The crisis in India's real estate sector will cause a much needed course correction by the industry. It would start building homes for which there is a genuine demand and not just for a small minority of speculators. Much of the housing shortage in India is of the low income category. But property developers were focused on the top end segment with prices usually starting at Rs 60 lakh plus in the big cities. The exuberance in this category was largely speculative, driven by cheap money. With high leverage fuelled supply of cheap money coming to an end, the demand for expensive housing has disappeared overnight. As the market reverts to fundamentals, the disconnect between demand and supply has become very obvious. A look at the income profile of households underscores the point. Even the top 20% of urban households had an average annual per capita income of only Rs 48,517, according to a NCAER survey. And taxpayers with more than Rs 10 lakh annual earnings number only about 1.5 lakh.

Even after adjusting for unaccounted BLACK money, that number is unlikely to become substantial in the context of projects targeted at this category. Clearly, the current inventory of houses would have to clear at a far lower price and new projects need to be better targeted. Some developers have started conceding that they need to focus on the sub 1,000 square feet dwellings. But a more grounded real estate sector does not necessarily mean housing would soon get affordable for a large section of the population. The biggest hurdle to affordable housing is poor reach of urban transport and high land prices in cities and towns. The scarcity of urban land, largely created by the state, has caused cost of housing to move up sharply. This is compounded by a lack of quality public transport, which has precluded the development of suburban areas as people are forced to live close to their work place. An integrated land-use and transport policy therefore becomes central to efforts to provide affordable housing. Increased vertical spread through redevelopment can also enhance supply and help alleviate the pressure on prices. So, while the market adjusts to the new reality, the state also needs to do its bit.

MUMBAI: Want to buy a home this festive season? Then don't go for a one that is still under construction, warn experts in the realty sector. The global slowdown and crash of financial markets has left builders with little money and they are struggling to wrap up even the half-finished projects, let alone going for new ones, according to industry analysts. Experts warn that the financial strain on realtors is causing indefinite delays in the completion of many projects. "Those who intend to buy property should go for only completed flats. It'll be too risky to buy properties under construction," said an analyst with a foreign brokerage who did not wish to be named. Real estate is an end-user sector where the money mainly comes from home buyers and development happens in phases.

"But developers across the board raked in money from initial public offerings and invested them in buying land parcels paying huge premiums. Now, banks have stopped lending, money from private equity is very costly and unorganised lenders are charging interest rates as high as 30%. So how can developers complete projects profitably," asked the analyst. He cited the example of a Mumbai-based realtor whose high-end residential project in Lower Parel, one of the city's commercial hubs, was to be completed in 2006 but has now been delayed till 2009. Uncertainty looms large over whether even this deadline will be met, he said.  An official of the realtor in question had earlier told DNA that the project would be rolled out before Diwali this year. An email sent seeking clarification on the new deadline remains unanswered.

This isn't an isolated case. Analysts say delays of three to four years are likely in under-construction projects. Despite the headwinds, developers have stubbornly stuck to their pricing. This could be one of the reasons why sales have failed to pick up, even though builders are offering freebies such as free stamp duty registration and parking space, modular kitchens and interiors, and interest-free EMIs till the buyer gets possession of the flat. "A price correction of a minimum of 30% is required for sales to pick up. If this correction does not come in six months then some listed developers will end up being negative cash companies. Even if buyers are desperately looking for houses, they should wait for a minimum of three months before taking the plunge. Also, they should look only for properties that are ready and available for possession," said an analyst of a domestic brokerage.

