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Said Rajeev Talwar, executive director, DLF: "The equation which was there previously of acquiring more land banks have changed and all developers today are more focused on delivering projects."

Reality analysts also believe most of the top developers learnt their lesson that delivery is the most important aspect and the projects left incomplete during the slowdown need to be completed first.

"All the developers in north India acquired a lot of land during the pre-slowdown time and they did it across the country to construct hotels, commercial property, retail complexes and many more. But, as the slowdown came by, lots of the projects never started or were stopped mid way. This sent out a clear signal that there is no point in doing so many things at the same time and now most developers are consolidating on doing their ongoing projects, as they realise delivering them on time is the key," said Santosh Kumar, CEO Operations, Jones Lang LeSalle Meghraj.

The demand for land is now in smaller plots, in places where residential projects are doing well. "Developers are still looking for land in Gurgaon as there is lot of demand for residential projects, but the focus is on only buying land where one witnesses clear demand, rather than just increasing the land banks," added Kumar.

Source: Business-standard By Atanu Kumar DasRealty firms in north focus on clearing backlog

प्रमुख सचिव ने बताया कि 31 मार्च को वित्त वर्ष खत्म होने के बाद जीडीए के पास 703 करोड़ 72 लाख 87 हजार रुपये शेष रह जाएंगे। नए वित्त वर्ष के लिए 1215 करोड़ 54 लाख 50 हजार रुपये की आय का लक्ष्य रखा गया है। नए वित्त वर्ष में जीडीए 1742 करोड़ रुपये खर्च करेगा, उसके बाद भी 176 करोड़ 84 लाख 37 हजार रुपये बैलेंस रह जाएगा।

उन्होंने बताया कि मधुबन आवासीय योजना में ग्रुप हाउसिंग सोसायटियों के लिए एफएआर बढ़ाकर 2.75 कर दिया गया है। अभी तक एफएआर 2 था। ग्रुप हाउसिंग को बढ़ावा देने के लिए बिल्डरों को कुछ छूट दी गई है। आथिर्क मंदी के मद्देनजर छूट को आवश्यक माना गया है। इसके अलावा बैठक में बिल्डरों को कुछ अन्य छूट देने का फैसला किया गया है। अभी तक बिल्डरों को पांच साल में भूमि का पूरा पेमेंट देने के बाद ही कब्जा मिलता था। मगर अब सिर्फ 10 प्रतिशत एडवांस देकर ही बिल्डर कब्जा ले सकते हैं। बाकी रकम वह 6 साल में किस्तों में दे सकते हैं।

प्रमुख सचिव ने बताया कि गाजियाबाद के मास्टर प्लान को चार भागों में करके अलग-अलग जोनल प्लान बनवाया जाएगा। जोनल प्लान से लोगों को यह जानना आसान हो जाएगा कि किस जोन में कौन से विकास के कार्य होने हैं। इंदिरापुरम योजना में महागुन मेन्शन से शिप्रा मॉल तक जाने वाली सड़क का नाम शहीद कैप्टन देवेंद सिंह जस पर करने के फैसले पर बोर्ड ने अपनी मुहर लगा दी। वैशाली आवासीय योजना में अनंत एजुकेशन सोसायटी को और इंदिरापुरम में दशोहा एजूकेश्न सोसायटी को क्रमश: 2400 वर्ग मीटर और 2558 वर्ग मीटर भूमि का आवंटन किया गया है। वैसे स्कूलों के लिए 21 प्लाटों के लिए 70 प्रार्थना पत्र आए थे। बोर्ड बैठक में दो स्कूलों के लिए भूमि आवंटन के मामले ही रखे गए थे।

मधुबन-बापूधाम आवसीय योजना में जिन किसानों की जमीन का अधिग्रहण हुआ है उन्हें दी जाने वाली 6 प्रतिशत भूमि में 2 प्रतिशत कमर्शल भूमि देने और स्कीमों में 17 प्रतिशत का आरक्षण दिए जाने का प्रस्ताव शासन को भेज दिया गया है। एनएच-24 पर प्रकाश व्यवस्था को नगर निगम को ट्रांसफर करने के बाद 15 मीटर हाइट के एलिवेटर प्राधिकरण उपलब्ध कराएगा।

प्रमुख सचिव ने अधिकारियों को आदेश दिया है कि जिन स्कूलों को जीडीए अथवा किसी भी अथॉरिटी ने रियायती दरों पर भूमि का आवंटन किया है उन स्कूलों को अपनी बिल्डिंग के बाहर बोर्ड लगाकर यह दर्शाना होगा कि उनके यहां गरीब छात्रों के लिए क्या-क्या सुविधाएं दी जा रही है। यह आदेश नए और पुराने सभी स्कूलों के आवंटियों पर लागू होगा।

A bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Mukundakam Sharma, while allowing the appeal of state of Haryana, noted `It may be pertinent to mention that in order to ensure that there is no evasion of stamp duty, circle rates are fixed from time to time and the notification is issued to that effect.

