Pune Real Estate

Advertising professional Nagesh Alai, who lives in a 3-BHK apartment in Bandra (West), has been looking for a bigger pad in Pali Hill. ``Prices have been artificially jacked up. Rates in Pali Hill are about Rs 45,000 per square foot,'' he said. With residential property prices once again spiralling out of control, apartment sale has slowed down considerably since April, said real estate developers. Last November, when the residential property market was doing well with a robust demand from end users, TOI had warned that builders would face resistance if they increase rates beyond a point. That's precisely what is happening now.

Many developers have even increased the difference between carpet and built-up areas of the apartment by as much as 40% to 50% at places.

A leading developer and member of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry admitted that sale had plumetted. He blamed it solely on the ``greed'' of builders. ``Prices have risen too high in the last six months,'' he said. Thursday's Bombay High Court order, which struck down the state government's move to charge a premium for 33% extra FSI in the suburbs, is also expected to further jack up property prices.

Source: Times Of India By Nauzer K Bharucha With Bombay HC Striking Down Extra FSI In Suburbs, Prices Set To Climb Higher

"With increase in government and municipal charges getting rolled out in the form of VAT, Service Tax, Ready Reckoner Rates, increase in stamp duty, VAT on materials -- all combined, we see an increase of residential property rates by Rs 250-300 per sqft," president of CREDAI, Pune, Satish Magar told reporters.

According to him, realty developers pay different types of taxes under various heads, including stamp duty on land cost, and increase in taxes will only put extra burden on consumers.

"At least 40 per cent of the total cost share is of municipal charges alone. If these are not enough, we are troubled with the shortage of land. Without adequate land bank in city premises, it is difficult to get new projects in shape as majority of the people want to live near the city," Magar said.

CREDAI Pune vice-president Rohit Gera said that during the recession, all under-construction projects were stalled as there were no buyers. But the situation has changed in the last four months.

Source: www.sakaaltimes.com Housing Price Increase By Rs 300 Per Sqft:CREDAI

Instead, the group now plans to invest Rs 8000 crore in a residential township.

In a notification, the company said, " The group has sent the withdrawal request to SEZ authorities for sector specific SEZ for multi services and it has been approved."

DSK has acquired 285 acres of land in Phursungi at Pune, out of which 250 acre was proposed for the SEZ project. The rest 35 acres of land is kept for reserve. The firm had proposed multi-service special economic zone (SEZ) at Phursungi which has received formal approval from the Board of Approvals of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in January 2009.

 Talking about the withdrawal of this project D S Kulkarni, CMD, DSK Group said, " It is true that we had withdrawn the SEZ proposal and decided to develop a complete new township on this land. Due to government's new policy developing a SEZ is not feasible for us. According to the new rule, we are now permitted to develop SEZ only on 62.5 acres and 62.5 acres out of 250 acres for commercial developments like malls, hospital, theatre, school etc. And on the remaining land, we were planning to develop a residential project.

Source: Business-standard By Hrishikesh Joshi DSK to scrap SEZ; Plans township instead

These houses are available in places such as Sion, Versova, Mahim, Borivali, Malad, Powai, Wadala and Goregaon. A senior MHADA official who spoke requesting anonymity since the Assembly session is on, said that construction is going on in full swing. "We will invite applications at the end of the year. This is the part of our goal to create at least 1 lakh houses in the next five years."

In this draw, a major portion -- 3,235 flats -- have been kept aside for the Economically Weaker section (EWS) with only 403 flats set aside for the High Income group. "Our main aim is to target the poor sections," said the officer.

Before the new applications, MHADA will draw the lots of its previous scheme of 3,449 hous¬es in April and consequently start the allotment process. Since 1977, MHADA has constructed 4.18 lakh houses across the state -- the highest being in Mumbai -- 2 lakh units.

With hardly any land available, MHADA is working with private builders. Being a government body, MHADA is offered extra Floor Space Index (FSI), which it intends to pass on to the private builders and in return get some flats to sell on affordable prices.

In addition to MHADA, City Industrial and Development Corporation (CIDCO) would also start its sale of its 1,344 flats in its newly built township at Ulve from mid-April.

The potential beneficiaries of BoA's February 11 decision include the Rs 5,000-crore Navi Mumbai SEZ promoted by Mukesh Ambani-aide Anand Jain, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd, and the Rs 2,400-crore Iffco Kisan SEZ Ltd coming up in AP.

BoA is the national-level governing body of special economic zones.

