69Acres Blogs

Q3 2013 Internet Advertising Revenues Climb To Landmark High Of Nearly $10.7 Billion, Marking 15% Year-Over-Year Growth, According To IAB And PWC Represents a 4.2% Increase Over Previous Quarter

2014-01-27T04:42:00.002-08:00

NEW YORK, NY (December 23, 2013) — Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. hit a record-breaking high of $10.69 billion for the third quarter of 2013, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report figures released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC US. This represents an uptick of 15 percent over the record-setting revenues of $9.26 billion reported in Q3 2012. In addition, it marks a 4.2 percent rise from the second quarter of 2013, which came in at $10.26 billion.
“These figures reflect marketers’ trust in interactive to deliver,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “It is indicative of the digital age in which we live, and within which advertisers need to effectively reach targeted audiences wherever they are consuming information or entertainment — often on several screens at once.”
“Continuous growth has been a hallmark of the digital advertising space for several years now, and these numbers support the fact that interactive has become crucial to the marketing mix,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics & Measurement, IAB.
“Once again, interactive marketing is seeing remarkable gains,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US. “Digital’s momentum is undeniable, as interactive advertising has proved itself to be an incredibly powerful channel for reaching consumers that are spending more time on digital screens than ever before.”
The following chart highlights quarterly ad revenue since 1999; dollar figures are rounded.

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the New Media Group of PwC. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising.
Read More :-http://www.69acres.in/news-126.html

India Property Fest attracts NRIs with array of projects:Abu Dhabi

2014-01-25T04:08:00.000-08:00

Abu Dhabi, Jan 25: The eagerly awaited show, India Property Fest opened on Friday January 24 on a glorious note. The fest unveiled a spectrum of upscale and extravagant choices on the homes and property sector. Emirates Palace being a venue that is defined by its class and luxury, there couldn’t be a better stage for having given grounds for one of the most magnificent property shows in the UAE. Various top-notch builders and developers coming from across the length and breadth of India showcased the best in their kitty with all the zeal and zest.

The event received its honours with the presence of honourable dignitaries from the banking and real estate industry. The inaugural ceremony was presided over by V G Ronald Pinto, the managing director of Hyssna International which is a leading fit-out contractor company in the UAE. Bhuwan Chandra Sharma, the assistant general manager of Indian Overseas Bank and Pradeep Pinto, vice-president, Adsync Advertising LLC also added charm to the occasion with his presence.
The opening day of the property fest kicked off with great vigour. The previous fest had amazed its visitors with its humungous showcase of projects, and it did just the same even this time simply by doubling the amazement in its spectacle of exhibiting the best in the property segment. The Fest has to its credit more than 300 projects coming in from property developers hailing from varied upscale and metropolitan cities across India. The Fest served true to its name by being best of its kind. What made this fest enormously inviting for the common masses is the presence and participation of the cream layer of builders and property developers from India. Some of the few names in the top league of the builders who graced this show are Lodha Group, India Bulls, Propshell, Acron Developers, Ansal Housing, LandT, Kanakya, Purvankara and many others. Leading bankers such as Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas bank has also exuberantly participated in the property fest offering their gamut of banking services in the home loan sector - perfectly catering to the requisites of the visitors who have come looking to buy their dream home back home.
The NRIs spread ubiquitously in and around the UAE were treated to a royal experience on the first day and it’s only expected to be better the next day. Being put up at one of the classiest venues in the UAE, the fest has rolled out the perfect platform for the NRIs to choose explicitly from a wide range of urbane projects across India, all under roof - a golden opportunity to own a home they have been visualising till now only in their dreams. For More Read 69acres

Idea For Your Dream Home - General Tips Home Developement

2014-01-20T05:26:00.004-08:00

General Tips :-
Building a home may be the most important and valuable investment that you make in your lifetime. Although you may delegate a number of services to your contractor or engineer, it is still important for you to have the best possible knowledge about the various aspects of the construction process.

If economy is your concern, you can follow these tips to help you save construction costs:

Avoid complicated forms of shapes.
Avoid complex system of level.
Insist on economic structural design.
Provide maximum possible provision for natural light and ventilation.
Ensure efficient placement of utilities like water-supply pipes, power cables etc.
Use fresh, sound and durable building materials.
Engage trained manpower.

There are a few additional factors that should be considered during construction of the various rooms of the house:
Entrance:-

The entrance is the place to entertain visitors and should be constructed in a visually appealing manner.
For security reasons, the entrance must be constructed in such a way that it provides adequate protection to the house.
The entrance also needs to protect the house against inhospitable weather such as harsh sunlight and excessive rains.

Living Room :-

The living room should be located near to the entrance.
The living room should preferably face the lawn, wherever possible.
Tall windows can add a lot of visual appeal to the living room

Kitchen:-

The kitchen must have adequate ventilation and natural sunlight.
It should be adjoining the dining room.
The working platform must be adequately wide and free from obstructions.
The design should provide adequate space for appliances such as cooking range, dishwasher, chimney etc.

BedRoom :-

The bedroom should be located away from the entrance and living room to ensure privacy.
The bedroom should be connected with a balcony and attached bathroom, wherever possible.
Provide adequate storage facilities in the form of almirahs and cabinets.

Bath Room :-

The bathroom must have adequate ventilation and natural lighting.
The bath fittings and sanitary fittings must be of a high quality to withstand regular and prolonged use.
The bathroom floor should be 5 cm lower than the other flooring of the house.

http://www.69acres.in/news-119.html

Vastu Tips For Your Dream Home Most Important For Health And Wealth

2014-01-18T07:18:00.001-08:00

Vaastu is an ancient Indian science that works on the principle of Panchbhootas, a term referring to the five basic elements of the universe: Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. Vaastu is a science that attempts to achieve a synergy across all the five elements in such a way that the abode becomes favourable to its inhabitants.

The optimum use of Vaastu concepts can help one achieve an atmosphere at home that is physically comfortable, emotional soothing and intellectually vibrant.

We have compiled a few Vaastu tips that you can use to enhance the positive effect of elements in various rooms of your home.
General :-

East is the most auspicious direction for entrance to a house.
The slope of the property should be from west to east or south to north.
Shadow of a tree should never fall on the house.
The north direction represents prosperity, and should never be blocked.
Cactus plant should never be grown in the house.
All doors should open towards inside.
Door hinges should be noiseless.
Columns in a building must be placed in even numbers in any construction. More Read It Important :-69ACRES

Buildings rise, facilities wait

2014-01-16T07:19:00.001-08:00

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 15: Lodged on the outskirts of the city and along NH-5, the sleepy village of Pahala — famous for its mouthwatering rasgullas — has turned into a mega business centre.

Several automobile showrooms and multi-storeyed structures that have come up or being built here are competing with each other for attention. However, the lack of proper infrastructure is taking the sheen off the booming real estate business that has dragged automobile dealers to the area.

Though a spurt in real estate activities has gripped the city’s outskirts, the authorities are yet to get their act together to equip these areas with proper sewerage network, pipe water supply, drainage system and good internal roads.

Local resident and former councillor Sukumar Sahoo said: “The area came under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation in 2008, but the basic infrastructure is yet to be developed with no proper drains and pipe water supply. New multi-storeyed structures will only complicate the situation and also affect the groundwater level.”

While eight multi-storeyed projects have come up in and around Pahala, two of these are more than 20 storeys.

Kailash Chandra Behera, a local businessman from Pahala, said: “It’s strange that there is no sewerage, drainage and pipe water supply in the locality, but the authorities have given permission to build these towering structures.’’

Behera also said that many pockets in Pahala and Johala did not have provisions for quality drinking water as iron content was high in many wells and borewells.

Speaking to The Telegraph, vice-chairman, Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Vishal Kumar Dev, said: “We are granting permission to multi-storeyed structures after verifying all no-objection certificates issued by relevant agencies.’’

The development authority gives its nod to building plans when accompanied with no-objection certificates from the corporation, public health engineering organisation, sewerage board and the works department.

Last month, the development authority also decided to grant permission to a multi-storeyed building only after a multi-agency team — consisting of experts from all the stakeholders — visits the site and gives its approval.

Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India, national joint secretary, D.S. Tripathy said: “Since 2008, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority has incorporated sewerage treatment plant in bigger projects so that waste water generated from the flats can be recycled and used for gardening. All the big real-estate projects on the outskirts have this facility, but in localities threatened by water-logging drainage and sewerage could be a problem.’’

Speaking on drinking water supply, he said: “Since more than 50 per cent areas of the city are not covered under the pipewater supply network, the only option left for real estate developers is to pump it through deep borewells.’’

Arguing for a sync between development and infrastructure support, Tripathy said by providing civic facilities in the new localities the state government could pocket good revenue to compensate the running cost of its projects.

While the public health engineering organisation is planning to cover Pahala under a pipe water supply project after commissioning a water treatment plant near the eastern bank of Kuakhai in the near future, the sewerage board is also likely to take care of the area’s sewerage network.

The corporation might take some time to decide on the development of internal roads and drains as the new council will start functioning after the mayor and the deputy mayor are elected on January 17 and February 5, respectively. Source :- telegraphindia.com

CREDAI Property Show begins

2014-01-12T05:56:00.002-08:00

Source And Courtsey :- The Hindu

For people who dream to own an apartment or a house, Seshasai Kalyana Vedika is the place to be in as CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India) is hosting a two-day property show that began on Saturday.

The idea of CREDAI is simple just ‘walk in with a dream and walk out owning that dream in reality’, said the CREDAI- Vijayawada Chapter president Y.V. Ramana Rao.

The property show boasts of over 50 stalls, covering real estate companies, furniture and fittings, bathroom fittings and electrical fittings. Six financial institutions such as State Bank of India, HDFC, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and LIC HFL have also set-up stalls.

The properties showcased range from middle class to high-end apartments in gated community to row housing.

First show

This is the first show being organised by CREDAI and we wanted to give the people a whole range under one roof. They need not go to every nook and corner of the city to identify a property, said the CREDAI –Vijayawada Chapter general secretary K. Rajendra.

Spot loans
He added that the builders who are constructing apartments and row houses within 15 km. radius of the city and who are members of the association have set-up stalls. Just decide the property, have a look at the furniture and fittings and go for spot loans being offered by the banks and financial institutions, and walk out a happy man, said Mr. Rajendra.

Giving details on CREDAI, Mr. Ramana, said that it has got about 9,000 members across 20 states and 128 cities in the country.

He also informed that all members, who are basically real estate developers are bound by the self code of conduct of the association.

The code encompasses various aspects such as quality of the construction and authenticity of the title of the property, he said.

Mr. Ramana further added that CREDAI not only takes up issues in regard to the construction industry with the authorities concerned in the State and Central Government but also provides security to the customers (apartment and house owners) who deal with the members of CREDAI.

The show was inaugurated by the District Collector M. Raghunandana Rao in the presence of the CREDAI National president C. Sekhar Reddy.
Andhra Bank stall opened
District Collector M. Raghunandana Rao inaugurated the Andhra Bank stall at the Property Show. Bank Director N.V.R. Reddy and Zonal Manager G. Ravi Kumar participated. Mr. Reddy later distributed sanction letters for loans amounting to Rs.1.60 crore to the customers.

Keywords: CREDAI Property Show, Real Estate Developers

Housing sales down 33% in Chennai in 2013; prices up 5-7%

2014-01-10T08:06:00.002-08:00

Chennai, Jan 9:

Sales volume in the real estate sector in the city during the last one year witnessed a 33 per cent decline owing to the impact of global slowdown due to high inflation and negative buyer sentiments, research firm Knight Frank said today.

“Chennai garnered an absorption of 3.5 million square feet. It is a drop of 15 per cent from the previous year. City witnessed a drop in sales volume to the tune of 33 per cent in 2013,” Knight Frank said in a statement.

“The year 2013 has not been very kind to the Chennai market and like all the other major cities in the country even Chennai suffered the onslaught of the current slowdown in the real estate sector,” Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said.

Factors such as slowing economic growth, rising interest rates, high inflation have contributed towards building a negative sentiment within the residential space and sales in the office market also declined by 23 per cent, he said.

However, the research firm said the prices continued to increase by five to seven per cent despite the drop in the sales volume. Source Hindu Business Line

Important guidelines for retail investors in commercial real estate

2014-01-05T05:50:00.003-08:00

New Delhi: Buying an office or retail space is a huge investment, which is why commercial real estate has been traditionally seen as an asset class that only institutional investors or heavyweight HNIs could invest in. That, however, is changing. Many retail investors are now getting into the office real estate game.

For a perspective of the opportunities in Indian commercial real estate, consider this – Manhattan in New York City has 450 million square feet of Grade A stock, while London has 200 million square feet. In comparison, India’s collective office space stock accounts for only 375 million square feet. This showcases the long-term potential for office space at all levels in India.

Very few of the world’s commercial real estate markets have undergone such a dramatic and rapid change in such a short span of time as India’s has. The next few years will see a quantum spurt in the services and knowledge sector, opening up tremendous opportunities for the retail investor.

Investment routes

There are three ways to invest in commercial real estate – directly buy office space from a developer, buy shares of a commercial developer from the stock market, or invest in a real estate fund focused on commercial real estate. As the quantum of investment is usually huge, the prospective buyer needs to take more informed decisions. Another option, which is investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts, is expected to be opened up shortly by the government. REITs are pooled investment entities where the corpus is invested primarily in completed, income yielding real estate assets and distribute a major part of the revenue/income generated among their investors.

Many developers, especially in cities such as Mumbai, are today offering smaller units of space (as small as 500-1000 square feet) in Grade A buildings given the higher vacancy and pressure on pricing. This is in sharp contrast to the scenario a few years back, where only much larger units were available – making it tough for a small investor to invest in office real estate. Investors considering retail space can now consider a multitude of affordable options in free-standing high street outlets or shops in malls.

The advantages of smaller units are two-fold:

* It is easier to find tenants for them

* The premises can also be used for business by their owners if they happen to be of an entrepreneurial bent of mind

Today, even professionals like doctors, auditors, stock brokers and lawyers are buying commercial properties for investment and self-use. Of course, HNIs also continue to plug huge amounts of money into high-ticket commercial properties in the quest for yield. Private bankers and wealth management firms confirm that their clients have actively started investing in commercial properties after staying away in 2009 and 2010. These investors have bought into commercial properties because they seek assets that can protect their portfolios from inflation and stock market volatility. On their side, banks are willing to lend up to 50-60% of the LTV to buy commercial properties, subject to the borrower’s adequate net worth and established ability to repay.

The investor should focus on a few carefully selected markets with a diverse economic base, deep pool of tenants and tenants who like quality buildings. While looking at under construction projects, the investor should look at developers who have a track record of delivering high quality projects on schedule.

What to look for

Despite the availability of more rationally priced options, investing in commercial real estate is most definitely not child’s play. It requires forethought, research and planning:

* Investors need to establish the soundness of the location and its demand/supply dynamics. If they do not engage in sufficient research, they may end up buying into micro markets which have or will have high vacancies.

* They need to ensure that the economy, job market, future infrastructure development and population growth in the market is healthy

* They need to check the developer credentials, access to public transport and quality of property management in the project

* They need a knowledgeable real estate agent and a lawyer who can give them sound advice

* If they are investing in a retail store, they need to consider the frontage, foot-fall and the dynamics of the adjoining catchment

* Entrepreneurs who wish to buy commercial real estate for self-use should ensure that the amenities in the project that match their business needs

If an investor is looking at an income producing office asset, he should look at:

* The break-up of cash flows

* The vacancy factor

* Expenses such as maintenance, property tax and building insurance

* Lease term, lock-in period and expiry dates

* Long term capital appreciation potential

* Refurbishment, refinancing and repositioning potential

Why invest?

The rental yield for commercial property is usually 9-11%. In contrast, the yield for residential property is much lower at 2-3.5%. The demand for office space in India is likely to stand at around 200 million square feet over the next five years. Post the GFC, the prices in markets like Mumbai have dropped around 35-40% and have bottomed out in most micro-markets, offering investors a good opportunity to buy into commercial real estate.

