Indian Property News on 'September, 2009'

Real Estate Companies Target to Raise Rs 11,100cr through IPOs

The speedy turnaround in the stock market in the last six months has attracted a host of large real estate firms to tap the IPO route. Together four firms — Delhi-based Emaar MGF and Ambience, Lucknow-based Sahara Prime City, and Mumbai-based Lodha Builders are eyeing to raise Rs 11,100 crore from the market. All have filed draft prospectus with Sebi.

This sudden rush towards raising money from the market, to a large extent, is driven by the recent lessons the realty firms got from the financial crisis, a top official from the sector said. While the going was good, from 2005 till 2007, a host of realty firms had taken huge debt on their books but in comparison had very less equity money. This raised their debt-equity ratio to above 1:1 level.

So as the markets turned towards worse, these companies, with high level of debt, did not have enough money at their disposal — neither from its equity funds nor from selling its properties — to service the debt. As a result some were nearly bankrupt, the official explained. So while the market is good, realty firms are rushing to build their war chest by raising equity capital. A common reason for all the four realty firms to tap the IPO route is to retire high-cost debts.

To some extent, these fund raising plans are also being driven by an expected move by RBI to raise risk weight for banks lending to commercial real estate companies, market sources said. In case the central bank increases this risk weight to 125%, the cost of borrowing for realty companies could rise by about 100-150 basis points (100 basis points = 1%) per annum.

With the current indications that interest rate in the economy has bottomed out, going forward cost of borrowing for realty firms could rise further. So instead of incurring such high costs for borrowed money, real estate firms are now eyeing funds from Dalal Street, market players said. The timing of the realty IPOs has also been influenced by the recent, albeit slow, revival in the housing sector in most metros. All the four companies also plan to utilise part of the IPO money to meet the funding requirement for ongoing projects.

Emaar MGF filed its IPO prospectus to raise up to Rs 3,850 crore. The other big IPO will be Sahara Prime City, which is planning to raise Rs 3,000 crore through this issue. The company is also keeping a green shoe option to retain an additional Rs 450 crore in case of oversubscription. For Sahara Prime City, this is the second coming. Between late-2007 and early-2008 the company was considering to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore for housing projects in 179 cities across India.

GIC Housing Finance Offers Home Loan at Lowest Interest Rate

Home loans today pierced the interest rate floor of 8 per cent that the State Bank of India had set in February. GIC Housing Finance, a subsidiary of state-owned General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), today offered home loan up to Rs 1 crore at a festive season discount rate of 7.95 per cent, making it the lowest in the country.

Although the details of the new scheme offered by GIC Housing Finance are sketchy, it is learnt that the interest rate of 7.95 per cent will be valid for a period of six months. After this period, the interest rate will be reset to the then prevailing base lending rate.

In addition to this scheme for the festival season, the company has launched a loan scheme carrying interest at 8.95 per cent per annum fixed for a period of two years. GIC Housing Finance, which has a small presence in the home loan segment dominated by giants like HDFC, the State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank, made the scheme more attractive by offering free accidental death insurance cover and free property insurance cover to the loan applicants.

It was the SBI which took the lead in spicing up home loans by offering an 8 per cent interest rate (for the first year) in February. In August, it bettered the deal by offering loans up to Rs 5 lakh at a fixed rate of 8 per cent for five years. It also offered to charge 8 per cent for the first year on loans up to Rs 50 lakh and cap them at 8.5 per cent in the second and third years. Besides, it waived processing fees.

Though GIC Housing Finance’s interest rate of 7.95 per cent is below SBI’s, it must be noted that the reduced rate is only valid for a period of six months against one year for the SBI. In the case of the State Bank, individuals can borrow up to Rs 5 lakh under the SBI Hi-Five Home Loan scheme at an interest rate of 8 per cent fixed for a period of five years.

Meanwhile, IDBI Bank cut its new home and auto loan rates by 25 to 50 basis points effective from October 1. With this, the new rates for home loans up to Rs 30 lakh will be 8.75 per cent as against the existing 9 per cent. Home loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh will attract a rate of 9 per cent (9.5 per cent), while those above Rs 50 lakh will be priced at 9.25 per cent (9.5 per cent).

