The activities have indeed put Pune on global business map in a dramatic way. It offers a plethora of opportunities in the field of retail, IT industry, BPO industry, and the hotel industry.

Everyone belonging to Pune property market is cashing in on the prospects that the city of gold offers. High and retail market space is the most preferred sector in the market. Pune education sector is also making rapid strides and has witnessed a huge influx of students coming in all across the world. This is contributing to the success of Pune and assisting it to come up as a global education destination.

The IT sector in Pune is encouraging the young generation to come forward and contribute to the economy's progress. The city shares a big chunk of the $350 billion Indian retail market which is likely to grow at a rate of 13% per annum.

Pune Economy

Pune corporate sector is also taking full advantage of the city's retail boom and making hay while the sun shines. Ongoing activities in Pune real estate clearly underline great improvements in the infrastructure, economy, and policies of Pune.

Pune properties are marking the growth along with prospects, excellent connectivity and educational facilities. Whether talk of industries or education sector, both are nurturing and shaping up in a decent manner.

Optimum Growth Expected

Pune is expected to see a sharp appreciation of around 500% in the service and industrial sectors. The actual potential lies in Pune residential property, shopping malls, education, and the hotel industry. These segments are undoubtedly fast flourishing. As a centre of education, Pune produces around 1,50,000 graduates each year, thereby adding to the manpower and fuelling the mentioned growth rate.

Pune has become a cosmopolitan city that is largely attracting the likes of all. The city's infrastructure is developing at a surprising rate and constructive changes have taken place in the last 5 years.

The city has exclusive real estate projects in its pipeline. There is a project ‘Business Bay' which will be an exclusive residential-cum-commercial project. It will accommodate high end retail outlets, corporate offices, and the residential units.

The construction work of the International Convention Centre (ICC) is on peak. Its third phase is also going to be over. Then, there is a real estate project by Kolte Patil Developers Limited, a prominent name in the commercial and residential development. The company is planning to take Pune residential segment on high by developing properties such as integrated townships, service apartments, and high end residential projects.

Courtesy: Indianrealtynews.com

A whopping 30 million sq ft of retail space is what DLF plans to develop over the next 36 months, spread across 30-35 cities. Some cities that have been identified for expansion include Amritsar, Jalandhar, Coimbatore, Kochi, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Nasik, Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi.

Apart from destination malls and shopping centres, other specialized formats such as luxury malls are also being planned along with Mall of India at Gurgaon, which is being dubbed as the world's biggest mall.

In the words of DLF senior executive director (retail) Ajay Khanna, "We believe that there is a huge potential in tier-II and tier-III cities. To provide the initial depth to our retail plans, we will be spending close to Rs 1,250 crore each on building the two formats, destination malls and shopping centres across the country. The development of destination malls and shopping centres will be spread over an area of 15 million sq ft each."

The branding too will be differentiated according to the format and the shopping centres will be called City Centre or Galleria, Mr Khanna said. The company is yet to decide on the brand name for the larger destination malls. "The overall signature brand, of course, will be DLF in both the formats," he added.

DLF sees a huge demand for the smaller shopping centres and is looking at building them in the central business districts. The larger destination malls, on the other hand, will be developed in the more spacious and strategic suburban areas to cater to a bigger catchment of the community in the respective cities.

"The destination mall format will be more of a sold model where retailers will be able to buy the spaces within the mall while the shopping centre will revolve around the theme of leased model," Mr Khanna said.

The group's first shopping centre outside Gurgaon is slated to open next month at Shalimar Bagh in Delhi.

Courtesy: Indiarealestateblog

Citigroup is investing around $250 million in Bangalore-headquartered real estate major Nitesh Estates. However, the exact quantum of stake could not be ascertained

The deal, the single-largest in India's hospitality sector, will see Citi partner Nitesh in the latter's hospitality foray, which involves setting up at least five luxury hotels, said sources close to the deal.

