The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) has refused to stay the proceedings of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against real estate major DLF and permitted the competition watchdog to go ahead with its inquiry. Compat will hear the case on February 10.
Rose Valley Real Estate and Construction Limited has filed a writ petition in the Calcutta high court, challenging the order of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for virtually stopping its business. The case will come up for hearing in the court of Justice Jayanta Biswas on Thursday.
While the real estate sector has always shied with the need to have a regulatory body, Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan talking of constituting a regulatory authority to control high property prices seems to have sent alarm bells ringing among major players. Some of the real estate companies are now talking about the need to check pricing rather than just setting up a body.
Private equity investments continue to trickle into project or SPV level in the realty space. Sun Apollo India Real Estate Fund LLC, a $630-million India-dedicated real estate private equity fund, has invested Rs 100 crore in a residential project SPV led by Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL). SUN-Apollo will invest Rs 100 crore for a 49.9% stake in the project SPV, Parsvnath Buildwell Private Limited, which will develop a premium residential project at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, spread over an area of 31 acres. The project is called Parsvnath Exotica- Ghaziabad.
The buzz word among realty consultants at the beginning of the year seems to be price correction. After the real estate firms like Jones Lang LaSalle India and Cushman & Wakefield forecast of a correction in real estate prices in 2011, now Crisil also forecasts a price correction, though in select pockets.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has suggested the government to introduce Real Estate Investment Trust and Real Estate Mutual Fund to enable investors to own a diversified portfolio of professionally managed assets in the real estate sector. In a note submitted to the government, the Chamber said that the Indian Real estate sector currently lacks any monetization vehicle for capital intensive verticals such as commercial offices and retail malls.
The Fitch Ratings 2011 outlook for the Indian real estate sector seems to contradict itself. While it says the realty market is stable in the year, it also warns of a negative bias. The negative forecast of Fitch Ratings is, however, based more on the sentiments than the emerging market reality.
Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation & Minister of Tourism, has categorically blamed the banks for not facilitating the affordable housing. Inaugurating the 10th National Convention of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) at New Delhi the minister said the housing finance sector has witnessed a boom in the recent past due to favorable government policies.
8 out of every ten home buyers in the Indian cities are sulking with the unfair trade practices of the real estate developers. Only 20 per cent of the buyers said they received a defect-free home and timely possession. The low customer satisfaction index was as much evident with developers offering affordable housing as with luxury housing.
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.