Contiguity of land is a prerequisite for notifying a piece of land as an SEZ. Establishing contiguity means building under-passes to connect two pieces of land bisected by a national highway or building a bridge over a water body, for which duty-free imports were not allowed so far.

The revenue department has opposed the board's decision to extend duty-free imports even before SEZs are notified, saying it was not consulted while taking a decision that would lead to major revenue loss.

Source: Realty Plus Finance ministry slams relief to Navi Mumbai SEZ

The company may drop the project altogether, as it was not able to acquire "a minimum of 1,000 hectares of contiguous land" as mandated by the SEZ Act, the Business Standard has reported.

The company had acquired over 1,500 hectares, but non-contiguous land, at Rs 10 lakh per acre, by mutual consent. It is now considering a gas-based power project on the land. The company also awaits the passage of Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, whereby a company can acquire 30 per cent of land forcefully to achieve contiguity, if it has already got 70 per cent of the total land, the report added.

Mumbai SEZ officials declined to comment.

Citing sources familiar with the project, the report said the fate of the MahaMumbai SEZ was virtually sealed as the Maharashtra government had not recommended the SEZ proposal afresh for issue of in-principle approval by the department of commerce.

Earlier approvals for the SEZ had lapsed.

Source: Realty Plus Maharashtra SEZ plan put off

The ready reckoner is a guide for the market price of residential and commercial properties, based on which stamp duty and registration fee for their sale and purchase are calculated.

Under the revised rates, a land owner would have to pay more stamp duty because his land got more expensive; the developer would raise the sale price of his finished property since his land acquisition cost got higher; and a retail buyer would have to cough up more for property, stamp duty and registration fee.

This is likely to have its rippling effect on redevelopment of old, dilapidated buildings in Mumbai and surrounding Tier II cities, too.

With the upward revision of rates, properties being developed on textile mill land would also see a sharp rise as the ready reckoner raised their value on an average by 13 per cent.

"The state government expects to mobilise Rs 5,075 crore through stamp duty and registration fee by the end of 2009-10," a senior state government official, who did not want to be quoted, said, justifying the rate revision.

Source: Business-standardMaha Realty To Cost More With New Ready Reckoner, Builders Feel Move May Hinder Development

"There is a huge gap in this segment and customers in this category are left unattended. Therefore we are attempting to fill this gap," said Sachin Kulkarni, MD, Vastushodh Projects.

Vastushodh is lauching `Anandgram' -- its first micro-township project at Yavat on the Pune-Solapur road, which will have 750 housing units ranging from 300-550 sq ft. Yavat project is estimated at Rs 35 crore. "Prices would be in the range of Rs 3-7 lakh, inclusive of stamp duty and registration charges," said Kulkarni.

"The company intends to cater to the unorganised sector and is in the process of tying up with the Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC) to fund upto 75-80 per cent of the cost of a unit without any proof of income," Kulkarni added.

The company is in the process of developing similar projects on highways connecting Pune including the Nagar, Satara and Paud roads. There are plans to construct 5,000 houses through such townships, spread over 10-20 acre in the next three to five years.

Apart from the land that is already in its possession, the state government plans to buy private land at market rate and use it for housing, the report added.

Minister of state for housing Sachin Ahir told a press conference on Wednesday that land banks are being prepared in major cities where urbanisation and industrial growth creates more demand for housing.

"The demand for housing is growing in cities, but we lack adequate land. We need to create land banks with whatever land that is available now in urban and semi urban areas," said Ahir.

Source: Realty Plus Maharashtra to create land banks to build affordable homes

Moreover, an increasing number of retail landlords in Pune's malls and on key high-street locations, have opened up to the minimum guarantee and revenue sharing models. The general stance now is that if a retailer is making money, landlords are willing to offer reductions on rentals, if the retailer is willing to share his topline.

As a result, a number of retailers in Pune are now once again looking at expansion. Interest has revived, not only in malls but also on Pune's more prominent high streets of MG Road, JM Road, Aundh's Parihar Chowk and Kothrud's Karve Road. The highest activity levels, in terms of expansion, are currently being witnessed among vanilla retailers in the apparel, accessories, hypermarkets and jewelry categories.

The latest addition to Pune's high-value retail sphere is Jewel Square at Koregaon Park, which is now almost 90 per cent booked out. High-end brands like Mango, Promod, Aldo, Charles & Keith and Tommy Hilfigher, are entering Pune's mall territory for the first time, with this project.

