Track2Realty Investment Magnet Report 2015 tries to decode the alphabets of India’s housing market. The editorial team has not invented these alphabetic connotations and everyone in the sector is well aware of the alphabetic practices as well, yet we simplify it for the average investors and homebuyers who often forget the basics that make their fortunes vary. Familiarity with the given A to Z is often the difference between a skilled homebuyer and a novice.
Eleven real estate developers have come together to promote the…
Affordable housing, though a widely-used term in India, actually means different things to different sets of demographics. The definition of ‘affordable’ is heavily influenced by the socio-economic variables that drive a certain city or location.
The idea of creating a new city as a counter magnet to Mumbai was originally envisaged in the Regional Plan of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in 1965. The actual planning process of this new city began in 1971 after the formation of CIDCO, a Government-owned company for development of cities.
Tokyo is the world’s hottest city for new retailer expansion, attracting 63 new retail brands, according to the latest report by global property advisor CBRE, How Global is the Business of Retail?. Space in core areas of Tokyo remain highly sought after despite the mixed signals in the economy and an increase in sales tax of 8% introduced in April 2014.
A National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in 2013 and yet another recent one have collectively had a greater negative impact on home buyers in the National Capital Region (NCR) than on the developer community. While home buyers were caught unawares and continue to remain jittery with the resultant delay in possessing their dream homes, these two NGT orders reveal the apathy authorities and developers have towards buyers.
New recommendations on the Real Estate Regulatory Bill were made by the ministry and sent to PMO for approval, and the cabinet has now approved it. Next, it will be tabled in the Parliament for passing the bill and making it an Act. In essence, reduction of minimum balance to be maintained in the escrow account of a project has been reduced from 70% to 50%. This amount from the monies collected from the buyers must be placed in an escrow account within 15 days.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has appointed Devina Ghildial as Managing Director – South Asia with effect from March 9th, 2015. In this role, Devina has been entrusted with leading the RICS in the South Asia region with a focus on growing the professional qualification, driving commercial growth, influencing policy, growing the training business and promoting professionalism and standards in the sector.
The stock market is not only showing the investors’ confidence index going up. It is also indicating the way forward for the Indian real estate. After all, investor sentiment on the bourses have often led to the recovery of the real estate market as the investment grows to the next level of confidence for a long term investment. It may be too early for concluding whether the stock recovery is here to stay and lead to revival of the fortunes of the real estate, yet Track2Realty finds the debate has gained ground. While the developers are optimistic about the money sooner than later coming into the sector, the critics have their own reasons to advice wait & watch policy, if not outright denial.
What needs to be done to ensure that Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) get to be the game changer? In India, we have seen ‘pious thought’ and ‘positive thinking’ not always being supplemented by positive action on part of the ‘powers that be’; be they regulatory authorities or the taxation authorities. Challenges which need to be addressed include different rates at which stamp duties are levied, for purchase and sale of assets across various states in India. Potential exists; making it a reality is the challenge.