Latest Property News on 'Pune'

Hoteliers Planning to Increase Room Tariff by 10-15%

In an attempt to cash in on the peak winter season and the improved economic scenario, “Hoteliers are planning to increase the average room rates (ARRs) by 10-15 per cent from September 2010 as they expect tourist traffic to improve,” says a report by domestic brokerage Angel Broking.

Although, the report didn’t talk about their plans for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, it is expected that tariffs will increase from October 3-14 on the back of strong demand. Last two years proved dull for the hotel companies as they were forced to slash average room rates by 25-30 per cent due to terrorist attacks in the country that led to lower occupancy levels as people were apprehensive to travel, the report said. Read More »

State Govt Prohibits Use of Petrol Pump Land for Real Estate Purpose in Mumbai

Fascinated by the lure of real estate, owners of fuel refilling centres in the city have long started dreaming of giving up their current business and jumping into the land development bandwagon. Some of them, in fact, have already got the civic body’s permission to change the usage of the land. However, the state government has recently issued a directive to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) not to allow petrol pump owners to change the designated use of the land. Out of the 257 petrol pumps in the city, 40% are on lease land.

“Although the civic body had earlier decided not to extend the lease, with this government order it would now extend the lease on the condition that the owner would not change the land’s usage,” said a civic official from the Building Proposals department. To cash in on the rising property prices petrol pump owners have been submitting development proposals to the BMC. But what is worrying is the huge disparity in the ratio between petrol pumps and number of vehicles in the city limits. Read More »

IFC in Discussion with Real Estate Developers to Create Large Affordable Housing Projects

The International Finance Corporation is in talks with several real estate developers to create large affordable housing projects in India. “IFC has been talking with everybody; there have been discussions with the Tatas and with other corporate groups on this,” said Mr Paolo Martelli, Director, South Asia, IFC. “Everybody” includes both real estate developers and housing finance companies, he said.

“We are working on this and we hope one of these projects will be developed in the next six months,” he said. If the estimated housing deficit in India is 25 million units, then such a large requirement cannot be tackled completely from a real estate point of view, according to Mr Martelli. IFC can help the Indian sector with advice on how affordable housing has been tackled in other countries such as Mexico where “literally, they are building cities at a time, 15,000 to 20,000 homes, costing between $7,000 to $15,000”. (The Corporation is also in talks with home builder Homex in Mexico for such projects here in India.) Read More »

Zuri Group Looking at an Investment of Rs 1,200 crore to Expand its Presence in Hotel Industry

Zuri Group Global, the multinational conglomerate, has chalked out a multi-pronged expansion approach for its hotel chain, Zuri Hotels and Resorts, in India and abroad over the next five years. The company is looking at an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in the hospitality sector to set up its own brands and take up management contracts as part of its strategy to increase the number of wholly-owned properties.

The management contract model will allow Zuri to rapidly build a presence in more cities around the world, Priti Chand, assistant vice-president, PR and Corporate Communications, said. Chand said the company intends to set up at least 10-15 projects under the management contract models in cities, such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Mysore, Kochi, while the owned projects will be coming up at Bangalore, Nairobi and in West Asia in the next two years. The company is in advanced stage of discussions with various private owners for management of these hotels, she added. Read More »

Bombay Dyeing Focuses on Real Estate to Clear of Debt

Textile major Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co may clear off its debt in the next few years with greater focus on real estate business, chairman Nusli Wadia has said. Bombay Dyeing’s debt stands at 1,775 crore. “Debt has been a major concern and we will be close to becoming a debt-free company in the next 2-3 years,” Wadia told shareholders at the company’s 130th annual general meeting.

“With new real estate projects coming up, we expect better earnings in future that would help the company to ease its debt burden,” he added. Real estate business income more than doubled to 562 crore last year. The company has a land bank of about 67 acres in Mumbai, where it plans to develop residential and commercial buildings.
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Property Oversupply can Lead to another Real Estate Bubble

With India’s real estate market brimming with new launches, investors need to exercise caution while choosing projects. Leading private equity investor Gaurav Dalmia , founder chairman of realty-focussed Landmark Holdings that is investing $225 million in specific projects, feels speculative buying can act as a downtrend. In an interview Dalmia tells why he feels some pockets of real estate market may tumble in the coming months.

Developers continue with new projects even as prices remain high. Do you see demand taking a dip? Read More »

DLF in Discussion with ICICI and SBI to Refinance $300-million Loan at 7%

The country’s largest real estate developer DLF is in talks with leading domestic banks ICICI Bank and State Bank of India to refinance a $300-million loan it had raised via external commercial borrowings (ECB) last year. The company is likely to get the debt refinanced at a rate of around 7%. DLF had raised the debt from Standard Chartered last year at about 9.5% to develop integrated townships in the country.

Since the debt raised was in dollar terms, the refinancing would also be done in dollar terms, which means that it need not be according to the current base rate. The current base rate for lending by ICICI and SBI is 7.5%. Read More »

38% Drop in Ackruti City’s Net Profit

Ackruti City posted a 38 per cent dip in the net profit to Rs 264.71 crore for the year ended March 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 164.91 crore in the previous financial year, ended March 31, 2009.

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Nitco in Process to Invest 1000 crore in Mumbai Real Estate Ventures

“Nitco is in the process of investing about Rs 1,000 crore in three real estate ventures in Mumbai. We have recently completed a Rs 100 crore two lakh square feet project and expect to commence work on a Rs 700 crore, nine lakh square feet residential property venture in two months. Another Rs 300 crore project will also be taken up later this year,” said Vivek Talwar, managing director, Nitco Tiles.

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Mumbai Sees Biggest Real Estate Deal

India’s biggest real estate deal took place on Friday evening, with the National Textile Corporation (NTC) limited selling eight acres of Bharat Mills at Worli, for a whopping ` 1505 crore, meaning a single acre went for 188 crore. The highest bidder was Indiabulls, who won with a difference of ` 2 crore as Lodha had bid ` 1503 crore. The third highest was Peninsula with ` 1409 crore.

India’s biggest real estate deal took place yesterday evening, with the National Textile Corporation (NTC) limited selling eight acres of Bharat Mills at Worli, for a whopping ` 1505 crore, meaning a single acre went for 188 crore. The highest bidder was Indiabulls, who won with a difference of ` 2 crore as Lodha had bid ` 1503 crore. The third highest was Peninsula with ` 1409 crore. Read More »