In the twists and turns realtors took during the recession, a major shift was seen from the large size homes in the 1200-1600 sq ft area bracket to one bedroom and studio units in the "affordable" category. The general buyer preference has once again evolved to 2-3 BHK flats, the most popular price tags falling within the range of Rs 25 to 35 lakh, the report said.

According to the report, projects that were put on indefinite hold during the financial crunch are now seeing the light of day, with construction once again on a war footing across the city. Projects that are due to be launched within the next six months are being advertised heavily. For projects to be launched within the festive season, developers are not offering freebies and esoteric incentives, but are focusing on price discounts for limited periods, the report added.

"The slowdown has brought about residential space affordability and availability in areas that were previously out of reach for middle-income buyers. Due to reduction in pricing, residential property buyers now have a choice of attractive deals in preferred areas," said Mohammed Aslam, head of Pune market for JLLM.

Source: Realty Plus Demand for larger homes picking up: JLLM

Things are unbelievably looking up for city’s real estate sector. According to the latest report published by global real estate tracker Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), Pune city will see a whopping 51 per cent compounded growth over the next five years — the highest for any Indian city.

The projection given out is on four sections of real estate viz. retail, office space, residential and hotel rooms.

“Pune is expected to see the highest compounded annual growth in retail demand at 51 per cent, owing to favourable demographics.

The total expected retail space demand for the city is projected at approximately 1.76 million square feet, office space at 21.7 million square feet, residential at 4 lakh plus units and hotel rooms’ demand at 30,000 rooms per night,” says the report.

City growing rapidly
“Pune city is developing rapidly. The multiple-pocket development is giving the city an edge over any other tier-II cities in the country.

Source: www.punemirror.in Is Pune city growing too fast?

• City growing in all directions

• Is Pune geared to handle such growth?

A Khan, Industries Secretary was quoted in the report as saying that the MIDC stake would be in terms of land and infrastructure. The exact quantum of investment was still not known.

The lease agreement would be signed in a week after which the first phase of 1,700 hectares would achieve financial closure. The land for this phase was in place; the process of procuring 2,000 hectares for the next phase was underway, the report added.

Bharat Forge has requested the State to expedite the process so that the second phase of land acquisition is completed by August 15. The Government has also given its clearance for 48 million cubic metres of water for the SEZ. According to a press release from the chief minister's Office, nearly 25 lakh people would be employed in the SEZ over a 25-year timespan. The SEZ would house companies involved in heavy engineering, auto (and components), gems and jewellery, IT and electricals and electronics.

A leading builder from Pune has done the unthinkable. Krome builders is offering 1BHK and 2BHK flats on the outskirts of Pune at half the existing rate in the area.

Krome is planning to construct a 425 apartment complex spread over 400 acres in Vishrantwadi, which is a 20-minute drive from Koregaon Park a posh Pune locality.

While the rates in Vishrantwadi are between Rs 2,800-3,500 per sq ft, Krome is offering flats at Rs 1,500-2,000 per sq ft.

This means a flat measuring 300 to 750 sq ft will cost you anywhere between Rs 5 to 15 lakh. The project will be launched in August and bookings start in the same month.

Quality conscious

Nainesh Nandu, managing director, Krome, said, "With the slashed rates, the profit margin will be a little less. But we will buy construction equipment in bulk and optimise our resources.

We plan to use vitrified tiles, aluminum windows and sanitary ware of the best quality. If people think we will compromise on quality, they are mistaken. They can have a look at our other projects."

Source: Mid Day Flat 50% Discount

President of the Pune chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) said that a Rs10-lakh flat was probably sold in the late 1990s, while a few others said it was early 2000.

Forced by the slump in the real estate sector, many builders in the city have turned their focus into affordable housing projects in the price range of Rs10 lakh to Rs13.5 lakh.

Credai vice-president Rohit Gera said builders are just reacting to what the market demands at this moment. "Even a year back, nobody would have thought of a flat in the range of Rs10-12 lakh," he said, adding that with the client base now changing because of the slowdown, the demand for the smaller-sized homes is on the rise.

A recent analysis by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj revealed that the buyers have adopted a conservative approach and prefer budget-friendly homes.

Mohammed Aslam, the Pune head of Meghraj, said while the demand for luxury units is extremely curtailed, there is still a market for I BHK flats in the range of Rs12-16 lakh and 2BHKs to some extent.

Kolte-Patil Developers, known for its high-end projects, is among the constructors entering the affordable housing project.

