HOUSING FOR ALL

Godrej Industries Ltd chairman Adi Godrej said on Tuesday the group’s real estate unit, Godrej Properties, will file papers for an initial public offer with the markets regulator in “a few days”. “We will file the prospectus with Sebi (Securities and exchange Board of India) in a few days,” Godrej said.

 “We will be diluting about 10% stake.” The company is currently developing about 20 million sq ft in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Indian real estate firms, hit by surging land costs and curbs on bank funding, have rushed to the capital market as they expand to cash in on an urban real estate boom.

In 2007, real estate firms mopped up a third of all funds raised through public offers in India. Twelve real estate firms raised Rs 15,185 crore, including the country largest real estate firm DLF, which raised $2.25 billion

                                                                                    Courtesy: Wednesday T.O.I 27 February

Delhi-based real estate major Omaxe will develop a theme township on 393 acre at Naya Raipur — the capital city of Chattisgarh. The Omaxe Golf Theme Township will be developed at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore.

Omaxe is one of the India’s largest real estate and construction firms with operations in 31 cities. It has developed residential and commercial real estate projects ranging from integrated toxnships, group housing, office/commercial spaces, shopping malls, hotels, IT and bio-tech parks to special economic zones.

It has already developed nearly 5.59 million sq ft of residential and commercial space. Currently, Omaxe is working on 55 residential and commercial projects comprising 24 group housing projects, 16 integrated townships, 14 shopping malls, commercial complexes and hotels.

Omaxe won the project in an auction. It consists of an 18-hole Golf course, a hi-end golf resort, golf villas and apartments and other residential and commercial buildings.

Work on the township will commence shortly. Company chairman Rohtas Goel said it will mark the beginning of company’s initiative in Chhattisgarh. Being the first premier township in Raipur, it will be a landmak project in the area.

Courtesy: Wednesday T.O.I 27 February

If one talks about providing a flat at a cost of Rs.1.00 lakh, the hearer will take it as a plain lie, but DDA has prepared an important plan to make it true. Under this scheme 24500 flats will be constructed for economically weaker section (EWS) in the first phase. DDA has sent a proposal to Central Urban Development ministry that the price of the flat be kept at Rs.1.00 lakh.

As per DDA sources, 24,500 flats would be constructed in first phase for EWS in Narela, Rohini and Dwarka. The design of the flats will be prepared by DDA’s engineering department whereas these will be got constructed by private colonizers. It is given to understand that tenders have been called for the same and process to finalize same is in the last stage. After completion of few other formalities, construction work will be started in May-June this year. A senior DDA officer informed that EWS scheme flats will be allotted only to those jhuggi-jhopri dwellers that will be removed from DDA’s land. He informed that an extreme alertness will be exercised in allotment of flats. After doing survey of poor category people, flatss will be allotted by draw of lots. It will be ensured during the draw that such people, who are not covered under EWS scheme, may not join this scheme. Therefore, first survey will be got done to ensure the same. As per the statement of a DDA officer that subsequently such flats will be constructed in other areas of Delhi from where jhuggi-jhopri dwellers have been removed.

DDA officers informed that construction cost of one flat under this scheme will work out to Rs3.00 lakh apprx. Where as this amount does not include cost of land. Despite it, the DDA has sent the proposal to central urban development ministry that they should provide one flat to EWS category people in not more than Rs.1.00 lakh price. The officer further told that in addition to give a rebate in construction of flat and cost of land, rebate will also be given under Jawahar Lal Nehre Renewal Mission so that poor category people may buy this flat.

An officer of engineering department informed that this flat will consist of one bed-room one common room and one kitchen & a toilet. It was first planned that DDA will construct 43,000 EWS flats, but now 24,500 EWS flats and 22,000 LIG flats would be constructed. However, survey is going on based on the need to construct EWS flat in several other parts of Delhi. Construction of these flats will be completed in about four year’s time.

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This is a 1,483 km long dedicated freight corridor that will pass through states like Uttar Pradesh, NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. A band of 150 km on each side of the freight corridor will be developed as an industrial corridor.

