Track2Realty Exclusive: Subvention schemes have gained popularity with developers in the North India, particularly after the economic slowdown. The scheme conceived by developers in conjunction with banks, allows the home loan applicant to defer EMIs and interest payments, on a property under construction, for the first two years of the loan period.
Track2Realty Exclusive: It seems misleading realty advertisements and promotions are not just Indian market specific but a global trend. While the Indian developers are being asked to stop misleading ads, misleading news with realty/marketing companies’ employees as potential buyers has been reported in other parts of the world.
Track2Realty-Agencies: The realty sector can more than double its contribution to GDP to 13 per cent by 2025 on rising housing demand, if the government removes bottlenecks in infrastructure, lowers borrowing cost and makes process of approvals shorter, global property consultant CBRE said.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In India the regulation bill has been contemplated for a few years, but it is only now being actively pursued through multiple rounds of industry consultation. As a tool to drive this initiative, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), has drafted a regulation bill laying down the necessary provisions to set up a regulatory body, defining its powers and functions, responsibilities of the developers and penalties for violations and RICS appreciates the initiative to further improve upon and facilitate a smoother introduction of the regulatory authority within the purview of the revised regulation bill.
Track2Realty: Describing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) populist ban in sand mining as arbitrary and anti growth , developer’s apex body CREDAI Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain has threatened that the developer community is considering appropriate legal options to challenge the order. The nationwide stay on sand mining from river beds by the NGT adds to the ever increasing burden on the real estate industry.
Track2Realty: Retail leasing activity continued to be subdued in Q2 2013, as most retailers remained cautious due to the weak economic conditions that are currently prevailing in India. Several retailers started to employ new service delivery models by closing down loss making stores, especially in non-core markets.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The realty sector may call it freeze of creative liberty but the proposed penalty clause in regulator bill on misleading ads can also bring much-needed facelift to the sector. Track2Realty takes up the issue with the industry representatives to understand why they are scared with the misleading ads clause in the proposed bill. Is it really about curbing the creativity or an attempt to rationalise over promises by the developers?
Track2Realty Exclusive: There is no clear-cut definition of the term ‘affordable’, as it is a relative concept and could have several indirect meanings in different contexts. In India, private developers primarily target luxury, high-end and upper-mid housing segment, since it fetches a premium over low income housing. This leads to a sustained supply for this segment, increasing market competitiveness for developers.
Track2Realty: India has witnessed the sharpest appreciation in real estate prices in the last couple of years, according to data from the Global Property Guide, an organization which collates real estate data from across the world.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Smart homes in India are coming up with a plethora of new technologies and have begun to find their ways into homes not owned by the richest exclusively. Technology vendors and real-estate players from different domains have started developing solutions capable of being easily integrated into home-environments. IP based technologies are making substantial strides in the area of ‘smart-home’.