`The issuance of the said notification has become imperative to arrest the tendency of evading the payment of actual stamp duty.

`It is a matter of common knowledge that usually the circle rate or the collector rate is lower than the prevalent actual market rate but to ensure registration of sale deeds, at least at the circle rates or the collector rates, such notifications are issued from time to time by the appellants.' Justice Bhandari, speaking for the bench through his 17-page judgement further said, `It would have far reaching ramifications and consequences if the genuineness of the sale price entered into by the buyer and the seller cannot be questioned, then in majority of cases it is unlikely that the state would ever receive the stamp duty according to the circle rates or the collector rates. The approach of the High Court is totally unrealistic.' In the present case, Manoj Kumar had purchased a commercial plot measuring 788 square yards in Faridabad on November 10, 1999 and paid only Rs 31,000 as stamp duty by under-valuing the price of the plot at Rs 1, 95,000.

Faridabad District Collector, however, demanded the stamp duty of Rs 5,13,050 at the circle rate of the plot (i.e., Rs 4,200 per square yard) and the value of the property worked out to be Rs 33,09,600. Authorities told Manoj Kumar to pay the balance stamp duty of Rs 4, 82,050.

Source: www.indlawnews.com SC: No registration of property below govt circle rates

It is a bricks and mortar industry that caters to the local market. Yet it is so vast that it is creating untold riches. As people move to cities to build their careers, builders are fueling their aspirations for a dream home. The builders themselves have built their companies with successful initial public offerings and by attracting foreign investment. It's a good time to be in Indian real estate, with buoyant prices and never-ending demand.

Yet it is our contention that the industry, indeed the economy as a whole, is on some shaky ground.

First of all, the overall challenge India will face is in dealing with urbanization. We have clearly not been able to use urbanization as part of an inclusive and healthy economic growth strategy. In fact, we have been able to attain a commendable level of economic success despite failing urban infrastructure and services.

Today, even though only 30% of India's population lives in urban areas, cities contribute more than 60% of the country's GDP and account for 90% of government revenues. Urbanization is a key component of economic development. But, as reflected in the state of most Indian cities, little attention is given to their well-being and advancement. The dire and unbearable conditions of our cities are a result of slow and small-scale interventions to ever worsening conditions. They are a result of a complete lack of long-term strategic thinking.

Devita Saraf is the CEO of Vu Technologies; Prathima Manohar is president of The Urban Vision think tank in Mumbai.

Source: Wall Street Journal By DEVITA SARAF and PRATHIMA MANOHAR India's Real Estate Boom Is on Shaky Ground

The nomenclature being used for the area is Noida Extension. This is to differen- tiate it from both Noida and Greater Noida, and also to make it clear to potential homebuyers that it's close to Noida and not as far as Greater Noida.

The new projects coming up here are located adjacent to Noida's Sector 121 and face the 130 m road now known as the Noida-Greater Noida Link Road. This stretch is current- ly under construction, with the first 10 kms likely to become operational within the next three months. A 60 m road connect from NH 24 also passes through the area.

This stretch is almost ready (work on 1.5 kms needs to be completed). "A 100 m wide commerical belt is planned on one side of the 130 m road as per the Master Plan 2021," says Mukul Singhal, CEO, Greater Noida Authority.

Metro connectivity is com- ing here soon, too, with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC) having sent a detailed project report (DPR) to the Greater Noida authori- ty proposing the route for Phase 1. As part of this phase the Metro is expected to con- nect the Sector 32 City Centre to Barolla, the Expressway, Pari Chowk and Knowledge Park 4, covering a total of 29 kms. Phase II of the project will connect Knowledge Park 4, sector I in Greater Noida and Noida sectors 71, 72 with the Sector 32 City Centre.