Citigroup Property Investors will invest directly from its global fund into holding entity Nitesh Estates as well as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for setting up properties, which may also include shopping malls. Citi's Asia-Pacific real estate fund head David Schaefer led the investment into the 31-year-old Nitesh Shetty-managed realty group.

However, Nitesh Estates executive director LS Vaidyanathan declined to comment on the deal. Citigroup is picking up a minority stake in the holding company. Citi will, however, hold substantial slakes in individual SPVs setting up the chain of hotels, sources added.

The latest deal with Citigroup does not include India's first Ritz-Carlton property, which Nitesh is developing in Bangalore. It is believed that Nitesh may be Ritz-Carlton's preferred partner, not exclusive though, in India.

Along with Citi, Nitesh plans to develop five-star hotels in Goa, Kochi, Kolkata and Chennai, sources added. This will be the fourth private equity deal being tied up by Nitesh in the past 30 months, and the third in the last one year. First, the US-based Siachen Capital invested $100 million through an SPV. This was followed up by the 25% stake sale in the parent company to the $26 billion global hedge fund Och-Ziff, for $51 million.

Subsequently, Citi invested $35 million into an SPV for the Ritz-Carlton project in Bangalore. Currently, Nitesh Estates has over 8 million sq ft under construction across segments like residential, hospitality, commercial and shopping malls.

Nitesh Group, as part of a backward integration move, is also getting into construction as well as infrastructure with separate entities being set up for the same.

Courtesy: The Economic Times

The firm has got a merchant banking license from the real estate regulator SEBI for its arm in India. It is also looking forward to expand its asset management and proprietary business.

Morgan Stanley has appointed Narayan Ramchandaran as CEO and country head for the company in India. Mr. Ramchandaran is currently working as the head of investment management in India (MSIM).

Four senior officials from DSP Merrill Lynch will be working with Morgan Stanly to establish its wealth management business in India. The names are Amitava Neogi, Partha Basu, Himangshu Bhagat and Himangshu Jain. The company has plans to recruit 100 more private bankers for the same.

A multitude of investment banks is considering to kick off their operations in India. The list includes the prominent names such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Credit Suisse. The merchant banking license will help these firms to offer on-shore investment banking, advisory, and underwriting services.

India is a main priority for the firm and the most preferred area of continued investment. Morgan Stanley has been running its real estate advisory business in India lately and is trying to take it to new high.

Courtesy: Indianrealtynews.com

Covering Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, the report provides a broad overview of the key factors, risk assessment, regulatory changes, economic prospects, return expectations and market trends that play a major part in property investment decision-making.

The report says that the Australian office, industrial and retail markets are all expected to perform strongly over the next 12 months. Overseas property investors in China will start looking at a broader range of product types and investment scenarios and a much wider range of geographical locations.

Other highlights of the report: a re­surgent Japanese economy and strong demand from investment funds, particularly foreign funds, is driving commercial land prices upwards; there is a new sense of optimism in Singapore brought on by an improving economy, emerging high-impact tourism and iconic real estate projects.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line

The Colorado-based Red­Hawk plans to develop about 30 million sq ft of built-up area on a 600-acre site, which the company's local partner Dreamland has already acquired with an investment of about $50 million (about Rs 200 crore).

FUNDING

Addressing a press conference, the Chief Executive Officer of RedHawk, Mr Bipin Agarwal, said that the company plans to raise funds through private equity and through debt to fund this project, which is to be completed in a phased manner.

"Unlike some of the speculative real estate projects in Hyderabad, who have pegged each square feet of built-up space ranging between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000, which is unaffordable to most of the sections of society, we are looking at benchmarking prices ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 per sq ft, with the higher priced ones targeted at the office space," he explained.

Of the 30 million sq ft of built-up space, 26 million will be for residential accommodation of all types, flats and villas, three million square feet for four-five major companies for their office space and the rest three million sq ft for common infrastructure including retail, hospital and educational institutions.

