The unending euphoria over real estate , which India has been witnessing over the past few years, is finally starting to show signs of ebbing, and that is probably healthy news for the long-term growth of this sector. Collapse of a few recent PE deals, postponement of capital-raising plans by developers and poor response to government land auctions are indicators of the “expected slowdown” in Indian real estate chapter.
Recalling the success story of a few years ago when home loan rates sank to 7.5%, it resulted in huge demand for quality real estate and paved the way for the spiking in property rates in many cities. Since then this industry displayed an unstoppable upward curve. However, today, with interest rates already very high with negligible scope of reduction due to inflationary pressures, the real estate momentum would not be the same.
Signs of a slowdown have started becoming visible in the residential sector. There has already been a marginal decline in rental and capital values of apartments across a few micro markets and the trend will only gain momentum as we move ahead, especially in peripheral and suburban locations where significant supply is in the pipeline. Even the office market has not escaped. It has witnessed stagnancy in rentals in majority of locations in Q1 2008.
This trend, given the sharp rise in rental values over the past few years, is important. IT/ITES, a major demand driver for office and residential property, is not expected to digest the future supply in the medium term. Given the supply ramp-up of 82 million sq ft of office space across seven major cities in 2008, it is expected to put pressures on rental values leading to deceleration in medium term.

ARCH Capital Asian Partners L.P., the private equity real estate fund of Ayala group, has formed a JV with the Mahindra Group of India for the development of a residential community in Chennai.
Ayala Corp. president and chief operating officer Mr. Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement that the venture would be the group’s first major investment in Indian real estate market.
Mr. Zobel said, “The Indian market is very attractive and we see many opportunities for joint development and partnerships in the future not only in residential real estate development but even in high-growth areas such as business process outsourcing. We continue to see good growth prospects in India and we are delighted to have the opportunity to participate in this momentum through our partnership with Mahindra Group”.
The company did not disclose investment figures.
Under the agreement, the Mahindra Group will own 51% of the joint venture entity with the balance controlled by ARCH Capital-controlled investment vehicle.  The plan involves the development of a residential community within the 1,500-acre Mahindra World City in Chennai, India.
The project will be constructed in around 55 acres of land located within the MWC Special Economic Zone designated for low-density residential community development.
The exclusive community of approximately 750 residential units will be master-planned and designed by acclaimed international planners and architects with amenities, development standards and an urban environment.

MUMBAI: Retard in the real estate market notwithstanding, land deals in India are thriving. According to a current study, the total value of such deals, in the first three months of 2008, have touched around Rs 23,000 crore, while another Rs 10,000-crore worth deals are in the pipeline.
A study by top brokerage JPMorgan shows that Delhi-based developer BPTP’s Rs 5,000- crore land deal in Noida was the largest deal in the January-March period, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s land auctions in Bandra Kurla Complex had fetched around Rs 4,000 crore.
The deals in the pipeline include the Indian Railway’s fifty acres worth Rs 10,000 crore that is scheduled to be auctioned later. Also, a one hundred fifteen crore deal between the Balaji group and Prestige group is likely to be completed soon.
In Mumbai, a two hundred fiftycrore deal by Hindustan Composites is in the concluding stage, in which developers such as DLF , Kalpataru and K Raheja Corp are the lead bidders. The JPMorgan report comes at a time when it is predicted that a tightening in global liquidity and a slowdown in the economy, could put the brakes on the real estate sector which witnessed a sharp rising growth in the past two years.
As a reflection of this slowdown, developers’ plans including malls, complexes and residential projects are all being kept under wraps. Property prices and rentals have been falling which was also seen in the loss of investor interest and an erosion in the market capitalisation of large listed players such as DLF and Unitech. The slowdown is also aided by the fall in stock markets as there is now a lack of capital among investors to invest in real estate projects.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers, the real estate company of the Rs 18,000 crore Mahindra group, has entered into a joint venture with private equity fund ARCH Capital Asian Partners to develop a residential township at the Mahindra group’s special economic zone, Mahindra World City, near Chennai.
The Mahindra group will have a 51 % stake in Mahindra Residential Development, the JV company and ARCH Capital will hold 49 %.
The project, on fifty acres, will have seven hundred fifty residential apartments apart from retail and recreational facilities. It did not disclose financial details, pending the announcement of its financial results.
Mahindra World City, being developed by the Mahindra group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), has three sector-specific SEZs for information technology, auto ancillaries, and apparel & fashion accessories.
Mahindra Lifespace recently signed an agreement with the Board of Investments of Sri Lanka to develop a sixty five acre SEZ in Sri Lanka.
Mahindra Lifespace has a land bank of nearly five million sq ft and is developing two other Mahindra World Cities at Pune and Jaipur.