India’s macroeconomic growth story makes for a rather compelling reason to get one’s own paragraph into it somewhere. Chosen prudently, and office real estate can let you do that in indelible ink. Last year, the demand for office space across India was 26 million square feet and this year is expected to see demand of 28 million square feet. The possibility of diversifying one’s portfolio, the sheer pride of ownership and the benefits of the longer leases that typify commercial tenants are other reasons to look at commercial real estate investing.

Remember, you do not only make a profit on the sale of appreciated commercial property – the rental cash flows of a well-located office or shop space are considerable. Unlike in residential property, the income that can be generated from commercial property is what determines its value. In other words, the capitalization rate is actually the measure of the demand for the property. For those who do their homework well, investing in commercial property is a high-adrenaline and high-returns game that residential real estate investment cannot hold a candle to…

(Ramesh Nair is COO - business at Jones Lang LaSalle India)http://www.indiatvnews.com/business/india/breaking-news-commercial-real-estate-retail-investors-9519.htm

Real estate sector: Growth starting, but no bull-run yet

2014-01-04T06:27:00.002-08:00

The year 2013 was a year of survival for the real estate sector, but expectations are now high among developers and analysts. The industry is pinning hopes on a mid-year turnaround after the General Elections, it is not likely to materialise given the time lag for policy implementation.
So how would 2014 pan out for realty? The first three quarters would see much of the problems of last year persisting, before showing some signs of change. Few experts believe that prices in several locations will go northward.
That would be constraints since the problems of the sector remain unsolved, and policies have made no substantial impact, and those on the cards may not be enough to give the required momentum.
Persistent problems
It was a year of “slow-down, stagnancy and stalling” for real estate, says Sachin Sandhir, MD, South Asia, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a body certifying professionals and setting standards for the sector. “It was a year of much economic turbulence. The current account deficit has fallen to 1.2 per cent of GDP in July-September period, while inflation is again above 10 per cent, as recorded in October. Wholesale price inflation was at an eight-month high of 7 per cent while retail inflation crossed 10 per cent. The rupee dropped sharply by net 22 per cent during first two quarters. Private equity (PE) investments witnessed a drop of over 65 per cent for the quarter-ended September 2013. All of this has negatively impacted investment sentiment.”
Even as the rupee fell, NRIs cashing in on the foreign exchange situation did not show up in sales numbers. The Reserve Bank of India’s actions too, did not help. “Monetary tightening resulting from RBI’s measures to control inflation was the major macro influence on the real estate business in India,” says Shishir Baijal, CMD, Knight Frank India, a real estate consultancy firm.
“High interest rates, spiralling vacancy levels and lower margins arising from inflationary pressures too, led to a slowdown which resulted in reduction of new launches and also delayed project deliveries. Developers with exposure to residential projects are worried as slow sales have created.
Source & More Read Login :-http://goo.gl/W5SvIH

Sovereign Wealth Fund Leads PE Investment

2014-01-03T06:31:00.001-08:00

Singapore’s GIC has topped the leader board for investors in private equity.

(January 2, 2014) — GIC, one of the two sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, was has been named as the one of the biggest investors in private equity for 2013.
According to Indian investment research platform VCCircle’s calculations, GIC was among the top investors both in terms of the amount of invested, as well as the number of transactions sealed this year.
Investing more than $650 million in 2013, GIC devoted significant amounts of money to Indian private equity in particular over the past 12 months, ramping up its activity after opening an office in the region in 2011.
GIC was also noted for making contrarian bets on sectors like power and real estate, which have been out of favour with the broader investment market.
But GIC’s favourite sector over last year has been India's real estate: it partnered with Blackstone Real Estate Partners to acquire an IT park in Bangalore and also tied up with private equity powerhouse KKR to set up a real estate-focused non-banking financial company. It also partnered Singapore's developer-investor Ascendas to invest S$600 million in Indian property.
GIC’s largest deal of the year was also agreed in India, acquiring 2.6% of private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank for $239 million, in what would be its single-largest deal during the year.
According to its own figures, approximately 28% of GIC’s assets are invested in Asia, up from 23% in 2008. This makes it the second largest geographical area in terms of investment, behind the Americas, which makes up 44% of the portfolio. Europe has seen the most drastic reduction, from 35% in 2008 to 25% in 2013.
The sovereign wealth fund appointed a new CIO in January 2013, Lim Chow Kiat, who spoke openly about wanting to take the fund in a new direction.
Having initially been created using the endowment model, Kiat introduced a new framework designed to define GIC’s risk and return drivers, its long-term investment objectives, and the responsibilities of the GIC board and management more clearly.
The revised policy portfolio now focuses on six core asset classes: developed market equities, emerging market equities, nominal bonds and cash, inflation-linked bonds, private equity, and real estate.
These asset classes represent the key systematic or market risks, and encapsulate the bulk of the risk and return potential of the GIC portfolio, all of which is actively managed. The active portfolio allows the GIC management to execute skill-based and opportunistic strategies, including the aforementioned pushes into private equity.
The passively managed reference portfolio meanwhile, based on a balance of 65% global equity and 35% bond market indices, defines the amount of risk the government is prepared to have GIC take.
Its annual nominalised rates of return up to March 31, 2013 were 12.8% over five years, 10.3% over 10 years, and 9.3% over 25 years.
Related Content: Class of 2013: GIC, Lim Chow Kiat and Power 100: Lim Chow Kiat

Contact the writer of this story:Charlie ThomasAssistant European Editor,

aiCIO(44) 207 397 3827cthomas@assetinternational.comFollow on Twitter at @ai_CIO

Roll back hike in ready reckoner rates, says Credai

2014-01-02T06:57:00.001-08:00

NASHIK: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (Credai), Nashik, has expressed disappointment over the substantial increase in ready reckoner (RR) rates and has urged the state government to roll back of hike in the city.

The state government revises the RR rates every year on January 1. This year too, it has increased the rates of land, residential and commercial properties in the range of 1.62-48.93% in different parts of the city.

As per the new revised RR rates effective from January 1, the land or plot rates have been increased by 10-48.93%, while the rates of residential properties like flats and row houses have been hiked by 18.04-34.36%. The rates for commercial properties like shops and offices have been increased by 1.62-30.5%.

Speaking to TOI, Kiran Chavan, president of Credai, Nashik, said, "The real estate sector is already facing slowdown for the past two years. At this juncture, hike in ready reckoner rates is really impractical and it will badly affect the real estate sector. We are disappointed by the hike as it will also affect the affordable housing policy of the state government. In fact, there was no need to increase RR rates in the past two years as well. However, the state government is imposing around 20% hike in the rates every year to earn revenue. This policy of the government has disappointed builders and developers."

"New bookings for real estate projects have almost stopped and the deals, which are taking place now, were signed one or two years ago. The growth of the real estate sector will come to a grinding halt due to the government's decision to generate small amount of revenue from this sector in addition to what it gets. The property rates in the city have gone beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people due to continuous hike in RR rates for the past few years," Chavan said.

"In fact, the government needs to prepare a new policy for the real estate sector otherwise its growth will stop gradually and the state will also lose revenue. We have decided to meet state revenue minister Narayan Rane and S Chockalingam, inspector general of registration & controller of stamps (Maharashtra), and seek roll back in RR rates," he added. Read more :-http://goo.gl/FC0plX

Developers optimistic of revival in realty sector in 2014

2014-01-01T05:39:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: With high property prices and costlier borrowing hitting real estate, developers are hoping for a reversal of the slowdown in the new year and sales picking up post general elections.

Low demand for flats, subdued commercial leasing, huge unsold housing stocks, buyers' protest against delays, limited launch of projects and debt-ridden developers clocking lower revenue-net profit numbers marked the year for real estate.

Amid these negativities, there were two major government initiatives in form of new land acquisition Act and proposed real estate regulatory bill that would go a long way in making the real estate sector more transparent and accountable.

Developers, however, kept complaining that the provisions were pro-farmer and consumer-friendly, leading to further delay in development of projects and price escalation.

Cash-strapped industry, however, cheered market regulator SEBI's draft guidelines to allow Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Commerce Ministry's proposal to relax FDI norms as it felt that these steps, once implemented, will help revive the global investors interest in a sluggish property market.

