Track2Realty Exclusive: Bhiwadi in Alwar district may be seen as a gateway to Rajasthan by many, its emergence as a property hotspot has more to do with the thriving economic activity in the neighbouring state of Haryana. Of course, Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) is also aggressively pushing to make the place a destination magnet.
Track2Realty: Dubai becomes the first country to formally get the government support to The International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS). The IPMS, which is being developed by a coalition of 22 professional and not-for-profit organisations from around the world, including the IMF, RICS and BOMA will address global inconsistencies in the way property is measured, leading to greater transparency and increased investor confidence.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Crème de la crème real estate project for the upscale and upmarket buyers is an ambition that is driving the developers across the country. It seems the Indian real estate has woken up to the reality that the destination of brand positioning is ‘luxury’ and as Track2Realty finds, in this rat race the term is so over-used and abused that it has lost its relevance. From high-end condominiums to affordable, the tag of luxury seems to be the biggest brand driver for the sector.
Track2Realty: In the latest phase of the company’s growth in India, Cushman & Wakefield has expanded operations in Kolkata and acquired the entire team of Lemongrass Advisors, a well-respected real estate consultancy firm in Kolkata and Eastern India.
Track2Realty: Godrej Properties has entered into a development agreement with Oasis Buildhome to develop a 13.76 acre property situated on Northern Periphery Road (NPR) in Sector 88A/89A, Gurgaon. The project will be developed as a premium residential group housing project and is expected to offer 1.2 million sq. ft. of saleable area.
Track2Realty: Sikka Group has announced its foray into luxury real estate with Sikka-The Downtown, Noida, at Sector 98, Noida Expressway. The group aims to strengthen its footprint in North India.
Track2Realty: Office markets in India registered a downward trend in absorption in the first half of the year (Jan–June 2013), according to the latest report by Cushman & Wakefield. The total net absorption across top eight cities in H1 2013 was noted at 10.9 million square feet (msf) which denoted a decline of 15% compared to the same period last year.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In China, SEZs were developed along its southern coast in the areas of Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai, Hainan and Xiamen which were backward small villages lacking in basic infrastructure and industrial resources. These zones were developed as manufacturing hubs and the open access to international trade sea lanes led to their success.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In its quest for getting professional and have a facelift, the real estate hired professionals from very many other industries. When the going was good some of these companies even shifted management control at the operational level to these professionals. And just when it seemed that the Indian realty is fast maturing from promoter-driven to professional-driven, the downturn in the last few years exposed the sector to an altogether new reality. Track2Realty noted that churn out at the top of these realty companies has been very high and professional-driven management is not a panacea to the woes of the sector.
Track2Realty Exclusive: While the real estate fraternity, legal experts and others had strongly questioned the basis of the CCI order and the enormous penalty of Rs 630-crore levied on the real estate major, the sector itself eventually approached the CCI through its industry associations against the cement cartel. Acting on the sector representatives’ complaints, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs. 6, 307 crore on 11 cement companies for cartelisation.