35 Acre Land by Godrej for Development

Posted on April 18, 2010 by vishal

Chunk
April 17, 2010

Godrej Group, Mumbai’s biggest landowner, is likely to release by the end of this year in Vikhroli, a prime 35-acre chunk.
In the recent past, this could be one of the largest drapes of unencumbered realty hitting the market. In the eastern suburbs, most of the large industrial plots sold to developers over the past 10 years were between 5 and 20 acres.
In Vikhroli, it is estimated that the Godrej controls around 4,000 acres most of which is constituted of a huge mangrove sprawl. This mangrove sprawl is titled as the best preserved mangrove park in Mumbai by environmentalists.
On Tuesday, the executive director of Godrej Properties, Pirojsha Godrej revealed to Times of India that for mixed-use development, a big plan is being prepared. And it is being prepared by none other than architect Cesar Pelli.

Comeback Of Realty

Posted on March 27, 2010 by vishal

Halifax's Version Of 'Repent Sinner' and 'Riot 2010'
March 26, 2010

Towards the end of 2009, remarkable appreciation in values has been observed by the residential markets across big cities of India. Report by Wakefield and Cushman informed that in the two key residential markets in India, Mumbai and NCR, this trend is most prominent. In these areas, as compared to the same period of last year, values in Oct-Dec 2009 were appreciated.

Since Mumbai and NCR are one of the high demanded markets, both from the investors and consumers, it witnessed a faster recovery than other cities. As a result of economic slowdown, these investors were backing out their requisites which had brought a kind of uncertainty in the job markets. But on the other hand, this slowdown brought affordable housing to the consumers which in turn led to sharp upward correction in the capital values and strong recovery in the economy.

Since in NCR, a large number of projects were sold out as soon as they were launched, it can be concluded that the demand for the housing which seems to be affordable, i.e., ranging from 20 to 40 lakhs was quite high. Recently, 500 flats offered by Supertech in Noida at a cost of 9.75 lakhs are sold out just after its launch. Due to the new trend, volume of transactions has been aggrandized.

However, this trend can continue only if the government takes back the extra burden of the 10.3 percent service tax which was announced in the budget 2010 on the sale of flats before there completion. This may make the projects under construction more attractive.

The Indian Hospitality Industry-An overview

Posted on March 22, 2010 by vishal

Indian hospitality industry has emerged as a hotspot destination for investment for the global hospitality companies in the last few years. Many leading global hotel chains aim to enter India in the near future and the ones that are already present in the country as of now are eager to expand. The companies are betting big on dearth of hotel rooms in the nation.

ATTARD - Hôtel Corinthia Palace
Photo by Michel27Industry estimates say, in the next 3 years there will be about 40 international hotels operational in the country. These global chains plan on catering to all the classes—the upper scale, mid-scale, the economy and the budget.

Some of the chains that are set to come to India are MGM Mirage Hospitality a US-based firm, Amari from Thailand, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Golden Tulip Hotels, Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, Corinthia Hotel group from Europe, Carlson, Starwood, Choice, Marriott, Accor, Hyatt, Intercontinental and Hilton.

Amari Hotels is set to launch Amari India and is searching for expansion opportunities in the Indian metro and tier-II cities to open seven hotels and resorts within the next 5-7 yrs. Likewise, MGM Mirage Hospitality aims to sign management contracts with realty sector developers as joint venture initiatives with local companies to set up hotel properties in the country.

Kaushik Vardharajan of HVS Hospitality Services said that, “India is more profitable for global hospitality firms than the international market. There is huge demand-supply gap which offers opportunities for international firms”. Data gathered by the firm shows that the international and domestic hotel chains had announced in August to build at least 9400 rooms in the country but the actual construction is underway for 3,840 rooms only.

Another hotel chain, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International is in advanced stage of discussions for properties in Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa and Chennai.
Golden Tulip is looking to add 10 properties which totals to 800 keys across tier-II towns by the end of the next financial year.

Four Seasons, a luxury hotel brand is in various stages of discussions with developers for constructing properties in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Goa. “There is enough room for several players to enter the market. India will become a major market for our company,” said Director Marketing Four Seasons, Sanjiv Shukla.