Surprise Boom in Patna Real Estate

The recent boom in the real estate market of Patna has surprised one and all. Notwithstanding global recession prices of commercial as well as residential properties have witnessed tremendous upward swing in the last couple of years. Patna was never known as prime destination to settle or invest for the people of other states largely due to lack of infrastructural facilities and absence of trade and industries in and around the city.

Even the original citizens of the city would love to move out and live elsewhere. “The real estate prices have appreciated more than 100 percent in last three years. Now the residential properties in the prime location are priced around Rs 3,000-3,500 per square feet whereas commercial space in malls varies from Rs 6,000 to 10,000 per square feet,” said a leading builder of the city, Rakesh Kumar Singh of Hope Frontline. “But this sudden rise can not be seen in isolation as the real estate was almost stagnant for more than a decade in Patna,” Singh added further.

The city would soon be blessed with at least three big shopping malls in different areas and the price quoted for sale varies from Rs 6,200 to Rs 10,000 per square feet, depending on their location. These rates are equal to the rates of Barakhambha Road in Connaught Place and Karol Bag areas of central Delhi. The first multiplexes constructed by the company owned by Prakash Jha would be ready with all modern amenities next year. This mall has a built up area of 2.25 lacs sq. ft.

The price raked up a controversy. This prime plot was priced at Rs 14 lacs per acre by the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA). The land could have been given to any builder on the basis of 50 percent share of the developed land as prevalent in Patna. The state coffer could have easily got Rs.62 crores in just three years or at least Rs 40 lacs per month as rent on the current market rate. The amount would have been enough to support resource starved Patna Municipal Corporation. When any entrepreneur with some risk can make such a fast buck, what prevented our government officials and agencies from marketing it. After all builders in Patna are developing land plots in remote areas close to Danapur and other places.

The government could have utilized this boom to use some of its encroached and vacant land to develop them as commercial space to give regular source of income to Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC). Any reputed national level builder will be interested in taking up these projects. Maurya Lok still remains the only commercial area with some open space for parking and movements. The sudden spurt in demand created an artificial rise in this sector. “Improvement in law and order, starting of a number of development projects have its immediate effect and people in Bihar largely invest their surplus in real estate. Even the corrupt officers too invest a large part of their income in real estate as it was evident in recent raids. Many officers are owning more than six to eight flats in the city.

This sudden rise have definitely dashed the hope of many middle class people to have their own flats in the city as now minimum cost for owning a flat is around Rs 20 lacs,” said Nanhe Prasad, the State Coordinator of the Builders Association. It is another matter that Rs. 24,000 crores is piled up in the banks of Patna, according to a recently disclosed RBI (Reserve Bank of India) report. This figure is more than that of NOIDA, Navi Mumbai, Surat and many commercial and industrial cities of India. “When we can have a list of BPL (Below poverty Line) people, what prevents Income Tax and other government departments from detecting as to whose money is flooding Patna” asked a CPIML activist Kamlesh Sharma.

Bangalore Emerging as Most Preferred Real Estate Destination

Bangalore has emerged as a clear preference for sectors like office and retail, while coming a close third in the residential and hospitality according to Cushman & Wakefield, a retail estate research firm. In its report Cushman & Wakefield GRI India Real Estate Investment report 2009: ‘Survival to Revival – Indian realty sector on the path to recovery,’ the firm said that Bangalore is expected to see the highest demand for office space in the period 2009 – 2013 with approximately 34 million sq.ft.

The expected recovery in the IT/ITeS sector would have a positive effect on the demand in Bangalore, the preferred location for many IT/ ITeS companies. The demand for retail sector is also expected to be the highest in Bangalore with approximately 7 million sq. ft. while demand for residential is expected to be approximately 570,000 units over 2009 – 2013, with the highest compounded annual growth rate at 14 per cent. The hospitality sector in Bangalore too is forecast to register the highest compounded annual growth of about 26 per cent in demand, followed by NCR at 24 per cent and Pune at 23 per cent.

The city of Chennai is expected to witness the second highest demand for office space in India between 2009 to 2013 with a projected cumulative 27.2 million sq ft and the city also holds the fifth largest demand share for retail and hospitality space demand in India. Anurag Mathur, managing director, India, Cushman & Wakefield said that the office market in Chennai has seen a renewed interest from the corporate sector, post the economic crisis. While demand will be visibly affected this year, “We expect the five-year horizon (up to 2013) to be upbeat for the commercial markets in the city. The retail and hospitality segments are also likely to see considerable demand in the coming years.”

