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Track2Realty: A home is the costliest purchase that an Indian makes. Hence selling a residential property is not an easy task since the Indian customer by nature is very discerning and price conscious.
Track2Realty: DLF on rejected activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal’s allegations of corruption in the business dealings with Robert Vadra, saying the Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law bought flats from the company at prevailing market rates. The company also clarified that no unsecured loans were given to Vadra.
Track2Realty: India Against Corruption (IAC) raised certain allegations, some of which pertained to DLF. In this regard, we would like to state that the business relationship of DLF with Mr Robert Vadra or his companies, has been in his capacity as an individual entrepreneur, on a completely transparent and at an arm’s length basis. Our business relationship has been conducted to the highest standards of ethics and transparency, as has been our business practices, all around.
Track2Realty: In most Indian metros, people have reached a point where the word “nature” has become a distant dream which they hope to enjoy on a vacation. All they get to see are tall scrapers coupled with a massive amount of pollution. Children in these cities do not know what it means to wake up to the chirping of birds, or even the view of sunrise. Most of India experiences such encounters with nature. However, people in metro cities are missing out on this special experience.
A question that is doing the rounds is, if it is wise to build such large and high-end office spaces, considering the fact that working pattern is tilting towards flexible working hours and many employers are encouraging work from home. This would cut down the need for spending on office staff, expenditures on overheads, maintenance and large office space.
Track2Realty-JLLI: Recently, the annual GDP number (6.5% GDP growth during FY April 2011-March 2012) released by the Reserve Bank of India resulted in a negative sentiment throughout the real estate industry. Consistent with this, in 1H12, the demand for commercial real estate moderated on the back of office occupiers that remained cautious about their expansion plans.
Bangalore’s luxury residential market seen a major transformation in the recent past, with the Kingfisher Tower setting a new capital values benchmark (northwards of Rs. 30,000/sq.ft) in the super luxury category. The new dynamics being seen now have been referred to as the ‘coming of age’ of Bangalore’s residential market, and I agree with this definition. We are certainly witnessing a remarkable maturing process here.
The recent decision by the Government to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail is understandably the talk of the town. There are various points of view regarding the impact it will have on the retail sector in specific and the Indian economy in general, but the decision is a big step in the direction of strengthening organized retail in the country. To get the complete picture, it is important to understand the situation which exists currently and how the new regulations are going to change the retail landscape.
Further insight on the current state of the Indian economy will be provided with the release of July industrial production data on Wednesday 12th and August WPI (inflation) on Friday 14th. Recent news flow has generally been a little downbeat but the picture is not a uniform one.
With overall vacancy increasing and business and investor sentiment low, why are office rents in many micro markets in Mumbai still increasing? In the recent past, many corporate decision makers have been wondering aloud why the rents and capital values in markets such as Lower Parel and BKC have risen in the last 4-5 months.