Six investment regions and six industrial areas will be developed along this corridor during phase 1 (2008-2012). These will be developed as self-sustaining industrial townships with world-class infrastructure, road and railway connectivity for freight movement to and from ports and logistic hubs.

Ten cities having a population of more than 10 lakh fall within the project influence area (PIA) of DMIC: Delhi, Mumbai, Faridabad, Meerut, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Pune, and Nasik. It is expected that these cities will see a lot of development of industrial infrastructure, setting up and enhancement of existing industrial estates, setting up of ITITES and biotech hubs, development of integrated logistic hubs, sea ports, and integrated townships. Some cities, like and Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nasik and Vadodara lie both within the influence area of DMIC, and are also major nodes on the Golden Quadrilateral project.

These cities are expected to witness large-scale real estate development because of improved accessibility and the availability of large land parcels.

1. Many large business entities are now branching out into real estate development, while real estate companies are entering other areas. What is the reason behind all this?

Diversification is a natura1consequence of India's economic boom. This boom is happening across various sectors, not only one. The action is spread across telecom, IT/ITeS (Information technology and IT-enabled services) retail, logistics and various other sectors. Any profit-making company has to invest its profits, and it makes eminent sense not to put all eggs in one basket. Moreover, bullion is not very strong and shares are volatile. Government bonds and fixed deposits are at best stable, the commodity market is seeing ups and downs and real estate is subject to various intricate market dynamics. It is not a good idea to depend on any single market when it comes to investment.

2. There is a lot of talk about a 'bubble' in the Indian real estate sector. Many are in a watch-and-wait mode, waiting for prices to crash. How do you see it?

When a bubble develops in any market, it is because prices for that particular commodity or asset have gone through the roof - beyond all affordability the current sentiment in the Indian real estate market is one of quiet outrage over the skyrocketing prices, but demand is still strong. It pays to keep in mind that increased incomes and strong economic fundamentals help balance the scales to a significant extent. We can talk of a 'bubble' when transactions slow down significantly or even grind to a complete halt. That would certainly indicate a dire need for prices to come down.

3. Facility management seems to be the new mantra among developers. What exactly does it entail and what is its future in India?

Developers who offer facility management in their projects do so because they wish to attract quality clients and establish a professional image. Obviously, in today's ever-changing scenario, what constitutes cutting-edge facility management is a very fluid concept. Some of the most advanced projects now offer concepts such as Computer Aided Facilities Management, in which computers are used to automate the collection and maintenance of facilities management information. In India, facility management is still a small sector in terms of volume. However: it is now recognized as a significant component in any real estate project established to garner high returns on investment. We see immense scope for expansion of this sector in context with special economic zones (SEZs), integrated townships, hospitals etc.

4. Is it true that Indians investing in property are getting younger almost every year?

Property buyers in the contemporary Indian context are certainly getting younger The average age of the Indian property buyer has dropped from 45 to 32 over the last decade. This is not surprising, considering that a majority of the young Indian entrepreneurs and IT employees are personally wealthy in their own right by age 32. This new, young breed of property buyers has its collective eye trained on stability and upward mobility in the future.

The Conventional construction industry in the country today is undergoing a change, with one of its most visible aspects being the emergence of Pre-Engineered Buildings (PEB).

Different from the usual concrete buildings with asbestos-type roofs and walls, a pre-engineered building is made of steel panels. In fact, a PEB is nothing but a steel-framed building with pre-designed components to best suit client requirements.

First introduced in the US, the PEB technique of construction is more popular with industrial townships. The National Highway-8 that leads from Delhi to Jaipur best exemplifies this trend; you can see a number of such buildings dotting the stretch in and around Gurgaon.

Leading the list of PEB's advantages is efficiency Says Mohit Khanna, Director, Lloyd Insulations, which in 1997 became the first Indian company to introduce the concept of PEB, "The use of pre-set methods for welding and predetermined stock sizes reduce the time taken for construction and fabrication," Khanna says.

