structures like the Beijing airport and the Reichstag in Berlin, has entered India in tie-up with a Mumbai real estate firm, the Neptune group.
The Mahindra group’s real estate arm Mahindra City has roped in US-based architect and design firm HOK while Canadian firm Forrec, the lead architects behind Universal Studios, has tied up with Bombay Dyeing and Unitech. Lord Foster has tied up with the Neptune group to develop a 17-acre office complex called Evolution, near the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Neptune Group has reportedly paid Foster and Partner, Lord Foster ‘s firm $8 million for design alone.
“A city that works as hard as Mumbai deserves the best working environment possible. We will deliver a world class facility so far unmatched in the regions’ office property market,” Lord Foster was quoted as saying in a statement. Evaluation will be a low-rise structure, spread over 2 million square feet, easily accessible from the airport, three railway stations, two metro stations and two highways, with facilities like food court and health club.
Neptune group managing director Nayan Bheda said, “In each of our projects, we have tried to create a balance between little details and the big picture. We also believe that every piece of land has its unique potential. Fortunately, Lord Foster shares our vision and has agreed to come on board to unleash the potential.”
Similarly, the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group, Mahindra Lifespaces has teamed up with US based HOK, one of the leaders in the global architecture and planning segment to develop the residential and social amenities zone at the Mahindra World City in Chennai.
HOK, which has developed landmark buildings including the Dubai Marina (the world’s largest planned waterfront community with a mix of residential, retail, hotel, office and recreational uses), is understood be working on other Mahindra projects as well, sources said.
HOK planning Group VP Jeff Davis said that the key challenge was to envision a master plan that would translate the vision of the Mahindra team while ensuring that it blended seamlessly with the natural surroundings. Forrec, the Canadian architectural firm, is a consultant to Unitech, DLF and Bombay Dyeing. Shapoorji Pallonji group has also teamed up with Craig Nealy for its joint venture projects in Pune.

Chennai-based real estate developer Rakindo Developers’ proposal to set up a wholly owned subsidiary with $250-million FDI from Dubai-based Rakeen Development is expected to get Cabinet clearance on Thursday.
Rakindo has plans of building a $1.5-billion (Rs 6,000- crore) integrated township at Coimbatore which will be ready for launch after the CCEA clears the FDI proposal. The plan envisages developing over 1,000 acres of property with an 18-hole golf course as the centerpiece. Rakindo is proposed to be a holding company that will promote investments in several SPVs to develop and operate townships. It is a joint venture company formed by Rakeen, a joint stock global business company promoted by the Ral Al Khaimah group, UAE and the Chennai based mineral conglomerate Trimex group owned by Koneru Prasad.
The newly formed real estate company has already obtained FIPB approval to invest and hold downstream investments in Companies formed for the Coimbatore project.
FIPB had considered the Rakindo proposal in March, which was subsequently approved by different ministries including the department of industrial policy and promotion, department of economic affairs and the ministry of urban development. Built around the concept of “walk to work culture”, the Coimbator project plans to have an IT SEZ, specialty hospital besides commercial and residential complexes. The CCEA will also consider another proposal by Essar Power Ltd Mumbai for FIPB approval to operate as a holding company.

MUMBAI: Over the next decade, the figure of dollar millionaires in India is likely to touch 4,11,000 from a negligible number at present.
According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on behalf of Barclays Wealth, these households are estimated to be worth $1.7 trillion, or over the country’s current market capitalization of about $1.3 trillion.
But as a percentage of the population these households will comprise just 0.2 per cent. In comparison, smaller countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong will have the highest concentration of millionaires with about forty per cent of the households in each country having wealth in surplus of $1 million.
In absolute terms, however, India is expected to have one of the fastest-growing prosperous markets in the world, making it the 8th largest wealth centre by 2017. The numbers of mass affluent, with wealth over $500,000, is predicted to rise from a negligible figure in 2007 to 1.9 million by 2017.
The 5-year bull run has contributed considerably to the rising fortunes, with many corporates and entrepreneurs tapping the markets to raise funds. Inherited wealth and rising corporate salaries are also key drivers.
As in many rising markets, the wealthy in India have kept much of their wealth in tangible goods. Fresh research by McKinsey tell s that Indian households hold over half their savings in physical assets like land, houses, cattle and gold.
Property accounts for 43 per cent of overall household wealth. The yellow metal has also been a popular investment tool among Indians, who are the world’s largest consumers of gold. Recent guess suggest that the population owns two hundred billion dollar in gold, equal to nearly half of the country’s bank deposits.
But over the next decade this might change, with the increasing popularity of financial instruments like REITs and real estate mutual funds as well as gold ETFs and bullion trading platforms. Investors are likely to shift to these avenues of holding traditional assets like property and gold.

