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Occupier markets picked up further in Q2, with more countries indicating that lettings demand moved higher compared to the first quarter. That said, the rise in lettings activity remains insufficient to exert upward pressure on rents in the majority of markets as available space continues to move higher in all but a handful of countries.

Indeed, rents continue to fall in 30 of the 46 countries surveyed. Available space continues to increase in 8 out of 10 countries surveyed.

Confidence towards commercial rents in Q3 2010, in India ranked 6th highest amongst 46 countries even though lettings activity ranked lower at 13th position. While confidence towards capital values in India was relatively strong at 10th rank, investment activity in India was relatively lower as compared to other countries, implying that other countries offer better investment returns.

पहले एफएआर 1.5 था जो बढ़कर 1.75 कर दिया गया है। इससे रेजिडेंशल प्लॉट पर ढाई मंजिल की बजाय 3 मंजिल तक घर बनाया जा सकेगा। यही नहीं, एक प्रस्ताव के तहत अगर कोई समूह अपने प्रोजेक्ट को ग्रीन बिल्डिंग के रूप में डिवेलप करेगा, तो उसे अप्रूव्ड एफएआर में से एक पर्सेंट एफएआर मुफ्त मिलेगा।

150 वर्गमीटर से ज्यादा एरिया वाले प्लॉट पर यानी स्टिल्ट पार्किंग के लिए ग्राउंड फ्लोर को ओपन छोड़ने का भी प्रस्ताव पारित किया है। स्टिल्ट बनाने का प्रस्ताव अनिवार्य नहीं है। इससे पार्किंग समस्या काफी कम की जा सकेगी। इंडस्ट्रियल प्लॉट में भी एफएआर बढ़ाने का फैसला किया है।

रेट बढ़ाए गए
यमुना एक्सप्रेस-वे अथॉरिटी ने अपने सभी कैटिगरी के प्लॉट्स के रेट बढ़ा दिए हैं। साथ ही डिवेलपमेंट फीस में भी बढ़ोतरी कर दी है। यमुना एक्सप्रेस-वे के डीपीआर में बदलाव किए गए हैं। साथ ही यमुना एक्सप्रेस-वे के सेक्टरों में गंगाजल की सप्लाई का भी फैसला किया गया है।

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Tuesday said the state government was actively considering enhancement of the floor rate for land acquisition.

The state's present land acquisition policy is considered the best in the country for its higher rate of compensation and also offering rehabilitation and annuity for 33 years for the farmers.

Hooda said: 'The policy is being changed for betterment in the interest of the farmers. The floor rates in the state are the highest and I might revise these again.'

Hooda added that he is a son of a farmer and understands the feelings of the farming community, particularly when they are displaced from their land.

Source: Sify.com Haryana likely to enhance land acquisition rates

Now, HUDA faces no hurdle in completing the road to Kadarpur Shooting Range, the only Games venue in Gurgaon.

HUDA has assured that four 350-square yard plots will be allotted within 24 hours to the affected land owners who had moved court and got a stay on construction of about 300m of the road. Officials said with this the HC quashed the stay order on Monday bringing huge relief to the agency. ``We will hold a special draw of four plots for the four stakeholders on Tuesday, though only two of them had approached the court. We will rehabilitate the affected land owners as per the court order. We will also start work on the remaining portion of road from tomorrow itself,'' HUDA administrator Nitin Yadav told Times City.

He added that the rehabilitation package also includes allotment of one shop in a commercial shopping complex, but that would be done in next six months as per the court order.

One of the affected land owners, Ram Singh, said he doesn't want to spoil the government's plan of building the road to the Games site. ``Government has spent crores for Games. We don't want to come in its way. But we must also be rehabilitated properly,'' he added.

The 60-metre-wide road is being laid to connect the DLF Golf Course Road to the shooting range set up in the CRPF camp in Kadarpur.

The commission said that the buyer is also entitled to refund of entire money with reasonable interest and any deduction on the said amount is unjustified.

"The petitioner was fully justified in opting out of the (hire-purchase) scheme and demanding refund of the money that she had paid along with interest," it said.

The commission passed the order on a petition of Agra resident Indira Gupta seeking quashing of Uttar Pradesh state commission direction to deduct 20% from the amount to be refunded to the complainant by the Agra Development Authority.

"We direct that Rs66,000 along with 15% interest be paid to Gupta by the authority, as ordered by the District Forum, within six weeks along with Rs2,000 as cost of litigation," the commission bench headed by president justice Ashok Bhan said.