PEBs are also said to be high on quality

Neeraj Gautam, who heads PEB sales for the northern region at Lloyd Insulations, says, "Since fabrication is done in a controlled and process oriented environment and the material used (steel plates) is sourced from quality labels, PEBs are real value for money"

"Though the initial cost of a PEB turn out to be 5 tol0 per cent higher than conventional buildings, it evens out when it comes to maintenance and early revenue generation," he says.

In India, the major PEB players are Lloyd Insulations, Kirby Buildings and Tiger Steels. According to Prashant Ranjan, manager, sales, Kirby Buildings, PEBs are the future of the construction industry

"In the past few years this concept has picked up quite well. We entered the market in 1990 with a manufacturing capacity of 36 tonnes per annum, and today it has increased to 2 lakh tonnes," he says.

PEB advocates also speak up for its safety.

Construction consultant Manish Shah says, "These buildings are designed in a special a way which makes them safer than conventional buildings, especially in the face of an earthquake."

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                                                                              Courtesy: HT dtd:- 18thFeb 2008

Office Space rentals have gone up substantially in the central and suburban business districts of                 Delhi (CBD and SBD), including places like Connaught circus and Nehru Place, in recent times.

Although the residential segment in NCR (National Capital Region) has taken a breather or even seen marginal corrections, the office space markets continue to show upward movement. With demand outstripping supply, both rentals and capital value rose during the first quarter of 2007.

There have been some fall in rentals in the satellite towns and these are mainly attributed to over supply of office space and the impending development of a new SBD at Jasola in Delhi itself.

With regarded to the absorption of commercial office space, a DTZ India report states that  about 1.9 million sq.ft of such area came to be occupied in Delhi/ NCR from January to March this year, with the IT-ITES Sector alone accounting for 65%- 70% of the utilization.

The rentals have continued to increase due to steady demand generated by expansion plans of companies in NCR and shortage of space. These have increased by 7% -8% q-o-q (quarter on quarter) and by 50% - 80% y-o-y(year-on-year)in CBD. The quoted rentals in SBD have witnessed

a considerable rises of about 15% - 20% q-o-q and 50%-70% y-o-y.

 However in the exceptional case the quoted    rentals also touched INR 325 per sq.ft. for a building in SDB region (Nehru Place). The rentals in Gurgaon prevailing at about INR 100 per sq.ft pm has increased by 20% q-o-q and about 100% y-o-y in select Grade A buildings due to short fall in immediate supply. The rental values in Noida have remained stable q-o-q at INR 40-50per sq.ft pm but have increased by 30%-40% y-o-y.

Limited supply in CDB and high absorption in Gurgaon has resulted in low vacancy levels of 3% in these areas. Vacancy rates in SBD have also decreased to 6% due to continued demand for office

Space. However, Noida experienced high vacancy rates of about 16% due to large office supply that has entered the market during the last year.

Limited new supply has been added in NCR region. DLF building 8 C (795,000 sq.ft) in Gurgaon was the only addition to stock in the last quarter. Approximately 16 million sq.ft supply (including vacant stock) is expected to come in to NCR in 2007. DLF tower in Jascola (700,000sq.ft ), Unitech Info Space-bulding-3 (500,000sq.ft) and DLF Building 9 A(745,000 sq.ft) in Gurgaon and Corenthum  (500,000sq.ft) in Noida are expected to be available by Q3/ Q4 2007.

Additional, Jasola (in south Delhi) is likely to see the development of slightly over two million sq.ft of office space, almost 75% of which is already booked. The prominent firms contributing to the office space include DLF (7 lakh sq.ft of property), TDI (1.5 lakh sq.ft) and Omaxe (1.5 lakh sq.ft).

Of the total supply estimated in NCR for 2007, 5.6million sq.ft is expected to come up in Noida,

Have the recent cuts in home loan rates by leading financial institutions in the country spurred you on to apply for a home loan? Go ahead, but before you finalise a deal, here are some points you should take into consideration:

1. Speak to your bank about home finance only after you have identified the property you want to buy. Note that some banks do not readily finance a self-constructed property. “Also, if the property is very old or is being developed by a relatively unknown builder, the bank might have an issue with providing a home loan,” says Harsh Vardhan Roongta, Chief Executive Officer, Apnaloan.com.