Most of the ETFs and Mutual Funds at the different Asset Managers are losing value, as can be noticed from the website of any one of the companies. One of the exceptions is the equity in the rising markets. This sector has matured seemingly and unaltered by the Recession in the US. India is one of the four countries Goldman Sachs pointed out as the leaders in FDI and development along with China, Russia, Brazil (BRIC) in the coming years. Along with China, India too has enjoyed booming exports and growth rates of 8-9% in the last few years, but India`s major economic strength is stated to be internal, or consumption based, rather than a focus on exports solely.
At the heart of the boom in India is its real estate, which unlike Communist China`s, is privately owned. Real Estate prices in India have been growing at a rate of 30-40% for the last few years. Investment banks and Hedge Funds around the world have been investing more and more in the Indian Real estate, driving the prices higher. As per the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the Indian realty sector is likely to see high growth rates in 2008. DLF, one of India`s premier Real Estate Development companies recently sold 49 % stake in its seven townships to Merrill Lynch and Brahma Investments to raise Four hundred twenty million dollar. Wachovia Bank picked up a 15% stake in another Indian Real Estate company for fifty nine million dollar. These US banks are the same ones that have lost billions in the US real estate market in the last 1year.
A comparison of the Real Estate prices in New Delhi and Chicago reveals the following figures:
* Condos in New Delhi, India: 2-bedroom, 1000 sq. ft. apartment for $200,000. [$200 per sq ft]
* Condos in Chicago, USA: 2-bedroom, 1000 sq. ft. apartment for $400,000 [$400 per sq ft]
The above has occurred despite the fact that the median income in Chicago is 50 times that in New Delhi.
Clearly, the House price increase in India is an unsustainable bubble. Such land or property bubbles have propped up in Russia, China, Ireland, etc. A bubble is characterized by low income to price ratios (when property rises a lot while income does not), or rent to price ratios(when property rises and rent does not). Such bubbles are financed by low interest rates, bad financing, or too much Foreign Direct Investment. Assuming there is a huge bubble in India, larger than that of the United States, this would have the same effect(if not larger) on the Indian Equity markets as has the US Real Estate on the US stock market. Studies show that a person is 2 times more likely not to spend his money if his house price falls by $1 than if his stock falls by $1. Tell that to Walmart, Carrefour and other Retail Stores that intend to open shop in India this year. As a bubble bursts, banks that lent the money always get into trouble as they recover less than what they lent, the low liquidity of the banks would cause lower business and a stock market crash.

The state government has decided to regularize illegal colonies in Ghaziabad on the pattern of Jaipur Development Authority in Rajasthan. The policy would benefit 208 illegal colonies.
The UP administration has invited suggestions on the policy from development authorities across the state through a letter. A copy of Jaipur Development Authority’s policy is also attached.

The development authorities have to post their suggestions within 15 days. The state administration would regularize illegal colonies on priority basis.

Under the new policy, development authorities have been given more power so that regularization work could proceed speedily, said Ghaziabad Development Authority secretary Raj Kumar Sachan. The state’s approval has to be sought in trivial matters too. However, it is not mandatory in the Jaipur authority policy. The regularization tax is also comparatively less.

Development works can be completed after regularization of the colonies. Presently, development works under MLA and MP grant can only be undertaken here.

The Ghaziabad Development Authority will be able to execute its works after regularization is completed.

