rohit azad ram

Mood: ronitkumar

Mood: ronitkumar

A HOME OFFICE IS THE EMERGING TREND TODAY. WITH TIME BEING A LUXURY, MANY ARE OPTING TO SPEND ON A FULL-FLEDGED HOME OFFICE.

With new houses mushrooming every day and commuting becoming the bane of our lives, coupled with high levels of noise pollution, the concept of home offices are becoming increasingly popular. Whereas America has had this concept for decades, it was earlier meant for women working part time where they could fulfill the dual demands of running a home as well as their careers. No longer is this true, Jyoti Aggarwal a financial analyst for Wall Street mostly runs her office from her Manhattan apartment, whereas Neera Raj a full time realtor has a beautifully appointed home office in her New Jersey mansion. The same is true here as well. Many executives, COOs, designers, architects run their office from home. Not only does it give them flexible work hours, but those who operate from their corporate offices can come home early enjoy a workout at a local gym and get back to work with their shoes off in the leisure of their home offices.These spaces are not meagerly done up to work as a make shift back office, in fact detailed planning and execution goes into these specifically demarcated areas.

In a lot of cases these spaces are modern and functional while others have beautifully laid out carpeting, chandeliers, mahogany desks and of course the laptop, with a seating of a comfortable sofa set, coffee tables to match for those meetings conducted at home even on a weekend.

Jagdeep Rangargh, head of Stork Group of Companies, has a lovely home office in his DLF home and he completely enjoys working from there. Complete with wooden flooring, a desk and his computer, he manages his entire group of companies even though he travels around the world for his business meetings. His wife Poonam reveals that many a Sundays, he works from here and is also able to catch up on a game of golf, while he can come home early and work late into the night whenever he wants. Lined with a complete library, this is where Poonam catches up with most of her reading while Jagdeep works.

Aashish Thakur, head of Ashwin Enterprises has a modern and functional home office in the basement of his house. Done up in light wood, the basement has been divided into portions as work stations with glass doors separating them. The other part is his wife Anjali's, who runs her design business from there. Interiors and furniture is their concern and a home office in their Phase-III home is definitely an advantage, apart from his main office.

Courtesy: - ET Realty dtd:- 29th August 2008

Mood: ronitkumar

Mood: ronitkumar

Mood: ronitkumar

Realty major Puravankara Projects will invest Rs 8000 crore for its foray into affordable housing through its wholly owned subsidiary, Provident Housing and Infrastructure Limited.

In the first phase, the affordable housing project will cover Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, and Mysore where 64,500 homes with a total built-up area of 59.80 million square feet will be constructed over the next five years.

The funding for these projects will be through construction debt and customer advances amounting to Rs 6500 crore, with internal accruals and equity sourcing the remaining Rs 1500 crore which will be utilized for land acquisitions.

                                               Courtesy:- ET dtd:- 22nd August 2008

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Developers today are offering discounts, freebies and value add items. This includes discounts in values, freebies in amenities like discounted parking space or lifetime club membership, value adds like providing interiors and ready-to move homes at little discounted rate.

Discounts would mean reduction in the upfront money the customer would be paying to the developer.

Discount in parking spaces would mean anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Values add interiors will include goods like fans, wardrobes and so on. Ram Yadav, head of a finance company says, "It all depends on how you position your project. Builders are trying to put together all these three elements for their customers, but again, it is not across the board."

                                                                Courtesy:- ET dtd:- 22nd August 2008

NRIS INVESTING IN PROPERTY IN INDIA

With economies all over the world going through a depression, and the domestic economy showing prospects of bouncing back, NRIs are looking at property investments here

At a time when the US and European economies are spiraling downwards, the domestic economy in general is looking up, despite the current slowdown. Not surprisingly, the NRIs are investing in various sectors, including real estate. Several real estate projects across India have garnered approximately 10-20 percent participation from NRIs. The return on investment provided by real estate here has been found to be more attractive than that offered by developed nations. Also, the simplified process of investments has reversed the equation and many NRIs have been consistently investing in properties.