Source: The Hindustan Times By Vandana RamnaniAffordability extended: Noida Extension Is All Set To Become Delhi NCR's Next Budget Housing Hub

Developers are not only coming up with residential projects, but they are also developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs), hotels and commercial complexes. Some high-end projects are going to change the entire residential scenario of the region. A couple of premium residential projects are already receiving great attention from the property seekers. Although most of the residential projects involve high investment, projects for budget buyers are also to be developed in a 3 to 5 km stretch along the expressway with proposed rate of Rs 5000 to Rs 7500 per sq ft. As per realty experts, the already existing properties are experiencing appreciation in last couple of years of around 80 per cent, where the rates went up to Rs 2,900 per sq ft from Rs 1,600 per sq ft. In the affordable segment, while Jaypee Group has several projects in sectors 128, 134 and 151, Unitech has Unihomes in sector 117.

Future in the twin cities
The speed of infrastructure development in Noida and Greater Noida has been accelerated by many degrees and other projects like the DND Flyway and Taj Expressway. According to Ashwini Prakash, Executive Director, Paramount Group, "The value and demand for any property in NCR region largely depends on its connectivity with Delhi. The properties along expressway are in huge demand today. The reasons are its prime location and its connectivity with the national capital with the continuing developmental projects and the plan of an international airport."

Source: Mail Today By Kausar Firdausi The 8-lane Noida-Gt. Noida E' way Promises To Give Two Potential Locations A Realty Boost

• All things bright and beautiful

• Care, just round the corner

• Residential projects in the region

Home prices have not proved to be predictable, but they aren't the only factor buyers can consider.

And many real estate agents said it was time to buy as prices began to drop -- and continued to say it over the past several years as prices fell by an average of 33 percent in America's 20 largest cities.

Mr. Lereah would acknowledge that he had gotten it wrong. But from the perspective of many real estate agents, it is always a good time to buy.

"What they are really saying is that it is a good time to be involved in a transaction that generates a commission," says Barry Ritholtz, C.E.O. and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He's also author of "The Big Picture," an irreverent blog on markets.

If agents are always motivated to make a deal, buyers are often asking an impossible question: "Will the price of this house go up?"

Although the National Association of Realtors said for many years that home prices historically don't fall, actually they do, and sometimes quite sharply. The housing market is complicated, and the future unknowable. Still, for clues to the overall direction of prices, Mr. Ritholtz advises buyers to look at three metrics: the ratio of median income to median home prices, which suggests whether people can afford a house; the cost of ownership versus renting; and the value of the national housing stock as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Source:The New York Times By DAMON DARLIN "Great Time to Buy" (Famous Last Words) As Real Estate Brokers Always Say

Following the interest rate hike by a few leading banks and the government's proposal to slap service tax on the realty sector, market watchers feel real estate prices are about to head north very soon

There appear to be hard days ahead for those planning to buy a home. With the government's decision to impose a service tax of 10 per cent on the cost of construction, coupled with banks jacking up interest rates of home loans by 0.25 to 0.5 per cent, property prices are set to become dearer.

The Union Budget of 2010-11 proposed the imposition of service tax on construction of real estate complexes unless entire consideration for the property is paid after construction is completed. As a result, in case of an under-construction property being bought and the consumer making payments over a period of time, service tax will be levied. Also, service tax will be levied on additional services provided (eg. floor rise, preferential location, etc.) by a builder for extra charges. The silver lining in the Budget is that the continuation of interest rate subvention and higher disposable income in the hands of individuals through income tax reliefs would more than make up for it.

Says Pranab Datta, MD of Knight Frank India, "As per our estimates, the impact of service tax alone would be to the tune of 3.5 to 4 per cent. This levy will in all probability be passed on to the consumers."

Thus, the higher levy, coupled with banks removing incentives for home loan seekers, will mean a home buyer will have to shell out roughly 10 per cent more in addition to the property price.

According to Sanjay Dutt, CEO - Business, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj: "It can be stated that the benefits for home buyers implied by the announced tax savings and interest rate subvention will, to a certain extent, be negated by the service tax to be levied on construction costs for yet-to-be-completed buildings and on properties in preferred locations. Builders will tend to pass on this additional burden to their customers by increasing their property prices proportionately."

IMPACTING THE END-USERS

As per the provision, unless the entire consideration for the property is paid after the completion of construction (that is, after receipt of completion certificate from the competent authority), the activity of construction would be deemed to be a taxable service, provided by the developer to the prospective buyer and service tax would be charged accordingly.

praveen.singh@expressindia.com

• NO MORE TEASER LOAN
  
• AFTER EFFECTS

The developer was looking to sell 16 million square feet of residential properties in the fiscal 2010, and by December it was able to sell just 8.5 million sq ft of properties.