Source: dnaindia.com Rs10 lakh for a flat in Pune

"Builders have re-positioned their projects and they are all talking about affordable housing. I am referring to homes that the average middle-class buyer would buy, which would earlier have been a 1,200 sq ft two-bedroom-hall-kitchen
(BHK). This has now become a 900-950 sq ft, two bedroom flat. The fastest moving flats in the city are priced in the Rs 25-45 lakh bracket," Mr Magar said.

Changed specifications include reducing the size of the flat, thus its overall price, and reducing specifications. So, Italian marble will make way for either Indian marble or ceramic tiles, leading to a substantial cost reduction which builders are now passing on to buyers.

Lalit Kumar Jain, chairman of Kumar Builders, said: "In the last nine months, sales at our projects were near zero. And that was the case with a lot of other builders, too. Now that a new government is in place, sentiment is up and we are getting enquiries. March was a good month and May even better. We believe that in the next 45 days, Pune will have a demand for 5,000-7,500 units. A total of 27,000 units will be ready in the next 30 months in Pune, with a 5-7% price correction," Mr Jain said, adding that this correction in prices would be immediate.

Property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) maintained that the highest demand is for flats in the 900-1100 sq ft, in a price range of Rs 27-30 lakh. There is also a trend towards to the small one BHK flat or compact studio. However, builders claim that projects require a lead time of a couple of years so any changes they make now will actually come onto the market only a couple of years from now, when they hope these products will sell. On high-end residential real estate, Mr Magar said: "This is a recession-proof segment. The buyers in this segment are not job-dependent buyers and the builders in this segment, too, are specialists who do not look at bulk or mass housing schemes."

Even as the Maharashtra Government is celebrating 2009 as the Year of Housing for All, 1,220 families living in slums have reason to raise a toast.

For, starting June, families from Sector 22 in Nigdi will have a dignified existence.

Each family will be housed in a 270-square-foot flat amidst green surroundings.

They will have access to basic amenities and will have adequate parking space, too.

Starting this week, 500 families will be handed over keys to their flats and a fortnight later, another 720 families will get their "dream house." The flats, which are actually worth over Rs 5 lakh each in an area where the going rate is Rs 2000 per sqfoot, are available for these families for Rs 35,000.

Even if the 720 families are not in a position to pay a single paise to pay for the flat, they need not worry.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation will help the families in getting bank loans at a low interest.

"The first project is over.

We will start distributing flats to the slum-dwellers living in Sector 22, Nigdi, this week onwards," said Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma.

Claiming that PCMC was the first civic body in the state to complete the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Sharma vouched for the quality of the flats.

Source: The Indian Express Finally, the poor can get their dream house

Mohammed Aslam, head, Pune at real estate research and advisory company Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), told TOI that the demand for serviced apartments in the city is being driven primarily by new companies being established in the city. "Many corporates are absorbing manpower from beyond the city's borders and the demand for serviced apartments from transient staff is now very significant. More properties in Pune are adding to their serviced apartment capabilities to meet this demand," Aslam said.

The segment has now broadened as the their offerings are increasing in number, nature and services. While the sizes of the units vary from a studio to a three-bedroom flat, the services range from bed-and-breakfast to full service, including household assistance.

Royal Orchid Golden Suites, promoted by Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels, has 71 studio rooms supported by a multicuisine restaurant and a bar. A drawing room, a well-appointed kitchen and one- to three-bed rooms is, however, the more common format most serviced apartments adhere to.

Source: Times Of India Serviced apartments gain popularity

Ranjeet Moray, chairman of BAI,Pune Centre said that these particular cell's have been created with the idea that they will be having heir own AIM and solution for problems. This has to be dealt and known by them and to succeed in their specific activity.This will give a common platform to the members and will serve the requirements of construction industry at large. This will also help to the members in networking i.e. Builders can find contractors, suppliers, Architects etc and vice a versa.

BAI would like to have the consolidated strength to negotiate with the suppliers giving benefits to the members for the products like Cement, Steel, Building Material, Plywood, Construction Machinery etc. With the recession hitting hard Builders Association of India has taken up these initiatives to help it's members come out of this .Discussions are already on with Cement companies , Sanitaryware companies , Steel companies etc for lower pricing or discounts to BAI members .Similarly discussions with the Crush Sand Manufacturers are also in the process and the agreement is also on the verge.

