Indian Property News on 'February, 2007'

ABN Amro on Launching Realty Arm

Indian investors will soon find their access on global market prices. ABN Amro Mutual Funds has filed with the capital market regulator, Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi), for a scheme that will fund in construction companies and property developers worldwide.

The ABN-Amro Global Property (India) Equity Fund is just waiting for the final nod from the regulators. The realty fund will invest in foreign equity and equity related securities through ABN Amro’s Luxembourg based ABN Amro Global Equity Fund. Read More »

Malls Excluded from Realty for FDI purposes

As per the new guidelines, the government has excluded shopping arcades and multiplexes from the purview of foreign direct investments (FDI) for real estate. They will be included under the automatic route with foreign direct investment up to 100% in hospitality sector including development work and set up of cinemas.

FDI rules for construction projects pertaining to property market include accommodation units, commercial spaces, resorts, educational institutions, recreational facilities, and regional level infrastructure, etc. Read More »

Advantages of Loans on Rent Receivables over Personal Loans

Nowadays, giving a call to lure customers to buy a loan has become really popular among banks. It is quite possible that these calls may irritate you, especially when you don’t need a loan or are not interested with the options provided by that bank.

Apart from these individuals, there are people who are in a dire need to have personal loans. Reasons like marriage or an unforeseen hospitalization may encourage them to apply for loans. However, those with property rented out enjoy a much better scope. They can check out the loan options with different banks for loans against the future receivable rent of such a property. Read More »

Kolkata’s First Sports-Mall Complex

Ashok Bhattacharya, municipal affairs and urban development minister laid the foundation stone for the first sports complex, which will come up as a public private partnership (PPP) between the Merlin group and Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) at Kasba in the southern fringe of the Kolkata.

This new sports complex will be called as the Rajdanga Sports cum Commercial Complex, and will feature a huge field to host games like football, hockey and cricket. However, there are no plans to lay a track for athletes in the field yet. Read More »

Ambani Brothers Won Karnataka IT Project

Of 24 bidders, only Ambani Brothers have been shortlisted for the exclusive project of the development of 10,000 acre Knowledge City involving a whopping investment of Rs. 50,000 crore. The City would be catering to the demanding requirements of the IT industry’s growth in Karnataka. The other property developers bidded for the project were from across the globe, including players from Dubai, Europe and Asia.

The project will come up in Bidadi, situated 25 km from the city limits of Bangalore.  The residential requirement of IT employers is shooting up day by day. For that reason, the plans were drawn up to develop such a township meeting the accommodation needs that is likely to grow by 30% in the next 10 years. Read More »

Airport Upgrade Jacks up Realty Rates in Dwarka, Gurgaon

With the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi having laid the foundation stone for the revamped Delhi airport last Saturday, the ball has been set rolling for the first modern, international-styled airport in the country. But, what has also been set rolling are the real estate rates all around. According to experts, a 10-15% rise in rates has already been registered in areas near the airport like Dwarks as well as Udyog Vihar, DLF Phase II & III in Gurgaon.

Says local realtor Vikram Chopra, “In a country where connectivity is a major issue and the construction of an expressway or a flyover result in a hike in the prices of the surrounding real estate, an airport that is going to be the first internationally-styled one in the country is big news. In fact, apart from Gurgaon and Dwarka, the increase in property rates has already started happening at farmhouse colonies like Westend Greens, Pushpanjali, Vasant Vihar and Shanti Niketan in South Delhi.” Read More »

I-T Dept. Questioning Realty Brokers, Interior Designers

I-T department is on its look out for defaulters and carried out searches regarding the same at various locations including Maharashtra, Kochi, and Chennai. The tax sleuths have been conducted regarding realty brokers, property developers, interior decorators, and advertising agencies including others as well, say sources.

The searches are still going on and further details are awaited, says SSN Murthy, director general of investigations in Mumbai. However, he denied giving any details about the search conducted in these locations. Read More »

Launch of India’s First Property Exchange Scheduled for June

A property exchange allows investors to sell and purchase property whether online or offline. Now, property exchanges, prevailing in international real estate sector, have landed in India.

Jayadaad.com is coming up with a first-of-its-kind property exchange by this June, which will be called as National Property Stock Exchange (NPSE).

Industry watchers are of view that investments in real estate are always preferred over investments in stock or gold. It is liquidity that has been the core area where the sector takes a thrash as compared to other investment prospects. Property exchanges hope capitalizing on the investment opportunity by taking care of this factor. Read More »

Bangalore sees fall in Commercial Property Rentals

Real estate happens to be one of the key aspects playing a crucial role in development of India’s garden city, Bangalore. With property here seeing appreciation quite rapidly, there is a contradictory situation for commercial property, which has seen a drop of over 30% in the last one year. Whitefiled, a suburb of Bangalore has seen property prices shooting up consistently.  However, a correction has taken place in the IT neighborhood. There are some connectivity related problems accountable for the scenario. In addition, oversupply is also believed to be another major reason.

This year, a balance between demand and supply has not been achieved. Commercial absorption in Whitefield stood at a little over 2 million sqft last year. The supply situation is pegged at over 6 million sqft while demand continues to be at 2 million sqft. This marks the difference of exactly 4 million sq ft. Oversupply is considered to be an often occurring situation in Indian metropolis. Read More »

Citigroup Property Investors Closes on $1.3B Asia Pacific Fund

Citigroup Property Investors closed its CPI Capital partners Asia Pacific LP. Fund for $1.29 billion. The fund has invested in real estate sector throughout the Asia Pacific Region, with the main focus on Greater China and India.

The craze for parking in real estate is becoming high, which is clearly underlined by the decision of Citigroup, a major American financial services company based in New York City and its Hong Kong based investment team to put in $200 million to the fund. They have also invested in Shanghai and Macau, China; Hong Kong; and Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai. There are 19 prospective investors sharing the balance of the investment, including Smith Barney. Read More »