Indian Property News on 'June, 2007'

JP Morgan to Invest $100 mn in Prestige Group

Real estate arm of JP Morgan is reported to be planning to invest heavily in Bangalore based real estate developer Prestige group. The capital is believed to be $100 million and the infusion could be through equity placement or debt financing in the flagship company Prestige Estate & Projects.

The proceedings of the investment will be used for project development across south India, as Prestige is considering its expansion outside Bangalore. The company has several real estate projects in its pipeline which include a shopping mall in Hyderabad, a residential project in Kochi, a technology park in Chennai, and exclusive villas in Goa. Read More »

Property Owners Queue up to Sell Shares in Asian Trusts

Asian property owners are considering to sell shares in around 15 real estate investment trusts (REITs) within the coming year, says Michael Smith, head of Asian real estate investment banking at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

There is a large capital inflow coming into the Asian real estate, adds Smith. Read More »

Small Property Developers Selling to Big Players

Most small time real estate developers in India are looking out to liquidate their land by selling them to larger developers or equity players. In an effort to rescue themselves from the liquidity crunch, they are even ready for lower cost.

Property rates are believed to undergo major price corrections soon. Therefore we thought of being secured rather than be at risk”, says a property developer. Read More »

Real Estate Agents Form New Organization

Real estate agents in India are largely coming forward to form a national association in an effort to bring international expertise and quality services to organize the fragmented sector. The move will also help the agents to self regulate their business.

The association will be known as the National Association of Realtors India (NARI). It would be registered as a non profit organization under the Registrar of Societies Act. To work in collaboration with US based National Association of Realtors, NARI is determined to bring revolution in Indian real estate in terms of greater transparency. Read More »

Real estate Boom Shifts to Tier II & Tier III cities

After making a mark in glimmering cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, the real estate has shifted its gears towards smaller cities which are fast emerging as good investment destinations. Although, these cities are at the threshold of real estate boom, they have been successful in attracting large interests of prospective investors.

Some upcoming cities that are turning to ‘growth centers’ include Guwahati, Nagpur, Bhuvaneswar, Ludhiana, Surat, Kochi, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Mysore, Coimbatore. They are making rapid strides in real estate sector with prominent property developers being bullish on to harness the prospects. Read More »

17mn sq ft Commercial Space Makes Way for Bangalore

Commercial property in Bangalore is zooming away in the wake of high growth, with supply likely to cross a mark of 17.4 million sq ft. It will include three million sq ft. supply spillover from 2006.

Of the total supply of office space earmarked for the year 2007, around 14.1 million sq ft. of space is likely to be for IT/ITes sector, with the areas located in suburban and central locations. Read More »

Extended Suburbs in Mumbai bring new Prospects for Developers

Property developers in Mumbai are now eyeing ‘extended suburbs’ for acquiring land to develop residential property and establishing exclusive cum affordable apartments.

Around 5 lakh acres of developable land is largely available for which the flat prices hover between 1,000 sq ft. to 2,000 sq ft. Extended suburbs have come up as excellent alternative to high priced locations in metros to provide housing to masses at down to earth rates, says Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, JLL Meghraj. Read More »

Govt. Eases Environment Clearance Norms for builders

The government is drafting easier environmental clearance guidelines for real estate developers that would reduce the time required for getting the plans approved.

The new single window system for environment clearances will relax the procedures for developers who have to separate clearances from the state and the Centre. This would help builders to get their building plans approved within two-three months.

The environment guidelines have been set by the Ministries of Urban Development and Environment and the Planning Commission. Read More »

Emaar MGF Plans India’s Largest Mall

Emaar MGF, India’s leading real estate developer, is to strengthen its presence with the construction of India’s largest shopping mall. The project will be announced in the next six months.

On completion, it would be looked upon as the world’s largest mall to be spread over a large area of 5.8 million sq ft being constructed by the company’s partner in Dubai. With this project, Emaar MGF will come ahead of DLF which is to come up with DLF’s Mall of India along NH-8 in Gurgaon to be spread over 3.6 million sq ft.

The mall will be constructed on the same base lines as the Dubai Mall which features 3.77 million sq ft. retail space and the largest walk through aquarium in the world. The mall in India is under planning and the announcement is to be made in the next couple of months. Read More »

Buying a House in Chennai turn into a Prohibitive Choice

Scouting a comfortable as well as affordable house in booming Chennai is no better than an uphill climb with property prices reaching the skyline in the city.  Full time real estate agents have captured the market and have kicked out part time brokers here.

The task to buy a home has become more troublesome for middle class families who are blaming brokers to earn large profits without investment and taxes. Read More »