Now, with just a month left for the fiscal, analysts believe DLF would not be able to meet its target.

When contacted, Rajiv Talwar, executive director at DLF, refused to comment.

About 65% of the 8.5 million sq ft launches were city-centric, and 70% of the sold volume came from the National Capital Region. About 47 % of NCR volumes came from a single city-centric project, Capital Greens.

DLF's property sales picked up recently across projects in Gurgaon, Kochi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

It sold 3.1 million sq ft of residential properties in the third quarter and about 1.8 million sq ft of that came from luxury projects.
However, analysts believe the pace of sales has not met with their expectations. "While the recovery has occurred, it is slower than we anticipated, with DLF likely to miss our prior volume estimates," Aatash Shah, an analyst with Nomura, said.

Source: dnaindia.com By Vivek Seal DLF may miss residential sales goal

"A National Rural Housing and Habitat Policy has been drafted by the ministry after wide consultation with the stakeholders including state governments, bankers etc... The draft policy is at consultation stage with the Planning Commission," minister of state for rural development Pradeep Jain Aditya said in written reply to a question in the Lower House.

"The goal of the proposed policy is to ensure adequate and affordable housing for all in the rural areas," said Aditya.

The draft policy also aims to facilitate development of sustainable and inclusive habitats in rural areas by expanding government support, Aditya added.

It seeks to promote community participation, self help and public private partnership within the framework of Panchayati Raj, he said.

The minister, however, replied in negative to a question whether the government has formulated or proposes to formulate a national rural housing policy and housing guarantee scheme on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

"If the signal from the bank and government is to raise the price, then why prices will not go up? That means the economy is ready to take a price hike. It will be wrong to assume that developers should not raise prices. How can you have two contradictory signals?" DLF group executive director Rajeev Talwar said on the sidelines of a CII seminar.

While a few private sector lenders, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, recently increased home loan rates by up to 100 basis points, the Budget proposed to impose service tax on the realty sector both on commercial rentals as well as on sale of under-construction housing units.

The service tax would come to be about 3.5 per cent of the cost of the apartment that includes the value of the land and also the cost of construction, realty body Credai said.

"Which tax has been absorbed in our country? It has only been passed through. Somewhere the new levy must be adjusted, how can you hope that the new levy will be adjusted and yet there will be no increase?" Talwar asked.

However, Talwar did not quantify the likely jump in the prices, saying, "It will vary from location to location, project to project."

"Gulshan Homz plans to invest Rs 250 crore initially to launch few projects in residential and commercial segments in 2010-11 fiscal. The company intends to raise fund in the form of term loan from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) by pledging our projects with them. At present, the company would concentrate on Delhi-NCR region but would definitely look forward to good opportunities in tier II and III cities across north India," Deepak Kapur, director of Gulshan Homz, said in an interview.

When asked about the details of new projects, Kapur added, "In the current scenario, Gulshan Homz would like to lay more emphasis on developing affordable homes. As a step in this direction, the company is presently working on two projects -- Homes121 and Vivante -- in Noida. Vivante would be launched in a week's time. Further, we are planning to launch a retail-cum-commercial project in Kota shortly."

Gulshan Homz had recently handed over two projects in Indirapuram named GC Centrum and GC Grand, and one in Vaishali dubbed as GC Emerald Heights. According to Kapur, these units were also in the affordable housing category and were a big hit amongst buyers. "The current real estate scenario is favourable for affordable housing. The demand has risen considerably in the last six months because of which many projects are coming up. It is likely to increase further in the coming days. This will also generate the demand for commercial as well as office spaces."

Source: Realty Plus By Vishnu Rageev R Gulshan Homz betting strategically on affordable homes

The civil aviation ministry has okayed the plan to set up the facility whose phase I would cost under Rs 500 crore. It will come up 60 km off Jaipur and 12 km from the national highway that connects Delhi to Jaipur. Promoters Rajasthan Aviation Infrastructure (India) have tied up with Fraport AG of Germany for technical consultancy and are planning to get the airport up and running by 2014.

The cost structure of the new airport stacks up against the Rs 10,000 crore provisioned for first phase expansion of the Delhi airport and the Rs 2,000 crore that each of the Bangalore and the Hyderabad airports cost.