Rajesh Goenka, chairman and CEO, Axiom Estates, says, "They are the most affluent lot among real estate buyers in India, showing interest in buying large chunks of land in their home country. They are not affected by the current slowdown, as they take a long-range view of the whole scenario. They have faith in the domestic economy, and firmly believe that the prices will appreciate by at least 10 to 15 percent every year. They see the downturn as an opportunity to invest in large chunks of land or even developed areas which they get at a good discount from even the top developers."

He adds, "According to our assessment, the interest from NRIs has increased almost by 20-25 percent every quarter, which is almost two to two-anda-half times in the last two to three years. Interestingly, not just investors from the Gulf countries, but even from UK and USA have shown interest."

Raminder Grover, Managing Director, Homebay Residential, Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj says, "Many NRIs in the US and UK are not as confident as before of sanctity of their employment, while others are disturbed by negative economic patterns across developed countries. They see greater potential for India overcoming the current economic setbacks. Sentimental attachment to their country of origin is another reason."

NRIs can expect appreciations anywhere upwards of 15 percent per annum and rental yields of 4-6 percent on property here.

There are different types of NRIs, as Akshaya Kumar, Managing Director, Parklane Property Advisors, puts it. "The Gulf NRI is one who is bound to return. NRIs are looking for decent returns, and might think of holding property here, while investors from UK and US are pure investors. NRIs mostly have an affinity to the areas they come from," he says.

Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Indore, Baroda, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Kolkata and Goa seem to draw the highest number of serious inquiries. So do second home destinations and extended suburbs. Those with business aspirations are investing wherever IT/ITeS is making its presence felt. Mostly all sectors including residential, commercial, and retail have seen good NRI investments.

As opposed to earlier times when an NRI had to struggle with various rules, income tax and other issues, these days the NRI is being welcomed with open arms, and this has elicited an extraordinary response. Today, NRIs enjoy high returns, easy repatriation with no tax on sale proceeds, and easy loans. There are several realtors, financers and other organisations specialising in easy financing and mortgages for NRIs and high net worth individuals.

Courtesy: - TOI dtd: - 23rd August 2008

TO INVEST RS 2,000 CR IN 2 YEARS; FOUR PROJECTS IN BANGALORE, HYDERABAD

Citigroup-backed Golden Gate Properties plans to invest close to Rs 2,000 crore over two years in affordable housing projects, a senior official said. The projects will be funded primarily through customer sales, apart from banks loans to the tune of Rs 500 and equity, Golden Gate managing director K Pratap said.

The Bangalore-based developer on Thursday announced plans to start construction on four township projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad, all grouped under the brand name Commune. A significant portion of each development will comprise low-cost housing units with an area of 995-1122 sq ft.

"A large section of society is unable to own homes owing to spiraling real estate costs. The Commune has been conceived to fulfill this need-gap. The starting price for the affordable housing units will be around Rs 19 lakh. These properties will be on a par with premium developments in terms of quality, treatment and amenities," he said.

Citigroup has invested Rs 150 crore in Golden Gate and Deutsche Bank $70 million. Golden Gate plans to expand to several southern cities with affordable housing projects.

Earlier this week, Bangalore's Puravanakara Group also outlined plans to develop low-cost housing. The Housing Ministry estimates the shortage of homes in India at 24.71 million, most of it among economically weaker sections and low-income groups. Golden Gate's first project, comprising 2,500 apartments on 30 acres, is located some four km off the road link to Mysore while the second will come up in the Sarjapur area on the city's periphery on 100 acres.

In Hyderabad, the company has acquired land in Tallapur and Secundrabad. "Each project will be developed in a phased manner. The Bangalore model will be replicated across cities with some modifications to suit local tastes," he said. The company hopes to drive down costs by acquiring land on the outskirts of cities and using modern construction techniques to bring down labour count by 75%.