The year also saw some some big-ticket deals. Mumbai- based Lodha Developers acquired iconic Macdonald House in central London for over 300 million pounds (over Rs 3,000 crore).

Realty major DLF sold its wind turbine projects in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in phases for about Rs 800 crore. It also exited from insurance venture by selling 74 percent stake in the joint venture DLF Pramerica Life Insurance to DHFL for an estimated Rs 250-300 crore.

"It was one of the worst years in last two decades not only because of slowdown, but weakness of governance at all level from central to state to corporation levels," CREDAI, the apex realtors' body, Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain told the agency.

Noting that market improved during December, Jain said: "2014 would be year of revival. Revival has started, the visible change would be seen from second half".

While reviewing yearly performance, property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle India said: "Over the last four years (from the trough of Q2-2009 up to Q3-2013), taking into account the period of economic slowdown, apartment prices have risen by over 50 percent on an average across India.

"As a result, absorption remained subdued during 2013 (until Q3, 2013), falling further from the already tepid levels observed during the same period last year".

Poor housing demand meant that developers had to sit on a huge unsold stocks and postpone new supply, as reflected in 12 percent drop in launch of new projects during 2013. Still average housing prices rose by 10 percent across India.

With investors shying away from the housing market, it was a buyers market this year but they largely chose to wait and watch for prices to correct and interest rates to ease.

By end of the year, both did not happen. While developers kept holding on to their prices citing rising input costs, the Reserve Bank of India did not get enough elbow room to reduce interest rates because of high inflation.

Developers' strategy to focus on execution of the existing projects and selling the non-core assets to improve cash-flows continued even during 2013.

Demand slowdown was not limited to housing. Leasing of commercial spaces remained muted as corporates were cautious in expansion amid weak global economic conditions.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the net office absorption fell by 25 percent in 2013 to 23 million sq ft in eight major cities. Office space supply also declined by 14 percent to 34 million sq ft.

Attractive valuation of rental-yielding commercial assets did provide a golden opportunity for private equity players whose investments in the realty sector grew by 26 percent to Rs 4,716 crore in the first nine months of this year.

Government did try its bit to improve the market. In the beginning of this year, tax sops were offered in Budget to boost demand for affordable housing, but luxury homes were made expensive to compensate.

An additional interest deduction of Rs 1 lakh to first home buyers for loan up to Rs 25 lakh was announced. Not only that a Rs 2,000 crore Urban Housing Fund was set up, the outlay for Rural Housing Fund was increased to reduce housing shortage estimated at about 19 million units.

On the flip side, a TDS of 1 percent was levied on the value of the transfer of immovable property valued over Rs 50 lakh.

During second half, new land acquisition law was passed in Parliament. It stipulates consent of at least 70 percent for acquiring land for public-private-partnership projects and 80 percent for acquiring land for private companies.

Amid buyers' complaints of delay in project completion, government also introduced the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013 that seeks to protect consumers from fly-by-night operators and unfair practice.

Developers were up in arms against this proposed law saying that Regulatory Bill does not cover all stakeholders involved in the real estate development like the government authorities, which gives projects approval.

Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation tried to convince builders that the Bill is not anti-industry but to no avail. Finally, the Centre assured that the Bill would be suitably modified if necessary.

The year 2013 also saw the concept of branded homes catching up. Supertech tied up with Italian fashion brand Armani group for interior designing of 100 super luxury residences in one of its project at Noida. Lodha partnered US-based Trump Organisation to develop Trump Tower in Mumbai.

The year also saw some fund raising activities. DLF mopped up Rs 1,863 crore through issue of over 8.1 crore fresh shares to institutional investors, enabling the company to dilute promoters stake to 75 percent in line with SEBI's minimum public shareholding norms.

Godrej Properties, realty firm of Godrej Group, raised Rs 700 crore through rights issue.

Despite some of these actions, property market largely remained dull throughout the year and now the developers and property consultants hope hinge on the next government.

"Consumer confidence will remain subdued during the first two quarters of 2014 owing to uncertainties surrounding the general elections and macroeconomic condition (both global and domestic). However, post the election, fence-sitting investors are likely to become active," JLL India Chairman and Country Head Anuj Puri said.

Increase in absorption of residential units would help reduce the currently large inventory holdings of developers, he said, adding that "Pan-India residential real estate prices are likely to grow at 10-12 percent year-on-year, factoring in input-cost inflation and a gradual pick-up in demand".

Giving outlook for 2014 on office segment, CBRE South Asia Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said: "Recent indications of revival in the global and domestic economy should contribute to better performance and improved economic prospects towards the second half of 2014."

Going forward, he said the RBI may be expected to maintain stability or reduce base rates. "All in all, a positive signal for the investment climate in India's realty sector; and a likely indication of a gradual economic recovery".

The commercial office segment of top cities is expected to see fresh supply addition of about 140-150 million sqft by the end of 2017.

On the retail front, potential resolution of various policy issues and sustained attractiveness of the consuming class will help boost the interest of global retailers in the new year, experts feel.

On FDI, Puri of JLL said: "... 2014 may not be significant in terms of FDI inflows because, while it is mandatory for international retailers to be in joint venture with domestic retailers, finding a suitable partner is difficult.

"Most domestic retailers, including the big ones, have witnessed falling profits and rising debts. They are largely in consolidation rather than expansion mode," Puri added.Source :-http://goo.gl/4KWr2W

High returns make real estate investors ignore risks: experts

2013-12-30T03:35:00.002-08:00

Mumbai: India's ongoing economic slowdown and a steep rupee fall are among the factors making it a riskier real estate destination for global investors, even as it continues to be a high return market, according to experts.

Mature markets like Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Manila and Sydney have emerged as the most preferred real estate investment destinations compared to the domestic market, said a report by UK-based multinational accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Even though cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai have emerged in the list of 25 top investment spots in the realty space, they ranked at 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd positions, respectively, this year.

"The general slippage of the domestic cities in the global rankings, coupled with the retention in the top 25 list, tells the story that there is the negative impact of the combination of market, currency, regulatory and political risk which continue to result in a general sense of nervousness and the tendency of foreign investors to stay on the sidelines," PwC India executive director Gautam Mehra said in the report.

According to him, India's potential continues to keep interest levels going even though the challenges are currently portraying the country as a riskier market for global investors.

Echoing similar views, RICS South Asia managing director Sachin Sandhir said high inflation and interest rates are affecting the investor sentiment.

"Amidst global economic uncertainty, fiscal consolidation and the prevailing local market conditions, investments have come down compared to previous years. But it still holds potential for giving healthy returns in future," he added.

As per the industry estimates, private equity firms are sitting over about $2 billion awaiting an opportunity for deployment in the real estate sector. But wary investors and fund managers now want to put in their money only in those projects with strong fundamentals, Mr Sandhir points said.

Investors are looking at stable assets with safer returns, according to Diwakar Rana, a Cushman & Wakefield director.

"Due to the prevailing challenges, investors are looking at markets and assets which are stable. However, the interest in challenging economies continues as the return of investment is higher in high risk markets," he said.

While more mature markets give 5-8 per cent returns on investment, riskier market give returns of 18-20 per cent.

He further said, "There is a trend that investors park some of their funds in stable economies where returns are safer but lesser and some in high returns markets which are riskier, though the proportion may have changed with investors preferring mature markets to riskier, the interest in the latter continues."

According to industry estimates, a total 393 private equity deals worth $9.67 billion were signed between January and November this year, out of which only 6 per cent ($40 million) were in the real estate sector.

Mr Sandhir, however, added this is likely to continue till the general elections next year.Source:-http://profit.ndtv.com/news/industries/article-high-returns-make-real-estate-investors-ignore-risks-experts-376154

Session on India’s taxation laws on Jan 4

2013-12-29T05:14:00.000-08:00

Muscat -

The Muscat Chapter of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is organising an informative session on the topic ‘Relevant Changes in Direct Taxation in India affecting Real Estate Transactions, with reference to NRI and FEMA regulations’ on January 4 at Mumtaz Mahal.

