Track2Realty: Residential property in India has evolved into an asset which individuals hold for multiple purposes, not merely self-occupancy. Individuals now seek homes either for investment purpose, or for weekend stays and ‘lifestyle accommodation’. It is therefore apt to look at residential projects on the basis of the profile of individual buyers.
Track2Realty Exclusive: India has traditionally been a reluctant urbaniser and the developers have been even more reluctant to take the roads less travelled. For long it is the government agencies that have been catalyst to land acquisition and hand it over to the developers. Now that the Land Acquisition Bill is set to change the entire ballgame, Track2Realty wonders whether it is time to take a few case studies where a developer has dared to opt for ‘Destination Development’. Though such cases have been few and far between, the road ahead indicates even lesser first movers in the ring.
Track2Realty Exclusive: It was in the July last year that Rohit Arora, an NRI returned from New Jersey to settle in Mumbai and set up his consultancy business over here. Looking for an office space, he was so carried by the reports of a price correction that he preferred to defer the office acquisition, either on rent or purchase.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The real estate sector in India today is developing at a scorching pace. Factors such as higher levels of income and purchasing power and the growing need for entertainment, leisure and shopping, the government’s focus on infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation driven by rural-urban immigration and an emerging trend of nuclear families, greater availability of loans to finance real estate purchases, amongst others, have been instrumental in this development.
Track2Realty: An increase in the number of enquiries for residential properties has been seen across the major cities. However, transaction volumes have not improved much. Restricted sales transactions were observed in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and NOIDA during 1Q 2014, as per a report by Colliers International.
Track2Realty: Real estate investors as well as developers in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) had been cautiously awaiting the results of the recently concluded General Elections to ascertain the future mood of the market. Having been elected with a full majority, the new government will hopefully usher in a stable regime at the center, which will definitely have a positive impact on the real estate sector too.
Track2Realty-Agencies: Brys Group has given a Rs 330-crore contract to UAE-based Arabian Construction Company for the development of 81-storey tower in Noida.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Analysts have been wondering in the last couple of years that when the property market across the country had been witness to slowdown, how come Coimbatore market kept its momentum up with no visible signs of stress. As a matter of fact, the property prices in the city across the asset class noticed upward movement in the range of 10-15 per cent, thus bucking the trend of slowdown.
Track2Realty: Although the Interim Budget announcement supporting affordable housing was welcomed by the real estate industry, the segment has a long way ahead as yet. To begin with, there is considerable supply shortage in this arena—pegged at 18.78 million for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012–2017) by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry (HUPA), of which 96% is in the EWS and LIG categories. Housing shortage for the EWS stands at almost 11 million homes, while that for LIG stands at 7.41 million homes.
Track2Realty Exclusive: To say that the property market of Mumbai has been subdued for quite some time would be stating the obvious. Reports of inventory pile up and appreciation despite slow sales have only made the sentiments bearish. The macro-economic outlook in the last over a year has also not supported the cause of real estate market in the city. Amidst this gloomy scenario, comes the festival of Akshay Tirtiya which has traditionally been known for property acquisition in the city.