Rentals in the National Capital region are expected to stabilize in the next quarter as supply is set to increase Gurgaon and Noida. According to commercial real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis, rentals are expected to be stable in the next quarter as the supply is set to increase significantly in Gurgaon and Noida. However, no significant change in supply is expected in Delhi except in Jasola where an additional 500,000 sq ft is expected to be added in the second quarter.

Rentals rose steadily in the Central Business District Area of Connaught Place in the absence of any new supply in the first quarter of 2008. The report stated that an evident feature in the last quarter was that a number of the older buildings made a noticeable attempt to improve infrastructure in their premises in an attempt to cash in on the low available supply and high rentals.

While in the peripheral markets Gurgaon and Noida, the rentals are expected to stabilize in the next quarter. Rentals in Gurgaon showed no sign of a meltdown in the previous quarter. However, they are expected to remain stable in the next quarter with additional supply on the MG and Golf Course Road offsetting the corporate demand. Besides, in Noida rentals were marginally higher in the last quarter but are expected to be steady with high supply available especially in the industrial/institutional sectors.

Noida continues to be an attractive destination for IT/ITeS companies primarily for their back office operations. The report said that absorption rates in Noida are expected to rise significantly this year with improved infrastructure

Ansal Housing & Construction has launched its group housing project, Ansals Tanushree. The project is on the NH 24, Ghaziabad. The project offers 2- and 3-BHK apartments with a built-up area ranging from 1,238-1,700 square feet. These apartments will be housed in three towers. The apartments range between Rs 29 lakh and Rs 40 lakh. Some of Ansal Housing’s earlier projects in Ghaziabad are: Neelpadm Kunj, Garden Enclave, Aavantika, and Chiranjiv Vihar. It has also developed Fortune Arcade in Noida, Golf Links I & II in Greater Noida, and Aashiana in Lucknow.

Is the real estate boom finished? Have prices started to flatten out?
Indian real estate is observing a much-needed cool-off. Without suspicion, realty prices are at their climax and a correction is expected. However, it would be wrong to expect a sudden crash. We guess the downward trend to be gradual and concentrated in definite pockets. We realize several developers have already started witnessing a slowdown in sales. It now depends on the holding capacity of a developer. In fact, instead of reducing the prices outright, some developers are offering freebies like interior decoration, free air-conditioners or other consumer durables. Some of them are also willing to pay the first six equate monthly installments (EMIs) of the mortgage loan.
How much of this is driven by high interest rates?
Interest rates are cyclic in nature. It is property prices that tend to impact the buying assessment more than interest rates. HDFC has always catered to the middle-class segment. Even today, our all India average loan size is about Rs 12.5 lakh. Moreover, about 95 per cent of our customers are actual end-users, thus we have not seen much change in demand.

Despite a huge demand for residential flats in Chennai ,sales are steadily dipping due to high prices. Middle-class families, who form the bulk of the buyers, have few choices. Going by present market rates, most people in the salaried bracket may not be able to buy a flat anywhere within a 30-km radius of the city centre.
In most parts of Chennai, apartments in new complexes cost between Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore. As for adjoining suburbs, prices are in the range of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. For instance, ongoing projects on the Madurai Highway are priced at Rs 45 lakh and above. On the IT Highway, it is still higher with flats priced around Rs 1 crore. Further, since builders have pegged minimum floor space at 1,400-1,500 square feet per flat, the overall cost has risen considerably even in places where land prices are low. Only businessmen and traders can afford such high prices.
To buy a flat worth Rs 50 lakh, a salaried employee would have to pay Rs 7.5 lakh upfront and an EMI of Rs 50,000 to service the balance Rs 42.5 lakh home loan over the next 20 years. Going by bank eligibility norms, he or she would need a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month to obtain a loan to pay such a high EMI. Obviously, those with such high salaries are few in number and on the highest rung of the corporate ladder.
The main issue now is the builder’s reluctance to develop affordable housing stock, the preference being for premium projects which offer higher profit margins. As the effort needed for developing a low cost project is nearly the same as that for a premium block, builders opt for the latter. At the height of the boom, many made profits ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per sq ft by putting up premium apartment blocks. Today, most of them are waiting in anticipation for prices to start moving up again.