The board of directors of Puravankara Projects has recommended a final dividend of forty percent, or two rupees share on equity share of five rupees each for the recent year. The payment is subject to the sanction of the shareholders at the yearly general meeting.
Puravankara Projects is leading real estate development companies in India with a center of attention on developing residential and commercial properties. Part of the Puravankara group, it was incorporated as Puravankara Constructions on 3rd june 86. It became a public limited company on 10th july 1992.
The company has operations in Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Colombo (Sri Lanka) and United Arab Emirates.
Company shares declined by Rs 2.3 (less than one percent) to trade at Rs 289.5. The total value of shares traded was fifteen thousand seven hundred eighty two rupees at the BSE on Wednesday noon.

A week after Sebi announced guidelines for real estate mutual funds, officials at fund houses and real estate developers are awaiting clarity on certain issues before they go ahead with scheme launches. Industry experts point out that taxation, periodic calculation of net asset value (NAV), and absence of any benchmark indices are some of the contentious issues turning out to be stumbling blocks in the design of such products.
Mr. Pranay Vakil, chairman, KnightFrank India, asks that a quarterly valuation exercise would not be very easy to implement. “Let us assume that an REMF consists of 10 real estate assets and each asset has been acquired at different periods of a year. So, how one can calculate a composite NAV of fund, taking into consideration all these properties purchased?”.
Guidelines are also silent on the NAV on rented property, he points out. There is also a lot of confusion over whether these entities will be taxed as a debt fund or an equity-oriented fund. Mr. Milind Barve, MD of HDFC Mutual Fund, says, “As per the current regulations, given that REMF Schemes will invest directly in real estate projects, they are likely to be treated as debt funds for taxation”.
Dividends from equity funds are not taxed nor are long-term capital gains; unlike debt funds (these are taxed). He further says“However, as a part of giving an initial impetus to the real estate MFs, fund houses will request the authorities that REMFs be treated like equity diversified schemes”.
This confusion on taxation is also leading some experts to remind policy makers about the possibility of double taxation for the investor. If the entity investing in the real estate projects (say an SPV) is taxed while it distributes profits to the fund, and so is the latter when it gives away profits to the investor, the investor will be effectively taxed twice, experts point out.
Meanwhile, there is a debate on whether real estate developers will actually find entry into the segment attractive. Sebi has put onerous restrictions on the kind of properties that a REMF can invest in, like banning all “related party transactions”. Effectively, one cannot raise money from investors to deploy in one’s own assets.
A Balasubramanian, chief investment officer at Birla MF, says it is fair to assume that fund houses will be the first to launch such schemes, followed by developers as the time passes by. The only argument against Mr Balasubramanian’s comments is that most fund houses (other than a handful) may not have the required expertise (investment managers specialized to invest in real estate) to spot opportunities.
Mr. Jai Mavani, head of real estate at KPMG, says, “There is need to calibrate the foreign money flowing into the REMFs, as this can lead to spikes in asset prices”. He says that the capitalization rates (popularly called cap rates) in India are higher than abroad, and this could lead to an obvious “arbitrage opportunity” for foreign investors. Higher cap rates mean that for the same amount of rent, its value here is lesser.
Some of the other issues facing players planning REMFs are the lack of any proper real estate indices in India (working as benchmarks), enabling comparison between schemes, and the infancy of the mortgage-backed securitization market in India. More convenient options to exit from real estate projects will also have to be provided since Sebi has not allowed transfer of assets between two schemes, limiting liquidity.
No wonder that most developers are not willing to make any commitment on whether they will eventually launch REMFs. When quizzed on this, Rajeev Singh, MD of DLF, said, “We do not have any immediate plan to float an REMF. We are observing the situation and as and when time comes we will consider it.”

