Real Estate may boast off to be the second largest economic activity and the largest employment provider in the economy, but when it comes to have a say in the policy making, they are found to be sulking.
Jones Lang LaSalle has been named as one of the world’s top 100 outsourcing providers as part of the 2011 Global Outsourcing 100, the annual ranking of high-quality service providers across all industries as determined by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).
The cash strapped realty companies can have a breather in budget for 2011-12 as the Finance Minister is expected to make announcement of a guarantee corpus for banks on realty lending. Track2Realty has learnt that the banks will get this guarantee corpus of Rs. 1000 crore to lend for housing projects.
Nearly all the real estate developers, a whopping 96 per cent, across the country are cribbing for the sectors’ continued under representation in the Union Budget over the years.
Sanjay Chandra, managing director of Unitech Ltd has been summoned by investigators to answer questions over a suspected telecoms fraud that robbed the government of billions of dollars.
As real estate prices shoot up and interest rates, the outlook for the sector does not look too bright. In its year-end report, Knight Frank has stated that new home sales in India have fallen by 25 per cent due to soaring prices. With the Reserve Bank of India tightening lending norms to developers and raising interest rates, the property market is likely to plumb new lows in 2011 as buyers disappear.
Abu Dhabi is hosting a new India property show that will bring over 100 projects from across India for the Capital-based Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), according to its organiser Future Exhibitions and Promotions (FEP). The inaugural ‘India Property 2011’ is scheduled to be held from today, February 11-12, 2011 in Abu Dhabi that will showcase affordable and hi-end luxury properties with competitive prices in the market starting from Rs1 million to Rs10 million.
Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) India has announced the launch of ‘Millionaire Homes 2011’, after the successful series of Millionaire Homes 2009 and 2010 held in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The event is designed as a platform for connoisseurs of lifestyle and fine living, to experience some of the finest concepts in luxury homes in India.
Value and Affordable housing remains a segment where government should definitely continue to provide developers with tax free status which was available earlier. Rather than restricting it to unit sizes as in the past of 1,000 / 1,500 sft per housing unit, the government could instead have a maximum per unit value of say Rs. 15 lakhs for units near Tier I Cities, Rs. 10 lakhs for Tier II Cities.
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to put in place an escrow mechanism that can ring fence their loans to real estate firms and keep a closer tab on the end use of funds. The RBI has been looking to tighten the lending norms for the real estate sector after last year’s bribery-for-loan scam. The scandal also exposed several unethical practices, such as diversion of funds.