Arranging Training for the Members of BAI to understand various Trends, specialized seminars through out the year focusing upon subjects like Mechanisation, IT in Construction, New Building Material and Taxation etc. will be conducted.Stress will be given to Affordable & Durable Housing BAI already got guide lines regarding use of BAMBOO for Affordable Housing from Hon.

Source: The Indian Express BAI formulates cells to tackle specific issues

Anuj Puri, managing country head of real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), said: "Yes, the present market situation has forced many developers to sell their non-core land where they had invested earlier. Builders are just focusing on their core projects for the moment and looking to complete them." Ostensibly, the builders are not getting the price they had paid earlier. In some cases, say industry sources, builders are willing to settle for a drop in 30% over what they paid.

Interestingly, many New Delhi-based developers, who purchased land in Mumbai, are said to be looking at ways to monetise their land in Mumbai. According to property market sources, DLF has also put its NTC Mill property in central Mumbai on the block, though the DLF spokesperson denied it.

The issue gets a little complicated since closing deals at lower prices has been anything but easy. "There have been many such deals in the market, but the asking rate by the seller seems to be higher. This could come down further as many foreign funds, which financed many projects earlier, are not willing to invest any further," said SN Chopra, chairman, Hill Estate, a Mumbai-based property consultant.

Within the broker fraternity, the news about large developers selling their land continues unabated. It is learnt that K Raheja Universal is selling its Hindustan Composite property in Vikhroli in central Mumbai, which it had bought only last year for a whopping Rs 650 crore. It is also understood that they have sold parts of their land at Khar in western Mumbai and at the Wallace Mills in south Mumbai. This could not be confirmed from the developer as an e-mail sent by ET remained unanswered.

Likewise, Kalpataru was believed to be looking to sell some of its land in north Mumbai, though this was denied by the company's executive director, Parag Munot.

Builders, who had invested heavily at the peak of the market boom, are not only faced with a repayment issue, but are forced to rethink the viability of the project. In some cases, banks have had to sell land that has been mortgaged to recover the amount lent to the builders. "A public sector bank has such land from many builders, and they are now putting it up for sale, especially in New Delhi and Mumbai," said a city-based developer.

Since the second half of February, developers have seen at least a 20 to 30 per cent rise in bookings for new projects. "Buyers for new projects are gradually increasing, which indicates that there is genuine demand when the price is right," Magar added.

However, developers admitted that they had to rationalise size, reduce amenities and offer right prices to witness this rise in demand.

"Another boost came when some of the public and private banks that had stopped lending for projects resumed funding," said Hemant Naiknavare, vice-president of PBAP and director of Naiknavare Developers.

The developers can now avail of project finance and start new schemes, without waiting for funds to come from bookings made by customers and their home loan disbursements.

Source: Realty Plus Pune developers see silver lining for realty sector

In Pune, a few local builders have recently introduced financial schemes which are representative of an individualistic real estate market, according to global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM). These are `rent now, buy later', or `book now and pay back the difference if the prices fall'.

A prominent development house -- Mont Vert Homes -- offers potential buyers the option of renting a 2BHK at a minimum rent of Rs 12,000 per month and with a deposit of Rs 1 lakh, and buying the rented flat at a later date. The payments made, should purchase of the flat ensue, are then treated as down payments. A lock-in period of three years is also part of the agreement. This allows occupants to either continue on a rental basis or to buy a flat they have grown familiar with at a date when the rates would conceivably have sunk to more rational levels.

Another Pune-based developer, Rohan Builders, on the other hand, takes a down payment on an under-construction flat in any of six ongoing projects and offers to pay back the difference in the current and future market rates if the market corrects further at a later stage.

But it is not just Pune that is witness to such schemes. Other cities are also seeing a flurry of activity as far as innovative ideas are concerned. Delhi-based developer TDI, for instance, is currently offering two schemes -- assured rent for 22 months post construction and gross adjustment in the construction expense. Various options under both the schemes are offered to customers so as to fit their pockets. The construction time spans between 10 and 12 months in either of the schemes. The plot owner will make the entire payment in four equal installments starting from the day of registration.

Source: Economic Times Scheme of THINGS    

Satish Magar, president PBAP (now CREDAI, Pune), said, "We felt that our interests would be better served as part of the national body. When PBAP was formed, there was no national body that represented the interests of our industry. However, over time, members of PBAP took the initiative and participated in the creation of CREDAI. Now it makes sense to have the same name, as PBAP is part of CREDAI."

