Latest Property News on 'Pune'

Pune Builders Extend Help to Conserve Water

Real estate firms in the city said on Thursday that they would not use water from Pune Municipal Corporation sources for construction purposes. A circular issued by Satish Magar, president of the confederation of real estate developers’ associations of India (Credai), Pune, said, “Our general practice is not to use the PMC water for construction. In fact, builders do not get the permission to do so. However, in case there is an odd case where such a situation exists, we have passed a resolution asking members to ensure that construction activity does not impact the city’s water supply.”

Credai has also asked its members to defer non-critical construction activity to help the citizens’ water needs, the circular said. Magar said in the circular that Credai members have decided to do their best to help the city which is facing water crisis. “Our members will not use any water from the PMC resources but use our own borewells or water from the Sewage Treatment Plants for our construction needs and even in our projects,” Magar said, adding that the members have also shown willingness to make their excess water available with the PMC for making it to areas surrounding such water sources.”

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 »

Real Estate Investors Eyeing Change in GOVT

As the country awaits the result of the polls, everyone would be interested in knowing which party will come to power. An online real estate portal had conducted a survey to gauge beliefs of an average property seeker about the elections and their expectations from the forthcoming government. While seeking people’s choice for coalition government, city-wise in eight cities of the country, it was found that Ahmedabad topped with 51% respondents for being more hopeful for BJP led-coalition that would boost the realty sector. Bangalore and Pune followed Ahmedabad with 42% and 37% respondents who voted for BJP respectively. On views of buying/investing in property before the formation of the new government, the respondents had mixed reactions on it. However, 51% of the survey takers were willing to hold back their realty purchases until the future government comes in power. Of all, Ahmedabad ranked third with 52%, followed by Hyderabad and Mumbai with 57% and 54% respectively for holding property buying while 40% are ready for immediate investment and 9% of the total respondents are undecided.

The national online survey ‘My Vote. My Makaan’, conducted by makaan.com, covered leading eight metros and tier II cities of India including Ahmedabad and was conducted on the portal between 22 to 30 April 2009 and saw participation from over 3,563 property seekers nationally. Agreeing on the same, National head-sales and operation of IndiaProperty.com, Shrikanth T, an online realty portal said “We also have been experiencing that people are holding to buy property. In many cases some of the property owners are avoiding to sell their property.” This could be because they would be expecting some benefits from the government in terms of tax relations etc, he added. Referring to the survey about the property prices going up or down with the formation of any party, BJP or Congress, Shrikanth said that who so every government comes must intend to fulfill a common man’s need, ‘roti kapda aur makaan’. When checked on the income bases the lower income group prefers the Congress-led coalition, the middle and upper middle income group favors for BJP. Buyers from lower & mid level income groups flood the Indian property market today.

20% Decline in Office Rentals

Office space rentals in India are expected to fall up to 20% in the next three quarters, with key cities like Delhi and Mumbai slated to witness a sharp decline of 50%. According to the global real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the decline in property prices in India is expected to continue through the year with office rentals expected to fall by 15-20%, as the slowdown-hit realty sector is likely to see a recovery only in the second half of 2010.

“The largest decline in rentals is expected in Delhi and Mumbai, expected to halve its peak,” JLL said in a report on global market perspective. The consultant further said the office rentals in Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune are expected to decline between 30% and 40% from their peak during the next three quarters, while the same in Bangalore will fall 15-20% from its peak. On the current economic scenario, the report said the recent gains in the equity market propelled optimism in the economy and if it continues, a recovery is expected by early 2010. “Although the effects of this upturn would start showing signs in the real estate sector, the gains would definitely come in second half of 2010, when fresh demand again builds up in the market and the latent demand suppressed on fears of a downslide comes back,” it added.

New Industrial Park Policy hits developers hard

Real estate developers across the country are planning to challenge the government’s move to dilute portions of a scheme launched in 2002 that granted 100% tax exemption for 10 years to those who built industrial parks.

Firms in Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and other cities are planning to move the court in their respective cities saying that the government has changed rules midstream well after they have signed deals with prospective clients. Read More »

Residential Sector likely to witness oversupply

The residential sector, which has already seen a 15-20% price correction in markets across the country this year, is going to witness a significant residential supply over the next 12 to 18 months in two key markets Mumbai and Gurgaon (NCR).