The project will also be India's second private-run airport, after the one in Kochi. Ajay Dua, chairman of Rajasthan Aviation Infrastructure, said they had requested the Rajasthan government to provide road connectivity to the site in lieu of sweat equity.

Source: Economic Times By G Ganapathy Subramaniam First No-Frills Airport To Come Up Near Jaipur

When contacted, he said, "We are presently planning to open an IPO in the first quarter of financial year 2010. The market sentiment has improved so far this year due to higher government budget spending and global recovery. The IPO climate also has improved a lot since the first quarter of 2008. Of course, we will make it this time." In February 2008, Emaar MGF's attempt to raise Rs 6,400 crore through an IPO notably failed after the issue got only 39 per cent subscription.

Emaar MGF filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator on September 29, 2009. "We have received the final observations to our DRHP from the regulator. As per the new SEBI regulations we have a one year window to complete the IPO. The board of directors of the company are considering an opportune time to open our IPO," according to the official spokesperson of the company.

Of the total proceeds from the issue, Emaar MGF will utilise over half of the fund to repay its debt. The company has a debt of Rs 5,807.79 crore as on August 31, 2009 and plans to utilise Rs 1,972.1 crore raised from IPO in part repayments.

Source: Realty Plus By Vishnu Rageev R Will Emaar MGF make it?

Though the finance minister announced the continuation of sops to the downturn-hit realty sector in Budget 2010-11, stakeholders feel that more could have been done to speed up its revival India

The realty sector was expecting that Union Budget 2010-11 would contain provisions that would accelerate its revival. In the event, the Budget has proved to be a disappointment. On the positive side, the government announced an increase in expenditure on rural housing and housing for the poor, offered sops to the salaried class in the form of tax savings, and extended the interest-rate subvention scheme on low-cost housing. On the negative side, however, it did not offer direct benefits to home buyers or real estate developers, and worse, it quietly brought back the service tax on lease rentals.

THE POSITIVES

Extension of deadline for availing tax concessions. In his Budget speech, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the continuation of concessions offered to the sector earlier. He said that he was providing this one-time interim relief to the housing and real estate sector that is reeling under the impact of the global recession. "I propose to allow pending projects to be completed within a period of five years instead of four years for claiming a deduction on their profits," he said in his speech. Projects that received approval between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008 have been exempted from paying any tax on their profits. However, the caveat earlier was that these projects had to be completed by March 2012 to avail of this tax holiday. This deadline has now been extended to March 2013.  

Extension of interest subvention. The government's decision to extend the provision of 1 per cent interest subsidy on home loans up to Rs 10 lakh for buying houses costing up to Rs 20 lakh is expected to help middle- and lower-middle class buyers. The subsidy will translate into a saving of Rs 28,920 on interest payment in case of a five-year loan and up to Rs 1.51 lakh in case of a 20-year loan. The interest rate subvention will be delivered through scheduled commercial banks and housing finance companies registered with National Housing Bank.

According to Prof PSN Rao, head of housing at New Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture, the government's measures will help minimise the growing gap between demand and supply. "In India, demand far outstrips supply. In order that the wheel of real estate moves and carries the economy forward, demand and supply both have to be fuelled. The government has attempted exactly that. By continuing with the 1 per cent interest subsidy for sub-Rs 20 lakh housing units, it has fuelled demand," he says.

This measure is especially expected to boost demand in smaller cities where housing costing less than Rs 20 lakh is mostly available. "There will be a significant perk-up in transaction volumes in tier II and tier III markets. These markets were perceived to be losing steam of late," says Anuj Puri, country head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

praveen.singh @expressindia.com

• INDIRECT BENEFITS
  
• THE NEGATIVES
  
• DEVELOPERS' ANGST
  
• GLASS HALF FULL
  
• BOTTOMLINE

Bangalore-based developers, such as Nitesh Estates, Prestige, Puravankara, Brigade and Mumbai-based Godrej Properties are adopting this route to develop properties, aware of the keen need to save cash in a market that is becoming increasingly tight-fisted for real estate firms.

"Developers no longer want put cash upfront and invest inland. The JV works both for developers as well as landlords," said Amit Mookim, director, transaction advisory service (real estate), KPMG.

Under the arrangement being discussed by some firms, landowners team up with developers through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The owner comes on board as an equity partner in lieu of the land he puts on the table. When the project gives returns, the landowner gets a fixed percentage of the revenue in proportion to his equity holding.

