The Enforcement Directorate has asked the intelligence officers in different Indian Missions to check the money trail in the 2G spectrum scam. Special Director, ED has sent out communiqués to Cyprus, Mauritius, British Virgin Islands, Jersey, Isle of Man, Singapore, Dubai, and Tripoli (Libya, Norway).
Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation & Minister of Tourism, has categorically blamed the banks for not facilitating the affordable housing. Inaugurating the 10th National Convention of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) at New Delhi the minister said the housing finance sector has witnessed a boom in the recent past due to favorable government policies.
If 2008 was the year of shock, 2009 the year of discovery & introspection and 2010 the follow-up experiment; the year 2011 promises to be the year of comfort level for the Indian real estate sector. It seems the turmoil of the last couple of years has made everybody come out intelligent–investors, developers, bankers and end users.
There has never been a real decline in the popularity of second homes in India. It certainly is a full-fledged real estate market segment in its own right. However, just as on the first home market, the demand for second homes is driven by the general economic climate. When the economy declines, all real estate segments decline with it. By the same coin, the demand for second homes always rises when people’s spending power increases.
8 out of every ten home buyers in the Indian cities are sulking with the unfair trade practices of the real estate developers. Only 20 per cent of the buyers said they received a defect-free home and timely possession. The low customer satisfaction index was as much evident with developers offering affordable housing as with luxury housing.
It is an established fact that scheduled infrastructure projects tend to increase the value of properties in the adjoining areas. This occurs because the infrastructure project becomes a part of USP for the developers or property owners. There have been instances where property prices have increased 50-70% from the announcement of an infrastructure initiative until the operational phase.
Considering the amount of negative press they get, it is not immediately apparent that there are also less negative ways of looking at them. For instance, slums represent an extremely high-density model of residential settlement. In this respect, they make the most efficient use of limited land possible.
Global property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle has cautioned that housing prices in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai have reached the peak level of 2008 and any further rise in the rates will adversely affect the demand. It said the prices in the rest of the country may firm up by about 10-15% next year to touch the 2008 level.
The 10th National Convention (NATCON) of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) is being held in New Delhi, Dec 16-17, and the focus this year is on the affordable housing. The convention will be attended by more than 600 leading real estate developers, heads of financial institutions, fund managers, bankers, state & central government representatives, realty professionals and international experts. The convention will highlight the areas of concern in providing affordable housing to meet the growing need of creating inclusive development in the sector.
While the foreign direct investment flows (FDI) dependent Indian realty market is awaiting a good fortune, a World Bank report brings cheer to the industry. It says the FDI into developing countries including India is expected to recover over the next couple of years and is projected to increase by 17 per cent in 2010.