Indian Property News on 'January, 2008'

FAR- A Major Concern for Real Estate India

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) has always been a matter of concern in the real estate sector, its one of the major determinant of a country’s development. But unfortunately FAR in India is low and is considered a hurdle to construction activities. While the real estate sector has been demanding an increase in FAR, the major point of worry is the fact that whether an increase makes sense without improving the overall infrastructure in the country.

FAR essentially means the limit that is imposed on the amount of construction in a certain plot of land or location. The parameters differ from state to state and are governed by the respective city development authorities. Read More »

Build Houses- Minister Urges Real Estate Developers

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of FAIRPRO 2008,’ Chennai’s biggest property fair ,Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy requested the real estate developers to step into the shoes of the prospective buyers to realise their dream homes.

The minister also added that the real estate developers have the additional responsibility of creating a beautiful neighbourhood along with beautiful houses for all sections.” They should commit themselves to creating beautiful cities. Read More »

DLF’s Big Gamble

An astounding land holding of almost 750 million square feet around the country, about 20% more than its next-biggest competitor, DLF’s unarguably rules the India Real Estate Market.

DLF Ltd. has dominated the extraordinary building boom in India. Now, the country’s biggest property company is making a big bet on a hot new market: houses for the middle class. Read More »

Sustainability, Quality and Transparency – Key Drivers for Real Estate 2008

Latest report by Real Estate Consultants Jones Lang La Salle reveals that Sustainability, good quality construction and transparency will be the key drivers of the GCC real estate market over the next year.

The report also predicts that these regions will be the prime investment targets for International investors. According to the managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle, international investment in the region is currently only served by companies in the GCC or Pakistan and India. Read More »

LIC Plans to Consolidate its Real Estate Portfolio

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the largest insurance firm of the country revealed its plans to consolidate its real estate portfolio across the country. In an advertisement the company said that Expression of interest is being invited from professional consultancy organizations for consolidating our real estate portfolio.

The consultancy involves feasibility study, including techno-economic viability assessment of expected growth potential, and investment opportunities in sectors such as commercial, housing and retail for fresh acquisition, it said. Read More »

Israel firm Enters into Indian Real Estate venture

India seems to be the hottest destination for Israel Real Estate Developers. BSR Engineering and Development Ltd, a firm from Israel ha signed a memorandum of association with Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners to set up a joint venture to buy land in India for the development of residential and commercial projects. A BSR Engineering subsidiary will build projects with Lehman Brothers financing.

Within three years from the signing of the final documents, the companies will invest $55 million in the joint venture: BSR Engineering will provide 36% of the financing and Lehman Brothers will provide 64%. Read More »

Real Estate Major AIG Plans Entry into India

One of the largest real estate developers of the world AIG group is planning its entry into the Indian Real Estate Market. AIG Investments is setting up a portfolio management service (PMS) through which it will invest in the Indian real estate market.

AIG possesses core expertise in the real estate sector, since the last 14 months a small team is already investing in Indian real estate market and now they are all set to wrap it up into a fund and invest through PMS route. Read More »

Developers Fear Immense Price Hike in Mumbai Real Estate

Real estate developers fear a whopping hike of 30% to 50% in demand as well as prices of property in Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Chennai and Bangalore, compared with the ongoing steady demand and prices in Delhi and the NCR region from March 2008 onwards.

As per Industry experts the demand for residential properties is expected to rise by 30% from March 2008. Read More »

Unitech to Raise $700 mn through Singapore Stock Exchange

Unitech, a big name in the Indian Real Estate Industry has won regulatory approval to raise $700 million through a public offer in the Singapore Stock Exchange. Unitech will list its subsidiary in Singapore as Unitech Office Trust (UOT), a real estate investment trust (REIT).

Banking majors like Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan and UBS have been appointed as bankers for the proposed offering. The fund raising process is likely to be complete by March 2008. The company also plans to raise $1-1.5 billion through the QIP route, which is expected to be closed by the end of this month. Read More »

Excess reliance on foreign funds in realty not good: HDFC

HDFC has cautioned the Government against the plentiful flow of foreign capital into the Indian property market. Speaking on the same, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said that the government should allow pension and provident funds to invest in real estate sector.

Citing the example of South- East Asian Crisis, he further said that the Government’s key role must be to ensure a diverse source of funding for the real estate sector. New funding sources like provident and pension funds be encouraged, so that India never faces such a crisis. These funds account for a substantial part of financial savings of the household sector and are long term in nature. Read More »