                                                                         Courtesy: - ET dtd: - 23rd August 2008

Sobha Developers takes great pride in delivering international quality standards to its customers.

Sobha Developers reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice, in the interests of quality and timely delivery. Please check with our Customer Relations personnel for the latest specifications and changes, if any.

  Property companies are expediting projects, or cutting down on project completion time, by nearly 20 per cent in an attempt to realise value and overcome the liquidity crunch.

  Companies that earlier took 36 months on housing projects are now completing them in around 30 months by boosting efficiencies and using modern technology.

  Commercial project developers are going a step further, completing projects in 17 months instead of 24.

  In some instances, mainly in smaller commercial buildings, developers are trying to cut down the project completion time to a mere 9 months. Take Mahindra & Mahindra’s upcoming special economic zone in Jaipur. The company has squeezed the construction time for a commercial building to nine months from the normal 12-15 months. It began the construction of a four-storey building in November last year and has already completed two floors with complete fit-outs that already house a BPO unit.

  Less than 100 meters away, the IT major Infosys is building a five-storey building that will house a 3200 seater BPO.

  The contractor started the construction activity in July and two floors could be ready by the month-end.

  Sumit Arora, vice president of the Pune-based DS Kulkarni Developers, said, “There is a lot of pressure from customers. Everybody has seen the world. You have to be on your toes and complete projects, lest buyers go to others.” The company expects to complete its upcoming housing projects in Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore in 18-20 months instead of the usual 24-28 months.

  The construction work of DLF and Indianbulls in Mumbai, Parsvnath (Delhi) and Sobha  (Bangalore) is progressing even during the monsoons. “ Even if we cut the construction time by two months, we will save up to 20 per cent on labour and preliminary expenses, although the material costs remain the same,” said JC Sharma, managing director of the Bangalore-based Sobha Developers, which is the main contractor for Infosys.

  Sobha has prepared its own construction manual, an amalgamation of Bureau of Indian Standards and DIN (German Standards), which talks about the dos and don’ts of construction. Methods, safety-codes, tools and processes are photographed and filmed to show how construction could be speeded up. The company has also set up an in-house training school to train engineers, masons and architects on new technologies, processes and systems.

  The Hyderabad-based Indu Projects uses modular construction in housing projects, cellular lightweight concrete (CLC) blocks in building walls and beam-less slabs in commercial buildings to save on time and costs. These products save 25 per cent to 30 per cent time for the developer. Faster projects completion helps in realising funds quicker from the customers. “If you complete projects early, you can collect money faster from the customers and improve the turnover as payments are directly related to completion,” said Sharma.

  The main reason for the faster turnaround of projects is the decline in property sales by over 30 per cent in the last six months across Mumbai, national capital region (NCR) and other regions, which were the main revenue streams for the developers. Construction costs, which vary from city to city, are growing 20-25 per cent every year, said experts.

                                                                                         Curtsey: B.S   22.8.2008                

                                                                                                 Curtsey: B.S   22.8.2008        

• This will be developed in 55 acres of land with a developable area of over 3.50 million SFT. 
• This integrated town ship will have Super Luxury Apartments, Villas, Shopping Mall, Office Complexes, Hotel, Multiplex, and Convention Centre with Multi Speciality Hospital , located on the Thrissur – Guruvayoor highway.
• This project is expected to be completed over a period of five years.

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF INDIA rose 3.36 per cent to Rs 83.00 on reports that the company was planning to venture into real estate and have a pan –India presence in the sector. The company has 200 properties across the country, which can be utilized for residential and commercial projects. The company also intends to increase its existing warehousing facilities from 7.5 million square feet (msf) to 12.5 msf in 2-3 years. The stock made a 52-week high of Rs 185 on January 1 and a 52-week low of Rs 71 on March 24.