The registration starts at 9.15am for networking and breakfast and seminar commences at 10am for two hours. The seminar is open to chapter members and invitees. The speaker R Bupathy is a former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and is an accomplished faculty on taxation. The topic for discussion assumes importance because many NRIs invest in immovable property in India and hence, understanding the regulatory framework and compliance with tax laws becomes very important.

Further, some NRIs would be interested in developing their ancestral property by entering into joint development agreements. Also, there would be other NRIs who do not intend to return to India for permanent settlement either because their children have settled outside India or otherwise would like to monetise their assets and repatriate it outside India. Bupathy has over 37 years of experience in taxation in various professional institutions and is regularly invited to speak on the subject at various forums.

The Muscat chapter of ICAI, under the sponsorship of College of Banking and Financial Studies, regularly conducts professional development events for the benefit of its members and believes that this event will be of immense value especially to NRI members who attend the seminar. The event is sponsored by Modern Information Technology LLC. Source:-http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Session-on-India-s-taxation-laws-on-Jan-4-2tc9

Brigade Enterprises buys prime property in Bangalore from Coke’s bottler for $11M

2013-12-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

Bangalore-based real estate developer Brigade Enterprises Ltd has bought a prime property in its home city from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, the largest bottling partner of the US-based beverage major Coca-Cola in India, for Rs 68.83 crore ($11 million) to develop a real estate project.
“The company has purchased a prime property measuring 2.25 acres at Hebbal, Bangalore from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd for a consideration of Rs 68.83 crores, for developing a prime real estate,” Brigade Enterprises said in a filing to the stock exchanges.
Brigade Enterprises has ongoing projects across residential, commercial and hospitality segments.
Few weeks ago it signed a deal with InterContinental Group (IHG) to build 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels in South India. The hotels would be owned by Brigade Group and managed by IHG. Brigade group has six hotels in its portfolio in South India, either operational or under development.
Under the agreement, the first two hotels will open in Bangalore in 2017 and the remaining eight hotels are scheduled to open before 2020. The two companies are already in partnership for Holiday Inn - Tidel Park in Chennai. This hotel is scheduled to open in 2015. Brigade Group plans to invest Rs 50-80 crore for building each hotel.
The latest property transaction by Brigade follows a string of such land deals across the top cities. Just few days back, Tata group’s realty firm Tata Housing Development Co Ltd said it is acquiring land in Bangalore from power transmission company Alstom T&D India for Rs 120 crore ($19.4 million) to develop its second luxury project in the southern city.
Early this year, group firm Tata Global Beverages Ltd, the non-alcoholic beverage company of Tata Group, had entered into an agreement with Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) for the development of the company’s property in Bangalore through a Special Purpose Vehicle.source:-http://www.vccircle.com/news/real-estate/2013/12/27/brigade-enterprises-buys-prime-property-bangalore-coke%E2%80%99s-bottler-11m

Real Estate Industry sees no respite in H1 2014 - Survey

2013-12-27T05:49:00.000-08:00

There seems to be no respite in the offing for India’s real estate sector at least during the first half of the calendar year 2014, believe majority of players in the realty sector, highlighted the ASSOCHAM survey.
ASSOCHAM survey covered about 1,000 developers, real estate brokers and agents, property consultants and senior officials of various companies in the real estate domain during the course of past one month in 10 prominent cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.
“The situation on real estate front is not likely to improve much owing to an uncertain political scenario at least during the first six months due to forthcoming general elections and poor investor, end-user confidence due to sluggish economic growth coupled with continued high property prices,” asserted about 60 per cent of respondents.
“The overall performance of India’s real estate sector in the year 2014 is likely to remain subdued as people refrain from buying property and developers continue to grapple with high debt, rising construction costs, unsold inventory even as property prices go through the roof thereby slowing the demand for real estate leading to an oversupply situation,” many of these said.
In its survey, ASSOCHAM representatives sought various suggestion from key players in the real estate sector for revival of the sector – need for a single window clearance system to clear all projects instead of seeking approvals of myriad regulators and authorities thereby saving both time and costs; need to evolve a rational structure vis-à-vis payment of stamp duties on sale and purchase of land and housing properties; revise the limit of interest deduction on housing loan of Rs 1.5 lakh introduced by Finance Act 2001 to Rs five lakh; allow more foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate firms to strengthen the industry in townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction development projects to spur economic activity, create new employment opportunities and simultaneously add to available housing stock and built-up infrastructure.
On its part, ASSOCHAM has also given certain recommendations to the government to bring the realty sector back on growth trajectory which include - repeal highly restrictive and archaic laws of Rent Control Act and Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act; the government should act as a facilitator and not as a regulator for real estate projects more so where demand is more than supply; state governments should complete land records process and make them computerized; infrastructure including transportation, logistics, water, power, housing, healthcare, sanitation and others must be taken in tandem to spur real estate development; government should grant industry status to real estate sector to facilitate bank loan and long-term finance for real estate projects and real estate must be classified as infrastructure and priority lending sector should be made available to keep pace with demand-supply scenario.
Outstanding investments attracted by India’s real estate sector have plummeted from over Rs 15.39 lakh crore as of September 2012 to about Rs 14.51 lakh crore as of September 2013 thereby registering significant drop of about six per cent, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said today.
“The real estate sector suffered grave turbulence in 2013 due to plethora of reasons like rampant economic slowdown both globally and domestically, liquidity crunch, unstable currency, high input costs, labour shortage, high interest rates and growing inflation,” according to a comprehensive analysis titled ‘Real Estate Sector: Outlook for 2014’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
Interestingly, investments in real estate sector had increased marginally by about two per cent from about Rs 15.1 lakh crore as of September 2011 to Rs 15.3 lakh crore as of September 2012, highlighted the ASSOCHAM analysis.
About 68 per cent of the total investments in realty sector as of September 2013 were under implementation while about 69 per cent of real estate investments were under implementation in the previous year.
Maharashtra accounts for about 20 per cent share of these investments followed by Gujarat (13 per cent), Haryana (11.2 per cent), Karnataka (11.1 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (9.8 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (9.6 per cent).
The states of Jharkhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are top five states that have seen significant decline in investment inflows in realty sector during the year long period between September 2012 and September 2013. While Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have recorded a surge in investments attracted by realty sector.Source:-http://rtn.asia/1699_real-estate-industry-sees-no-respite-h1-2014-survey

Review of Indian Retail Real Estate 2013 & Outlook for 2014

2013-12-26T04:24:00.004-08:00

The GDP growth for the financial year 2012-13 stood at 5.0 percent year-on-year as against 8.0 percent average growth over the last five years until FY2011-12. The first quarter of FY2013-14 provided no respite - growth fell further to 4.4 percent year-on-year.

The services sector, which is the primary driver of demand for grade A retail space in India, has witnessed a consistent slowdown and is yet to show concrete signs of revival. Growth of the FIRE sector (Financial, Insurance, Real Estate & Services), which stood in double-digits over the last five years, came down to 8.5 percent during the previous financial year and currently remains at that level.

Growth in consumption spending, which stood on at an average of over 8.0 percent during the five-year period until FY2011-12, fell sharply to 3.9 percent year-on-year as of the last financial year (FY2013) and 1.6 percent during Q1-FY14. Further, steep rises in the price of food items (vegetables and fruits) necessitated increased expenditure on basic and essential goods.

The growth of the retail sector stood at 9.7 percent year-on-year on an average during the five years until FY2011-12. Last year (FY2013), it fell to 6.4 percent year-on-year. Q1-FY14 performance was even worse, recording growth of a mere 3.9 percent year-on-year.

For the 10 prominent national retailers listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, quarterly net profits for the first two quarters (ending June ‘13 and September ‘13) of the current financial year reflected weakness. In addition to the economic slowdown, AT Kearney’s GRDI report for 2013 also highlighted the difficulty that Indian retailers had to face during the last few quarters. The report stated: "High operating costs, low bargaining power with vendors, and heavy discounting to improve sales have affected profits and expansion plans. Real estate cost and space availability also remain important issues."

