Track2Realty: Real estate is a business that requires regular funding, be it at the acquisition or execution stage. To raise funds, developers in India opt for modes like joint venture, pre-sale and construction finance. Construction finance can work out cheaper but is difficult to obtain because of the strict guidelines laid down by the Reserve Bank of India.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Government of India has been re-evaluating policy measures and modifying these or initiating fresh mandates in order to give a boost to the industry. Changes in policies pertaining to SEZs towards reducing area requirements, the easing of norms for external commercial borrowing (ECB) for development of affordable housing and the augmentation of limits for listed NCDs will go a long way in clearing bottlenecks faced by the sector.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The real estate sector in India today is developing at a scorching pace. Factors such as higher levels of income and purchasing power and the growing need for entertainment, leisure and shopping, the government’s focus on infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation driven by rural-urban immigration and an emerging trend of nuclear families, greater availability of loans to finance real estate purchases, amongst others, have been instrumental in this development.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Real Estate Regulation Bill will define and clarify various concepts in the sector; this will bring in transparency and curb unfair practices. Following the trend seen in other sectors like telecom, banking, insurance etc, the Bill provides for creation of a separate Regulator and Appellate Authority. While it is expected to provide specialized regulation and enforcement, this should not become another regulatory in the ‘approval’ matrix.
Track2Realty Exclusive: A report released by BNP Paribas earlier this year on realty firms found that each of them performed poorly on one or more of the parameters. Some of the assessment parameters include compensation structure, ability to retain key personnel, financial stability, pending litigation and trading in own stock.
Track2Realty: There are still significant investment opportunities left in India’s real estate market. For investors looking at cost-effective projects to park their funds, this might be a right time as weak market sentiments are likely to lead to weak valuations, providing windows for investing in quality projects.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Making the strategic shift of corporate in realty is not easy and getting things right is even more complex. Even though real estate business may not be the primary operations of several conglomerates who have entered this business space, sound corporate governance is based on more than just simple compliance with ‘universal standards’.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The capital city is witnessing a face lift with various infrastructural initiatives, increasing prominence of satellite towns and emergence of new business districts. The Master Plan 2021 aims at making Delhi “a global metropolis and a world class city” for which necessary initiatives are being undertaken by both the Government and the private sector.
Track2Realty-Agencies: Two more entities have received market regulator SEBI’s approval to set-up Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), a newly created class of pooled-in investment vehicles for real estate, private equity and hedge funds.
Real estate consultants Jones Lang LaSalle in conjunction with law firm Blake Dawson, have launched The Asia Pacific Property Investment Guide 2012, a comprehensive guide to how real estate markets operate across Asia Pacific.