Govt May Remove 3-Year Lock-In For FDI In Real Estate

Financial News

Govt May Remove 3-Year Lock-In For FDI In Real Estate
The government is likely to remove the mandatory three-year lock-in period for overseas investments in the sector, to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate. This move has been proposed by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), with a draft cabinet note on the proposal being circulated for inter-ministerial consultations. To remove the 3-year lock-in period has been a long-standing demand of Indian developers as well as foreign investors.
23 Nov 2009 livemint.com

South Asia Real Estate Fund Plans To Raise $100m More
South Asia Real Estate (SARE) fund plans to raise another $100 million during January-March next year. The company is likely to rope in a new set of investors, apart from its existing ones. SARE Fund, a part of Duet Private Equity Ltd (DPEL) of Duet Group, an alternative asset management firm based in London, has by now invested $180 million across six projects in India, and is aiming to close its next deal in December. The company, which is also into executing projects besides making investments, is looking for projects in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. It aims to invest in 15-20 projects and work on 10-12 projects in the next 15-18 months.
20 Nov 2009 in.reuters.com

Unitech Plans To Raise $700 Million Bonds
To raise $700 million through foreign currency bonds, Unitech Ltd has sought approval from the government and the central bank. The realtor said that it would use the money for building an integrated township project.
25 Nov 2009 DNA


Property Headlines

Office Property Market Is Yet To Combat The Slowdown
The office property market, which was badly hit by the global economic slowdown, will take at least a year to come out of the slump as demand for offices is still subdued, say fund managers, consultants and realty developers. From their peak in 2007-08, office rents have fallen up to 50 per cent in cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and NCR as companies and financial institutions deferred leasing or buying office space due to poor demand for goods and services.
25 Nov 2009 Business Standard

Dubai Crisis Has Not Hurt Indian Realty Market
A majority of realty majors in India said they are protected from the financial crisis in Dubai and it will not have any impact in the country's property market. Biggies like DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath Developers and Emaar MGF said they have no exposure in Dubai, while Omaxe said it has an investment of Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) which it has asked for refund. However, consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj country head, Mr. Anuj Puri cautioned that if the corporate debt default in Dubai turns into a sovereign default, there would be real economic issues, which may not only hit India but others also.
27 Nov 2009 rediff.com

Good News To Come Soon For Cash-Strapped Realty Firms
Some good news is about to come for cash-strapped realty firms. The finance ministry is planning to allow the developers of integrated township to use funds from overseas or external commercial borrowings (ECB) for another year. In spite of reservations by the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry feels enabling integrated township developers to raise ECBs would help boost infrastructure facilities. In the existing policy, utilisation of ECB proceeds for realty is not permitted. However, it was allowed as a sector-specific measure for the development of integrated townships.
22 Nov 2009 Hindustan Times


Property Trends

Integrated Townships; Realtors' New Mantra
Integrated township is the new buzzword in the realty market. These days, more and more realtors are planning huge investments in projects that they say would reduce pressure on city infrastructure and bring in crores of investment into the housing sector. An integrated township comprises residential complex and some additional facilities such as school, hospital, hotel and retail. Quite a few developers including Tata Housing, Emar MGF, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (APIL) and Kumar Urban Development have planned integrated townships in the country.
22 Nov 2009 DNA

367,000 Residential Units In Seven Metro Cities By 2011
According to property consultancy firm Knight Frank, 367,000 housing units will be available by 2011 across seven Indian cities of which 25 per cent will come up in the National Capital Region alone. After analyzing potential residential supply, the report said that with 92,202 units, NCR would be the highest contributor to the supply followed by Mumbai with 20 per cent or 72,906 units, during the period. Hyderabad would contribute 15 per cent or 53,000 housing units, Pune 14 per cent, Bengaluru 10 per cent, Chennai nine per cent and Kolkata would put in seven per cent of the total supply. The study also said that realtors were now increasing their focus on catering to the middle-income segment with up to there bedroom-hall-kitchen housing units and not on 4&5-BHK or penthouses as they used to do few years back.
23 Nov 2009 rediff.com