The sub prime crisis may have struck in the US, but real estate companies around the world are feeling the heat. The meltdown in property firms’ valuations in other economies, including India, China, Japan and the UK, has surpassed that of the US with Indian real estate companies witnessing one of the biggest falls. Some leading Indian real estate firms are trading at about 34% discount to their net asset values, which implies that property firms are being valued at just two-thirds of the assets they hold.
This makes India the second-most affected nation after Malaysia in the first quarter of 2008 among key property markets, according to a Citigroup report. Interestingly, in the US, the property market index is trading at just 12% discount to its NAV. Its performance is even better than the global index, which is ruling at an 18% discount. NAV is the present discounted value of all future cash flows of a property firm. It factors in the existing land-bank, overall development opportunities and project execution of a property firm. It is a valuation tool for real estate firms.
Analysts say the discount to NAV shows that the Indian property market is on a downswing. According to Mr. Rupesh Sankhe, ICICI Direct real estate analyst, “Historically, when the property market cycle is on an upswing, firms trade at a premium to their NAVs, and during a downturn, this tends to get reversed with shares trading at a discount. Since real estate stocks are high risk, the trend gets amplified.”
Indian property stock prices have dropped as much as 50-67% and underperformed the Sensex by 23% in the first quarter of 2008. Such a sharp fall has widened the discount to their NAVs, which was just 1-2% in November ’07. This is despite the fact that Citigroup has lowered the NAVs of Indian property firms by 9-27% in its analysis.

The Mumbai-based real estate developer Lodha group said on Thursday it has received Rs. 250 crore investment from the HDFC sponsored real estate fund in one of its special purpose vehicle (SPV) in Hyderabad.
Under the transaction, the HDFC funds will buy 45% in Lodha’s SPV for development of the group’s luxury residential and commercial project in Hyderabad. This will be the fourth investment in the group by PE funds who have so far invested in excess of Rs 2,400 crore. Trustcap, a Mumbai based investment banking firm acted as the sole advisor to this transaction.
Mr. Abhinandan Lodha, director, Lodha group said, “We have been on an aggressive growth path and this partnership combines HDFC’s vision with our expertise. This significant partnership will further strengthen our relationship with HDFC who are India’s financial institution in real estate.”
The Lodha group late last year won an auction of 12.9 acres of prime land located at Eden Square, Hyderabad by the Andhra Pradesh Housing Board for Rs. 256 crore.
The group has plans to develop a luxury township offering over 2.5 million square feet of plush residential and commercial real estate.
In September 2007, Deutsche Bank Singapore invested US$ 410 million in three FDI compliant projects of the group making it the single largest FDI in the real estate sector in India.
The Lodha Group has previously attracted investments for its various projects from leading global financial institutions such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and ICICI Venture.
JP Morgan had earlier invested Rs. 274 crore in Lodha Bellissimo – an exclusive residential development coming up at Apollo Mills, located at south central Mumbai. The group is now developing in excess of 25 mn sq ft of prime real estate over 27 projects in and around Mumbai.
Lodha Group has emerged as one of the largest developers in the country with a land bank of over 6000 acres. The group focuses on development of residences, office spaces, IT campuses, weekend retreats, townships and SEZs.