MUMBAI – Real estate firm Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd may consider private equity funding for some of its projects, but has no immediate plans to dilute its stake, a top official said.
The Mumbai-based firm may need cash for developing a planned special economic zone in Maharashtra and townships in the future, but has enough cash for ongoing projects, Vice-Chairman Arun Nanda told analysts late on Tuesday.
The company has developed a 1,400-acre special economic zone (SEZ) in Chennai, while its second SEZ, spread over 3,000 acres at Jaipur, will start operations by July 2008.
“Chennai has started generating cash, while Jaipur is self sufficient. When we go to Maharashtra, we will need to look for funds,” he said.
The company has planned a 3,000-acre multi-product special economic zone at Karla, near Pune. While it has received approvals, land acquisition for the project may only start later this year, Nanda said.
“There is no intention for Mahindra group to dilute equity. At best, we might bring in some private equity,” Nanda told analysts. “We are a zero-debt at company level and currently hold cash reserves of 250 crores (2.5 billion rupees).”
The Mahindra group holds 51 percent equity in the company.
Last month, the company formed a joint venture with private equity fund ARCH Capital to develop a 55-acre township project, within its Chennai SEZ.
Mahindra Lifespace, which on Tuesday outlined an investment of 5 billion rupees for a 25-acre residential project in Nagpur, is also planning four other large integrated township projects. However, Nanda declined to give details of these projects

Setting a good example of how demand shapes supply, even in the real estate sector, a Kolkata-based developer had taken a decision to venture into unexplored territory with the city’s first luxury studio apartment block with full-service back-up.
The city-based Siddha Group will construct a sixty crore rupees dedicated block with three hundred fourteen luxury studio apartments in the Rajarhat New Town area on a 2.5 acre plot neat to the area’s main arterial road.
“I have stay in similar studio apartment in New York and found the demand for similar convenience strong among young buyers and working peoples in the city”, said S. Jain, Siddha’s managing director.The idea was to offer buyers possession with a pain-free maintenance experience and in-house facilities, said Jain.
The project would creat new era because in the Kolkata real estate market, small apartments today stood for low-priced housing with poor construction quality, fittings and finish, said property consultant Arun Jhunjhunwala. Density was synonymous with low income group (LIG) housing in Kolkata.

Mahindra Lifespaces and B E Billimoria have won a bid to develop a 25 acre residential project at Multi-modal Internal Hub Airport (MIHAN) at Nagpur. The consortium will form a special purpose vehicle to implement the project with Mahindra Lifespaces holding 70% stake and 30% equity stake held by B E Billimoria.
The MIHAN project comprises of development of airport and aircraft maintenance area, special economic zone and support infrastructure. In the first phase, Mahindra Lifespaces will develop the 1.6 million square feet build up area over next 36 months.
The company reported total income of Rs 69.03 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31, March 08, up 83%, from Rs 37.80 crore during the corresponding period last year. Its total income for financial year 08 increased by 35% to Rs 219.96 crore compared to Rs 163.26 crore a year ago.

Finolex Industries has planned to sell off its special economic zone plot at Chinchwad near Pune .It is close to signing a deal with a US-based developer to sell the land for four hundred crore rupees.
The 950 crore rupees maker of PVC pipes and fittings had been weighing two options for the 78 acre plot, either to develop it as an information technology SEZ or dispose it off completely and unlock the value of the land.
The company is about to finalizing the details of the property. Talks with companies in the US is also going on.
One year ago, Finolex Industries was talking to Tishman Speyer India Ventures for land sale. The Finolex official had said in December that the modalities for the sale were decided and that Finolex was sure to sell the plot to Tishman Speyer India. But the developer took a very long time to take a firm stand and eventually the deal was called off.
A study to covert its fair weather port at Ratnagiri into an all weather port is also going on. Once the study is over, its arm, finolex Cables, plans to set up a mega power plant.

