Track2Realty: CBRE’s India Office Market View for Q3 2014 reports on the status of Grade A office space in the country’s leading cities. The third quarter observed strong demand for prime office space with around 8 million sq. ft. of office space getting absorbed.
Track2Realty: Despite the significant residential unit inventory and fresh housing supply, most of the urban housing projects across major Indian cities are unaffordable for our economically weaker sections (EWS). This is primarily because developers are by-and-large focused on launching luxury, high-end and mid-end housing projects that are considered ‘safe’ from the perspective of risks and returns in the capital market.
Track2Realty: It is increasingly being observed that standalone luxury hotels are becoming unviable in the country, especially in the case of owned, built projects where the land is acquired, and typically comes at a high cost exceeding 40% of the total development cost.
Track2Realty: The logistics and warehousing market in India attracted steady transaction activity, with large sized transactions of around 100,000–250,000 sq. ft. reported during the first half of 2014. The Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Chennai and Mumbai accounted for the bulk of leasing activity during H1 2014. The automotive, FMCG, commerce, and third party logistics sectors were the principle drivers of demand for warehousing space in the country during the first half of the year, according to the CBRE report, India Logistics MarketView – H1 2014.
Track2Realty: India’s economy grew 5.7% y-o-y in Q1 2014–15 (April–June) belying market forecasts of 5.3%, and showing signs of recovery following annual growth numbers of between 4.4% and 5.2% in each quarter between Q1 2012–13 and Q4 2013–14.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The commercial property is looking forward to sunny days with the forecast of capital values across the commercial segment expected to rise in the next few quarters. The rental market has already started showing the renewed interest level of the occupiers. The widespread economic recovery and the stable government at centre with some of the positive announcements has revived the sentiments across the property market and the commercial property is the first to pick up in the Indian market before other segments also join the rally.
Track2Realty: High profitability is driving growth of new main streets, says Cushman & Wakefield’s report, ‘New Retail Frontiers: Emerging Main Streets in India. The report analyses the potential of new locations, which are emerging as retail hotspots in the seven major cities of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad.
Track2Realty: The global house price boom continues, with a new geographical twist. Housing markets surged during the year to Q2 2014 in Dubai, parts of Europe and the Pacific. In contrast, several Asian governments have implemented cooling measures, successfully restraining their housing markets, and the US housing market boom is weakening.
Track2Realty: Demand for housing across leading cities remained subdued in the first half of 2014. Owing to high pricing and lending rates, buyer preference remained focused on secondary and emerging markets of leading cities; while developers began to offer discounts to boost sales ahead of the festive season. This general slackness in housing sales has been primarily triggered off by the Affordability Index going down in certain cities; although home buyers have been investing in markets that they perceive to be offering value for the product, as well as the preferred location.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Now that some progress towards bringing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) has been made it paves way for a positive investment climate in the country. The decision to allow listings of REITs in India as an investment product will boost the liquidity situation of cash starved developers, who are struggling to find funds for their construction activities.