This led to the expansion of the Delhi Mass speedy Transit System, or Delhi Metro as it is known. The success of this transport network that began procedure in December 2002 now sees it as not only the public transportation of choice, but the model itself has become the standard for the development of other systems across India. And yet the current metro system, known as Phase I, is itself set to grow with another three phases, scheduled for completion in 2010, 2015 and 2020. By the time Phase IV is operational, the Delhi Metro will have found its place ahead of the London system as the biggest public rail network in the world.
It is easy to see why these four phases of the transportation network, together with the northern and southeastern suburb developments included in the Delhi Metro Masterplan 2021 have impacted and will continue to impact the real estate industry of the area.
Connectivity and traveling within the city and in the NCR areas of Gurgaon and Noida will become a piece of a cake and the economic results are being sensed already. For example, the onset of the Metro has boosted the land prices and apartments built by Unitech ltd. And Dlf, one of the foremost private building companies which own huge tracks of land in Gurgaon.
The incredible pace that the growth rate of the area has been exhibiting is having a beneficial economic effect, especially where the real estate market is concerned. It is also having a very positive effect on the entire job market, as the unemployment rate continues to drop in the major industries of the automotive, health care, and technology sectors.

Real estate developer Rakindo Developers has unveiled its plan to build a $1.5 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) integrated township at Coimbatore. It is expected to be ready for launch by the last quarter of 2008. Mr Prasad Koneru, MD, Rakindo Developers, told that the flagship project of Rakindo Developers in the texcity will be developed over 1,000 acres with an 18-hole golf course as the centerpiece.
The self-sustaining township would house luxurious golf course villas with scenic mountains and lush greenery in the background. Mr. koneru said,“We are a master developer, who believe in the concept of optimum utilization of land rather than looking at per square feet utilization”. Further he said that the project will be independent of the existing infrastructure system, by bringing in a comprehensive facility management. On pricing, Mr Koneru said while golf-facing villas would command a specific price; there would also be high-end and medium-range apartments.
Scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of this year, the project, will be built around the concept of ‘walk to work culture’, which is the central theme of all Rakindo properties. It will also have an IT SEZ, specialty hospital, schools, star hotel, clubhouse and wellness Centre, retail, commercial and residential developments.
Stating that it is not targeting investors but customers, who are desirous of experiencing a township way of life, Mr Koneru said “ultimately, we do not want to create a ghost town as our objective is to creatively service people.”

Mumbai, Apr 16 With the end of its association with The Oberoi group, Hilton Hotels Corporation is on top gear to make a comeback in the Indian market. The company today has not even a single property in the country courtesy the fallen apart tie-up with The Oberoi Group. Now, left all alone in the burgeoning industry, Hilton is firing from all cylinders.
The hospitality group is not only looking at bringing a full bouquet of hotels, better called – The Hilton Family of Hotels – to India but also partnering with more than one real estate company. “We are in negotiations with real estate players in the country,” said a source close to the development. Hilton has a joint venture with real estate company DLF Limited for setting up hotels in the country called DLF-Hilton Hotels, which became the reason behind the end of a four-year-long relationship between the Oberoi Group and  the Hilton.. The alliance between The Oberoi Group and  the Hilton came to an end on April 1, 2008.

MUMBAI – Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers Ltd has sold thirty percent stake in a Mumbai project to foreign funds for 1.86 billion rupees, the company said in an announcement on Thursday.
Shares in the company hit a high of 217.65 rupees on the news, and were trading 4.57 % higher at 216.30 rupees.
Parsvnath will sell 15 % stake each in the Kurla bus station redevelopment project to Euronext-listed Yatra Capital and Saffron India Real Estate Fund-I, both sponsored by Mauritius-based fund manager Saffron Asset Advisors.
Parsvnath said that Yatra and Saffron have picked up the stake at land-value basis. They will also proportionately fund all future development and construction activities for the project.
Future investment is estimated at two billion rupees and the project is to be completed in two and half years.
The deal will help unlock value of the property and help to begin a strong relationship with well-known foreign direct investment partners, Parsvnath said.
Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj was the consultant for the deal. Foreign investors have rushed to invest in India’s growing real estate market for the last few years, attracted by simpler investment rules and rising property prices, which have gone up for the fifth straight year.

