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: 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-Agencies: After some neglect in the past several years, the realty industry in India finally saw some reforms that had a direct and indirect impact on its fortunes and which led to the some development of the sector in 2012. The prospect of a revival looks brighter once the central bank keeps it promise of cutting interest rates to spur overall growth.
Track2Realty: A cautious RBI decided to keep key policy rates untouched, and the sector reacted insipidly to the RBI’s decisions, which were taken after its mid-term quarterly policy review. While many financial analysts termed its move as “over cautious” one and said that they were expecting a cut in key rates, realty reeling under a whole lot of issues and living on a wish of market revival in the year ahead said the decision to leave policy on hold has no immediate implications for the real estate sector.
Track2Realty: Subdued economic growth on the domestic front and persistent concerns about the economic outlook in USA and Euro Zone moderated business confidence among office space occupiers in 2012. As a result, the major seven cities in India witnessed restrained office space take-up in 2012.
Track2Realty: Uncertainties prevailing in the real estate market since the past few years have resulted in the country no longer being an attractive investment destination for international investors, says a recent survey.
Track2Realty: The finance ministry is reportedly working on the modalities to revive the real estate sector. According to ministry sources, the move is aimed to ensure that stalled projects get bank sector financing. The move, which is expected to help revive growth, is likely to be decided over the coming weeks.
Track2Realty-Agencies: To provide cheaper houses for lower income groups, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) is working for the inclusion of affordable housing in the infrastructure list.
Track2Realty: In the annual report by global real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield, “Main Streets across the world”, Mumbai witnessed the highest rental growth globally. Colaba Causeway in Mumbai recorded a rental increase of 75% over last year, on the back of strong retailer demand and continuous preference for prime high street properties in the city. Kolkata – Park Street (5th) at 53.8% and Chennai – Khader Niwaz Khan Road (10th) at 36.7% were among the global top ten cities to register highest annual rental growth.
Track2Infra-Agencies: Reflecting developers’ waning interest in Special Economic Zones, 11 companies, including Posco-India and Raheja SEZ, have sought more time from the government for implementing their projects.