The idea is to create a township that would host not just work space but living accommodation and serve as a self-contained township. "We have signed up with a company and expect to freeze four more within three months," Mr Agarwal said. "This project is to be located off the Vijayawada high­way along the Outer Ring Road project," he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line

 Lease rentals and capital values are expected to remain high in Delhi property market in the short term, Cushman and Wakefield said in its latest updates.

It pegged office space supply at 7.8 million sq ft in the Capital during the year. During last quarter (January-March), office rentals rose by 10-16 per cent in booming satellite city Gurgaon.

On Mumbai property market, C&W said supply of 12 million sq ft of new office space in the next 24-36 months was likely to bring a downward correction.

This much-needed downward price correction over medium term would help retain Mumbai's competitiveness over the long term, the realty consulting firm said.

C&W, however, predicted the rising trend of Capital and rental values of office space to remain for few quarters to come due to short supply of quality space.

Of a total of 25 projects, 21 projects are from the real estate sector. Real estate developers like Alpha G Corporation Ltd, Dynamic Continental (P) Ltd, PVP Entertainment (P) Ltd, PVP Entertainment (P), Ansal township & Project Ltd, DLF, Parsvnath Developers Ltd. are making their presence felt by building township, malls and multiplexes. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Northern Zone Chairman Gunbir Singh said: "There is immense Potential in Amritsar. Also, the modernization of the city will help in attracting tourists. At present, in the absence of professionally managed hotels, most of the tourists do not want to stay in the city."

Alpha G Corporation is investing Rs. 239 crore for the development of a city center and a hotel, Dynamic is investing Rs. 100 crore, PVP Entertainment Rs. 105 crore, DLF Rs. 463 crore, and Ansal Township Rs. 800 crore. While DLF will develop an SEZ in Amritsar, Ansal will concentrate on building townships.

Alpha G Corp CEO S K Sayal said: "Developers planned by the state through private-public partnership is also a large motivating factor."

Also, India's largest waste paper unit at a single location, Khanna Paper Mills, will be investing Rs. 500 crore for capacity expansion, while Rana Sugar Mills has already set up their distillery unit with a total project cost of Rs. 35 crore. Also, Khusi Ram Bihari Lal, a company engaged in rice processing, is investing Rs. 205 crore in a new unit in Amritsar.

Already, 17 companies (three industrial houses and 14 real estate companies) have signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government and the remaining would also sign the MoU shortly. According to sources at the district industries center, these projects will be completed within three years from the date of signing the Mou. The development has also led to a sudden hike in land prices immediately after the announcement of advent of big business houses.

Considering housing for poor a prime responsibility, the government has largely focused its attention towards development of large number of houses and allotted them to the poor. Funds have been garnered for development of such units, with the remaining cost shared between a bank and the beneficiary.

Demand for residential property among urban poor is increasing because of a rapid urbanization. Since, there is a shortage of land in cities; an effective urban policy requires to be brought into effect to optimize proper land use.

Outlined below are some suggestions for drafting housing policies for poor:

Housing policies must meet broader economic goals in the best way, thereby ensuring regulated urban development.

Any urban housing policy must give the first priority to urban poor who actually run the urban growth engine. Else, it will only serve as one of the futile incentives, which do nothing than promoting indiscriminate migration

.

Government should look towards developing enough stock of rented housing for the poor. It will set a new paradigm instead of transferring ownership to inhabitants.

The rents will seldom be an additional burden on the poor, as they pay s 500 - 1,000 per month for dingy huts in slum, without access to basic facilities. Contrary to this, residents will not suffer from the problem of uncertainty in tenure. In any case, the government housing schemes now have a significant bank loan share, which the beneficiary (who can be allotted rent vouchers) repay in monthly installments. Rent Vouchers will only be helpful in replacing the rent payments.

Seeing the large demand for lower income housing units and the pool of long tenure financing prospects, these ventures offer large potential for builders.

A contract can be signed with private builders to develop these housing units for poor. A build-operate-transfer contract for tenure of 15-20 years can be an attractive proposition. They can collect predetermined rents and the rental subsidy from the government can be directly transferred to the builders. The move can help to ensure better focusing of the subsidies.