Happy Diwali from the Finance Minister Mr Chidambaram

Dear Fellow Citizens,

On behalf of the Congress party, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhiji and Mr Rahul Gandhi I would like to extend my warm wishes to the citizens of India on the eve of Diwali 2008. It has been a tumultuous year for the markets and as we have seen things have been going as per plan. We had a plan for 9% growth, however we came close to it at 8% and got a bonus 12% in inflation. We also managed to bankrupt a lot of the speculators and investors, some of who were senior citizens who lost their retirement saving in the market .
When the congress came to power in May 2004, the Sensex was 5000, now after 41/2 years it is at 8500, A stellar gain of 70% over a 4.5 year period as opposed to a 40% compounded gain if you had invested in safe fixed deposits. However if you had invested exactly a year ago, the return would be a -70%, a warning to speculators that India will not tolerate short term investors. We are also happy to report that the rupee has breached Rs 50, so now your NRI brothers and sisters are given a welcome bonus this Diwali. The Foreign investors who have dumped the rupee and fled like rats will now have a greater incentive to return back, now that they have gained 20% over a period of 1 year. As you can see we are trying hard to please all sections of society and we look forward to continue this good work in the year five years under the astute leadership of Shri Manmohan Singh and Smt Sonia Gandhi.

Having seen the turmoil with the Italian Lira, we have superb leadership at the top which understands the economic consequences of pandering to the common people. I have instructed the SEBI and the RBI to take strict action against market manipulators who have been trying to create a illusion of wealth in the Indian stock market. Thanks to their efforts the Sensex has been brought down from 21000 to 8500, a level which will hold for a few more days, before we bring it down further to 6000 so that it is affordable to the common man.
It has also been an very happy Diwali for some of our Foreign short sellers who were allowed to participate in the merry making outside the borders of the country, thanks to a recent directive by SEBI, a brilliant move by the SEBI chairman.

With reference to HOUSING we have managed to create a SPECTACULAR BUBBLE where land prices have soared to the heavens. Some of the property where I live is now worth Rs 50000 per sq/ft. Even developed countries like the US and UK don't have the prices we have. We have asked our banks to make sure that the citizens are working hard to pay off the EMI's on the house/car loans for their highly prized properties. These banks are creating thousands of recovery agent jobs each month to make sure borrowers don't default on their loans. As a consequence of the soaring housing prices, the congress party and other political parties have had great success in raising funds for the upcoming elections. Unlike the US which has a lobby system, the Indian political system depends on builders to finance their political activities. We prefer black money to avoid scrutiny of the Income Tax bureaucracy and thereby reduce corruption in the system.

Some of the builders have defaulted on their payments to government authorities and banks, and as a penalty, we will be confiscating their assets and then auctioning them over to our brothers in the Gulf, some of who have nefarious designs against our great nation. By doing so we will establish an ownership society where all the prime land is owned by our enemies, so they will have no vested interest in creating turmoil, riots or exploding bombs in our cities and towns.
In closing, I wish all citizens a very happy Diwali and hope that the next five years are even more prosperous then ever before.

Sd
Mr P.C Chidambaram
Finance Minister
Government of India
New Delhi

New Delhi: Shares of real estate firms were the worst hit on Friday after concerns of a liquidity crunch in the business drove the sectoral index, the Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) realty index, down nearly one-fourth. Shares of Unitech Ltd, India's second largest developer by market value, fell by a record 51.29% to close at Rs30.10 each after intra-day trading took it down to an all-time low of Rs26.60. Bangalore-based real estate developer Puravankara Projects Ltd, which saw its shares closing 44.32% lower, also touched a record low of Rs42.20 in day trade. "People are concerned about cash provisions and where will real estate companies get money from," said Sandeep Mathew, an analyst at BNP Paribas Securities in Mumbai. An analyst with a domestic brokerage firm, who did not want his or his employer's name to be used, said, "...people are exiting at any price because there are no buyers for realty stocks".

There is an aversion towards real estate stocks among "investors (who) are now shifting from net asset value-based valuation to cash flows of the company", he added. Shares of DLF Ltd, the largest developer in the country, shed 23.96% to close at Rs203.90. Parsvnath Developers Ltd fell by 20.70% to close at Rs45.20.  BSE's benchmark index, the Sensex, shrank 10.96% while BSE's realty index, which consists of 14 real estate stocks, fell by 562.31 points or, 24.4%. "Real estate stocks have been correcting mainly because developers have not reduced home prices despite a slowdown in sales," said another analyst with a domestic brokerage firm. "In Unitech's case, the stock has corrected because the company is heavily leveraged."