Commercial Rentals Become Stable
As business optimism has pushed demand up, commercial property rentals in the central business districts (CBD) of Mumbai, Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune have stabilized. According to a property study released by Colliers International, Delhi was the only city which continued to experience rental contractions in the quarter, as existing office oversupply, coupled with availability of cheaper alternatives, saw potential customers shift to locations such as Gurgaon and Noida. In Mumbai, over nine million sq ft of office space was available to let in the third quarter, and about 40% of it came from new supply in locations such as LBS Marg, Thane, Bandra-Kurla Complex and Lower Parel. Rentals remained stable in most of the micro markets except Andheri East, which witnessed a marginal decline. In Bangalore, about 4 million sq ft of office space was available, about 60% of which was located in the Outer Ring Road (ORR), EPIP Zone and Whitefield areas. Rentals in the CBD were in the price range of Rs 230-300 psf per month and the rentals in secondary business district (SBD) were in the price range of Rs 110-170 psf per month.
21 Nov 2009 DNA


Hot Market Trends

72,906 New Flats To Come Up In Mumbai By 2011
Real estate consultancy, Knight Frank revealed that 72,906 new homes will be up for sale in the next two years. Many developers have again started work on projects which were stalled due to the slowdown, while others have taken up new ones. The consultancy said that most projects are 800-2,000 sq ft two-and-three bedroom, hall-kitchen (BHK) flats. Mr. Pranay Vakil, chairman of Knight Frank India, said, "Developers have re-sized their flats to smaller units to suit the demands of the buyers." A two-BHK flat, which was earlier sized at 1,100 sq ft, is now re-sized at 800 sq ft. The firm also revealed that flats are more expensive in south Mumbai as there are fewer constructions in the area (4,732 flats). Western suburbs are seeing the highest number of constructions, 26,611 flats, in the city with upper middle-class buyers and the middle-class eyeing constructions in areas such as Bandra, Khar, Santacruz and Juhu. Though flats in areas like Goregaon, Malad and Mira Road are comparatively low-priced, they are popular as well due to connectivity.
24 Nov 2009 Hindustan Times (Mumbai)

Tata Housing To Enter New Markets
After receiving phenomenal response for its low-cost housing project at Boisar, Tata Housing now plans to launch similar projects in tier I and tier II cities, its chief executive said. "We will set up a pan India presence. We are expanding into new geographies and markets like Lonavala, Pune, Chennai and others," said Mr. Brotin Banerjee, CEO & MD, Tata Housing Development Company. Its foray into new markets comes after its successful entry into the ultra low-cost home market for industrial workers in fringe areas of Boisar. Six months back, the company had launched housing projects in the price range of Rs 3.9 lakh to Rs 6.7 lakh on the portion of a 67 acre plot. "We received 7,000 applications for 1,000 Shubh Griha flats and as a gesture of goodwill offered another 300 flats in the first phase. All the 1,300 flats will be delivered as per schedule in March 2011," Mr. Banerjee added.
24 Nov 2009 Hindustan Times

Sahara Prime City Project Hopes To Raise Money Through IPO
Sahara Prime City (SPCL), promoted by the Sahara group, has pinned its hope on its proposed initial public offer (IPO) to bring in enough capital for construction and development of integrated townships. "We plan to raise Rs 3,000 crore from the markets, of which Rs 2,700 crore will be used for construction and development of projects and Rs 300 crore for corporate expenses," said Mr. Sushanto Roy, head - infrastructure and housing. The company is developing only integrated townships as part of its business model and till now it has invested Rs 3,500 crore on this. The company plans to build 217 townships across the country under the brand name Sahara City Homes. The list includes 10 townships each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 19 in Bihar, 4 each in Assam, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, 11 in Gujarat, 14 in Hyderabad, 6 each in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal, 12 in Karnataka, 16 in Madhya Pradesh, 17 in Maharashtra, 1 each in Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala, 9 in Punjab, 13 in Rajasthan and 50 in Uttar Pradesh.
24 Nov 2009 DNA