The average per sq ft cost in Nariman Point and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) stands at 1.5 times higher than Manhattan. According to the market trend, the rentals in BKC will rise higher than the existing rates.

Rentals in Mumbai are going through the roof. Knight Frank finds it cheaper to lease 1 lakh sq ft of commercial space for $55 per sq ft per annum than to pay $90 for the same in Mumbai.

Close on the heels of BKC, Nariman Point is also fetching rentals which are around 1.5 times higher than Manhattan, says Pranay Vakil, Chairman, Knight Frank India.

The weighted average rental in Manhattan hovers around $60, according to the latest survey. It all started a year ago when Lehman Brothers leased a property in BKC for Rs 300- 400 per sq ft per month, adds Mr. Vakil.

The cost per sq ft per annum in Mumbai's CBD was never heard to exceed $30. As compared to it, it has been three times higher in the past 18 months.

The overall average rental in Manhattan was $53.43 sq ft, says Cushman & Wakefield. The amount was the highest ever recorded.

Rents for class A offices in Manhattan are now $64.54 per square foot. Shortage of Grade ‘A' supply and increase in demand has caused a sharp increase in Mumbai by 20-30% over the last quarter.

The minister has also expressed his displeasure over the manner in which the municipalities and municipal corporations raised the property tax even after the dissent of the state government for the same.

Reddy has asked the municipal administration department to issue a fresh government order canceling the revision of property taxes for residential purpose after 2004.

Instead of making the things worst for common man as far as buying the property is concerned, municipalities should think of another way to bring improvements in their non tax revenue.

The municipalities have also been assigned the work of identifying lands to develop commercial property  to add to their income.  If it is a government land, municipalities need not pay for it. On the other hand, if it would be a private land, the expenditure will be borne by the state government.

Commercial complexes would be developed on a public private partnership (BOT). The local bodies will be permitted to use the revenue generated from such complexes to execute other development activities.

The minister also agreed for outsourcing necessary staff like managers, sanitary inspectors, bill collectors and ministerial staff by the municipalities.

However, some economically less well-off parts may charge near about to Rs 20,000 for the same. The trend will soon be seen in both commercial and residential property market. Earlier, the prospect of buying parking space was available with only a few builders in areas such as Prahladnagar, C G Road, S G Road, Navrangpura, Ellisbridge and Satellite.

As such, the legality of selling parking space has not been specified under the existing norms. It requires some space reserved for parking of the total permissible floor space index, says I P Gautam, Ahemdabad Municipal Commissioner (AMC).

Selling parking space in a megacity can be an attractive option for builders. Considering the increase in number of vehicles in Ahmedabad, the trend to buy the space is likely to boom.

The cost of parking space should be determined by studying the density of parked vehicles in the area, construction costs, and parking management costs, says Saswat Bandyopadyay, a CEPT Professor.

In case the property buyers narrow down on the option of buying parking space, they should demand added facilities such as car wash area, proper sheds, and maintenance of the parking space.

Before the slow down phase in the past, the projects were sold instantly without any hitch at an   exorbitant rate.  But that would be a thing of past now.  The negative impact is explicitly visible as lots of high-end /cost oriented projects are still lying unsold. In such an eventuality,  there may be blessing in disguise as high profile speculators will be out making way for the actual users.

It is but natural that with price correction, the market will turn towards end users thereby enabling the developers to sell out their remaining products.

Meanwhile, the beginning of correction phase started with the increase in home loan rates by the banks/ government since February/ March onwards which mainly, interalia, eroded the purchasing power of middle and upper middle class majority of whom are covered in the category of end users or actual users. Now the real estate marketing is passing through the scene of wait and watch for seizing the best opportunity clubbed with the hope of reduction in home loan rates.  

In commercial space reputed developers like DLF, Unitech, Vipul, Vatika, JMD, Omaxe Parsvnath, Suncity Projects Ltd. are pushing the concept of workspace, urban living and leisure time in all directions. The realty boom is unbridled but eminently sustainable.