PUNE: On April 10, the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP) pronounced that property prices in the city would be hiked by Rs50-400 per square foot from April 20 onwards, giving potential buyers ten days to take benefit of the then existing rates. But the buyers rejected to take the bait and sales are in fact showing a dip instead of the rise the builders had expected.
Indicating a genuine slowdown in the Pune property market, property registration figures available with the deputy inspector general of registration and deputy controller of stamps have shown a turn down.
From April 1 to April 10, a total of six thousand two hundred thirty seven property documents were registered in the city. The number declined to four thousand one hundred twenty six during April 11-20, the period in which the buyers were aware of the imminent price hike but had the opportunity to buy before the hike was applied.
Figures available between April 21 and April 29 suggest that there was no considerable increase in the number of new bookings either — a total of five thousand three hundred sixteen documents were registered during this period.
However, PBAP president Lalit Kumar Jain refused to confess the slowdown, rather he said that “The builders are getting a good response, which is better than that of last month,”.
Besides escalation in the price of steel and cement, Jain had previously cited the Pune Municipal Corporation’s charges on real estate developers as the cause for rising prices.

Real estate developer Nirmal Lifestyle is planning to develop 20 townships across India.
The company has marked an investment of $5 billion for the first phase, which includes five townships under the brand name of Lifestyle City, a company release said. Spread over 300-1,000 acre, the phase I townships will come up one each in Pune, Indore and Panvel, and two in Mumbai.
The company is looking at generating $10 billion from these five projects in the next 10 years.
Nirmal Lifestyle chairman and managing director Dharmesh Jain told that the houses in these projects would be priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore. He declared, “Houses in Mumbai cost much more than the price we have put to our projects. So we hope to successfully tap this market”. Nirmal Lifestyle, which has built over 50 lakh square feet of residential and commercial space, is one of the top real estate players in the Mumbai market.
It is known for developing Mulund, a central suburb of Mumbai, into a real estate hub. The company also operates the Nirmal Lifestyle shopping mall.
Each township will have a sports centre modeled on international standards, an IT SEZ, hotels and malls. Jain expects the projects to be completed in seven to nine years.
He said, “The construction of two townships will begin towards the end of this fiscal and for the others in early 2009″. He further added that private equity investment for one of the projects has been received and more is expected once construction begins. Nirmal Lifestyle is also looking at launching an IPO in the next 12-18 months.
Thanks to the steep rise in the cost of housing, the middle segment is seeing a boom, with many PE players eyeing mid-tier projects priced between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 70 lakh and premium projects with price tags of Rs 65 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
Sashi Makapatti, a senior investment officer at Rutley Capital Partners, the investment arm of global property consultant Knight Frank, said that the company was investing $300 million in mid-segment housing projects in tier II cities. He pointed out, “The demand is enormous in these regions. We are looking at Hyderabad, Indore and suburban Mumbai”.
According to Anuj Puri, country head and chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, investors are now realizing the potential of mid-segment projects. He added, “Projects in areas where land prices are Rs 2,000-3,000 per square feet are not feasible. This is why such projects are likely to succeed in suburbs, where land rates are low”.
Nirmal Lifestyle will invest $5billion in Phase I, which includes five townships under the brand name of Lifestyle City.
Spread over 300-1,000 acre, will be one each in Pune, Indore and Panvel, and two in Mumbai.
Houses in these townships, complete with sports centres, malls, IT SEZs and hotels, will be priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

Zero rentals for residential flat is fast gaining popularity in the extended suburbs of Vasai-Virar. But there’s a catch. Pay a heavy deposit, which is returned when the leave-and-licence agreement comes to an end, provided the house is returned to the owner in its original condition.
Owners are encouraging zero rentals in return for “heavy deposits” to the tune of Rs 2 to Rs 5 lakh so that they get back their flats in proper condition when the tenants leave.
A proper leave-and-licence agreement is drawn up and both the owner and the tenant do not need to contact each other until the agreement ends.
People looking for accommodation are increasingly getting attracted to the zero rent scheme. Especially newly-weds and those with transferable jobs are opting for the zero rent schemes.
Real estate agents say that while tenants find the zero rental scheme attractive, they also take good care of the flats to avoid deductions in the deposit amount. Flat owners also find it more lucrative to reinvest the lump sum deposit than collect a monthly rent, which is usually spent immediately.