Emaar MGF today challenged a single judge’s dismissal of its plea for restraining Delhi Development Authority from encashing its bank guarantee worth Rs. 183 crore due to delay in completion of the Commonwealth Games village.
Considering the amount of negative press they get, it is not immediately apparent that there are also less negative ways of looking at them. For instance, slums represent an extremely high-density model of residential settlement. In this respect, they make the most efficient use of limited land possible.
After the Convention of confederation of real estate developers’ association of India (CREDAI) where the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee urged the realty sector to be poor sensitive, it seems the affordable housing is the buzz word now. National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), the apex body for real estate and housing sectors under the aegis of Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, also announced that its convention is aimed at realizing the “Housing for All” call of Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has urged the real estate sector to be sensitive to the purchasing power of the poor while pricing their housing units. Speaking at the 10th national convention of the Confederation of Real Estate developers” Association of India (CREDAI) in New Delhi on Dec 16, Mukherjee also called for greater integrity in development, construction and marketing or real estate business.
The 10th National Convention (NATCON) of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) is being held in New Delhi, Dec 16-17, and the focus this year is on the affordable housing. The convention will be attended by more than 600 leading real estate developers, heads of financial institutions, fund managers, bankers, state & central government representatives, realty professionals and international experts. The convention will highlight the areas of concern in providing affordable housing to meet the growing need of creating inclusive development in the sector.
While the foreign direct investment flows (FDI) dependent Indian realty market is awaiting a good fortune, a World Bank report brings cheer to the industry. It says the FDI into developing countries including India is expected to recover over the next couple of years and is projected to increase by 17 per cent in 2010.
The Mumbai realty market is awaiting a policy change by the Maharashtra Government that could appreciate the prices in South Mumbai, while soften up the market in the suburbs. Real estate prices in South Mumbai range between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh per sq ft, whereas the rates in the suburbs range between Rs 6,000 and Rs 40,000 per sq ft.
While there seems to be a crisis of credibility in the real estate sector on part of the investors, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) says otherwise. It says the traditional investment options like gold, government bonds and bank fixed deposits are considered old school.
There is a lot of housing supply coming in, but the affordable variety is not happening where it is needed the most – in the central regions of cities like Mumbai, where properties are extremely overpriced now. Nevertheless, this is causing newer locations to be developed in the further suburbs, so the residential market is expanding.
In the wake of Adarsh society controversy the Mumbai government has suddenly woken up to the reality that they don’t have authentic records of land ownership and maps of many plots in one of the costliest addresses in India, South Mumbai. The state’s urban development department has written to the city collector, telling him to prepare records of ownership of land in Backbay and Nariman Point areas in south Mumbai.