"The fact that the authority had erred in not giving the possession of the house to Gupta as envisaged under the scheme and in the absence of any rules and regulations by which 20% could be deducted from the refunded amount, we are unable to uphold the order of the state commission and therefore set it aside," the commission said.

Source: www.dnaindia.com Buyer Can Opt Out Of Housing Project If Possession Is Delayed

Four years and 22 trips to the capital later, he is still waiting for justice.

The incident has come to light with just a month to go for the Commonwealth Games that are being hailed as an unprecedented business opportunity to attract potential foreign investors to the city.

When we went to take possession of the property, we were told Kathuria had mortgaged it to a govt agency and not allowed to take possession ASHOK VERMA

"I was a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2006. The event had such an impact on me that I came to the city in late September 2006 looking for an opportunity to help bring prosperity to my homeland," said Ashok Verma, a resident of Hounslow, UK.

At the recommendation of some friends, an overwhelmed Verma approached Harish Kathuria, a builder based in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar area. "I purchased two floors at the K3C Mall located in Karnal, Haryana from Kathuria. My brother, Virender and I had gone to Harish Kathuria's office in Hargobind Nagar to hand over our first installment for the deal on October 4," Verma recalled.

Between October 4, 2006 to September 9, 2008 Verma and his family members had allegedly ended up paying Rs 3, 26,82,931 to Harish Kathuria by means of 17 cheques for 35 per cent possession of the property.

"But when we went there to take possession of the property, we were told that Kathuria had mortgaged the property to a government agency in Haryana and were not allowed to take possession of the same," Verma alleged.

Source: Hindustan Times By Jatin Anand NRI Alleges He Was Tricked By Builder

According to the report by global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, the first half of 2010 saw investment worth $130 billion in the commercial real estate globally and is likely to touch $300 billion in the full year, representing an increase of 40-50 per cent from 2009.

"The first half of the year showed that confidence has improved and momentum has increased. While markets across the globe are strengthening, the last few weeks have shown that regional markets are moving with different dynamics," the report noted.

In the commercial real estate market, the quickest recovery was seen in the Asia Pacific.

Europe lagged behind, where the investors still seem more hesitant, due to sovereign debt and austerity packages concerns, followed by the US, which had a slow start to 2010, but investment markets are picking up with the stabilised market fundamentals.

While, the rental markets are still to catch up in Asia with the improved market sentiment, the rental growth is expected to make a comeback in few European markets over the second half of 2010 and 2011.

Realty firms are returning to small cities to develop the land parcels they had bought during the property boom of 2005-07, when many aspired to grow into pan-India players.

Those ambitions are back. Realty firms are again developing and buying land in small cities or towns and entering new markets, after having spent most of the downturn trying to keep a grip on their big city projects.

The country's second largest developer by market value, Unitech Ltd, for instance, is considering launching projects--mainly in affordable housing--in cities such as Hyderabad where it already owns land, a company spokesman said in an email.

More than 40% of Unitech's projects are in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), though it is also present in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Credit Suisse Group AG says in a 5 July report the Indian property market will likely be driven by volumes and not prices, and a developer who can churn land faster by selling at affordable prices will be able to generate better returns.

Source: Live Mint By Madhurima Nandy & Devesh Chandra Srivastava Builders Selectively Return To Launch Projects, Buy Land In Small Cities

They were widely expected to fall in the wake of the ending of the homebuyer tax credit on April 30 which is widely regarded as having boosted sales, but few expected such a dramatic fall.

The news will increase fears that the US is heading for a double dip in its real estate market and the fact that sales decreased in each region of the country during the month will add to this.

The latest report from the NAR also shows that sales of distressed properties now account for about a third of all sales, some 32 per cent. Single family home sales, which account for the majority of sales, fell 27.1 per cent to 3.37 million, the lowest rate since 1985.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, expects the trend to continue for some time. "Buyers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit expired. Since May, after the deadline, contract signings have been notably lower and a pause period for home sales is likely to last through September," said Yun.

Source: Realty Plus US property sales drop spreading concern that economic recovery is slowing

The year is 2007. The Indian stock market is in the midst of a great bull run. Indiabulls, a prominent name in the financial services arena, applies for a licence for mutual fund operations. Cut to 2008. HDIL Constructions and Kumar Housing Corporation apply to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for launching real estate mutual funds.

There are two common threads joining the above-mentioned applicants. First, all three entities have a significant exposure to real estate. Second, all three applications are still "under process" with the market regulator.

While much time has passed since the applications were made, it seems that regulatory concerns related to two words -- real estate -- continue to get stronger. More importantly, Sebi is not alone in having such apprehensions.