Chennai is likely to witness the second highest demand for office space after Bangalore of approximately 27.2 million sq.ft. by 2013. Good infrastructure, high quality construction and competitive pricing would be the key reasons for the location to see high demand from corporate sector. Hyderabad is expected to witness office demand of 16.6 million sq. ft. over a five year horizon and records the highest compounded annual growth of approximately 28 per cent during 2009 – 2013 in the office sector along with Pune and Kolkata. The residential demand for Hyderabad is expected to be 290,000 units with the highest compounded annual growth of 14 per cent in the next five years akin to Bangalore.

Mathur, further added that though the high growth trajectory of the previous years saw a setback during the global economic slowdown, the inherent strong economic fundamentals, low exposure to debt and state intervention, would help the sector to gradually return to the path of recovery and witness robust demand for real estate across sectors.

Builders See Large Room for Growth in Office Space

Market for this predicted to grow at a compounded 19% annually for next four years. The glittering towers in the country’s commercial capital may still be rising into empty space, but that hasn’t stopped Rashesh Kanakiya’s ambitions from soaring. The chairman of Kanakiya Spaces has just launched a commercial project called — rather oddly, some would say — Boomerang, a 1.2 million sq ft complex at Andheri, a Mumbai suburb. Kanakiya says it’s the country’s largest single-project floor space on offer and a substantial part of that will be earmarked for offices.

The oversupply in the office space doesn’t worry him. “Though there is oversupply in the IT space, demand for office space hasn’t stopped. With international markets picking up, we expect demand to pick up from early next year. We have got an excellent response for our Boomerang project this week,’’ Kanakiya says. Kanakiya has put his money where his mouth is. His company has also just completed 215 Atrium at Andheri that offers office space of 300,000 sq ft, apart from a 300-room four-star hotel (Courtyard Marriott). The space has been sold out.

Kanakiya is certainly not alone in expecting things to improve. According to a Cushman & Wakefield report, though the office market is expected to dip in demand this year with an expected absorption of 27 million sq ft, the period from 2010 onwards will see the markets experience a healthier demand, with a compounded annual growth of 19 per cent from 2009-2013. The commercial office market in India is likely to head towards a more balanced demand and supply situation in the next few years. The highest demand in the next five years is expected to be in Bangalore at 34 million sq ft, followed by Chennai at 27 million sq ft. Mumbai comes just after that. The growing corporate confidence is expected to turn things around in the office space market, the report says.

According to the Global Office Real Estate review (mid-year 2009) by Colliers International, Mumbai remains the 15th largest office construction site in the world and the city is currently seeing as much as nine million sq ft of office space coming up. This is a huge jump compared to June 2008 (just before the global recession started) when barely 3.8 million sq ft was under construction. According to real estate research firm Liases Foras, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has nearly 60 million sq ft of unsold office space, but developers are now planning to launch 120 million sq ft of new office space by 2016, in anticipation of a much better tomorrow.

The growing corporate confidence has prompted many developers to put the oversupply concerns behind them and either launch new projects or put the unfinished ones on the fast track, with aggressive marketing efforts. The list is getting longer by the day and includes Indiabulls Real Estate, which is ready with its 1.5 million sq ft Indiabulls Finance Centre at Lower Parel, Ackruti City with its office complex at Bandra Kurla Complex, Phoenix Mills, which will develop 1.7 million sq ft of office space in its Phoenix Market City project in Kurla, ACME and the Ajmera group, which have launched their projects recently.

Raja Kaushal, executive director and chief operating officer of BNP Paribas Real Estate India, says there is a latent demand for office space from most sectors. “There are at least five to big companies which are looking for properties in excess of 50,000 sq ft,” Kaushal adds. That’s a sharp turnaround from the middle of last year, when most companies and financial institutions deferred their expansion plans due to the uncertain demand scenario and in the hope that they would get properties at cheaper prices later. The result: Office rents in the city’s main business hubs, Nariman Point, Bandra Kurla Complex and Lower Parel, have gone down by 50-60 per cent in the past one year.