Accor, which has five hotels at present, will expand its network to 50 with 10,000 rooms in 15 cities by 2012.

ITC Welcomgroup plans to add 40 hotels to its 113 under four brands out Of which 25 are under the Fortune brand of business hotels. Senior Executive Vice-President at ITC, Pawan Verma said that “We are attached to the ground unlike them (international chains). We excel in Indian hospitality”.

The Taj Group is growing furiously both in the country and abroad. It is looking to roll more than 70 new hotels in 4 categories including its budget brand Ginger to add to the 105 hotels out of which 17 will be abroad.

However, falling rates of up to 18 per cent over last year has become a cause of concern for these hospitality chains. In 2008-09, the average room rate was Rupees 7,800 which has now reduced to Rupees 6,396 per night.

Still it will not be wrong to say that Indian hospitality is in a state of war where hotel rooms are being built like army barracks.

Office rentals stabilize

Posted on October 9, 2009 by admin

Office rentals, which dropped 40% from their peak in the middle of 2008, stabilized across the country in the September quarter as fresh bookings for office spaces partly reduced inventories, says a report by international property consultant CB Richard Ellis.

There was no change in office rentals in some of the major office locations in the national capital region, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, while rentals at some others in Chennai and Pune fell by 5-6% in the quarter ended June 30. In contrast, rentals in Connaught Place in Delhi and Gurgaon in Haryana registered an increase of 5-8% in the last quarter.

“The increase in demand is largely due to improving economic conditions, positive market sentiment and growing corporate confidence. However, it will take some time for the supply-demand gap to get bridged. Thus, both rentals and capital values are expected to remain stagnant or under downward pressure in the medium term,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director for South Asia at CB Richard Ellis.

In Mumbai, commercial office space is seeing a slight pick up in demand but rentals continue to be competitive. The September quarter saw close to 95,000 square feet of cumulative lease transactions as compared to 83,000 square feet space being rented in June 2009 quarter, according to the report.

However, as Mumbai continues to be 15th largest office construction site in the world with about 3.5 million square feet of office space coming up in extended business districts (EBD), capital values will remain low. This has resulted in a few unexpected transactions of outright purchase. Recently, Motilal Oswal, a brokerage firm purchased 90,000 sq feet office building for Rs 156 crore. Constructed by K Raheja, the property was purchased at Rs 17,333 per square feet as against the ongoing rate of Rs 19,000-21,000 per square feet.

“Indian corporates firmly believe that current valuation of commercial property is attractive, so they are capitalising on it rather than leasing as is being opted by MNCs,” said Sanjay Dutt, CEO (business), JLLM, an independent property consultant.

Madhucon Gets $3.9 Million Nepal order

Posted on October 6, 2009 by admin

Madhucon Projects Ltd, a Hyderabad-based infrastructure company, has secured a $3.9 million order for a road project from the Government of Nepal.
According to a company statement, the mandate involves upgradation of Sanfebagar-Martadi road under the road improvement project of the Exim Bank of India, Mumbai.
It had commissioned its first BOT project on NH 11 on the Bharatpur-Mahua section in Rajasthan, for which toll collection started from May. . National Highways Authority of India has recommended starting toll collection for the company’s second BOT project between Karur and Dindigul.
Meanwhile, Madhucon, which is establishing a 540 MW thermal power project in Krishnapatnam, proposes to increase the capacity to 1920 MW.

Mumbai expects highest residential space demand

Posted on September 26, 2009 by admin

Mumbai is expected to see the highest demand for residential space of approximately 16.40 lakh units due to the large scale urbanization. The mid-scale and affordable housing in suburban and peripheral areas will be the focus of this demand. However, the demand for office space would be approximately 23.7 million square feet, which is lower than that in Bangalore, Chennai and NCR.

The demand for hospitality in Mumbai is expected to be strong at over 98,500 room-nights, by virtue of the fact that the city is regarded as the financial capital of India and therefore the volume of both domestic and foreign business travelers is expected to grow steadily. Demand for retail is expected to be 6.19 million square feet.
On the other hand, Pune is expected to see the highest compounded annual growth in retail demand at 51% due to the current favorable demographics. The total expected demand for retail in Pune is approximately 1.76 million square feet. Office demand in Pune is expected to be 21.7 million square feet.

