Indian Property News on 'July, 2008'

Realty Projects, Home Loans set to get Costlier

The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to revise repo rate and cash reserve ratio is expected to bite the realty industry, which is already burning under a slowdown and price correction.

Loans for housing will get dearer and interest sensitive sectors like real estate will be hit hard, said Mallinath Madineni of Arthaeon Financial Services.

“We expect banking and real estate stocks to under-perform in the near term,” Madineni added. Read More »

RBI move adds to real estate sector’s woes

The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to raise repo rate and cash reserve ratio is expected to add to woes of the real estate sector.

The realty industry — which is already smarting under a sluggish demand and price correction — feels that RBI’s move would tighten the liquidity crunch for developers, and dampen end user demand by putting pressure on home loan rates. Read More »

Dubai Realty Market still Lacks Transparency

Dubai’s real estate sector still lacks transparency despite efforts to clean up its image, property and investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle said yesterday.

Dubai’s real estate market now ranks as a tier three, or semitransparent market, up from a tier four, or low-transparent market in 2006. Read More »

PE Fund picks 40% in Amrapali SPV

Private equity fund SUN-Apollo Ventures has invested Rs 300 crore for 35-40% equity in an SPV of Noida-based realty firm Amrapali group.

SUN-Apollo is a joint venture between Delhi-based Khemka family’s SUN group and US-based private equity fund Apollo Real Estate Advisors. Apollo’s development and investment portfolio is spread across US, UK, Russia and other European countries, besides India. SUN Group, which has interests in oil & gas, mining, real estate, infrastructure, food & beverage and technology, has been active in India, Russia and other emerging markets.

“The SPV will develop a 200-acre township in Jaipur and a 15-acre high-end housing project in Noida. Both projects are likely to be completed in two-and-a-half years,” Amrapali group chairman Anil Sharma said. The Jaipur township will have housing, retail, commercial and IT space. Amrapali group, which has developed six urban residential colonies in the national capital region, is at present executing real estate projects worth Rs 8,000 crore in several cities. Read More »

Realty Slump Spells Boom Time for Foreign Investors

Country’s real estate sector might be witnessing ebbs but the downturn is only making things attractive for foreign investors. The slowdown, in fact, has set in more realistic valuations and growth-oriented investment opportunities for biggies to close in on lucrative deals.

The US slowdown and the fact that China is tightening its FDI policy is also aiding a remarkable shift in investment. Experts reckon that cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and the NCR region are hot investment destinations owing to their strategic importance. Read More »

Milestone`s Rs 600 cr PE Fund on anvil

Milestone Capital Advisors, the real estate venture capital fund promoted by Ved Prakash Arya, is planning to launch a private equity fund with a corpus close to Rs 600 crore. The announcement will be made in a few weeks.

The PE fund, the first from Milestone’s stable, will focus on sectors such as education and infrastructure. “Right now, I am bullish on these two sectors as there is lot of scope for companies to expand and reach a mass base,” said Ved Prakash Arya, managing director, Milestone Capital Advisors. Read More »

Bahrain’s TAIB Bank shells out Rs 216 cr for 26% in Anant Raj

In the midst of a general slow down in the Indian real estate market, TAIB Bank, a leading private bank based in Bahrain, has picked up a 26% stake in Anant Raj Projects for Rs 216 crore. The deal, one of the first Shari’ah-compliant transactions in the Indian real estate industry, puts the valuation of the subsidiary of New Delhi-based Anant Raj Industries (ARIL) at Rs 831 crore.

TAIB Bank has routed the investment through its real estate investment arm Acacia Real Estate. Anand Raj Projects plans to develop of 600,000 sqft of retail space which is expected to be operational by first half of 2009. The proceeds of the transaction will be invested in this project. DTZ India, the Indian subsidiary of DTZ Holdings, and International Property Consultant were the advisors to the transaction. Read More »

International Real Estate transactions dip 46%

Credit crunch and economic uncertainty have taken their toll on the global property market, with transaction volumes falling by 46 per cent in the first quarter, according to a property report.

Investment throughout Asia and other emerging markets continued to grow, as sales of major commercial properties globally totalled $154 billion (Dh565bn) in first quarter against $283bn of property that changed hands in first quarter of 2007, New York-based Real Capital Analytics said in its latest report.

Property sales figures for April and preliminary results for May show sales in Asia have started to weaken and drop in sales in the United States and Europe have become more severe. Read More »

Baby Donald Trump Launching an Indian Real Estate Fund

Donald Trump Jr. is planning a real estate hedge fund focusing on luxury properties in India.

The son of famed real estate developer and media personality Donald Trump will raise as much as $1 billion for the privately-held fund, Bloomberg News report. Analysts expect property prices in the subcontinent to drop by about 20%, creating opportunities for the hedge fund.

“The fund will be for acquisitions of real estate in the high end, and across the spectrum,” Trump told Bloomberg. “The marketplace is beginning to understand and appreciate luxury, so there is a great opening for us there, as well as in resorts.” Read More »

LIC Housing to enter Venture funding

LIC Housing Finance, the mortgage arm of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), is set to foray into the venture capital arena and intends to start a Rs 500 crore real estate fund by the end of this financial year.

LIC Housing Finance is reportedly scouting for a banking partner for raising capital and will soon approach the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to set up an asset management company. To invest in listed companies, companies usually register with Sebi. Read More »