However, there is a large section of consultants who find the spate of new office space launches a bit difficult to digest. Some developers are marketing aggressively (two-page expensive advertisements in Mumbai dailies have become a common affair now) so that buyers come back. “Developers have been trying to sell these properties for quite some time. It is very difficult to get buyers, so developers are advertising heavily to woo buyers. And in some cases, they do have any option other than launching office complexes as per zoning laws,’’ says Pankaj Kapoor, chief executive of Liases Foras.

According to Kapoor, a number of developers are also withdrawing their projects due to poor response. Mumbai witnessed 1 million sq ft of cancellation from buyers in the December quarter of this year and a mere 500,000 sq ft of leasing and buying in the June quarter, which is very insignificant, Kapoor says. Kapoor, however, seems to be in a minority. A real estate developer who didn’t want to be identified says he isn’t a fool to have put his money in something without proper research. “Consultants may be wise people, but we are actually investing and know better,” he says.

15% Hike in Residential Property Prices

The upswing has begun. Not only have the sales picked up, but the prices of residential property too have increased 5-15 % in the last couple of months. With a long festive season ahead, realty experts believe property markets could see heightened activity, provided developers desist from increasing prices of residential space any further.

“The festive season (September-December ) has historically been a buying period, with a large chunk of overall sales being converted during this auspicious time. Some developers see as much as 30-40 % of the yearly sales taking place during the festive season,” says Aditi Vijayakar, the executive director (Residential Services, India) of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W ), a global realestate consultant. “Residential prices have increased by 5-15 % from the bottom it made in the first half of the year. If the developers continue to raise the prices then the renewed demand and interest that is being witnessed will start to abate,” she cautioned while talking about the upcoming season which is also a source of attraction for the cash-rich NRIs.

“The previous year has been a taxing one for the real estate industry and the initial signs of recovery are evident in the market, and as most of the sales happen during the festive periods, developers have to be cautious not to hike prices in projects and new launches as this will drive out the end users and prolong the revival in the residential space,” Ms Vijayakar remarked.

According to the expert, almost all cities are registering a rise in sale as transactions had frozen up during the start of the year. But now as the economy has stabilised and is back on the growth trajectory, there is a revived interest in buying homes by end users and this increase in confidence, better economy, favourable borrowing conditions, rationalised capital values amongst others which is promoting rising sales across India.

However, developers and builders are eyeing the renewed demand in the residential space as a huge opportunity. “After almost a year-and-a-half, we see a renewed demand in the residential sector. During the last three months, sales have picked up by almost 100%, and with a long buying season ahead, the property prices will definitely move up the graph,” says Sameer Sinha of Savvy Infrastructures Ltd.

“In Ahmedabad, going by conservative estimates, the prices of residential property is expected to rise by another 25-30 % in the next one year”, Mr Sinha said adding that the prices in the city have already risen by about 15% since the markets bottomed out earlier this year. The fresh demand in the housing sector has boosted the confidence of developers as well. Earlier this month, the city-based body of developers, GIHED (Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers) displayed about 500 projects worth Rs 3,000 crore at property show in Ahmedabad.

“As the economy recovers and grows on a pan-India basis, residential demand is expected to grow along side. C&W Research estimated demand to be over 7.5 million units by 2013 across all categories such as Economically Weaker Section, affordable mid segment and luxury segment. The residential demand for NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata is estimated to be 4.5 million units by 2013”, Ms Aditi Vijayakar added.

RBI to Increase Cost of Funds for Commercial Real Estate

THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may step up its efforts to pre-empt another bubble in the local property market by increasing the cost of funds for the commercial real estate sector by up to 200 basis points. “We are looking at a hike in the risk weight to the commercial real estate (CRE) segment to 125% as a measure to ward off another bubble in the real estate segment and to ensure high credit quality,” said an RBI official who asked not to be named. Currently, interest rate on most of the loans is between 7.5% and 12.5%, depending on the credit rating of the borrowing company. The current move will make loans to this segment costlier by 75-200 basis points. Bank finance for land development is classified as CRE if the source of repayment would be lease rentals. The segment has started showing signs of revival after an earlier-than-expected recovery of the country’s economy from a demand slump.