Bangalore emerges as a clear preference for sectors like office and retail, while it comes a close third in the residential and hospitality segments . Bangalore is expected to see the highest demand for office space in 2009-2013 of approximately 34 million square feet.

Tata extends affordable housing scheme to 2BHK segment

Posted on September 25, 2009 by admin

Tatas expanded their affordability drive to the housing sector by launching flats for Rs 12.73 lakh for a two bedroom unit.

Tata Housing Development Company launched its ‘New Haven’, offering 1,300 apartments, including 2 BHK (bedroom, hall and kitchen) and 3 BHK homes, starting at Rs 12.73 lakh with a minimum size of 670 square feet.
The Tatas began their affordability drive in the housing sector earlier in May by offering one bedroom flat at prices starting from Rs 3.9 lakh at Boisar in Mumbai.
Conceptualized as a national brand, New Haven will meet the home-buyers’ full spectrum of lifestyle needs at an affordable cost, the company said in a statement.
According to the statement, after the launch of New Haven at Boisar in Mumbai, it will be expanded across the country mainly in the Tier I and II cities. Consumers can book an apartment with an initial payment of 10% of the total sale price as booking amount.
New Haven, spread across 35-acres, will offer self- contained homes and provide consumers with facilities such as club house and community center.

Mumbai high street rentals see biggest crash

Posted on September 23, 2009 by admin

As the global slowdown pushed consumers to stay at home, retailers halted expansion plans and checked out of expensive high-street locations. Rental rates at high street locations across the world crashed, with the biggest crashes in Mumbai.
Among the exceptions were Bangalore’s two iconic retail hubs, Brigade Road and Commercial Street, and Kolkata’s Camac Street.
Mumbai’s leading highstreet locations—Colaba Causeway, Linking Road and Kemps Corner—also reported the largest declines in rentals across the world on a year-on-year basis—63.5%, 63%, and 60% respectively.
As per the annual global survey, Main Streets Across The World 2009, by global real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield, over three-fourth’s of the world’s most prestigious shopping streets saw rentals crashing anywhere between 17% and 63.5%. Around 18%, however, recorded a growth.

Bajaj Plans to Liquidate land bank

Posted on September 18, 2009 by admin

Bajaj Auto vice chairman Madhur Bajaj, who in his personal capacity owns over 350 acres of land under Emerald Acres, plans to liquidate a large portion of his land-holdings to unlock value as the real estate sector looks up after the downturn.
He said that he has no plans to venture into real estate development in next ten years and would prefer sell outright large parcels of land to developers or sell through plotted schemes.
Further he added “We don’t have any expertise in construction and so we don’t want to get into development at this stage. We are in the process of valuing the land price and would put it for sell soon.”
He further stated that Emerald Acres has nothing to do with the Bajaj group, as he had purchased land in the past four years through his personal money.
Emerald Acres owns land in the stretch between Mumbai and Pune highway and the largest piece of 124 acres is located at Lonavala, a hill station near Mumbai. The rest are in eight other locations including Murbad near Thane and Khandala, another hill station.
Mr. Bajaj further said, “A township can come up at the Lonavala land and all other plots are uniquely located. We are planning to sell these so that we can buy more land maximise the value.

Mumbai flat got record Rs 28 crore

Posted on September 10, 2009 by admin

Residential real estate prices are growing in Mumbai very fast. The highest price stands at Rs 97,842 per square feet for a flat at NCPA Apartments. The transaction took place about fifteen days ago in the Maker Tower B building located close to the World Trade Centre at Cuffe Parade.

In November 2007, the largest-ever residential transaction on record was completed when a four-bedroom flat at NCPA Apartments at the Nariman Point end of Marine Drive fetched a price of Rs 34 crore.

Realty Prices In Mumbai Rise

Posted on September 7, 2009 by admin

Though realty prices across India are still smooth, Mumbai’s realty market has surely started heading north. Realtors in Mumbai have hiked prices for their developments by 5-15%, depending upon the location. Modern India Ltd, a Mumbai-based realty company, has finalized the sale of 4 residential flats, sized 2,100 square feet each at its high-end Belvedere Court, Mahalaxmi, at a price of twenty-five thousand rupees per square feet. Recent research reports (Market Beat) show that comparable flats (Vivarea, Planet Godrej) in the vicinity fetched between Rs 19,400 and Rs 20,000 per square feet, which clearly indicates a price rise of 25% in that area. Though prices had declined only by 30-35% in Mumbai and its suburbs, they are again moving up and still demand is pouring in, which is beneficial for developers.

