Track2Realty: Western suburbs of Mumbai are set for a facelift through redevelopment post the new Development Control Rule (DCR). Ravi Sinha speaks to Lalit Kumar Jain, CMD, Kumar Urban Development and CREDAI President to understand whether it would add more pressure on the existing crumbling infrastructure of the suburbs. Excerpts of the interview:
Track2Realty: Provident Housing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Puravankara Projects Limited, is set to launch India’s largest residential township project. This gargantuan project, ‘Provident Sunworth’, is a 6 million square feet project spread over 60 acres , strategically located off Mysore Road near the NICE ring road junction in Bengaluru, within driving distance from Electronics city, Industrial hubs and the IT corridor.
Track2Realty: DTZ has brokered the sale of US Consulate’s Washington House in Alta Mount Road in South Mumbai to Lodha Developers at the rate of approximately Rs. 140,000 per sq meter or USD 28,000 per sq meter.
Track2Realty-Agencies: A retired judge will head an inquiry to determine whether government officials were bribed to help retail giant Wal-Mart gain access to Indian markets.
Track2Realty: The year 2012, which started on an unenthusiastic note due to the global as well domestic economic turmoil, is now showing initial signs of recovery. Amongst the larger world economies, the US economy recorded a GDP growth of 1.7% between April and June, slightly higher than earlier estimates of 1.5%.
Track2Realty: When you look at the developing market, where the cost of construction is a huge issue and most of the realtors are mid sized developers. What are the suggestions you would like to give them so that they can adopt more and more energy efficient buildings?
Track2Realty-Agencies: Indiabulls Real Estate has opened its first overseas office in the UAE. Located in Dubai, the local representative office will cater to the rising interest and demands of the UAE-based NRIs in company’s projects across India and expand its regional reach, the company said in a statement.
Track2Realty: Tata Housing has got an investment by Portman Holdings into its luxury housing project “The Promont” in Bengaluru. This is the first private equity funding for a Tata Housing project.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Some property analysts have been critical about such group-buying websites, stating that they have an unsustainable business model. “Considering the nature of the Indian realty sector, which had tainted its image in numerous corruption scandals—and the rising interest rate regime, which has kept consumers away from buying such properties, such sites are expected to generate very little offtake from a consumer. Again, a prospective costumer may get some deals and discounts through one-on-one direct physical negotiations as well,” says Kamal Kapoor, a property advisor.
Track2Realty: The primary advantage of going in for a resale flat would lie in buying a home in a strategic location where no new supply is coming in. If one has personal cash resources at one’s disposal and is not reliant on a home loan (a home loan on a very old property cannot be taken for granted), buying a home in a project that is 20 years or more in age can be a good investment bet if the residential property is in a strategic, high demand location with low or no new supply. This would mean that the project would come up for redevelopment, ensuring a tidy profit to the owner.