The measure could affect the financial health of some of the largest real estate firms of the country, which were forced to sell land banks and projects to meet their cash requirements. A similar move by the RBI in 2007 had resulted in a crash in property prices. Though the central bank was criticised for the measure, the global financial crisis in 2008 proved that it was a step in the right direction. Till mid-November last year, the risk weight to loans secured by commercial real estate was 150%, which was brought down to 100% by the banking regulator to facilitate credit flow to the sector that was reeling under a demand slump.

High exposure of some banks in the segment may have prompted RBI to consider such a measure, said the chairman of a government-run bank. “A major chunk of the non-food credit offtake in the recent months went to the real estate segment,” he said, requesting anonymity. However, an increase in risk weight by 25 percentage points will have only limited impact, he added.

The current move, which closely follows an RBI communique to banks cautioning them over their exposure to realty firms, suggests that the regulator is concerned about a possible asset bubble and the quality of credit extended towards construction of residential projects, shopping malls and office blocks. “Some of the companies operating in the real estate sector have significant exposure in the form of advances, investments etc to their subsidiaries and other group or related entities,” the RBI had written to the heads of banks, advising them to be more careful while lending to the sector. Banks are required to set aside capital for loans advanced depending on the risk weight. Under current norms, banks’ capital-adequacy ra-tio, a measure of financial strength expressed as the ratio of capital to risk-weighed assets, is 9%. Higher capital requirement increases the cost of funds for banks and makes loans more expensive for borrowers.

For loans carrying 100% risk weight, banks need to set aside Rs 9 worth of capital for every Rs 100 they lend, while a risk weight of 125% means the banks will have to keep Rs 11.25 against the same amount. Loans for construction of hotels, hospitals and educational institutions as well as a certain kind of special economic zone have recently been moved out of the CRE segment. The years between 2004 and 2007 saw the Indian property market booming with hundreds of new projects being launched and property prices going up several fold. But a property slump, which started as a result of extremely high property prices and high interest rates early last year and deepened due to the impact of the global recession, pushed a large number of firms to the brink of bankruptcy early this year.

Real Estate Regulator to ensure Transparent and Healthy Property Dealings

A draft bill on the much-awaited real estate regulator that will protect the interest of home buyers by ensuring a transparent and healthy real estate sector has drawn the ire of developers. “The government is trying to play nanny to the home purchaser,” said Kumar Gera, chief of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI). According to the draft, a builder will have to register a project with the regulator before he can market the properties. For this, the builder will have to submit a documentary proof of land ownership and the mandatory licences to the regulator for registration.

Once verified, the entire information about the project will be available on the regulator’s Website that will be accessible to everybody. The regulator will also scrutinise the advertisements and names of brokers. This process will ensure the legitimacy and the viability of the project, ending the current practice of realty firms launching projects without land ownership or mandatory approvals that leads to buyers getting stuck with inappropriate or illegal projects. “The proposed law will protect home buyers from fraudulent builders,” said Ajit Krishnan, partner for real estate at Ernst & Young.

However, developers don’t agree. “This draft has been prepared by people with good intent but with no knowledge of the nuances of the business,” said Mr Gera, who is also the chairman of Pune-based Gera Developers. If the proposed regulator gets all the proposed powers, a property buyer would know exactly what he is buying. Importantly, the draft bill prohibits a builder from accepting an advance from a home buyer before the sale agreement is signed. At present , builders force buyers to pay 20-30 % of the cost of the property before making a sale agreement.

Many times, a flat allotted by this process is completely different from what the buyer had initially understood from the developer or his broker. “It’s a good idea to have a sale agreement in place at the time of the first instalment, which will help both parties know what is on the table,” Mr Gera said. To make the builder accountable, the draft suggests that he will have to submit a bank guarantee of 5% of the total cost of the project, which will be encashed by the regulator if the builder does not complete the project on time or violate a condition that has been agreed upon in the agreement.

In case a builder is unable complete a project on time, the allottee can ask for a full refund of the amount he has paid along with an interest. The regulator will then take over the incomplete project and appoint another agency to complete the project by encashing bank guarantee and recovering the balance amount from the builder and/or allottees. The bank guarantee will push up the cost of the project and the provision of taking over incomplete project is ‘completely impractical’ , Mr Gera said.