Only early this month, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a discussion paper on allowing private players in the banking space, the central bank's reluctance to permit real estate players in the space was most conspicuous.

Source: Realty Plus Realty remains a dirty word for regulators

It was also informed that 112 such religious sites had been found to be constructed near roads in Gurgaon district. Out of these four had been removed and three were under judgment.   Rest of all had been regularized to honour the old traditions and religious sentiments of the villagers.

An official spokesman said that The concerned Panchayats would pass the proposal for these structures as these were situated on panchayati lands. It was informed that process to computerize land records was in progress in the district. As many as 269 Jamabandis had been registered out of the total of 291 Jamabandis. The information about 100 Jamabandis had been made available. The rest of the work would be completed in the next two three months.  Priority would be given to this work in the tehsils of Pautaudi, Farukhnagar and Manesar.  All the work would be computerized and no manual receipt would be given thereafter.  

 It was informed that the registration process for the plots and land had been simplified at Gurgaon by opening three counters. The purchaser gets the registry papers within a day of the purchase. Similarly 600 property dealers had been registered to prevent fraud and cheating in the real estate matters. The availability of stamp papers had also been started at the Treasury Office besides the counters of SBI for the convenience of the people.

"The UP government and DIAL have given their traffic projections. These will be studied by the government and a team of experts before the GoM meets again to determine the viability of the airport," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters after the meeting.

The GoM meeting took place on Tuesday after being postponed thrice earlier for unspecified reasons. It was scheduled initially for May 5, then was deferred to June 6, then to July 15.

The issue of an international airport at Greater Noida has been hotly debated between the Centre and the government of Uttar Pradesh. The state government wants to build an airport, called the Taj International Aviation Hub, at Jewar in Greater Noida on about 3,700 acres.

Source: Economic Times GoM defers decision on Greater Noida airport

It has also questioned the procedure followed by CCI, citing a CAT precedent.

The Tribunals refused to stay the proceedings but, on August 18, directed CCI "that the jurisdiction issue should be decided first and further issues will follow". It gave CCI till September 15 to decide on this matter. The next CCI hearing is on September 8.

DLF is charged with alleged abuse of its dominant position by putting "discriminatory and abusive clauses" in the apartment agreement provided to the allottees of The Belaire and Park Plaza apartments in Gurgaon. DLF says all agreements were put through in January 2007, so CCI can't initiate any proceedings against it. CCI initiated the move under Section 4 of the Competition Commission Act, which took effect from May 2009.

Procedural plea, too
DLF, in an e-mailed statement, said: "CCI had issued directions on May 20, 2010, initiating an inquiry under Section 26(1) of the Act in respect of the agreements entered into with apartment allottees. The said direction was contrary to the judgment of the Appellate Tribunal in the case of Steel Authority of India that no inquiry can be initiated unless reasons are recorded to arrive at an "opinion" that a "prima facie case" exists."

Source: Business-standard DLF Questions CCI Powers Before Tribunal in Case Regarding Park Plaza & Belaire

Figures obtained by TOI show that in 2005, FDI in real estate was a mere Rs 171 crore. That soared to Rs 13,586 crore in 2009-10. In April and May this year, Rs 737 crore in FDI was pumped into the sector.

It is no surprise that the largest number of building projects where FDI is in play are in the country's commercial capital, Mumbai. Of the total 1,614 projects in which foreign investors have put in money since 2005, 422 were cleared by the Reserve Bank of India's Mumbai office, followed closely by 316 in Delhi. Other big cities like Bangalore (225 projects), Hyderabad (105 projects) and Chennai (68 projects) also enjoyed considerable attention of foreign real estate developers.

Interestingly, given the booming property market across the country, FDIs are not confined to metros and big cities alone. Thus since 2005, various real estate projects have been given a green signal by RBI's offices in Bhopal, Kanpur, Kochi, Jaipur and Panaji, amongst other places. The largest FDI in the last five years remains in the construction of a technology park at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. In this case, $372 million has been brought in through a foreign collaborator based in Mauritius.

Source: Times Of India By Kartikeya Realty check! FDI grows 80 times in 5 years

The spurt of launches in the real estate market is not news anymore. With new names getting added to the list every month, there's already a supply glut. And, the pertinent question now is whether it makes sense to buy a house at this point.

A report released on 18 August by ICICI Securities Ltd, Real Estate Pulse II, says that under-construction supply in the residential space over eight tier I cities is 213 million sq. ft. Of this, 19.8 million sq. ft is ready to move, says the report, which surveyed the market in June and July. Data provided by property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle shows that at least 122,000 units were launched across seven metro cities between January and June.

