Track2Realty: The economic growth rates in Asia are likely to lead the world—creating demand for built spaces, triggering business expansion, and inducing businesses to occupy retail premises and office properties.
Track2Realty: International expansion remains high on the agenda for retailers in 2015, in spite of uncertain economic prospects and cost escalation. CBRE’s research report, How Active are Retailers Globally?, has several interesting implications for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, with some 85% of luxury and business fashion retailers looking at the region, and 67% of coffee and restaurant retailers doing the same.
Track2Realty: Bangalore has consistently remained the preferred destination for corporate real estate occupiers in the country over the last couple of years. More recently though, our IT City outperformed itself by catapulting into the league of the top performing office markets of the Asia Pacific region during 2014—in the company of Tokyo and Shanghai.
Track2Realty Exclusive: On the eve of Union Budget every year the Indian real estate sector seems to be fighting a losing battle with the government. For long the policy advocacy of the sector has amounted to confrontation with the policy makers where the sector proposes and the Finance Minister disposes.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Sales model in commercial office spaces that was only recently seen as an indicator of distress on part of the developers has, of late, turned out to be a smart business model by the MNCs. These multinational companies seem to have confidence in the Indian growth story and with long term plan they are investing into the purchase of these properties. Track2Realty Focus 2015 finds that it is not a distress sale of developers since the capital values and rental yields have both appreciated sharply in the last three years despite of impending slowdown. The shift of these commercial spaces beyond the IT/ITeS is the most significant trend.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Perhaps no other segment of Indian real estate would have taken as much beating as the retail one. With consumerism down due to overall slowdown in the economy, e-commerce emerging big to challenge the malls and the high streets back with innovations, it seems the mall developers had abosiltely no idea as to how to deal with the emerging market realities. Track2Realty Focus 2015 takes a look at how the promising retail in India could not benefit retail realty in its performance.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In the last few years a perception has gained ground within the built environment of Indian real estate that the environmental concerns are at loggerheads with the development. The collective consciousness seems to have believed that the real estate and infrastructure projects often compromise with the environmental concerns and to make a balance between the inevitable urbanisation and avoiding the natural erosion is not that easy.
Track2Realty: As e-commerce attains new heights and presents a number of opportunities for the real estate sector in general—and the warehousing segment in particular—CBRE recommends strategies for landlords and e-retailers for attaining a win-win scenario.
Track2Realty: Residential sales declined by approximately 30% y-o-y by the end of 2014 in the seven leading cities of the country, largely due to high price points, sticky interest rates and cautious buyer sentiments. The decline, which was noted across all major cities, was particularly steep in the DelhiNCR (National Capital Region).The slowdown was reported in the premium/luxury as well as the high-end/mid-end housing segments.
Track2Realty: As we move closer to the Union Budget 2015–16, India’s real estate sector is hoping for certain key expectations to get implemented. Following the Government’s announcements of building SMART Cities in the Budget last year, the industry seeks more clarity on the exact definition of one in the Indian context, fund allocations for, and city/Greenfield location identification of such development. The implementation of such ambitions would ultimately result in national wealth creation—to help our cities become sustainable and livable urban centers of growth.