However, a few retailers did exhibit marginal growth even in these difficult times – including Shoppers Stop, Trent Retail, and Indian Terrain as they benefited from the premium brand positioning. The trend is further reflected in the performance of international retailers who have recently forayed into India. Brands such as Zara, Marks & Spencers, Benetton and Tommy Hilfiger posted a healthy jump in their year-on-year revenues. The international players have bucked the general trend by offering stylish designs at prices that were reasonable to Indian consumers. The above four global brands collectively achieved sales that equalled the apparel sales of established department store chains such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle International.

After several years of clamour and hesitation, the Indian Government fully opened up FDI investment in single-brand retailing towards mid-2012. Large single-brand retailers such as Roberto Cavalli, Christian Louboutin, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Armani Junior, entered the country. IKEA, a large furniture chain, is also finalising its India entry strategies, with plans to invest around Rs 10,500 crore.

Later during the same year, the Government also raised the FDI limit in the ‘politically contentious’ multi-brand retailing segment from nil to 51 percent, albeit with certain pre-conditions. While many had believed that this move would incite international players such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour to accelerate their entries into the Indian market, none of those retailers have submitted their investment plans yet.

After analysing the FDI pre-conditions, global retailers voiced their concerns over some of them which they perceived as excessively rigid, i.e., minimum USD 100 million investment, maximum 51 percent stake by foreign retailer, 5-year window to achieve 30 percent sourcing from SME sector, and 50 percent of the FDI investment to be channelled into creating back-end infrastructure. The first two conditions cumulatively require the joint venturing partners to invest more than Rs 1,000 crore. Since food and apparel is the highest-selling segment, retailers would be inclined towards investing in it despite the high competition in the segment. Other retail segments may be too small to accommodate such magnitude of investment.

Realising that these pre-conditions created genuine difficulties in execution, the Indian Government announced measures to relax these norms in August 2013. Therefore, on the policy front, 2013 was a year of realisation and negotiation with foreign retailers.

In an otherwise somnolent market scenario, Chennai’s performance was notable. The city witnessed the strongest retail space absorption during the first three quarters. As a consequence, vacancy dropped by ~6.0 percent. Paradoxically, overall rentals and capital values in Chennai slipped the most, largely owing to large influx of supply in the suburban locations where prices are cheaper.

Kolkata and Mumbai came in as the second and third-best performing markets, recording relatively strong absorption figures. Unlike in Chennai, the increased demand in the two markets was not supported by strong supply. As a result, overall rentals and capital values increased in the range of 5-10 percent year-on-year.

Among other Tier-I cities, Delhi-NCR and Bangalore witnessed poor absorption. With marginal absorption and an increase in stock supply, Pune retail real estate witnessed marginal fall in rental and capital values.

Currently, organised retailing accounts for only around 7 percent of India’s total retail market size, while the remaining is constituted of the unorganised sector. When comparing this ratio with other emerging nations such as Brazil (35 percent), Russia (30 percent) and China (20-25 percent), organised retailing in India clearly appears under-penetrated. In most of the developed markets, organised retail accounts for anywhere between 66 percent (in Japan) and 85 percent (in the US).

The fact that India, along with China, presents one of the best population characteristics in terms of spending potential makes it an attractive market for global retailers. Increased urbanisation in the tier-II and III cities, along with a steep rise in rural income levels, presents a big opportunity for retailers, coupled with the benefit of low real estate costs in the cities compared to the expensive tier-I cities.

Year 2013 has once again highlighted that retailers cannot afford to ignore India. Nevertheless, obstacles to faster growth - such as unaffordable real estate rates, complex taxation and FDI policies, intense price competition from the unorganised sector and on-going economic slackness – continue to be challenges.

Macroeconomic fundamentals are unlikely to change during the first half of year 2014. In the second half, sentiments will be driven by election results, the state of inflation and global growth outlook. On the domestic front, high inflation, exchange rate volatility and high current account deficit have been acting as a drag. Considering good monsoons production which will hit the markets soon, inflation will gradually subside beginning 2014. However, there are external factors at play as far as capital flows (essential to fund deficit in the current account) and rupee volatility are concerned. These risk factors could deter investments from foreign multinationals.

However, international retailers realise that the best time to enter India is when real estate prices (one of the major concerns for retailers) are stable. The potential resolution of various policy issues and the sustained attractiveness of India’s consuming class (favourable demography and rising incomes) will help boost the interest of global retailers in 2014. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains with regard to general elections and the subsequent fate of large investments by retailers. As of 2014, India’s retail sector has the potential to reach around Rs 25 trillion. The size of the retail market is around Rs 19.2 trillion (as of 2012), accounting for 22 percent of India’s GDP.

Close to 900,000 square meters of additional retail space supply is going to hit the pipeline in 2014, as against the 590,000 square meters in 2013. Cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore will witness good supply of retail space, largely around the expanding city peripheries. However, rental and capital values will remain stable in most cities on account of the on-going slowdown in the real estate sector. Viewed cumulatively, these factors will prove to be incentives for retailers to enter the market or expand their business.

As a retail category, the F&B segment accounts for the highest share (~70 percent) of the total retail market size. However, the organised sector’s share in this category - a high-volume / low-margin segment – currently stands at only 2-3 percent.

On the other hand, ORP in the relatively high-margin categories such as clothing (~20 percent), footwear (~17 percent) and beauty & personal care (25-30 percent) will be higher in 2014, as modern retailers are looking to increase their foothold in the abovesaid segments given the rising lifestyle aspirations of Indian consumers. The increased foothold of the organised sector will create demand for additional mall space.

Year 2014 may not be significant in terms of foreign direct investments into the retail sector. In the normal course, once the investment proposals are approved at the Centre and State levels, a new entrant large-scale retailer require around 18 months to procure the requisite mall space, create backend infrastructure and set up procurement contracts. Also, for the partnering Indian retailer, existing operations will have to be restructured in order to meet the FDI policy conditions.

Despite the relaxation of certain criteria in the FDI policy in August 2013, foreign retailers are unlikely to enter the hypermarket business in India before the 2014 elections because while it is mandatory for international retailers to be in joint venture with Indian retailers, finding a suitable Indian partner is difficult.

About the Author:

Anuj Puri is the Chairman & Country Head of Jones Lang LaSalle India.
Source :-http://www.indiaretailing.com/article-detail.aspx?mcatid=23&catid=26&aid=9370

Real estate firms funded SAD: RTI data

2013-12-25T04:03:00.000-08:00

CHANDIGARH: It's official. The great Indian real estate boom is the secret of Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal's cash-surplus bank account.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government under CM Parkash Singh Badal regime in Punjab is facing a Rs 1 lakh crore debt, but for the party, it is raining cash. The SAD received a total of Rs 1.81 crore in the financial year 2012-13, according to the Election Commission of India data obtained under the RTI Act.

There are two categories of fund givers: corporates and individuals.

Mohali's real estate developers who have won projects amounting to Rs 10,000 crore from the state-run Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to build residential and commercial projects in the last five years, have alone given a fund of Rs 65 lakh to SAD in 2012-13.

Among the real estate companies, Mohali-based Janta Land Promoters (JLPL) and Barnala Builders and Property Consultant boosted SAD with a funding of Rs 15 lakh each. This was followed by Motia Township Private Limited, Panchkula, which gave Rs 10 lakh. Surya Contractors Private Ltd (Mohali), Saini Developers and Promoters Pvt Ltd (Zirakpur), Sohi Builders (Panchkula) and Hollywood Developers (Zirakpur) contributed Rs 5 lakh each in the last financial year.

A Mumbai-based detective and security firm, owned by BJP's Swarn Salaria, propelled SAD's fortunes by a cash transaction of Rs 50 lakh. Salaria was made the chairman of Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2012.

The information was obtained by RTI activist and Punjab and Haryana HC advocate Dinesh Chadha.

According to the same RTI information, the father-son duo of CM Parkash Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Badal have each given Rs 1.02 lakh towards their party fund.

Sukhbir's two brothers-in-law -- Adesh Partap Kairon and Bikram Majithia -- too have contributed Rs 1.02 lakh each.

The party has also received funding from two convicted MLAs and former minister Bibi Jagir Kaur and Tota Singh. Kaur, who was convicted by the special CBI court in Patiala for conspiring forcible abduction, kidnapping and wrongful confinement of her daughter in March 2012, gave Rs 37,000.