The basic law of demand and supply tells us that when supply goes up, the prices should fall. Agrees Anil Sharma, chairman and managing director, Amrapali Group, a Noida-based developer firm: "When there is healthy supply in the market, chances of getting a large discount are high."

The 2008 price shock forced developers to launch projects at realistic prices. However, when the market started recovering towards the end of 2009, developers gradually moved from affordable housing to mid-income housing, according to data available with PropEquity Analytics Pvt. Ltd, a Gurgaon-based property consultancy firm. In fact, in the last six months, the shift has become more pronounced with quite a few launches in the premium and luxury segments.

This, in effect, means that the supply is equally divided across various price points. "A wider range of housing, priced at various levels, is now available in the market," says Samir Chopra, director, REMAX India, a property consultancy firm.

So, does that mean, you can get a better price for the same apartment? In all probability, yes. With adequate options at hand, you just need to make the right moves.

Source: Live Mint By Devesh Chandra Srivastava Right Time To Bargain For A Better Price

NCR saw the launch of 45,000 residential units in April-June, surpassing Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane, collectively, which witnessed the launch of 12,000 units in the same period, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), a property consultancy. The number of launches will increase in coming months as developers focus on homes and existing projects.

"This has been happening mostly with the north India-based developers. Most of them had expanded in the past to other non-core geographies and non-core domains," said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, JLLM. "For instance, Parsvnath Developers Ltd had earlier expanded to Mumbai and other western cities. Some other large realty firms diversified into hospitality. But Parsvnath Developers sold off their non-core assets."

Other Delhi-based firms such as Amrapali group and Eros group also plan to launch residential projects in the NCR region. Meanwhile, Delhi-based Parsvnath recently got approval for its Subhash Nagar residential project.

"We have already sold 85 per cent of the project," chairman Pradeep Jain said.

Before the slowdown in 2008, various Delhi-based firms had sought to diversify in areas such as hospitality, retail and telecom.

The company plans to construct 3,400 apartments in its first low-cost housing project, spread over 25 acres.

"We are launching today a low-cost group housing project in Greater Noida, where the cost of apartments would start from 14 lakh onwards," Eros Group Managing Director Raman K Sood told reporters here. The company has fixed the basic selling price at Rs 2,000-2,200 per sq ft.

The total investment on developing the project would be Rs 650 crore, Sood said, adding that the source of funding would be internal accruals, debt and advances against sales.

Asked about other projects that it plans to launch, he said the company has a strategy to work at lesser number of projects at a time so that quality can be maintained.

He said the company is looking at developing two more hotels in Faridabad and Gurgaon. Eros Group has two hotels in the national capital -- Eros Intercontinental and Shangri-La.

The company has almost completed the construction work of two housing projects in Surajkund and Gurgaon, Sood said.

The Rs 7,500-crore Group is also coming up with a office complex in Manesar and a shopping mall in Delhi.

This was stated at a meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati here on Tuesday.

The meeting was held to review the progress of these schemes, an official release said here.

As Haryana has border with Delhi on three sides and a large portion of the state's area is under National Capital Region (NCR), these schemes would further accelerate the pace of development in this area, Gulati said.

It was also informed in the meeting that the development of the core infrastructure was being carried out at the regional level in the NCR area in the form of power generation, transmission and distribution of power, transportation (both road and rail), telecommunications and the development of new township, strengthening of water supply and sewerage works.

India's second largest developer by market value Unitech Ltd is scouting for land acquisitions again for new projects after its thrust on affordable housing put more cash in its hands.

The realty firm achieved sales bookings for around 3.01 million sq. ft of space worth around `1,299 crore in the April-June quarter, at anaverage of `4,314 per sq. ft. It also launched 2.76 million sq. ft of space in those three months.

Robust sales are likely to continue despite a marginal drop from 3.45 million sq. ft of bookings in the March quarter, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd said in a 5 August report.

Nearly 50% of Unitech's first quarter sales came from Gurgaon, 24% from Noida, 12% from Chennai and 10% from Kolkata.

The "strategy to focus on the affordable housing segment while having a wide range of product offerings is paying dividends, and this has resulted in significant improvement in cash flows", managing director Sanjay Chandra said in a statement on Saturday, announcing the firm's quarterly results.

"With the financial leverage at a healthy level, (the) company is in a position to look at opportunities for acquisition of new projects," he added.

Source: Live Mint By Madhurima Nandy & Devesh Chandra Srivastava Unitech to resume land purchases as home sales boost profit 14%