The draft bill also addresses the concern of the home buyer on the cancellation of an allotment. If a builder unilaterally cancels the allotment, he will have to refund the entire amount along with interest . At present, developers generally forfeit a disproportionately-large percentage of the total amount paid by the buyer if the sale deed is cancelled on the buyer failing to make timely payment. Significantly, the draft bill also mandates the builder to keep a separate bank account for each project. “This will prevent promoters from speculating with the cash collected from customers. However , at the same time, it will also not allow a promoter to take away part of his profit till the project is completed ,” Mr Krishnan said.

Govt Circulates Proposal to Get Real Estate Business under Regulatory Authority Control

The Indian government on Friday circulated a new law proposed to be enacted by state legislatures to bring the real estate business under the control of a regulatory authority and an appellate tribunal.

The draft of the model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act aims to regulate and control construction, sale, transfer and management of housing colonies, residential buildings, apartments and other similar properties by setting up a real estate regulatory authority. Such an authority will also rate promoters and real estate projects to improve the confidence level of both investors and consumers through a system of self-regulation, which may be based on the rating parameters developed by the National Real Estate Development Council or the Confederation of Real Estate Developer’s Association of India.

Sources said the proposed law would not only check conduct and integrity of promoters developing the colonies, but also ensure speedy construction and maintenance of such colonies, residential buildings, apartments and properties. The draft deals with regulations on development of colonies, sale and transfer of residential buildings and apartment, and the role of their promoters and prescribes stringent punishments for violators. Once the concerned state gets a law passed by the state legislature on the lines of the proposed model law, no development of land into colony or construction of apartments for marketing will be permitted without registration with the regulatory authority, which shall also have the powers to cancel such registrations.

Anyone starting construction or development of land without registration could be jailed for up to three years or with penalty of the percentage of the cost of development or both. The draft said the role of the promoter would include: make available documents for inspection, issue advertisement or prospectus inviting advance or deposit and hold responsibility for its veracity, enter all details on website of the regulator, no deposit or advance taken without entering into an agreement of sale, responsibility to protect property, adherence to approved plans and project specification, handing over of apartment, common areas and documents to the collective, no mortgage without consent.

RE/MAX All Set to Commence Operations in Gujarat

After Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield, another US based real estate organisation is now making inroads in Gujarat. RE/MAX India, a division of US-based RE/MAX International Property Group, is all set to commence its operations in Gujarat next month. The Delhi-headquartered real estate brokerage franchising company is currently identifying companies interested in buying broker-office franchises to operate throughout Gujarat.

According to Manan Choksi, regional franchisee owner in Gujarat, “The market for real estate broking services is currently fragmented and unorganised in the state. As there is a lot of migration in to the state, coupled with investments, we expect a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent in the next 5 years. Besides, we expect to conquer 25 per cent of the brokerage transactions in Gujarat. We wish to employ the top 15 per cent of brokers in the state who are most productive. This will ensure the desired market share as we believe in ‘outstanding agents, outstanding results. Eventually, over a period of 10 years, we expect a 35 per cent market presence in Gujarat.”

RE/MAX, among other things, brings the network support needed for real estate transactions by selling broker offices to provide a variety of real estate services. The broker-offices of RE/MAX provides guidance to both the buyer and the seller for a real estate transaction. The company plans to open 20 broker offices at the end of first year. “By the end of five years, we expect around 80 offices across the state. A country like Czech which has a population of 10 million has 155 RE/MAX broker-offices. Hence, Gujarat has a potential of around 200 offices in 10 years time,” Choksi added.

RE/MAX has opened its office at Mithakhali in Navrangpura area in Ahmedabad. Commenting on the growth of the company, Choksi further said, “RE/MAX Gujarat is investing Rs 3 crores in the next two years in developing the region. Moreover, the company will be spending a lot of money in branding and advertising. Internationally RE/MAX spends $ 1 billion (Rs 4800 crore approx) on advertising.” RE/MAX forayed into India a year ago and has presence in Bangalore, Chandigardh-Panchkula, Pune, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

RE/MAX is an international network of independently owned and operated offices offering a variety of real estate services. Based in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX International has presence in over 79 countries and has around 6850 offices, with 1,00,000 broker agents across the world. While Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj set up its shop in Ahmedabad in July this year, Cushman and Wakefield is still to set up a office here. Both the firms have, however been operational in the state from past few years. Besides, another global real estate consultancy firm UK based Knightfrank has also been active in the state.