Mumbai has witnessed the world’s highest (94.4%) increase in rentals of industrial space in 2007 from Rs 18 per square feet per month to Rs 35 per square feet per month ($10.88 per square feet per annum).
With this, the financial capital of the country leaped 11 positions to be 26th most expensive industrial locations in the world. The rise in rentals of industrial space at Ranjangaon in Pune and IMT Manesar in the National Capital Region is fourth and sixth highest in the world. In Ranjangaon, the rentals went up from Rs 12 per square feet per month in December 2006 to Rs 18 per square feet per month in December 2007.
In IMT Manesar, the rentals went up by 30% to Rs 13 per square feet per month from Rs 10 per square per month. Rentals in prime area like Delhi’s Okhala Industrial Area also went up by 28.57% to Rs 45 per square feet per month from Rs 35 per square feet per month ($14 per square feet per annum). Rentals in other areas in India have also gone up sharply. According to the report, rentals of industrial space in Hinjewadi in Pune has gone up by 18.75% to Rs 38 per square feet per month, in Sriperumbudur in Chennai by 18.5% to Rs 32 per square feet per month. Within Asia-Pacific, Singapore came at third after Mumbai and IMT Manesar in annual rent growth and was followed by Pune and Chennai in the top five. Bangalore-Bommasandra area came at sixth, while Bangalore-Jigani saw the ninth biggest rental rise in the region. London retained its title as the world’s most expensive industrial location in the world with total occupancy cost at $28.91 per square feet per annum followed by Dublin, which jumped two places in the global ranking of occupancy costs to second place and Tokyo at third place. Occupancy cost in Dublin is $ 21.81 per square feet per annum and in Tokyo $ 19.51 per square feet per annum. Okhala Industrial Area, with occupancy cost of $14.50 per square feet per annum, is costlier than industrial space in Moscow, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Beijing. The occupancy cost in Beijing is $ 7.31 pr square feet per annum.

After last year’s buoyant market, signs of sluggishness have set in the Kolkata real estate market, particularly in the residential segment.
While property prices in prime locations continue to witness an upward trend, they have stagnated to last year’s level in upcoming suburbs in absence of investments.
For instance, in the Rajarhat, the residential and industrial hub in the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata, and Sector V, the IT hub areas, prices have stagnated between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 for almost a year now, even though construction cost has risen about 25 % in the last six months.
Over the last two-three years, residential property prices in the area had gone up by over 50 per cent, and developers had anticipated more than 15-20 per cent rise by this time.
Meanwhile, the growth in property prices (both rentals and outright sale), in the central business district (CBD) of the city, have outpaced that in the Rajarhat.
The commercial rentals in the CBD area rose more than 50 % at around Rs 100 per square feet over the last three-four months, while rental values in Rajarhat area remained steady at Rs 50-60 per square feet. According to Mr. Himon Sanyal, head, business development, TCG Real Estate, the reason for the unprecedented rental growth in the CBD is linked to a relative slowdown in the construction activity in Rajarhat, along with its yet-to-be-developed infrastructure. “In residential projects particularly, non-residential Indians are not as eager to invest in Kolkata, as they were a year ago, due to fluctuating dollar prices and the overall slump in real estate,” Sanyal said.
Developers are not willing to launch new projects and delaying the existing ones by two-three months, as they fear a price correction to happen in the coming months, think property experts. For example, TCG Real Estate, which had planned to launch a new project at Sector V in June this year, will now launch it on or after October.

Kolkata-based real estate developer Salarpuria Group will execute projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in West Bengal by 2010.
Mr. Rakesh Salarpuria, vice chairman of the Salarpuria Group, said that the expansion plans includes setting up a Novotel Hotel, promoted by international hospitality major, Accor Group, at Rajarhat. The investment in the project would be close to Rs 200 crore.
Other major investments of the company includes two IT special economic zones (SEZs) at Bantala 20km south-east of Kolkata, and Kalyani in Nadia district, 40km north-west of Kolkata.
He further said that the company has already received in-principle nod for the SEZ projects from the Central government. The SEZ in Kalyani would be spread over 250 acre.
Salarpuria did not mention the investment required to execute the project, as it is yet to acquire land for it. The investment at the Bantala SEZ, to be spread over 40 acre, will be close to Rs 400 crore.
He said that work would being in six month.

