Indian Property News on 'May, 2008'

Country Club India Buys UAE’s Chelsea Hotel for Dh165m

India’s largest leisure and infrastructure company, yesterday announced the takeover of Dubai-based luxury hotel, Chelsea Hotel for Dh165 million.

Following the takeover, which could mark the beginning of large-scale participation by Indian hospitality industry majors in Dubai’s booming hospitality sector, Chelsea Hotel was re-christened The Country Club Hotel. Read More »

Foreigners Violated FEMA to Buy Land in Goa

The investigating officer of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has completed the inquiry and submitted the report to the Adjudicating Authority in 12 cases of foreigners having violated provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) while buying land in Goa.

The investigation officer A K Singh, who is the assistant director of Enforcement Directorate, has submitted the report in 12 cases and the final outcome is expected in near future. “We have concentrated only on the big cases involving the citizens of Russia and United Kingdom,” Singh told Herald in a telephonic conversation from Mumbai. Read More »

EMI Holidays Drive Flat Housing Sales

Faced with declining demand for properties, real estate developers are courting buyers with a new offer: EMI holidays.

This trend is catching up in cities like New Delhi and Bangalore where real estate markets face stagnation. Under an EMI (equated monthly installment) holiday scheme, the buyer only needs to make a down payment of 10-15 per cent of the flat’s cost and does not need to pay EMI till he gets possession. However, the buyer has to arrange the loan and the builder will pay the interest till the flat is handed over, in about 18-24 months.

According to a recently released report by Citigroup, developers like Parsvnath, Uppal’s, RPS Group, Gaursons India, Triveni Infrastructures and KDP Infrastructure are offering this scheme in select projects in NCR Delhi. Read More »

Hit by Slowdown, UK Property Investors Look to India

As property prices continue their downward spiral in Britain, NRI investors here are looking to India, which is increasingly seen as a hotspot due to rising real estate prices across the country.

Every week, leading mortgage lenders and estate agents publish figures of declining prices, higher number of houses on the market, fewer buyers and smaller numbers of new mortgages being advanced. Read More »

IT, Non-IT Rental Gap Widens in India

The rental gap between IT and ITes office space and others is widening as per the latest report by real estate consultant Jones Lang La Salle, leading to a severe supply crunch for the non-IT segment.

The rental gap, the report says, between the two space types in the same or similar locations, was widening due to the relatively lower development of non-IT office stock, that has led to a severe demand-supply mismatch, increasing the rentals for non- IT office space, both grades A and B, to unprecedented levels in a record timeframe.

IT and non-IT space across India’s major cities ranges from a low of Rs 10 to 20 per sq feet respectively per month in the tier II cities of Pune and Hyderabad to a high of Rs 40-60 in tier I cities of Delhi and Mumbai. Read More »

Walk to Work - The new Mantra of Pune, SEZ.

The Blue Ridge IT/ITES SEZ is an international 2.88 million sq. ft. SEZ with an integrated township. Located in the Silicon Valley of Pune-Hinjewadi and being the first notified SEZ in Phase-I it is built on the principles of Facilities, Flexibility and Freedom, the Blue Ridge SEZ is unique in more ways than one. As a customer you get facilities that exceed expectations, flexibility to choose your space and freedom to explore and optimise.

In close proximity to the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, the upcoming automobile hub of Talegaon and Chakan and a mere 2 hours from Panvel, the Blue Ridge SEZ offers top-notch amenities and international work spaces. Read More »

K Rahea ties up with ServCorp

K Raheja Corp, one of India’s leading real estate and retail companies, has entered into an exclusive franchise agreement with Servcorp, global leaders and pioneers of the fully functional serviced offices and virtual offices’ business, to establish a presence in the fully serviced offices business in India.

Mr Chandru L Raheja, Chairman, K Raheja Corp, informed, “We feel happy to be associated with Servcorp. They are one of the global leaders in the serviced offices and virtual offices business and have a proven track record in the markets worldwide. Servcorp will strengthen the Group’s objective of providing an end-to-end business logistic support to our clients in India. And further grow our breadth in the Realty and Consumer business.” Read More »

Mumbai Airport Upgrade to Open up Mega Retail Space

The Mumbai airport’s upgradation will open up a humungous 5.7 crore sq ft or about 132 acres of real estate (almost seven Oval maidans), exclusively for non-aeronautical purposes like retail, commercial and hospitality. The area is mainly around Sahar village, Kurla and Kalina.

According to a Cushman & Wakefield report on Airport Realty, the modernization and upgradation of 47 airport projects across the country is expected to generate 78 million sq ft (1,790 acres) for commercial purposes by 2015. Read More »

Anil Nanda co Akme to go for JV with MPC

Anil Nanda Group Company Akme Projects Ltd today announced joint venture with private equity firm MPC Synergy Real Estate to develop seven premium housing projects with an equity investment of about Rs 1,000 crore.

The 50:50 joint venture, named Akme Rhine River Projects will develop seven projects at Ludhiana, Mohali, Greater Noida and two each in Bangalore and Gurgaon by 2012. The JV is expecting a total sales turnover of Rs 7,000 crore by then. Read More »

High Real Estate Prices hit Adidas India Plans

Expansion plans of footwear and apparel major Adidas India has been hit by high real estate prices ruling in the country, a company official said.

Adidas India Marketing Private Ltd’s Managing director Andreas Gellner told reporters, “Rise in real estate prices has been affecting our growth plans in India”.

The company’s was planning to increase the number of retail stores from 325 at present to 450 by the end of 2008. It operates the stores through franchisee route. Read More »