The industry has issues that require representation and action on a national, state and local level. CREDAI, at the all-India level, caters to the national-level issues faced by the industry. CREDAI Maharashtra (the state-level association) takes care of state-level issues while CREDAI Pune will deal with the local level aspects. This structure replicates the way the issues faced by the industry are managed," Magar added.

Magar inaugurated a three-day property exhibition Best of West' on Friday that showcases housing projects coming up in Baner, Aundh, Balewadi, Pashan, Wakad, Pimple Saudagar, Rahatni, Pimpale Nilakh, Hinjewadi and Talegaon. The exhibition is on until April 26.

"Pune is seeing a resurgence in demand in the real estate sector as interest rates have rationalised, giving greater impetus to the latent demand by real home buyers," said Magar.

Call them desperate measures or innovative schemes. The troubled times in the real estate sector have created a window of opportunity for buyers. In a bid to perk up demand and win over prospective clients, builders are introducing buyer-friendly financial schemes. A last ditch effort to give a boost to the residential segment, these schemes are receiving a good response from customers.

In Pune, a few local builders have recently introduced financial schemes which are representative of an individualistic real estate market, according to global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM). These are `rent now, buy later', or `book now and pay back the difference if the prices fall'.

A prominent development house Mont Vert Homes offers potential buyers the option of renting a 2BHK at a minimum rent of Rs 12,000 per month and with a deposit of Rs 1 lakh, and buying the rented flat at a later date. The payments made, should purchase of the flat ensue, are then treated as down payments.

A lock-in period of three years is also part of the agreement. This allows occupants to either continue on a rental basis or to buy a flat they have grown familiar with at a date when the rates would conceivably have sunk to more rational levels.

Another Pune-based developer, Rohan Builders, on the other hand, takes a down payment on an under-construction flat in any of six ongoing projects and offers to pay back the difference in the current and future market rates if the market corrects further at a later stage.

But it is not just Pune that is witness to such schemes. Other cities are also seeing a flurry of activity as far as innovative ideas are concerned. Delhi-based developer TDI, for instance, is currently offering two schemes assured rent for 22 months post construction and gross adjustment in the construction expense.

Source: The Economics Times Scheme of things

PBAP's newly-elected president Satish Magar at a press conference, claimed that the organisation's members have seen bookings in new projects rise by at least 20 to 30 per cent since February.

"New projects are attracting more customers, which shows that even, demand exists at the right price and buyers are willing to purchase. The market has left the worse behind, as the much-feared Obama effect failed to restrict Indian IT sector's role in the American market. This has renewed the confidence of prospective buyers, who had stalled their decision to invest in a home over the last few months," Magar said.

"Prices have rationalised and interest rates have also gone down, which has also renewed the buyers' interest. People have realised that the input costs and land costs have no further scope for correction. Citizens who want to buy homes find this the right time to invest," Magar added.

More importantly, banks and housing finance institutions are gradually opening up to the realty sector for project financing on merit basis. This implies that the developers can now avail of project finance and start with new schemes, without waiting for funds to come from bookings made by customers and their home loan disbursements.

Source: Realty Plus Residential projects on a roll: PBAP

According to property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLL-M), the demand for office space has dropped 60-80% compared to the peak period from late 2005 to early 2008.

Some parts of the city had seen rental appreciation of over 100% during the period on the back of demand from the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and IT/ITES sectors.

"Rentals are set to go down a further 20-25% in Mumbai owing to the mismatch in supply and demand. BFSI, which generated the most demand for the Mumbai market, has been hit the most in the recent times," said Vivek Dahiya, CEO of property consultancy GenReal.

A JLL-M report `The Slope of Descent' says: "The BFSI and IT/ITES sectors -- the most prominent office space occupiers in the country -- have been adversely affected in the economic downturn. The BFSI sector suffered globally with the collapse of major US and UK banks resulting in many financial corporates putting their expansion plans on hold. BFSI demand for office space in India's business districts fell in 2008, and it is projected to remain sluggish in the short term."

Source: Realty Plus Oversupply may bring down Mumbai office rentals

During past few years, the real estate prices had swelled up to the maximum levels in metros and several other cosmopolitan cities. However, according to experts the price rise was artificial and temporary. The boom in the real estate sector caused immediate spurt in the prices of the construction related commodities including cement, steel and ceramics. But with real estate prices cooling off in recent times, the cascading effect was seen in the construction related commodities.

However, in the wake of the general election, the government infused huge funds for infrastructure development projects in the country. This gave some strength to the falling commodity prices, but the government support could not give a hold to the falling realty prices in the metros.