The developer invests in the construction and marketing costs, but avoids tying up his funds in land. Bangalore-based Nitesh Estates will use this model to undertake new projects. "This is expected to allow us to deploy our capital towards development expenses and the expansion of our operations," a company official said.

Source: Economic Times By Sobia Khan Realty companies opt for joint play to save on costs

"At present, there is no house left in Vijay Nagar's Babu Colony. You have to wait till May to see whether there's any cancellation, but chances are less because who's going to get rid of this mega offer. Give us your contact details, there are similar new schemes coming up and we will be in touch with you," a local property broker said when Property Pulse visited his office to learn more about the developments.

When asked about the details of location and project, he added, "Earlier, this 6-7 acre land was being occupied by poor slum-dwellers. Mayawati government freed this area by pulling them out. Since her government is sloganeering for poor, they had later come up with this scheme to re-settle those who lost their land and house here. However, nobody knows who has left and who's going to buy, so we are in the business."

When contacted by Property Pulse, Narendra Kumar Chaudhary, vice chairman, GDA said he is unaware of any such illegal activity happening there. "If we receive any complaints, we will take stringent action against the culprits." Chaudhary declined to comment, when asked about their criterion for allotting flats to EWS. Also, an e-mail sent to GDA elicited no response at the time of filing this report.

Source: Realty Plus By Vishnu Rageev R GDA illegally selling homes made for EWS

गुरुवार को अथॉरिटी ने 6 प्लॉटों की स्कीम जारी की थी। इसमें 4 प्लॉट मेट्रो स्टेशनों के पास थे। शुक्रवार से बैंकों के माध्यम से टेंडर मिलने वाले थे लेकिन तब तक पता चला कि स्कीम वापस ली जा रही है। अब सवाल उठने लगे हैं कि जब स्कीम वापस ही लेनी थी तो इसे लाने की घोषणा क्यों की गई। स्कीम वापस लेने की सूचना समाचारपत्रों में अथॉरिटी के एसीईओ पी. एन. बाथम के हवाले दी गई है। जब उनसे इसका कारण जानने के बारे में पूछा गया तो उन्होंने कहा कि उनको न तो स्कीम लॉन्च करने की जानकारी है और न ही वापस लेने की।

उन्होंने फोन पर यह भी बताया कि मैं इस समय लखनऊ में हूं। अथॉरिटी के सूत्रों के मुताबिक अथॉरिटी के कमर्शल सेक्सन देख रहे अफसरों को भी योजना लाने की जानकारी नहीं थी। इसलिए उन्होंने कोई तैयारी भी नहीं की थी। बिना संबंधित विभाग से जानकारी के यह स्कीम कैसे लॉन्च की गई। इस पर बहुत से सवाल उठ रहे हैं।

Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director and spokesman for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, said a continued "recession in the real estate market" may have led to the absence of bidders today. The reclaimed marshland was valued at a minimum of 4.35 billion rupees ($95 million) after being offered for a reserve price of 300,000 rupees a square meter, unchanged from similar sales two years ago.

The failed sale in the city's Bandra-Kurla Complex area may force the government to revise rates or defer sales of land in the area, which it wants to develop into an alternative to the congested Nariman Point business district in India's financial hub. Rents in Bandra-Kurla had dropped 36 percent by December from a June 2008 high, according to data from CB Richard Ellis.

"The land price seemed to be on the higher side," Pujit Aggarwal, chief executive officer and managing director of developer Orbit Corp., said by telephone today. Orbit was one of the companies that had attended the preliminary bidding meeting last month. "It would have been tough to make money."

Source: www.businessweek.com By Sumit Sharma Mumbai's First Land Sale in 18 Months Gets No Bids

Under this scheme, Haryana Housing Board has come up with low-cost housing options in the industrial belts of Bawal on NH8 and Barhi on NH 1. Sources in the Haryana Housing Board told Property Pulse that in all 882 apartments are available on hire purchase basis. Out of these, 602 apartments are in Barhi Industrial Area, just 20 km from the Delhi border. The tentative sale price is Rs 7.20 lakh.

Giving project details, a Haryana Housing Board Official said that these freehold low-cost flats with innovative and earth quake resistant design are located in posh and fully developed neighborhood and have all basic amenities amidst lush green area with wide roads.

Haryana Housing Board which has reserved 33 per cent flats for the women has opened the registration for the allotment of these apartments. The 40 per cent of the apartment cost has to be paid at the time of possession and balance 60 per cent through EMIs spread over 10 years.