Former agriculture minister Tota Singh, who too was convicted to one year jail for misusing his official position, gave Rs 57,000 to his party, SAD. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Real-estate-firms-funded-SAD-RTI-data/articleshow/27875799.cms

Surfers now buy cars, houses online

2013-12-24T03:58:00.002-08:00

CHENNAI: It had been inching towards this for a while. India has now arrived in the high-value online shopping arena. Diamond jewellery isn't the priciest purchase you can make online anymore — cars, real estate and houses are.

After maturing as a platform for people to buy small products like books or electronics, the country's e-tailing industry then graduated to jewellery, and is now a convenient mode even for large-ticket purchases like houses/properties and SUVs. The fact that five houses worth Rs 25 crore, 35 Nissan cars and over 250 Tata Motors vehicles were sold in four days during the recently concluded great online shopping festival conducted by Google is testimony to this. According to data shared by the internet search giant, the e-tailing market in India is expected to grow eight times from $2 billion in 2012 to $16 billion by 2016.

"Apart from saving time, shopping online offers transparency, convenience and easy access. In purchases like cars, not all brands have wide dealership and service networks, and shopping online gives customers access. With real estate, customers have direct access to the company without going through brokers. Advantages like these will drive the purchase of large items like cars, homes and all other products online," said Arvind Singhal, chairman of consultancy firm Technopak.

Also, though people don't make many big-ticket purchases online, a lot of research and product comparison is done online. "Today, most car buyers go online before making a decision. So using the internet is a logical extension of the purchase cycle. At Nissan, we are putting in place suitable payment gateways with the help of specific car portals to ensure timely delivery and service at the time of purchase," said Nitish Tipnis, director (marketing), Hover Automotive India, Nissan's national sales company.

He added, "Unlike other countries, the growth of e-tailing in India is very different and e-commerce players bring out innovative schemes and options like cash-on-delivery and free exchange/return. These also help the industry mature and customers gradually develop faith in the system and payment mechanism." Tata Housing Development Company, for instance, gives customers a virtual tour of the property while booking flats online.

Earlier, companies had devised new concepts and looked at the e-tailing platforms as another means to reach out to customers. But the response for lapping up products online was a surprise. "This is an indication of the e-commerce ecosystem maturing. If ten days back I was asked if real estate would be sold online, I wouldn't have said it surely would. The sale of such big-ticket products and services like job search or matrimonial services was a surprise," said Nitin Bawankule, industry director (e-commerce), Google India.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tech/Tech-News/Internet/Surfers-now-buy-cars-houses-online/articleshow/27817053.cms

Sebi board to discuss corp governance code, REITs tomorrow

2013-12-23T06:40:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: Capital market regulator Sebi is likely to discuss on Tuesday new Corporate Governance Code for listed companies and also certain new measures like real estate investment trusts or REITs for the benefit of market.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board is also likely to discuss new insider trading norms suggested by Justice N K Sodhi and a proposal to allow real estate REITs in India in a move to attract more investments into the capital market, sources said.

The regulator would seek board approval for the new code, which is being put in place after taking into account public comments to draft corporate governance norms released by Sebi earlier this year along with related provisions in the new Companies Act, 2013.

These proposals are expected to come up for discussion during the Sebi board meeting tomorrow in Mumbai.

Regarding Corporate Governance Code, the discussion paper was floated in January and the draft norms also seek to grant greater oversight by minority shareholders and independent directors and check any unjustifiable payments to related parties.

It has also proposed to introduce a new concept of 'Corporate Governance Rating' by independent agencies to monitor the level of compliance by listed companies, in addition to regular inspection by Sebi and stock exchanges.

The discussion paper also talked about a greater alignment of CEO salaries with the performance and goals of the company and also a mandatory disclosure of ratio of remuneration paid to each of their directors and their median staff salary. Similar provisions have been made in the new Companies Act.

As per the paper "on average, the remuneration paid to CEOs in certain Indian companies are far higher than the remuneration received by their foreign counterparts and there is no justification available to that effect".

The regulator's board would discuss new norms on insider trading. However, Sebi has sought public comments till December 31 before putting in place final regulations in this regard.

According to new rules on insider trading, public servants and persons holding statutory positions would be prohibited from trading in listed securities of companies whose matters are being handled by them, thus giving them access to non-public price sensitive information.

These norms have been proposed by a committee formed by Sebi under the chairmanship of Justice Sodhi in March this year.
http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/finance/sebi-board-to-discuss-corp-governance-code-reits-tomorrow_91247.html

CREDAI Property Show to Conclude Today

2013-12-22T05:54:00.002-08:00

The members of the CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India) Trivandrum chapter expect a 25 to 50 per cent increase in sales from the ongoing property show organised by it here.
Around 1,500 people are expected to walk into the show, which will conclude on Sunday.
“The people who turn up for the show are genuine buyers who intend to make investments in flats as the show is not clubbed with any other activity. Till Saturday, around 500 visited the show. The number is expected to go up to 1,500 by Sunday as it is a holiday,” CREDAI Trivandrum chapter chairman S N Raghuchandran Nair said.
This is the third property show organised by the CREDAI here. While the show organised during Onam was meant for Non-Resident Keralites from Dubai, the NRKs from European countries, who are on vacation now, are the target group of the ongoing expo. All 32 members of CREDAI are taking part in it. “After the last two shows, the sales increased by 25 to 50 per cent. This time too we expect a similar response,” Powerlink Builders managing director Pradeep P said.
The builders also heave a sigh of relief since the slow-down in business, which had affected the Kochi market, has not made any impact here.
“The reason for the slowdown in Kochi was the oversupply foreseeing the Smart City project. But the demand-supply proportion here is almost equal, except in the Kazhakoottam IT area where supply is a little more,” Raghuchandran Nair said.
“It is a good sign that the market is showing symptoms of revival after the slowdown witnessed across the country. After the election in five northern states, the market is picking up,” he said.
Thiruvananthapuram, as far as the builders are concerned, is more or less a constant market which has not been much affected by recession.Bank employees and businessmen, apart from NRKs, are the major customers here.http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/CREDAI-Property-Show-to-Conclude-Today/2013/12/22/article1959052.ece

Hope Returns, Interest Rate Remains Key

2013-12-21T06:19:00.001-08:00

The stage seems to be set for the real estate sector to take a turn for good times again. When everyone expected a rate hike in the Reserve Bank of India's policy review on December 18, the central bank surprised all with a status quo on rates. Another bonanza soon followed: State Bank of India and HDFC, the top two home loan providers, slashed home loan interest rates between 30-50 basis points.
Both these unexpected moves have rekindled hopes in the struggling real estate sector at a time when housing demand remained largely stagnant across major urban markets in India. The sector of late has been witnessing end-user perceptions of inflated housing prices, as well as high borrowing costs that kept off home buyers. In fact, subdued demand levels have even led to a price correction of around 10-15 per cent across some markets in India.
According to an estimate from Knight Frank India, owing to weakening demand, new launches in Mumbai, the largest market in India, plummeted over 40 per cent compared to peak levels in 2010 as developers shifted focus on liquidating current inventories.
"Mumbai's unsold inventory level is almost 44 per cent in comparison to NCR (New Delhi Capital Region) which stands at 26 per cent even with twice the number of units under construction. Nearly 2,90,000 residential units are under construction in Mumbai while unsold inventory levels are close to 1,30,000 (ready as well as under construction)," it says.
"We are pleased that major banks in India have decided to lower the home loan interest rates to new customers. This is a positive move to boost property sales and spur industry growth. Home buyers who were earlier waiting for rates to come down will now certainly look at buying their dream homes," said Lalit Kumar Jain, Chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).
"From the perspective of the real estate industry, high inflation coupled with muted income growth has already made a dent on consumer affordability. At least a status quo on key policy rates will serve as a breather for households and leveraged developers alike," said Samantak
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/hope-returns-interest-rate-remains-key/1210251

