Track2Realty Exclusive-Yearly Analysis:During the boom, many developers dreamt of transforming the urban landscape with millions of square feet of homes, offices and malls and set off on an aggressive expansion financed with debt that at 6 per cent interest was cheap by Indian standards. When the going was good, they went overboard with over ambitious big-ticket projects in various cities, many of which still remain stalled.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Most of the real estate analysts believe the year 2012 has been pretty disappointing and actually a waste. Anshuman Magazine, CMD of CB Richard Ellis (South Asia), however, feels it was better than expected. He asserts when the global economy is down and the Indian GDP continuously nose diving, any movement is a positive indicator. In an Exclusive Interview with Track2Realty Magazine talks about the learning of the year and sounds cautious with the prospects of the year ahead.
Track2Realty Exclusive: We all dream of living in a house of our own and often enough put in our lifelong savings investing in a home that has the best of both comfort and location. However, it can be a nightmare if your house is in a locality that requires a lot of effort in getting access to even the things of daily use or makes commuting to your workplace an ordeal. Even the posh areas of a metropolitan city are not free from this problem where you might have to walk quite a distance to get to the supermarket, travel from one corner of the city to other to reach malls and multiplexes, start early for workplace or drive for long to access a hospital in emergency.
Track2Realty Exclusive: What are the challenges for redevelopment of a project in the urban centres? Ram Makhecha, Director, Vakratunda Group believes 80 per cent of the buildings in a city like Mumbai are dilapidated. Most of the other 20 per cent new buildings are better because that got constructed under the redevelopment scheme in recent years.
Track2Realty: Despite aggressive marketing and great offers made by developers on the eve of Diwali festival, the investment in the property have remained lukewarm due to high prices of houses in and around the NCR region. Major factors cited have been high prices of land and the unprecedented rise in the cost of construction materials, iron, cement, labour etc., says the ASSOCHAM survey.
Track2Realty-Agencies: Billionaire Indo-Canadian landlord Bob Dhillon, who is on the Canadian Prime Minister’s entourage currently visiting India, said India can be a developer’s dream because of so many factors. The Japan-born, India-educated businessman also said he “will be the first person to invest in India,” if the country “now goes for the kind of reforms it has just announced for FDI in retail.”
Track2Realty: Supertech today announced tie up with hospitality chain The Leela Palaces, Hotel and Resorts for management of its luxury hotel in Noida that is being developed at an investment of Rs 450 crore.
Track2Realty-Agencies: Robert Vadra was on Friday, Oct 26, given a clean chit by the Haryana government in the controversial land deals involving him in the state after an official probe concluded that there was no “undervaluation” or loss of revenue to the government.
Track2Realty: Office space absorption witnessed a 14% q-o-q decline during the 3rd quarter of 2012, according to the findings of CBRE’s latest report, India Office Market View Q3, 2012. Prime office space absorption across the 7 key cities reviewed decreased to about 6 million sq ft in the third quarter, compared to more than 7 million sq ft in the previous quarter.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Young professionals in metro cities are no longer the demand drivers of residential property. More than half of them, as many as 57%, say they would prefer to stay in rented apartment and instead invest in their tier-II and tier III city home town for better appreciation potential. 78% of those working professionals with double-income who have bought a house in metro now want to invest in their home town for second home.