Track2Realty: Lotus Greens today embarked on a special outdoor campaign titled “Electability” whose message and communication revolves around the act of responsibility in casting one’s ballot. While the upcoming 2014 general election has inspired companies like Tata Global Beverages, ITC, HUL, Google and Facebook to come out with special campaigns.
Track2Realty Exclusive: While most of the metro cities are crumbling under the burden of increasing urbanisation and the load on the land and infrastructure has led the life miserable there are cities like Pune which seem to be learning from the mistakes of these metro cities and the late movers’ advantage seem to be helping the city grow holistically in terms of its real estate developments and infrastructure issues. What makes the case of Pune even more unique, reasons why it is rated as the best city out of the four established metros is the fact that the social infrastructure has gradually been shaping up well in the city to compliment the physical infrastructure.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The term ‘serviced apartment’ is traditionally used to describe an apartment alternative to hotel accommodation for long stay leisure or business travelers. However there are two types of accommodation namely extended stay and corporate housing. It is built in a manner where a furnished accommodation, comparatively larger than a hotel room, with small kitchenette is provided with basic facilities of a household, sometimes even provided with concierge service.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The real-estate category has taken the product-led path to brand building. Products occupy centre-stage in advertising campaigns; properties serve as brand emblems. Developers build properties, showcase them through advertisements, customers experience drives word-of-mouth, which in turn generates additional customers and on it goes. Through this iterative process, a brand is built. In other words, the brand identity is inherent in the developer’s real-estate footprint.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Home buyers across the country find the reports of price appreciation a manipulative marketing myth. They blame a strong cartel of brokers/underwriters responsible for artificial appreciation which does not have any market logic. What comes as a bad news for the developers and promises to redefine the market dynamics of the real estate is the fact that buyers’ awareness has caught on the market manipulation that appreciates property prices unreasonably. It also indicates the marketing strategy of the realty companies is not grounded while operating in an eco system of brokers/underwriters to absorb the artificial appreciation.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Funding, or rather lack of it, has been one of the key concerns of the real estate developers throughout 2013, yet if some of the key policy decisions that have been taken in the year it seems 2014 is all set to get big ticket funding. The money is poised to be invested in the sector and if not as private equity, the biggies will put in money through Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
Track2Realty Exclusive: Real estate gains are not always short-term but often long-term from investment point of view. The same can be said about 2013 where despite of an outside view dismissing the year 2013 for low sales velocity, piling inventory, liquidity crunch and policy ambiguity, added to the country moving to the General Elections in 2014, the sector has managed to pave the way for long term reforms.
Track2Realty: India continued to feature on the list of the world’s most expensive office markets, with New Delhi (Connaught Place – CBD) ranking at the 7th position, according to CBRE Global Research and Consulting’s semi-annual Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey. Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) bagged the 15th position, while Nariman Point stood at the 32nd position. The latest CBRE survey provides data on office rents and occupancy costs as of September 2013.
Track2Realty: Total net office space absorption recorded a 25% decline in across top eight cities over last year. According to the annual year end estimations by Cushman & Wakefield the total net absorption for 2013 was recorded at 23 million square feet (msf). Most cities have witnessed a decline in net absorption in the range of 20-40% during the year, except Pune where incremental new space take-up increased by 15% in 2013.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune…wait India has just discovered yet another claimant as the ‘Luxury Capital’. The City of Ahmedabad known more for its cost conscious living and affordable housing has been witness to the city’s slow but steady rise to the luxury living with developers’ focus shifting on luxury projects, buyers’ looking up to scale their living and luxury brands flocking to the city.