Latest Property News on 'Delhi'

Affordable Housing NCR- Demand Surpasses Middle Class Want

The National Capital Region is witnessing frenzied activity again. This time round, it is across segments and in all categories including plots, floors and apartments. The elections were a big driver. Affordable housing has caught the fancy of private developers in Delhi, and large developer groups from the NCR, such as DLF have launched affordable housing in Moti Nagar. Values have gone up by 8-10 per cent across the board in established areas of Delhi and another 5-7 per cent hike is expected in capital values after the budget. The buyer profile includes end users, investors , builders and High Net Worth individuals .

In premium residential areas such as Defence Colony, Vasant Vihar and Greater Kailash there has been a significant number of transactions. As a result there is very little stock waiting to be sold in the market. Only those sellers who are asking for unreasonably high values are left with stock. According to a real estate consultant , “In a rising market the expectation of the owners rises faster than the market. In a falling market, on the other hand, their expectations fall slower than the rest of the market.” In the less premium market such as Saket, Hauz Khas and Green Park the rate of transactions has been low with values falling 15-20 per cent from peak values. In middle class areas such as Moti Nagar and Vikas Puri values have registered a steep fall of almost 30 per cent. Read More »

Delhi Real Estate Agent Involved in Rs 85cr Tax Evasion

A real estate brokerage firm in the national capital has admitted to evading Rs 85 crore in taxes, official sources said. The Income Tax Department has been carrying out searches at the premises of the firm since Sunday. The firm owned by two brothers has been in the business of real estate and infrastructure for the last four years.

Sources in the I-T department said that operations are still on at four premises of the firm and they have also seized Rs 53 lakh cash from these locations. “The firm has admitted Rs 85 crore (tax evasion) to the department and further probe is on in the case,” a source said. The firm dealt with major players in the real estate business in Delhi and were allegedly evading taxes by under-reporting the profits earned by them on the account books, they said.

Delhi Real Estate Agent Admits Rs 85 crore Tax Evasion

A real estate brokerage firm in the national capital has admitted to evading Rs 85 crore in taxes, official sources said. The Income Tax Department has been carrying out searches at the premises of the firm since Sunday. The firm owned by two brothers has been in the business of real estate and infrastructure for the last four years.

Sources in the I-T department said that operations are still on at four premises of the firm and they have also seized Rs 53 lakh cash from these locations. “The firm has admitted Rs 85 crore (tax evasion) to the department and further probe is on in the case,” a source said. The firm dealt with major players in the real estate business in Delhi and were allegedly evading taxes by under-reporting the profits earned by them on the account books, they said.

Over 25% Surge in House Rentals in Delhi

Naresh Behl, a realtor active in IP Extension in East Delhi, works even on his weekly off days. Reason ? Those looking for rented accommodations keep on calling him to remind him about their requirement - this is something , Naresh says, he has not encountered in his decade-long career as a realtor. “The demand for rented accommodation has really gone up in a big way as many people, who were looking for a house of their own, have shelved their plans due to the current insecurity in their jobs,” explains Naresh. The other reason is that many people are shifting from South Delhi to East and West Delhi for the simple reason that rentals in South Delhi are at least 20-25 % higher compared to other parts of the capital. The economic slowdown has hit home sales and sent prices plummeting. The flip side - house rents have shot up. Rents went up by around 30% in major cities including Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) last year, as more and more consumers, hit by the slowdown, preferred living in rented houses to investing huge sums in properties, industry officials say.

“The slowdown has fuelled rental market. On an average, the residential rental has gone up 25% in the last one year in Delhi and NCR. In many areas, it went up by even 40%,” says Anu Gupta of Century 21 India. Ashok Chauhan, a North Delhi-based broker adds: “The rental for a two-bedroom set in Delhi was about Rs 8,000 per month a year ago. However, today, it is very difficult to get a decent two-room set on the same rent even in remote localities.” According to industry officials, the high cost of properties and slackening supply of houses have fuelled rentals in Delhi. “People need a house to live in, and not everyone can buy one. With prices still beyond the reach of a large section of the middle class, staying in a rented accommodation is the only option left,” Anu Gupta says. Read More »

Developers focus on Service Apartment to Fight Tough Times

After being launched in cities like Delhi, Bangalore and Pune, service apartments will soon be a reality in Tier II and III cities. Considering the growing number of corporate honchos visiting the tri-city, Ludhiana and Amritsar, real estate developers will soon introduce service apartments in these cities. Another reason that has evoked developers’ interest in service apartments is the slump in the real estate industry. The negligible sale of apartments in the tri-city has forced them to convert these into service apartments.

Service apartments, which are fully-furnished with all facilities, are an alternative to five-star hotels. Unlike a normal apartment, a service apartment is given only on lease or rent and is a good option for travelling professionals and nuclear families. Soon, Omaxe will launch a few limited service apartments in Omaxe Royal Residency on Pakhowal Road, Ludhiana. These apartments, with an area of 650 square feet each, will be launched in July. “Ludhiana has marked its presence in India as a commercial city. It has many industries, which result in a number of corporate heads visiting this city. These apartments will offer them a nice and cheaper accommodation compared to hotels,” Avneet Soni, director of Omaxe Limited, said. Read More »

Affordable Housing Picks up Market in Delhi- NCR

After a bad year for the property market sales for affordable houses finally seem to be picking up in Delhi-NCR and right pricing and location seems to be doing the trick. Two housing projects in Delhi-NCR have been fully booked within days of launch. According to data available, 3300 flats in Jaypee Greens new project ‘Aman’ on Noida-Greater Noida expressway were booked on day 1. These flats were priced at Rs 2100 per square feet. Last year Jaypee had launched flats in the range of Rs 4500-6000 per square feet along the same expressway. Also, 1000 independent floors in BPTP’s project Park Elite in Faridabad were over subscribed. BPTP received 3700 bookings worth Rs 80 crore for the project. Analysts say that builders have finally come around to target middle class customers with more liquidity being made available and interest rates going down further.