2. For loan eligibility, talk to several banks to find out which one can give you the maximum amount. Try to seek a bank that allows you to club the incomes of your other close relatives (parents, siblings, children etc.) to increase your loan eligibility.

3. Once you finalise your dream home, the bank will get the cost of the property evaluated by its own experts. Usually, the evaluation throws up a price different (in most cases, lower) from the actual price you are paying for the property. “In such cases, you will need to shell out the difference between the actual price and the bank's valuation as additional down payment. It makes sense to ask the bank to value the property (on payment of a small fee), especially if it is an old re-sale property,” says Roongta.

4. Shortlist four to five banks and get them to compete for your loan. The cost of your loan also depends a lot on your ability to negotiate.

5. Apart from interest rates, also check various charges like processing fees, pre-payment charges, legal fees, valuation fees and other hidden costs. Take all these factors into account before choosing your bank.

6. The processing fee varies from bank to bank, but is usually around 0.50 to 1.00 per cent  of the total housing loan amount. It is non-refundable. Don’t believe the agents who tell you otherwise.

7. When opting for a 'fixed interest loan,’ remember that in some cases, it may remain fixed only for a certain period of time, as the bank may have the right to arbitrarily change even the so-called ‘fixed rate’. So, probe further and read the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.

8. If you have signed a floating rate loan, check whether the rates of your chosen lender had moved down in the years when interest rates were dropping. “This is a fair indicator of what you can expect as (not if) and when the interest rates start moving down and the time comes for the bank to pass on the benefit to you,” advises Roongta.

9. It is advisable to take a life insurance and critical illness policy along with a home loan. Life insurance policies provide monetary benefit in case of an unfortunate incident like death and ensure that your family members inherit your home — not your home loan.

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                                                                                                Courtesy:HT dtd.18-02-2008

Gaursons has been on a journey. A jorney of architectural excellence to Provide residential solutions to thousands of families.

Building better infrastructure since its inception in 1995, the company owes its success to its total devotion towards projects and relentless pursuit to provide its customers the very best living experience.

Under the guidance of group chairman, B L Gaur, the group has executed some wonderful residential projects in the NCR region at a very fast pace. The commitment to complete all projects in time and hand them over to buyers is a result of his strict discipline. And because of this timely completion of projects, the faith and trust of buyers in the Gaursons Group is tremendous. This can be gauged from the fact that all the group’s projects sold in record time, with Gaur Ganga at Vaishali setting a record of sorts where all 300 apartments were sold in 48 hours flat!

Says Rahul Gaur, Managing Director, Gaursons India limited, “striving for a customer’s trust, credibility and satisfaction has been the core philosophy of our group. Be it Gaur Green Avenue, Gaur Heights, Gaur Ganga, Gaur Homes Elegante, Gaur Grandeur or the recently launched Gaur Gracious at Moradabad, we leave no stone unturned in giving the best to our buyers.”

These endeavors have not only resulted in phenomenal trust but have also led Gaursons to new heights of growth. Boasting of over a dozen successful projects, the company is on its way to becoming one of the best real estate developers in the NCR region and leaders in providing highly personalized and innovative lifestyle-oriented residential buildings at prime location. According to Manoj Gaur, Joint Managing Director. “There is a very thin line that distinguishes the extraordinary from the ordinary. That line is determined by honesty, integrity and commitment. We value our patrons the most and strive hard to maintain the high standards of business that we have set for ourselves and in retrospect, become extraordinary.”

So, when the Indian economy is on a roll, Gaursons is also riding high. And has grand plans for the coming year too.