Malls in Gurgaon have been instrumental in giving a pattern to mass affluent household spends as retail and commercial business is becoming specialized. There are a number of large format retail stores in Gurgaon and existing formats are changing radically according to size and category. Office spaces in corporate buildings as well as in commercial centers like IMT Manesar, Pace City, InfoCity and Udyog Vihar in Gurgaon have catapulted Gurgaon to become the Commercial hub of India.

The proposed expressway to Jaipur, Metro Rail connection to Delhi and the Special Economic Zone to be developed by Reliance Industries are already adding value to Gurgaon apartments for builders and owners. About eight SEZs are expected to be set up which have mandates to build up residential areas or zones in order to improve the total infrastructural class in their respective areas.

The varieties existing in residential segment have Bungalows, Houses, Villas, Flats, Farmhouses, Penthouses and much more. Most of the residential units have power backup club house facilities, multipurpose hall, pool, day care, car washing facilities and children's play area.

Other areas developing fast as a shopping street are Sohna Road, National Highway no 8, Dlf Phase I, Dlf Phase II, Dlf Phase VI, Sector 15 Part 2 and many more. Hilton Hotels Corp., the second-largest US provider of rooms, and joint venture partner DLF Ltd, have plans to invest $30 Billion for setting up a chain of hotels across the country, around 50 to 75 hotels.

Zameen-zaidad.com welcomes you for most competitive & transparent property deals in real estate Gurgaon.

As Faridabad moves on to be the next happening city in NCR, the capital values and rental values of property are gradually on the rise. It's high time to explore the growing opportunities in Faridabad realty sector which is on a constant upswing. Be it investments in residential properties in Faridabad, commercial property or rental properties;

Zameen-zaidad.com is the perfect platform to cater to your demands and provide professional services to your real estate needs.

If you are planning to buy a property in Faridabad, then you're at the right place as zameen-zaidad.com has tied up with India's best and world class builders, promoters, constructors, real estate agents and brokers for providing you the ultimate real estate solution and best property deals.

As Indian economy experiences unprecedented growth, be it in economic development, infrastructure, foreign investments and related business opportunities; real estate in India is experiencing the boom. This boom is further strengthened by the relaxation of FDI in the real estate and construction sector and also retail which has opened the doors for the commercial real estate sector.

The industrial town of Faridabad is fast becoming the next hot destination for expanding developers and the pace of real estate growth is expected to prosper as more and more companies are now choosing to opt for Faridabad as its connectivity to Delhi and the nearby NCR cities like Gurgaon and Noida is proving to be a favorable factor.

Top developers from Delhi and the neighboring NCR like Ansals, Omaxe, Parsvnath Developers, Eldeco Group among many others are making headway for Faridabad which is much evident from the fast track construction in progress - from integrated townships, group housing projects, residential apartments, malls cum multiplexes, business parks and state-of-the-art office spaces. So we welcome to you to buy, sell, rent properties, commercial, residential plots/flats, office and retail space from reputed builders/developers by our qualified real estate agents with extensive experience in Faridabad properties.

Mumbai has been a favorite for many Foreign & Multinational Companies setting up their offices/operations here. Its diversified and cosmopolitan culture, professional attitude and responsibility in the corporate world sets itself away from a lot of its Metro competitors all across Asia Pacific.

Mumbai being an Island City has its own Central Business Districts  and over the years these (CBD's) have spilled over in many new areas stretching down till far suburbs.

The emergence of the New age businesses of IT, ITes and BPO Companies there has been a huge demand for large office space/commercial complexes and the same are pretty much seen in locations like Malad, Goregaon, Andheri East, Powai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

A lot of Companies to commence operations will surely look at a lease transaction for 5 to 9 years, but with increased volatility in the leasing market, a lot of Large Companies are looking for an option to Buy out Commercial Real Estate in Mumbai. The most important reason is the appreciation in the Capital Values of Real Estate in Prime CBD's.