For those who thought the worst was over, there's more bad news. The slowdown in the real estate sector is far from over. Rather, the worst seems to be knocking on the door, with retail and office rental prices across the country witnessing a sharp drop. In fact, current market stats reveal that there has been a drop in both retail and office rental values in the last two months which varies from 25% to 50% in some micro markets such as Gurgaon and Greater Noida, where malls and office space have seen a dip of 25-50 %, and Saket (south Delhi), where the rates have dropped by 30-35 %. Overall, the rental rates in cities such as Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore have also dropped by 25-30 %.

Kishore Biyani, CEO of the Future Group, feels the rentals may see another 25-40 % drop. The market is going to witness a 25-40 % drop in the retail rentals as all big or small retailers are finding it tough to survive in this very high rental market, Mr Biyani told SundayET. "Many smalltime or vanilla retailers may have to close their shop in this kind of condition. We have changed our business model and are now operating on a revenue-sharing model in malls. Productivity is a key factor for any retailer to operate efficiently in a mall, in case of a leased deal," he added.According to industry sources, initially most malls in the same micro-market had similar rental rates. But as they became operational, the rentals started to get aligned with revenues and footfalls. In the office space, the second quarter of this year witnessed a total supply of 4.3 million sq ft in the NCR region, of which 60% was for IT/ITeS but interestingly, the demand was down to 3.3 million sq ft only.

Too many homes up for grabs

It's pouring bad news for the real estate industry. In a market where prices are moving southwards, over-supply is the new problem which has come to plague the residential market. According to industry sources, there has been a 35-40 % over-supply in residential apartments in the last eight months. And the reason is evident -- a dip of as much as 30-40 % in the transactions this year as compared with last year. Says Raminder Grover, CEO of Homebay Residential, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj: "The rise in interest rates has affected the demand for residential space. Higher interest rates have combined with certain other factors such as temporarily reduced buying power due to stock market fluctuations to reduce the demand for high-end residences. Most of the over-supply consists of higher-priced residential units in prime localities that investors cannot resell quickly, since the demand for them has been impacted." In fact, both investors and end users of the residential property sector are anticipating a blanket correction in prices in the wake of the over-supply situation leading to a further slowdown. To offer a solution to the oversupply situation, various developers have started to offer discounts and freebies to attract buyers.

There have been tie-ups between the developers and financial institutions also to ease the burden of high EMI payments on the end user. There are also instances of banks in tie-up with developers easing payments with deep discounts on down payment options or longer and easier construction-linked payment plans. Some smaller developers are exiting by offloading their stake.

The new moon of the lunar month of Kartika marks Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, when Hindus across the country worship the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. But divinities know full well the laws that govern finance, and Lakshmi may now be a little tight-fisted about circulating her riches amid the ongoing global credit crunch.Indian tradition decrees that it is auspicious to make purchases in the days leading up to Diwali, which falls in October or November. With faith meshing so effortlessly with commerce, the season sees sellers, advertisers and marketers urging the devout to spend money with a religious fervor, as they hawk everything from chocolates and consumer durables to gold and houses. Buying a home is considered especially propitious. What better way to welcome the goddess of wealth into one's life than by inviting Lakshmi into a new abode? Thus, the period from just before Diwali through March is usually a bonanza for the real estate industry: some 70% of the annual business is conducted then.

Not this year. With just about a week to go until Diwali, the mood is decidedly downbeat. The demon of impending economic doom refuses to die, and as tightened liquidity makes people put off larger purchases, the real estate sector is facing the worst attack. "This time last year, I was selling 10 to 12 properties every day," says Alok Gupta, who runs Advanced Real Estate in the New Delhi suburb of Noida. "This time, I haven't sold a single property all month!"

Considered the barometer of its economic growth, the real estate sector in India has grown 30% to 35% during the past five years, reflecting the rapidly increasing demand for office, commercial and industrial space, as well as for bigger homes, now considered within the range of India's prospering working classes. But the economic juggernaut began slowing earlier this year because of double-digit inflation and a severe liquidity crunch (a fallout from the U.S. subprime crisis). Now economic activity may shrink as part of a global slowdown. The country's growth estimates of 9% at the beginning of the year have been revised to well below 7%, and the effect is directly visible in the realty sector. "No one's buying anymore," says Ashwani Shukla of New Delhi-based Triveni Associates. "Two years ago, 25-year-olds earning fat pay packets from [multinational corporations] were buying high-end apartments. Now there are no takers for flats selling at 20% markdowns. Estate agents are finding it difficult to even meet daily overheads."