The direct implication of the over supply will be that the rentals will come down drastically which could lead to a further price correction over a prolonged period of time (one to two years). Read More »

City Developer’s Reluctance to Drop Prices Provides Business Opportunity to Hometown Developers

The reluctance of several real estate developers in Pune and Mumbai region to scale down property rates in keeping with the market gloom has turned into a business opportunity for players from other states. Sensing a good business opportunity, they are entering the Mumbai-Pune ring. They are wooing buyers, originally from their states, back home with the promise of an affordable home. This trend is not new, but this is perhaps the first time builders are looking at weaning away potential buyers from big cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and even Dubai. Real estate players from states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are showcasing their properties in the city at a corporate level, giving customers the option to own a house in their homeland at much lower rates.

The latest on the list is Oxoniya Builders and Developers Pvt Limited from Kerala which conducted a two-day property show in Pune and Navi Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday. Customers were urged to go for homes in luxury apartments on the riverfront at Aluva or Kakanad in Kerala, where the Dubai Internet City model Infopark is set to come up. “We are getting a tremendous response from the region. People here are looking forward to buying property in their homeland. In these times of economic slowdown, people expect property rates to come down and since it is not happening in the region, they may be opting for properties within their budget in their home states,” said Anith John of Oxoniya. Read More »

Affordable Housing is the Need of the Hour- Pune Developers

In a market bedevilled by high prices and low availability of housing units, there is a need to segregate the approaches to “affordable housing” and “housing for the economically weaker sections”, the city’s leading real estate players said on Wednesday. Participating in a round table debate on the present housing scenario in Pune, hosted by the Times of India Group of publications, the developers also stressed upon the need to facilitate both horizontal and vertical growth of the city so that more housing stock can be created and prices brought under control.

Admitting that the present pricing structure of houses in Pune and surrounding areas is beyond the reach of the middle class, D S Kulkarni, the DSK Developers Limited’s chairman and managing director, said it is a misnomer that the demand for one bedroom homes is on the rise. “Aspirations and needs of the middles class have changed drastically and people try to stretch their budgets to buy at least a two bedroom apartment so that they can pursue a certain lifestyle,” he said. If the government follows a practical approach towards houses for economically weaker class, it will have to offer liberal tax relief to bring down the input cost of such housing, he suggested. If city can be expanded upto 80 to 100 km on all sides and the government provides basic infrastructure such as roads, efficient public transport, water and electricity, it is possible to offer houses at the rate of Rs 1100 per sq ft, Kulkarni said. Read More »

Severe Downfall in Pune Real Estate- 5000 Lose Jobs

Severe cash crunch and falling sales have brought more than 450 real estate projects in Pune to a standstill. This has led to around 5,000 construction workers and many others losing jobs. By December 2009, only 16,000 new apartments would be unsold in Pune while the demand is more than 50,000. These numbers were revealed by a detailed survey undertaken by Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP), a body that represents a large number of real estate developers in Pune and surrounding regions. “Construction of cheaper flats is impossible for builders at a stage when there is severe credit crunch and the buying power of Pune residents has got stagnated due to higher home loan interest rates. This has formulated into a ‘deadlock’ which seems difficult to get resolved without active steps by the government of Maharashtra and Pune Municipal Corporation,” PBAP president and Kumar Builders chairman Lalitkumar Jain told Business Standard.

A large number of real estate analysts have been projecting Pune as country’s top destination for real estate investment as the city has seen extensive growth in sectors of information technology, automobile, manufacturing, education and services. All this resulted into a sudden price hike across all locations in Pune and real estate properties saw an appreciation of more than 200 per cent within three years. However, the PBAP over the last four months has experienced a sudden fall in sales mainly due to higer interest rates. “We have come to a situation where we have asked all our members to sell flats at the lowest possible rates because banks are not keen on financing our new projects and unless our present flats are sold, we cannot start new projects,” Jain stated. Read More »

INC Developers enters India with Rs 100 cr investment

US based INC Developers has entered the heavily slowed Indian real estate market with a super luxurious apartments scheme worth Rs 100 crore, which it would jointly develop in Pune with Amar builders over next 24 months. The super luxurious apartments with 6,500 square foot size each, would be priced between Rs 5 crore and Rs 6 crore.

INC Developers, incorporated three years back in California, have completed more than 30 residential projects worth more than $ 400 million. The newly announced project titled ‘Manhattan’ is its first entry in the Indian real estate sector. Speaking to reporters, INC Developers executive director Jay Kinra said, “Although the Indian real estate market has slowed down, it will have a temporary effect. And we are building super luxurious apartments, which would be sold very easily.” Read More »