Latest Property News on 'Mumbai'

Home prices about to fall in Jan-March

Potential home buyers who have been deferring their purchase decisions, may have to wait till April-May to get a good deal. The ripples of the ongoing financial crunch, coupled with mounting pressure from various other circles, will peak between January and March. That’s when many developers will be forced to sell the unsold stock at a much cheap price, feel industry experts.

“The signals are very much visible. Developers are already offering lots of freebies. I feel, they will hold on to prices till the end of the festive season. If sales are not happening in the current quarter, the Jan-March quarter will see a price crash in some pockets, and in the first quarter of the next fiscal, developers will be forced to sell homes at a much lower rate as their loan repaying capacity will be under challenge,” said Anuj Puri, chairman & country head of Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj. Read More »

Optimism Wanes as Property Sector Observes Crisis

Falling share prices may be a sign of things to come in the real economy. Until recently, property prices in Mumbai were on par with Manhattan’s, boosted by scores of foreign firms coming into the financial capital, looking to set up shop here.

That foreign money also helped to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for India’s young middle classes, who could now finally afford to realize their dream of owning their own home. All that demand for flats and houses caused prices to soar 40% in some of the big cities in India last year. Read More »

World credit Crisis Stalls Mumbai real estate market

Hopes of recovery for Mumbai’s property investment market are freezing thanks to the world financial crisis, experts have said. The Times of India reports rents in the Indian city are down by about 10 per cent across the board, according to some consultants.

Developers are also facing the prospect of slashing their asking prices for new homes for sale as the local market continues to falter. Mumbai has a bigger supply of high-end apartments and other homes compared to many other Indian cities, prompting fears it may have an oversupply of luxury residences. Read More »

Lord of the land: State bets on a realty cheque

It’s an initiative that could lead to a facelift for Malabar Hill, Mumbai’s toniest address, as well as Nariman Point and other areas in South Mumbai. The city collector has proposed to free government-owned land, which is currently locked in lease agreements, by selling it at market rates.

However, a section of the state administration feels that conditions in the realty market may upset the government’s dreams of generating several thousand crores of rupees by selling these properties. The Maharashtra government is sitting on vast tracts of land in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. These properties, in many cases, have become a liability for the state, since it earns paltry revenue from them. Most of these properties are locked in lease agreements. Read More »

Nagpur finds a place on the Investment Map

According to a study done by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, Nagpur is among the fastest growing investment destinations in India. Developments in the recent years support this statement. Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is developing a multi-modal international airport and a multi-product SEZ over 4,025 hectares. The MIHAN project and SEZ, which estimates an investment of $11,625 million, is tipped to be a major driver of economic growth not only for Nagpur, but also for the entire Vidarbha region, said MADC vice-chairman and MD RC Sinha. Deccan Cargo & MADC have signed a MoU to develop a cargo hub, while Air India and Gati have joined hands to develop a dedicated freighter service with Nagpur as hub. Gurgaon-based Radisson Group has started work over a five-star hotel in Nagpur. The other investments include that of the Taj Group, Hyatt, Leela, Kamat Group and Fariyas Group. Moreover, work on real estate projects like Sahara City Homes, is also in progress.

According to property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle, Nagpur is among top IT/ITES commercial destinations among the Tier III cities. IT majors like TCS, Wipro, Satyam, HCL and Hexaware Tech have purchased around 500 acres for their proposed projects. On the investment front, four major sectors are expected to fetch an investment of around $16,135 million over the next decade or so. The tourism sector has pegged an inflow of $120 million. In this context, The Economic Times and Vidarbha Economic Development Council have planned a two-day international summit on Investment Opportunities in Nagpur on November 26-27 at Nagpur. Deloitte is the knowledge partner for the summit titled “Nagpur-the Growth Nucleus of India”. The summit will focus on investment opportunities in the sectors of urban infrastructure, SEZ and MIHAN, multi-modal logistics, and tourism infrastructure.

Constru India 2008 curtain raiser to be held in Mumbai

One of the biggest construction shows in the country, Constru India 2008 will organise an event in Mumbai to give the industry a preview of what they can expect from the main exhibition to be held later this month. The exhibition aims to ‘Showcase’ the progress made in India to help strengthen ‘Made in India’ image for Indian technologies, expertise and services along with new technologies. Most of the industry regards Constru India as a platform for tie-ups, joint ventures & cooperation by inviting participation of international players from all over the world. The 3-day conference in Mumbai will bring together business leaders from public & private sectors along with senior officers from central and state governments to address the development of India’s Infrastructure Construction sector.