Courtesy:- HT dtd:- 12^th January 2008

Before buying a house all enquire about the area. First of all the matter comes of its area and from calculation of area itself, it becomes a major game. It is essential that before buying a house, understand all terms related to area. Loss related to confusion of area is directly borne by the buyer. In most of the cases, he pays more prices for lesser space. For example, several builders charge same amount for carpet area as well as super area, whereas there is difference of 15 to 20% between the two. Charging equal amount, the price of carpet area becomes somewhat higher. Suppose, you want to buy a house, for it there are two options from the builder, firstly, he will give a 1000 Sq. ft house at a cost of Rs 15 lakh and secondly he will give 1100 sq.ft. House at same cost. Evidently, you would like to buy a bigger house, but the game starts from here. As per the extant trend of market, price of a house is decided after combining the carpet area and super area. While buying a flat, instead of doing simple mathematical calculations, one must concentrate on calculation of area. In this case the super area of the flat is 1100 sq. ft. it means that the money you paid is for use of 875 sq .ft. and not for 1100 sq. ft.While finalizing the deal you must enquire about the exact area. If the builder area is talking about area, then ask him how much is he giving usable area and which are the areas included in the price of house. Let us have a look at these areas.

Carpet area means that how much usable space you will get in your house. It can be called total area from a wall to wall. Take it this way that if you are to spread a carpet from one will to another, then the required size of the carpet shall be the carpet area of the flat. It means, after closing the door, all inner area is called the carpet area of a house.

When space under the walls is included in the carpet area then it is called built-up area of a house. Built-up area an be called the total area of a house.

Change in property ownership or transfer of property in such a process which involves plenty of paper work. Special attention should be paid to all the paper work so as you are not cheated by malafied intention of any party. Let us explain you some documents which are required at the time of a deal.

1. While Buying Property From a Developer:

Every bank and some financial institutions keep with them a list of developers. This list is prepared after verifying their credibility. Here you are required to see the following documents only:-

1. Agreement to sell
2. lease agreement with bank or financial company
3. Receipts of all payments

1. While Buying a Freehold Property:

At the time of transfer of freehold residential property, you are required to possess some important documents. Only them the transfer process shall be treated as complete otherwise incomplete documents will only create a problem for you:

1. Copy of the sale deed under which seller got the ownership right of the property.
2. Copies of all sale deeds of the property executed till date to verify the names of all buyers.
3. Agreement to sell.
4. Receipts of all payments made by the purchaser
5. Copy of new sale deed for registration

1. While buying a flat from original allotee of a group housing society.

Here is a list of some such documents which are required at the time of transfer of group housing society. But be careful, these are applicable when the seller is an original allottee:

1. Share certificate of the society
2. Lease deed of the society
3. Property title of the builder
4. Society’s undertaking certificate if the property is under construction
5. Allocation, allotment authorization and possession letter
6. Payment receipts made to authority

Delhi government has approved the policy for allotment of low cost flat to urban poors under Jawaharlal Nehru urban renewal Mission (JNURM) .After this decision, now the way for quick implementation of low cost housing plan has become clear.According to this policy, the flat will be allotted to him only who is a resident of Delhi since 1990 and should have a valid ration card. In addition, the flat buyer should neither have a pacca house or a plot in Delhi.It is important to note that the government has approved the plan to construct 43804 such low cost flats. Under JNURM scheme, the central government will provide a subsidy of Rs1.00 lakh while Delhi government will provide a subsidy of Rs 25,000/- for these flats.

At 2.25 million sq ft, supply of commercial office space in Kolkata increased about 65 per cent over the previous year. Most of the supply was concentrated in peripheral locations such as Salt Lake and Rajarhat. However, some planned developments for the non IT-ITeS sector are expected to enter the market, early next year, in new locations such as Park Circus Connector and Rash Behari Connector.

The city witnessed total absorption of approximately 2.1 million sq ft. The majority was accounted for by the IT-ITeS sector in peripheral locations like Salt Lake and Rajarhat. Owing to low vacancy in the CBD areas of Park Street, Camac Street, Chowringhee, AJC Bose Road and Theatre Road, there have not been significant leases in these regions. The total demand for the year is estimated at 3.6 million sq ft of which approximately 1.5 million sq ft of commercial office space was pre-leased in the peripheral location of Rajarhat this year.

Overall, the office market in the country is likely to continue to grow in 2008. Rentals could stabilize in select markets as more supply gets delivered, resulting in demand-supply equilibrium in the second half of the year.