Shukla himself has branched out of real estate. He started selling insurance six months back "to pay the bills," he says. According to various estimates, sales in cities like Mumbai and Chennai are down 30% to 40%. Hoping to induce buyers during Diwali, realtors are advertising cash discounts of 5% to 10% for down payments, and as much as 25% discounts if buyers are willing to wait two to three years before taking possession of the property. "But there is no liquidity with the end user," says Arvind Nandan, director of consultancy at real estate company Cushman & Wakefield India. "Home-loan rates have hit the roof, and people's investments have lost value at the stock market. No one has the money to buy."

Shukla says if the situation does not improve, there could be distress sales within the next six months. The realty sector was heading for a cyclical slowdown even before the current economic slump. Over the past few years, increasing demand had pushed up prices, with speculators jumping in to further inflate the market. Eventually, inventory piled up when buyers refused to pay unrealistically high prices. "So many transactions were taking place between speculators and investors that no one bothered to find out what the end user, the family who would eventually live in the house, would be willing and able to pay," Shukla says. And those prospective homeowners are the biggest target of India's real estate industry: almost 80% of real estate developed in the country is residential space.

This all comes at the worst possible time. Even as buyers refused to bite, inflation passed into double digits in June this year, raising prices of construction material. Realtors overran their budgets and projects stalled, leaving skeletal structures dotting the landscape in big and small cities all over the country. Then came the liquidity squeeze, as the government sponged away cash from the system to control inflation. Home-loan rates went from about 7% to 12% and higher. People who bought struggled to pay, and potential buyers kept away.

Realtors like Shukla and Gupta may have little reason to light firecrackers this Diwali, but their prayers to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, will definitely be more fervent, especially as experts predict that things will get worse before they get any better. "This was a much-needed correction," says Nandan. "And it isn't complete yet. I expect the market to go down further, and it's hard to say when the recovery will begin."

Yet no one is entirely pessimistic. Experts and industry insiders believe that once the storm blows over, demand is bound to rise for the same reasons it did last time -- a large, young workforce; gradual but consistent liberalization reforms; and a high rate of consumer and private-sector savings. "The silver lining is that once this phase ends, land and property prices will be corrected to rational levels, speculators will be out, and the sector will have stronger fundamentals," says Shukla. If everyone's prayers go right, the goddess will eventually be propitiated and her blessings will issue forth once more

This article was written by Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar

A housing boom and-bust has engulfed the US financial sector in crisis. India, too, has experienced a runaway real estate boom, which in a few areas is going bust. The share prices of real estate companies have crashed. Yet, India has no mortgage crisis or financial sector crisis. Why not? Mainly because of the huge amount of black money in Indian real estate. This has saved the Indian financial sector in unexpected ways. Traditionally, US mortgage lenders checked the creditworthiness of borrowers, and then made the borrower pay at least 20% of the house value, loaning the remaining 80%. So, even if the price of the house dipped, it would still be higher than the bank's loan, and the borrower had an incentive to repay it. However, in recent years, US banks relaxed loan conditions to increase lending volumes and profits. They began giving loans equal to the entire value of the house, so borrowers had no personal equity stake at all. Many lenders stopped checking the creditworthiness of borrowers. Ultimately, this led to loans to persons with no documented income, job or assets. Very risky!

Moreover, the US financial system created something called securitisation of home loans. Instead of retaining loans on their own books, banks chopped and bundled together thousands of loans, calling the bundle a mortgage-backed security. These securities were then sold to investors, who earned a high return provided borrowers paid regularly. In effect, banks originating home loans re-sold these, and no longer had to worry about defaults. This led, inevitably, to malpractice. Many banks offered 'teaser' loans. These initially carried very low interest rates, which re-set after a few years at much higher rates. This attracted many low-income people since the monthly installments were initially low. But when the loans re-set higher, some poor borrowers could not repay. The bank originating the loan was unconcerned, having already sold the loan. In this way, US home lending -- and prices -- shot up. As long as the economy and housing market were sunny, borrowers paid installments regularly. But eventually housing prices peaked, and then fell. Many owners with loans covering 100% of home cost now found that their homes were worth less than their outstanding loans. So, many borrowers opted to give up the property and rid themselves of the accompanying bank loan. They simply posted the home keys back to the banks.

