Track2Realty: The Housing Sentiment Index (IIMB MB HIS) assessed by IIM Bangalore and Magicbricks forecasts that homebuyers across 8 of the 10 cities surveyed expect real estate prices to rise over the next six months. The aggregate Housing Sentiment Index (HSI) measured across 10 cities this quarter stood at 108. (An HSI score of 100 suggests the prices would remain static).
Track2Realty: Investment-grade office space demand slowed down in the first quarter of 2014, with around 6.3 million sq. ft. of Grade A office space getting absorbed across the leading cities of the country. Transaction activity was dominated by the National Capital Region (NCR), Bangalore and Chennai.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Tamil Nadu Government must be commended for its focus on infrastructure development; it is a key determinant of the state’s economic progress. So long as the commitment to infrastructure remains, the prognosis for real estate will be good.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Statistics only tell half the story and this old adage is all the more relevant in the property market where the transactions and appreciation/depreciation may or may not have a direct co-relation. In Gujarat real estate market the prophets of doomsday had a field day in the last over a year time due to slow pace of growth. They cited the National Housing bank’s Residex that shows Ahmedabad witnessed only 6 per cent growth in property prices in last one year.
Track2Realty: Employment opportunities to the tune of approximately four to five lakh are expected to be generated within the next two years across the country’s leading cities. In case India’s economic growth accerelates to above 6% in 2015, more such opportunities may be expected.
Track2Realty: Transactions in India’s real estate space might have slowed down over the last two quarters, but the sector has not been overwhelmed by the state of the wider economy. Despite the subdued pre-election economic scenario, in fact, the period observed an increase in private equity activity.
Track2Realty: The total fresh mall supply by the end of 2014 is projected to be approximately 14 million square feet (msf) approx. in the top eight cities of India, of which 13.6 msf is still under construction, says a report by Cushman & Wakefield. This is nearly 200% more than the supply received in 2013 which was recorded at almost 4.6 msf. Of the total expected mall supply for the year of 2014 approximately 60% or 8.2 msf of fresh mall supply is expected to be received by National Capital Region (NCR) followed by Bengaluru at 2.86 msf.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The term ‘serviced apartment’ is traditionally used to describe an apartment alternative to hotel accommodation for long stay leisure or business travelers. However there are two types of accommodation namely extended stay and corporate housing. It is built in a manner where a furnished accommodation, comparatively larger than a hotel room, with small kitchenette is provided with basic facilities of a household, sometimes even provided with concierge service.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The real-estate category has taken the product-led path to brand building. Products occupy centre-stage in advertising campaigns; properties serve as brand emblems. Developers build properties, showcase them through advertisements, customers experience drives word-of-mouth, which in turn generates additional customers and on it goes. Through this iterative process, a brand is built. In other words, the brand identity is inherent in the developer’s real-estate footprint.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Gujarat real estate has by and large reasons to feel satisfied with its better-than-national average performance during the year 2013. It would be safe to maintain that the property market in the state has weathered the slowdown blues better than many other matured property markets across the country and the developers are better off now than in 2009. As per rough estimates 50 per cent of top companies in the state have improved on their debt servicing while 30 per cent will see a fall in debt from next fiscal.