Realtors See Realty Boom Post-polls

2013-12-20T04:35:00.001-08:00

Several real estate associations of South India converged at the two-day conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries here to discuss various aspects and prospects of real estate sector.
The conference titled, ‘Estate South -- Making an Impact on Indian Real Estate’ was inaugurated by CVR Rajendran, chairman and managing director of Andhra Bank, who noted that real estate in southern region of the country alone contributed 25 per cent to GDP. He said, the government could utilise funds from pension and insurance sectors in real estate sector to enable faster and improved development of infrastructure. He advised builders to continuously contribute to the supply without looking at the demand in the market.
According to G Yoganand, chairman, Estate South 2013 and CMD, Manjeera Constructions Pvt Ltd, the workshop that is happening for the first time in the city aimed at looking into issues related to South India’s prospects of growth with regard to the contributions from real estate sector. He said the conference will discuss how to build sustainable cities at a time of massive urbanisation, adoption of new building technologies, planning of procurement, and green and energy efficient buildings, etc.
The conference consists of sessions on alternative asset classes, evolving best practices in building industry, impact of the land acquisition Bill/ Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), and current marketing trends and adoption of innovative marketing techniques in real estate.
Suresh Chitturi, vice chairman, CII; Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CBRE South Asia; Dasarath Reddy, AP Real Estate Developers Association (APREDA); C Prabhakar Rao, president, AP Builders Federation; and Jaiveer Reddy, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) spoke about a boom in real estate sector that is expected post-2014 elections and to utilise the opportunity.
T Chitty Babu, co-chair, Estate South 2013 and senior member with CREDAI, said south India was becoming the best in the coming years. According to him, real estate was not only the second largest job creator and highest tax payer, the industry was also bringing in 4 billion dollars as FDI at present.
He said the builders were against the Land Acquisition Bill/ RERA in its present form. Financial institutions, service providers and consumers should under the purview of the Bill, he said.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/Realtors-See-Realty-Boom-Post-polls/2013/12/20/article1955341.ece

Indian Realty Trends Turn Favourable for NRIs

2013-12-19T03:37:00.000-08:00

Dubai: Expat Indians looking to acquire property back home will do well to negotiate hard with developers. The real estate cycle, for now, is certainly rolling in their favour.

India’s property market is going through a downturn as domestic demand has dried up and interest rate spikes have made acquisitions that much costlier. So far, there has been no marked drop in values in prime cities, but developers with new projects on their hands and units to sell will have more “realistic” expectations with their pricing.

“Certain developers in select micro-markets with a high inventory level may need to rationalise prices in the short term to facilitate sales of unsold units,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director at CBRE South Asia. “Prominent development firms with projects in preferred locations, however, will continue to attract interest from home buyers.

“It is a buyers’ market in India at present; the current economic uncertainty together with rising inflation, decreasing levels of affordability, high price points and rising borrowing rates have kept off home buyers from making purchase decisions.”

This is where expat Indians can try and extract deals that could be favourable to them. After a few weeks of steady recovery, the rupee is once more starting to slide and could hit 17 to a dirham soon enough. (It was 16.80 when the currency market opened Wednesday and immediately fell to 16.86 after the Indian central bank decided to hold rates steady.)

“The silver lining has been the increased interest in India’s housing from overseas and NRI buyers, largely due to the devaluating rupee,” said Magazine.

International lenders

According to Om Ahuja, CEO for residential services, Jones Lang LaSalle India, “NRIs may find international borrowing attractive both in terms of interest rate and currency fluctuations. But managing collateral and property valuation in India may become challenging with international lenders.” At the same time, an expat investor should keep in mind that “Mortgage in India is available at attractive rates when compared to normal lending; the discount available when compared to normal borrowing rates cannot be ignored,” Ahuja added.

While the exchange rate is in their favour, can expat Indians expect some levelling off on property values, especially with new projects? The reactions, not surprisingly, are sharply divergent.

“All projects in Bangalore and Chennai have been launched at more than the price it was expected to be,” said Casilda Cordeiro, manager for strategies and brand management at Dubai-based consultancy Auric Acres. “For instance, a Disney-themed project in Whitefield Bangalore was expected to be launched between Rs3,800-3,950 (Dh225-234); however, it was pre-launched at Rs4,770 in October and in December has gone up to Rs4,860.

“Demand for Indian metros are steady. When buying, a property exchange rate is just one factor which helps decide the purchase. In our conversations with buyers, there is never a discussion on exchange rate, perhaps everyone is updated on a daily basis.”

It is now the expat Indians’ turn to make full use of the favourable confluence of factors.
http://gulfnews.com/business/property/uae/indian-realty-trends-turn-favourable-for-nris-1.1268364

Kerala's Islamic NBFC to launch venture capital fund

2013-12-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

KOCHI: Cheraman Financial Services Limited (CFSL), Kerala's Sharia-compliant non-banking finance company (NBFC), will soon launch venture capital fund (VCF) with a corpus of Rs 250 crore.

A P M Mohammed Hanish, managing director of CFSL, said the fund would be raised from institutional and individual investors within the country and outside. The regulatory body -- Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) -- has granted permission for the launch of the VCF by CFSL.

To be named as Cheraman Premium Fund, the VCF will be deployed to support start-up initiatives and infrastructural projects.

"We have already received about 50 investment proposals seeking funds, and we will shortlist them to select about 10," Hanish told TOI here.

The maximum that a single investor will be allowed to contribute would be 25% of the corpus amount.

The state government-run KSIDC had launched VCF in collaboration with Small Industries Development of Bank of India (SIDBI) and Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC). The fund floated in 2000 with a target corpus of Rs 20 crore was closed in 2010.

"We could mobilize only Rs 7 crore then, as we had received only that much viable proposals then. Some of the investment norms fixed then had also limited the flexibility of the fund. This was another reason why it could not gain adequate momentum," a KSIDC official said.

Another Sharia-certified VCF was launched by the Kozhikode-based fund management company Secura Investment Management Company (SIMC) in 2011. The VCF named Secura India Real Estate Fund was launched mainly to support real estate projects. "We could mobilize Rs 50 crore and we see lot of potential for VCF in Kerala,'' T T Ajmal Ahammed , company secretary of SIMC, said.

He however said some of the norms recently introduced by Sebi went against the possibility of having a diversified portfolio.

"For instance, as per the latest Sebi norm the minimum contribution to the VCF now has been fixed at Rs 1 crore. When we launched the fund it was Rs 5 lakh. The number of potential investors would be limited with such a high ceiling on minimum investment,'' Ajmal Ahammed said.

Kochi; Cheraman Financial Services Limited (CFSL), Kerala's Sharia-compliant non-banking finance company (NBFC), will soon launch venture capital fund (VCF) with a corpus of Rs 250 crore.

APM Mohammed Hanish, managing director of CFSL said the fund would be raised from institutional and individual investors from within the country and outside. The regulatory body SEBI has granted permission for the launch of the VCF by CFSL.

To be named as Cheraman Premium fund, the VCF will be deployed to support start-up initiatives and infrastructural projects. We have already received about investment proposals seeking funds, and we will be short-listing them to select about ten,'' Hanish told TOI here.

The maximum that a single investor will be allowed to contribute would be 25 per cent of the corpus amount.

The state government-run KSIDC had launched VCF in collaboration with the Small Industries Development of Bank of India (SIDBI) and Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC). The fund was floated in 2000 with a targeted corpus of Rs 20 crore was closed in 2010.

We could mobilise only Rs 7 crore then, as we had received only that much viable proposals then. Some of the investment norms fixed then had also limited the flexibility of the fund. This was another reason why it could not gain adequate momentum,'' a KSIDC official said.

Another Sharia-certified VCF was floated launched by the Kozhikode-based fund management company Secura Investment Management Company (SIMC) in 2011. The VCF named Secura India Real Estate Fund was launched mainly to support real estate projects . We could mobilise Rs 50 crores and we see lot of potential for VCF in Kerala,'' T T Ajmal Ahammed , company secretary of SIMC said.

He however said some of the norms recently introduced by SEBI went against the possibility of having a diversified portfolio. For instance as per the latest SEBI norm the minimum contribution to the VCF now has been fixed as Rs 1 crore. When we launched the fund it was Rs 5 lakh. The number of potential investors would be limited with such a high ceiling on minimum investment,'' Ajmal Ahammed said.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Keralas-Islamic-NBFC-to-launch-venture-capital-fund/articleshow/27551577.cms