In an exhibition held at Mumbai by Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), the developers were offering apartments at 25-35 per cent lower prices than the peak price. More interestingly, few developers were also selling residential apartments at 30 per cent lower than the peak prices which were nearing completion.

Source: Realty Plus Slowdown heat melts realty prices in Mumbai

"Owing to volatile market conditions, insecurity of jobs, there has been a decrease in the number of footfalls in the malls in Pune. The footfalls also vary from location to location and depend on the new schemes introduced from time to time to attract customers," said Kishen Milaney, property consultant, Kaypee Shelters. Also, during the present uncertain times, even those who do visit the malls do not necessarily end up buying things, Milaney added.

The city, according to him has about 60 business locations in the heart of the city, as well as in the newly developed residential zones and IT parks.

"About 20 to 30 malls of various sizes are in the making. It is not clear how many will be completed as some are looking for better brands. Some may even change hands," said Milaney.

Big Bazaar, which has six stores of various sizes spread across Pune, says luxury items like furniture and electronic goods had taken a hit.

Source: Realty Plus Retail real estate struggles to survive in Pune

This was the eight- highest fall among the world's top- 50 premium real estate markets.

The bearer of this scary news is the London- based worldwide real estate consultancy, Knight Frank, whose ` 2008 Prime International Residential Index', released in partnership with Citi Private Bank, paints a grim picture of the international luxury property market.

The biggest losers, the report says, were the prime locations in Hong Kong (- 24.5 per cent), London (- 17 per cent) and Singapore (- 14.6 per cent). " For most of the world's prime residential markets, 2008 was a year to forget," it said. " Prices fell in almost half of all global hot spots and sales volumes all but dried up in many markets. From Europe, to the Middle East, to the Americas and Asia, few places had much to celebrate." Of the 55 " prime residential markets" covered by the London- based agency's index, as many as 23 saw prices fall over the course of 2008, six saw no change and 26 saw growth.

New Delhi does not feature in this " global property wish list," which is a ranking of cities where global real estate investors buy property.

Source: Mail Today.in Slump hits luxury realty in Mumbai

Real estate developers, which were building apartments for a price tag of Rs 30 lakh and above are now busy planning smaller flats in the price range of Rs 12 lakh and upwards.

The real estate market in Pune has seen a steep rise in prices over the last four years due to a rapid growth in information technology, automobile and education sectors. However, the slowdow in the economy has put the real estate developers in a fix as there is an overall 15 to 20 per cent price correction in the market.

Mohammed Aslam, Pune-head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, said, "The real estate market will see low-cost apartment projects coming up fast in Pune. There are potential buyers in the city but most of them are interested in budget flats. We expect to have around 50,000 units ready to sell by December this year, but the sales would be less for sure."

Source: Realty Plus Pune developers shift focus towards fancy budget homes

Unlisted property firm Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd plans to raise at least Rs1,000 crore from private equity, or PE, funds this year as it seeks to enter new markets and develop part of its 1,500- acre land bank.

In June, the Mumbai-based developer sold 0.65% stake for Rs20 crore to HT Media Ltd in a transaction that valued the company at Rs3,076 crore. In April, Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (BCCL) paid Rs60 crore for an undisclosed stake in the firm.

HT Media, publisher of the Hindustan Times and Mint, competes with BCCL, publisher of The Times of India and The Economic Times.

"This time, we are planning to raise funds strictly at project level and don't want to go in for dilution of stake or funding at company level," said Sunil Mantri, founder of the eponymous firm. "We have also been talking to different PE funds and will finalize (a deal) in some time."

The fund-raising plan comes at a time when most real estate developers are scurrying for finances to finish under-construction projects amid an economic downturn that has dented real estate demand and valuations. Many property firms are being offered a lifeline by PE funds, which see potential profit opportunities in the sector.
Sunil Mantri Realty, an eight-year-old company, has around 10 million sq. ft under construction. Over the years, it has acquired a 1,500-acre land bank spread across the country.

"Currently, the master planning and land consolidation process is going on," said Mantri. Sunil Mantri Realty plans to invest $100 million (Rs514 crore now) in the project in three phases over a period of eight years.

On home ground, however, the company says it is proceeding according to plan.

Three weeks ago, the company bought three sick textile mills from Maharashtra State Textile Corp. Ltd for Rs68 crore. It plans more such acquisitions in the coming months.