Pune-based promoter and developer, the Amrut Runwal Group, is all set to venture into the hospitality industry. The group will begin with a five star property in Pune, which is scheduled to open by June 2009.
“In order to diversify business operations, the Amrut Runwal Group decided to enter the hospitality industry. Since Pune is an upcoming IT hub, the demand for hotels is increasing. Hence we started our hospitality business in this city,” says Ankush Parakh, Vice President, Amrut Runwal Group. The Ramada, the brand owned by Wyndham Hotel Group will be franchisor for the property. Amrut Runwal group plans to have four five star properties in India (which includes the Pune property) by 2013. The company is in talks with various hoteliers for management contracts. The group plans to raise funding for this property through private equity.

To make their project affordable, real estate developers are applying new techniques everyday. For example, tunnel form technique, table form technique, fly ash technique and so on.
For instance, Red Fort Capital has developed ‘Fly ash based Cellular Light­weight Concrete, a technology that can help to save up to 10% in the construction cost for high rise structures while using eco-friendly materials. It also helps in faster construction, promoting sustainability and a healthy environment for the occupants.
Mr. G B Singh, director and founding partner, Red Fort Capital, said that it will result in cost reduction up to 15%. There is a tremendous shortage of ‘affordable housing’ in this country. Such steps could greatly benefit the real estate sector.
The use of recycled fly ash, a waste byproduct of coal combustion, is one available route in construction. Other materials that can be effectively used to construct cheap, yet durable houses include hollow concrete blocks, interlocking bricks, stabilized mud-based blocks, rubble filler blocks, concrete door and window frames and funicular (rope-like) shells.
However, despite benefits, the use of such technologies is still not a popular route among developers in India. It may cause inferior structures. Potential buyers will think about the safety, durability and resale value.

NEW DELHI: Global realty brokerage firm, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, announced on Monday about its foray into the Indian market with plans to open offices across the country, where it is expecting for a business of Rs one thousand crores in half a decade.
The US-based company plans to open one thousand offices through franchisee route. It would also have its own offices at fifty locations in the country to manage the entire operations.
Mr. Ajay Rathore, Century 21 India Country Head, said, “In the next five years, we plan to have 1,000 offices at pan-India level. We expect Rs 1 thousand crore revenue after these sub-franchisees get fully functional”. He told that the company would first start with the metros and the Tier I cities, followed by Tier II and III cities.
Mr. Rathore further said, “We will provide services in purchase of office, retail, residential spaces, land and IT parks. We also plan to have rental and leasing services for our customers. He further added, “To maintain transparencies and give best services to the customers, we will have our own offices. We have already set up five company offices in NCR .To manage all the franchisees, we will have about 50 offices in the country”. He also said that the company has already identified Bangalore, Hyderabad , Goa, Chandigarh and Chennai for setting up company offices.
Century 21 has more than eight thousand independently owned and operated broker offices in more than fifty countries and has more than one lakh sales agents across the globe.

Mumbai’s industrial property rents almost doubled last year, rising at the fastest pace in the world.
According to an international report, annual industrial rents in India’s financial capital surged to nearly 80 euros (127 dollar) a square meter.
Global average rents rose by more than 6 %, outpacing the 4.5 % increase in 2006, with Asia showing the biggest gains, boosted by economic growth in India and China.

In Delhi for two small shops of 600 square feet each, shopkeepers now pay something between Rs 1.5 and Rs 2 lakh per month. As par the tenants, there has been an increase of 10-15 percent in the property rates where Metro line is ready, and the landlords say property pries will rise further.
Resident of MG Road Delhi are not sure about rate of property price. They think that this is a temporary sop in an election year (Delhi assembly elections are due later this year). After the election same sealing drive will be started again and all the rise in property price will be lost due sealing. No one will like to buy the property in that area in which after every certain period a sealing drive starts and demolish all the construction.
Some shopkeepers still prefer to pay the increased rents and shifts from MG Road. "I have invested lakhs in furnishing this showroom and if I have to remove all this, my investment would go waste," said Deepankar Chaudhary, who runs a shop selling carpets in MG Road.