According to Mr. V. Ranganathan – Convener, Constru India 2008 & Former Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, “Over the last 10 years Constru India has been able to exhibit the capabilities of India in the construction and infrastructure sector. It has also been able to showcase the latest technologies available for the industry as well as infrastructural development both in India and around the globe. This gives a unique platform for participants to keep themselves abreast of developments. Furthermore, Constru India also highlights the enormous investment opportunity in the industry. On the last day of exhibition (Oct. 18th, 2008) we will be having a special session on urban infrastructure development followed by round table conference, which will be chaired by Mr. M. Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry Urban Development, Government of India.” Read More »

MHADA announces changes in Dharavi bidding document

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) announced at the bidders’ conference on Friday major changes in the bidding document for the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai. According to the new conditions, the height of building will be G+7 and in some exceptional cases G+10 structures will be allowed. The size of each tenement to be given to slum dwellers has also been increased from 225 to 269 sq ft.

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), which is the designated nodal agency for the project, has short listed 19 consortia comprising three companies each for the technical bid round .But the technical bids will be called only when the revised parameters are finalised. MHADA has incorporated mandatory eco-housing norms in the revised document to ensure sustainable development. The other changes made by MHADA indicate the state government’s recent emphasis on cluster development approach under which the developers are asked to provide not only for redevelopment of old buildings but also create infrastructure. In this context, the bidders have been provided with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reports on infrastructure like roads, water supply, sewerage and storm water drains.

Realty slowdown makes builders cautious

The slowdown in the real estate sector has forced developers in Mumbai to tread carefully. Developers have drastically cut down work on their under-construction projects. When flats are no longer selling as briskly as they used to, there is little point in speeding up construction work, a leading builder confessed privately to this newspaper recently. The construction industry is suddenly down in the dumps and builders are still unwilling to say when they will relent and reduce prices.

Some of them are also believed to have postponed launching new projects. Loans for construction have virtually come to a halt since the past three months, industry sources said. In the residential segment, prices in some of the upscale projects coming up in Malad and Goregaon are in the range of Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,500 a sq ft. In Juhu, the rate is anywhere between Rs 15,000 a sq ft to Rs 21,000 a sq ft in upcoming projects. In south Mumbai, there is an eyeball to eyeball confrontation between buyers and sellers of premium apartments. The seller is still adamant and refuses to lower the price, while the buyer is still not falling for it. In the past six months, the same flats which were put up for sale are still circulating in the market, said a CEO of a real estate company, not wishing to be identified. t Pedder Road, a builder who has just finished an upscale apartment block, is finding no takers. He has been demanding a whopping Rs 80 crore for each apartment, which is spread over 8,000 sq ft super built up area. Not a single unit has been sold at this price, said market sources. Read More »

MCHI sops fail to attract buyers

The real estate exhibition by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry in Mumbai got a lukewarm response from the prospective buyers. Superficial discounts like stamp duty waivers, free car parks, no charge for floor rise and special offers on the equated monthly installments that is to be paid on home loans seem to be failing to change the buyers’ sentiments as they expect a crash in prices soon. Even as hundreds of enquiries poured in at the exhibition on Dussehra, it failed to translate into actual bookings.

“Most developers in Thane have been quoting a price range of Rs 5,500-5,750 and the price has remained some what constant in the last six months. Now a majority of them are willing to negotiate further. But I am planning to wait till the prices come down to Rs 4,500-5, 000,” said a buyer.

Dharavi project schedule revised

The Maharashtra government has finalised a revised schedule for the bidding process on the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai. Work on the project will start 2009. According to Mr Gautam Chatterjee VP of Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority, also officer on special duty for the project, the tentative timeline has been approved in principle by Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh CM of Maharashtra. The 19 short listed consortia of global realty majors will be issued amended bid documents by September end. They will present their master plans by mid October following a deliberative process regarding each bid’s technical merits. Financial bids will be opened by November end.

If adhered to the timeline, the winning bids will be announced year end and work would then begin by early 2009. It is mandatory for bidders to demarcate spaces for economic activities in their master plan since Dharavi is a hub for manufacture of leather goods, food products, clothing and artificial jewellery besides a large recycling industry. A conceptual master plan, technical specifications of amenities and mandatory infrastructural development should be submitted by the bidders. Read More »