Upward move in commercial realty

Posted on August 3, 2009 by admin

The commercial real estate market is slowly reviving as higher government incomes and an improving economy are prompting customers to invest. Developers say that there are more enquiries from investors.

Many developers, instead of selling their properties, are signing rental deals. In one recent deal, global consultant KPMG signed a deal with Lodha Developers for renting out a 130,000 square feet property at Mahalaxmi in central Mumbai, for a monthly rental of Rs 160 per square feet.

The company has 5commercial projects in Mumbai, in areas such as Parel, Worli and Thane. Recently, Lodha also bid Rs 710 crore for NTC’s 10.3-acre Finlay Mill land in central Mumbai.

Similarly, in a recent transaction in the commercial property space, investor C Sivasankaran acquired a 66% stake in a commercial property SPV from DLF for Rs 310 crore. Akruti City is the other investor in the SPV.

Cheaper loan for hotels

Posted on July 30, 2009 by admin

As per the draft guideline released by RBI, bank loans to entrepreneurs for acquiring real estate for their business would not be classified as commercial real estate (CRE) exposure. Currently, bank loans to companies for acquiring real estate for hotels and hospitality are treated as CRE exposure and attract a risk weight of 100 percent. Depending on the risk weight, banks are required to set aside capital for loans. Under RBI norms, banks’ capital-adequacy ratio, a measure of financial strength expressed as the ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets, is 9 percent. This means that for loans carrying 100 percent risk weight, banks need to set aside Rs9 worth of capital for every hundred rupees they lend. If these projects are not treated as CRE, their risk weights would vary according to the ratings of the borrower or the ratings of the project for which the loan would be given.
Param Desai, a research analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Angel Broking Ltd, said, “These guidelines, if implemented, will make it easier for borrowers to get construction finance for a larger variety of projects. Construction finance has been a major concern for most developers during the downturn because most banks are cagey to lend to projects, unless they have a definite action plan and deadline to finish.”

Mumbai is most preferred property investment destination

Posted on July 22, 2009 by admin

The financial capital Mumbai now ranks as the most preferred destination for investing in properties, while Chennai has replaced Bangalore.

The survey, “Trend in residential space across top cities in the current scenario” ranked Mumbai as the most preferred destination to invest in property while in south, Chennai is in the first place for property investments, overtaking Bangalore.

Cities like Patna, Nasik, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai have also become choive destinations for property investments, the survey said.

It said 60 percent of respondents felt interest rates for home loan would come down further in the coming months, while 40 percent evinced interests on properties with an area between 500 to 1,000 square feet.

More than three thousand people from the metros and other cities, including Pune, Ahmedabad, Thane, Coimbatore, and Vadodara participated in the survey.

“Market sentiments are reviving and people are ready to invest. Based on our survey, more than 60 percent of customers are looking at buying residential properties in the next six months. They also have a hope that interest rates on home loans will soon come down”, Consim Info Founder and CEO Murugavel Janakiraman said.

DLF to sell stake in JV to raise fund

Posted on July 4, 2009 by admin

DLF is looking to raise Rs 300-500 crore by selling its stake in a JV with Mumbai-based realtor Akruti City for a commercial project in Andheri.

DLF has already scrapped a 5 star hotel project in Prabhadevi in Mumbai with Akruti. DLF was the majority stakeholder in the project. DLF has been looking to monetise its non-core assets to raise funds over the next one year to pay off its debt.

The company had net debt of Rs 13,958 crore, of which Rs 3,591 crore is due for repayment this fiscal. The developer has also put its wind power business on the block and is expecting to collect about Rs 900 crore from it. DLF said it would reduce its outstanding debt by half in this financial year by raising about Rs 5,500 crore through assets sales, plot sales and cash flow from the business.

Mumbai is the next target for DLF and Unitech