The mills, located in Nagpur, Solapur and Kolhapur, will be converted into residential and commercial properties, even as a portion would be retained as a textile unit.

Source: Live Mint Sunil Mantri plans to raise Rs1,000 crore

The much-awaited project will be developed by the public works department (PWD) over the next two years at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.

While Pune is gearing up to join the club of metro cities along with Hyderabad, the poor state of infrastructure has been attracting flak from different quarters. Apart from electricity and other civic amenities, transportation has been a major problem.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has already constructed a (western) bypass, which offers connectivity to the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park (Hinjewadi), Pimpri-Chinchwad, Aundh, Baner and Pashan, the information technology hub of Pune.

Towns around Pune such as Talegaon, Chakan, Dehu, Ranjangaon have seen major international automobile players setting up their manufacturing units over the last four years. Names such as Volkswagen, Fiat, General Motors, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Renault, Nissan, Eaton Trucks, JCB, John Deere, Bharat Forge have presence in the Talegaon-Chakan-Ranjangaon belt.

"The new road project will see a six-lane road with a length of 44 kilometre. It will begin from the Mumbai-Bangalore national highway-4, move along Talegaon, Chakan, Ranjangaon, bisect the Pune-Aurangabad state highway and finally reach Pune-Hyderabad national highway-9," a PWD official, involved with the project, told Business Standard.

The government has finalised the tender procedure and the work orders have been issued. The construction is expected to begin from April onwards and will continue for two years, the official stated. "Better road connectivity will help the industrial establishments produce better results, save fuel as well as curcial time," he added.

Details of the investor or the quantum of investment could not be ascertained. However, a group of investors were taken for a site visit to Lavasa over a week ago and the placement is expected by June, the report said.

Meanwhile, HCC officials refused to comment on the private equity infusion. A likely reason for private equity interest may be that work on the Lavasa project was running one year ahead of schedule at a time most other real estate companies were deferring their developments, quoted officials in the report.

Somewhat ironically, they said easier availability of manpower and other resources, as the slowdown takes hold of the industry, which has helped HCC speed up work on the project, the report added.

Source: Realty Plus PE funds for Lavasa likely by June

The rent paid by a tenant who later decides to buy will be deducted from the sale price, as a down payment. There will be no compulsion to buy, says Mont Vert Homes, whose idea it is.

Another interesting aspect is that someone who chooses to move on has the option of passing on the lease to a friend or relative, and the rent paid by the original occupier will, in that case, also be treated as part of the down payment if the purchase is later made by the next man.

The heavy slump in the real estate market here for exercised developers for around six months. The Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP) had recently announced a number of schemes to promote sales.

Says Mont Vert’s managing director, Jayant Kaneria: “By May-June this year, we will have a certain number of apartments ready to sell, which have not been booked so far. When people are finding it difficult to buy flats for fear of losing their job, we want them to give a sigh of relief. We are targeting families that earn up to Rs 50,000 a month and would buy an apartment once the economic slump is over."

“It is not mandatory for tenants to buy the apartment once the lease gets over. They can simply leave or transfer it to any friend or relative. In this case as well, the rent paid by the (original) tenant will be deducted from the final sell price,” Kaneria added

If the real estate agents of the city are to be believed, unlike other cities like Mumbai, Gurgoan and Bengaluru, the market prices of residential apartments did not rise drastically in Pune city when the economy was in good shape.

 "In Pune, we are not envisaging any correction in prices. And the market in the city will start reviving when prospective homebuyers realise that there would not be any correction in the prices in residential sector in the city," said president of the Estate Agents Association of Pune (EAAP), Ravi Varma.

Varma will take over as the president of National Association of Realtors (NAR)-India during the first national convention of NAR-India in the city on March 7.

Varma claimed that in some areas in Mumbai, the market prices rose from 17,000 per square feet to Rs 70,000 per square feet within a span of two-and-a-half years.

"In such cases, correction has taken place since June last year. But in Pune, prices of majority of the projects did not go such high and hence there would not be any need for any correction," he stated.

Responding to queries, the senior functionary of the EAAP admitted that the present scenario for realtors and brokers are challenging.

"The months of November and December were bad for many brokers. But since late January inquiries have started coming in every segment. Some actual sales and leases have started happening in residential and education/retail segments," Varma said.

Dwelling on his new role as the NAR-India chief, Varma said that he would make efforts to make the organisation grow.

"We will expand in the cities, where there is no organisation by helping them in framing rules and guidelines," he said.