Please feel free to mail us or send us a query on Info@zameen-zaidad.com for a Complete Synopsis on the Commercial Property Market and an overview which will enable to you to decide on your next move.

Most of the Large Companies, Banks, Government Bodies, Semi Government Bodies, MNCs, Institutions, IT, BPO Companies, Ad agencies, Consulting Firms, Media Companies have their presence in the following location across Mumbai which are considered as Prime Business Locations or CBD's.

The most coveted land to buy in India includes land in the outskirts of bigger cities, in smaller town and in rural areas. Finding land to buy in the bigger cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi or Bangalore, is a rare possibility as these cities are filled up to the brim. And even if you do find some, a small piece of land may cost you a fortune. Which is why, wise investors have now started to move to the city outskirt. You can avail of all facilitates of the city and yet buy huge sized land in India at much lesser price. How about buying hundred acres of land near Chandigarh for $1,000,000!

Another option is to look at the smaller cities and towns such as Coimbatore, Bhopal, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam and the like. Here you can buy land and use it for building profitable commercial or business ventures. If you are looking at investing in farmland, agricultural land, industrial premises or factories, rural areas provide you large sizes of lands at very cheap rates. If on the other hand, you are looking for land to earn from tourism, buy land in coastal Kerala, Goa, or hilly terrains in Maharashtra, Northern India and the North East India. Resorts or adventure camps aimed at tourists in these areas are sure to generate great revenue. So you can now seriously consider buying an acre of land in Kovalam, Kerala for 70,000 Pounds!

India is a keen competitor in the global land property market for the variety of land it can offer, the variable sizes and the attractive prices. Whether you are planning to set up a school, resort or a factory, you can buy exactly the piece of land that may be in your mind. Be careful however, not to trust the first real estate agent you may come across. Read, enquire and only then buy land in India.

The Chief Guest Hon'ble Chairman & Director, Maharashtra Airport Development Company, Mr. R C Sinha launched the DLF IT Park at a press conference in Nagpur. This project is amongst the first IT SEZ projects in Nagpur. IT Park has received formal SEZ approval and would enjoy all the benefits of an SEZ under Govt. SEZ Policy and so will be surely the first choice for IT-ITES Companies in times to come.

Speaking about DLF's entry in Nagpur, DLF spokesperson said, "After successfully launching our first IT SEZ complex in Nagpur, we believe that our IT SEZ / Park will become an important part of the MIHAN and at the same time will generate 50,000 jobs, directly or indirectly.

DLF IT Park@ Mihan-Nagpur spells success. It is fully-equipped to operate any IT / ITES major 24X7. The IT space is spread over an area 140 acres and offering developed workspace over 12 blocks of office space, is all set to revolutionize IT workspace in Nagpur. Efficiently designed by the renowned contractor, M/s. Hafeez Contractor, it is a ready-built IT workspace to offer unmatched scalable advantages.

This SEZ project will involve an investment of Rs 1000 crores approx. The IT Park is expected to be operational in a period of 3 years and being an IT SEZ, it would cater to all the international and national IT / ITES Companies. The project has the potential to generate 50,000 jobs directly or indirectly.

DLF IT Park @ Mihan-Nagpur is a part of 1300 hectares MIHAN (Multi Modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur) SEZ project which is a part of the master plan comprising of IT City, Health City, a captive power plant and other manufacturing and value-added units. The project is adjacent to the international Hub Airport, offering high quality infrastructure facility and support services. The project is in close proximity to key residential areas. Undoubtedly MIHAN places Nagpur on India's IT map.

Over the past decade the DLF properties have emerged as the preferred destination for both Indian as well as multinational conglomerates apart from leading IT / ITES firms due to its cost effective office space and best in class infrastructure. DLF is also responsible for triggering the corporate shift from Delhi to Gurgaon in 1990's based on the "walk to work" culture. This culture implied that corporates could now co-locate their offices, residential properties & places in order to save time in commuting.

Courtesy :  INRnews Correspondent Dated:  21/08/07