US banks now face borrowers who can't pay for want of income, plus those who won't pay for properties worth less than the accompanying debt. Mortgage-backed securities are falling in value as underlying defaults rise. The fall in value was initially estimated at $100 billion, is now estimated at $600 billion, and will exceed a trillion dollars if home prices keep falling (as seems likely). This has inflicted huge losses on holders of the mortgagebacked securities, including the biggest banks in the world -- Citibank and Bank of America. Many holders of these securities -- such as investment bank Bear Stearns -- will die or be forced to merge with more solvent entities. Why does this not happen in India? Here, too, banks have increased lending aggressively for housing in the last five years. Here too, many banks finance the entire house value. But Indian borrowers do not walk away from their homes -- and loans -- if prices dip. This is because a large proportion, often half, of almost all home purchases is paid in black money. If a house is sold for Rs 100 lakh, the official registered value will typically be only Rs 50 lakh, with the balance paid under the table in cash. A bank may loan Rs 50 lakh, covering the entire formal price. However, the owner's contribution is not zero: he has paid Rs 50 lakh in black. To preserve that black investment, he will keep paying his installments even if house prices dip.

US banks give non-recourse loans -- that is, the loan is secured only by the mortgaged property, and the borrower becomes debt-free if he returns the property. This is not so in Europe, where the borrower remains personally liable even after returning the mortgaged property, so the bank can seize his other assets. This discourages default. Hence, European banks are not suffering the way US ones are. Ditto for Indian banks. When economic conditions get tough, defaults go up. In the last year, efaults have risen in Indian real estate, but mainly on account of commercial builders. The default rate remains modest for home-owners. Now, the Indian legal system is so slow that borrowers have little fear of even their mortgaged homes being seized, let alone other assets. Yet, they do not default, and India's financial system remains strong. The reason is that banks enjoy, without asking for it, a huge safety margin provided by the black money invested by every home owner. To preserve this black investment, borrowers will do their level best not to default and lose their property. Ironically, black money enforces loan discipline in India, far more effectively than formal contracts or legal processes.

I am saying this for two reasons. Firstly, when the dust settles in the present financial crisis, real estate in India is going to be a winner. DLF is the country's number uno builder.

Secondly, real estate is hedge against the inflation. After this economic mess is over, inflation world wide is going to be very high. People in India are parking their black money or number two money in real estate and for that reason inspite of the credit crunch, the buyers are not going to see any substantial drop in the prices. Why would an owner of a property who has number 2 money invested in real estate would be in a hurry to sell that? Once that person cashes, what would he do with the cash he receives? Why would he put that money in safety deposit box, and let inflation eat that amount?

So genuine buyers do not hold your breadth and wait for reality prices to drop substantially. Because, it ain't going to happen.

Oberoi Constructions was planning to launch a 300-apartment complex called Oberoi Island in the Goregaon suburb of Mumbai during Diwali. The realtor was mulling to offer apartments under construction, which were expected to be completed in two years, at Rs 9,000 per sq ft from the current price of Rs 12,000 per sq ft. Developers such as Mumbai-based Sunil Mantri Realty are more candid about the price cuts, as the company has already advertised a 6 per cent discount for its 206-apartment complex Mantri Royale in Bangalore, which was launched last Thursday. The company would be selling flats at Rs 2,590 per sq ft, instead of the normal Rs 2,750 a sq ft, for the next 15 days and was planning to extend it further, depending on the buyers' response. Mantri Realty was also planning to give similar offers at its upcoming projects at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Solapur in Maharashtra, slated for launch in the second and fourth week of October respectively.