Santosh Kumar, CEO of operations at JLLM, said, “Prices are realistic, which is basically the developer making a 25-40 per cent margin. Secondly the new government is focusing on infrastructure, so there’s also an indication that interest rates may go down again.” However, it’s not only end users who have started queuing up for affordable houses. Reports suggest atleast 30 per cent of these flats have been booked by investors and brokers. Anuj Sharma, a real estate analyst said, “Investors have made a lot of bookings and in future they will get a good premium out of it say 10-15 per cent.” Well, the apprehension that real estate prices have approached the bottom has finally seen demand picking up for affordable projects. But the big question is whether these projects will be completed on time.

Demand High for Affordable Housing

The possibility of an affordable home not only eludes the vast middle class in the private sector, but also the Central public sector employees across the country, reflecting the gross shortage of houses. Huge deficit between demand and supply, especially in metro cities, has forced the Central government real estate firm National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to revise its estimates for creation of housing units meant for government employees. For a scheme launched by NBCC for 800 ‘affordable’ flats in Delhi NCR, it received around 20,000 applications — 25 times the number of flats up for sale. NBCC had targeted its housing scheme at the beneficiaries of the pay commission award, which raises the salaries of Central public sector employees by around 30 per cent.

These 800 flats, priced at Rs 1,978 per sq ft in Gurgaon, cost around Rs 30 lakh each. “Apart from 800 flats, we are now looking at acquiring land in Delhi NCR for meeting additional housing requirement for government employees. Keeping our sale prices low does not only give us the advantage of economies of scale but is also leading to price correction in the market forcing private players to follow suit,” he said. Six months ago, similar projects in the area by leading developers were being launched for around Rs 2,500-3000 per sq ft, a real-estate consultant said. Read More »

Police Arrests Real Estate Agent Involved in DDA Housing Scam

Delhi Police Thursday said they have arrested a real estate agent for selling one of the flats, allotted in the name of one of the fake applicants, in the multi-million Delhi Development Authority (DDA) housing scam. Sleuths of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested Vijay Kumar Verma, a resident of Paschim Vihar in west Delhi, Wednesday. According to the police, Verma had actively participated in the crime by letting his office premises, Lucky Properties in the Shalimar Bagh area to be used by the accused Vijay Pal, Suresh and Deepak Kumar for the purpose of filling up the DDA forms. All the three have already been arrested.

“Verma had also helped the accused Vijay Pal in selling one of the flats, allotted in the name of one of the proxy applicants at a premium of Rs. 400,000,” said a senior police officer, adding that they were trying to secure police custody of Verma from a city court for further questioning. Over 500,000 people applied for 5,238 flats under the DDA’s housing scheme 2008. But the housing scheme got mired in controversies amid allegations of fake applications. The scam came to light earlier this year and the Economic Offences Wing started investigations after a man who was allotted a flat in the draw of lots told the police that he had not even applied for it. Read More »

Dubai Realty Major Plans Offices in Indian Metros

Sherwoods Independent Property Consultants is to open an office in New Delhi this summer as investor appetite grows amid a shortfall of four million residential units in the Indian capital. The Dubai-based real estate adviser, which has three offices in UAE as well as a strong presence in Europe, predicted on Tuesday New Delhi will have a buoyant housing market with rising demand among the burgeoning middle class as India’s economy booms. Sherwoods estimated that there is a supply shortage of around four million homes in the capital. Puniet Singh, CEO of Sherwoods Independent Property Consultants (India) Private Limited said: “Sherwoods is targeting all metropolitan cities in India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore as well as tier-2, urbanised cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Gurgaon and Noida.”

As well as showing signs of recovery from the global crisis, interest rates in India have from fallen from 11.5 percent to 9.25 percent, making mortgages cheaper. The Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.6 percent in the current fiscal year on the back of new investment proposals, economic think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in a report on Tuesday. “We believe this is a highly favourable time for real estate investments as India is now showing strong signs of recovery and opening excellent opportunities in the mid to long-term horizon,” Singh continued. “India’s resiliency is of particularly strategic importance because growth has levelled out in other major global markets, putting India in the spotlight as a new prime destination for real estate investors.”

Builders Allege Upturn in Property Demands- Banks Disagree

Builders seem to have reset their price expectation and it is starting to reflect in the new stock entering the market Banks say that they have not seen any change in either loan disbursement or loan applications. After six to eight months of a dry spell in the real estate space, builders are claiming that there has been a pick up in the residential property market over the last one month. The slump in the market had forced developers to cut prices, offer discounts and dangle the “affordability” tag in hope of luring buyers. Brokers and developers are now saying that April and May have turned out to be far better in terms of serious enquiries and bookings, particularly in Mumbai and Delhi NCR.

Banks, however, have a different story to tell. Admitting that they do see some momentum building up, they are saying that this demand is yet to translate into actual loan applications. According to the real estate industry, potential buyers, who were earlier waiting on the sidelines, are now seriously scouting the market for deals. This, combined with project discounts, is pulling customers to booking counters, they said. “The realty market had witnessed a near standstill in the last six months but that changed in April… We have seen transactions and booking confirmations in the last few weeks,” said Mr Samarjit Singh, Managing Director of property broking firm Agni Group. Read More »