"It makes much more sense to give discounts and waive off stamp duty to persuade customers to buy apartments when the market is facing a slowdown. Every buyer demands a little more for his money and we are doing that," said Sunil Mantri, promoter of Sunil Mantri Realty. Seeing the sharp decline in property sales, the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing and Industry (MCHI), a trade body of realtors, has already advised its members to bear the stamp duty charges and pay a part of the interest cost on loans to improve the declining sales. In the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi too, where price correction was more deeper than Mumbai, developers are doling out discounts to woo customers. Delhi-based Pearls Infrastructure is giving 6 per cent discount on down payments in its Nirmal Chaaya Tower at Zirakpur and 8 per cent discount in the Pearl City project at Mohali in Punjab.

Though big developers such as DLF, Ansal API, Parsvnath Developers and Raheja Developers have not advertised discounts, they are launching their new projects, mostly in the mid-income segment during Diwali to attract buyers in the mid-income segment. "We want to launch our projects during Diwali because properties launched at this time get better response. At a time when sales are down, Diwali comes as a major sentiment booster for developers as well as customers," said Dimple Bhardwaj, spokesperson, Raheja Developers, which is launching a 412-apartment project at Gurgaon. However, some realtors and consultants said the discounts and offers would not help improve property sales since home loan rates are high and property prices are out of reach of ordinary buyers. "This Diwali will not be like that of previous years. The current market sentiment is down and the developers are feeling the heat. I do not think that the discount offer of Rs 1-2 lakh will make a customer buy an apartment that costs more than his pocket," said Anshuman Magazine, managing director, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis. Adds Akshaya Kumar, MD of Park Lane Property Advisors, "This Diwali will be a damp squib for the property market. Only in 2010, developers can do some good business. Developers may offer 5-10 per cent discount this time depending on their strength,'' Kumar says.

Prakash Gurbaxani, founder and chief executive of Bangalore-based QVC Realty, said competitive pricing is the key to sell property than discounts. QVC is launching its 100-villa project QVC Hills, with each villa costing Rs 2-4 crore, in Bangalore during Diwali. "Nobody will wait for a Rs 5 lakh discount to buy a Rs 2 crore house. You have to price the property right and product should be good,'' he said.

But even a 20% fall in prices is not a cause of concern. Experts say that at least over the next five years, land will continue to give 15-20% returns. That's higher than the current 10% returns from investment in housing. The location of the land will also determine the rate of returns. It's better to invest in places where there is a lot of economic activity, and where infrastructure is in place. For instance, townships like Gurgaon and Faridabad in the National Capital Region (NCR) may prove to be good investment destinations as there is ample land available in these places. However, it is important to note that investing in land is not a short-term game. One must stay invested for at least three to five years to get maximum returns. The bottom line is investing in land may work out better in terms of returns than investing in residential property even if the global slowdown takes it toll on land prices.

If the person working in gurgaon is not able to afford flat to purchase/rent 3 years from now, i don't think he would mind paying toll than paying heavy rent...also he could make a monthly pass at a concessional rate.

As far as manesar is concerned if you visit the site you would know that Raheja Square is fully operational there with all the banks having their offices and ATM's there...Uppal is coming up with element9 mall...Amrapali is building corporate mall...ILD inspireedge is another commercial mall in manesar....NH8 is smooth and is lacs times better than faridabad-mathura road,NH-24,NH-58 or any other NCR projects be fraidabad/Noida/Ghaziabad etc.

Now lets come to the project....DLF has built many properties in the past and all command premiums weather they are in  Golf Course road or any of DLF-1/2/3/4...they all are always in demand...pick up any of HT Estates or times property on saturdays or sundays and you would find maximum sales/purchases in DLF-Sushant lok in gurgaon.

If you get the option of getting a 1460 sq ft apartment from DLF at Rs.39 lacs as 2 bd + servant and get 2.5 years to pay in installments then it is a good investment option...

The location of Gurgaon Sohna road was also not that great some 2.5-3 years ago...Now that place prices have also doubled

• If a person working in Gurgaon stays in these flats after possession is given, then he needs to pay the Toll which is just next to Haldirams everyday which adds to the monthly cost. This might look like a small issue, and cost might be in few thousands, but it definitely adds to one's expenses.
  
• Most of the people who are either buying or suggesting these flats in Manesar will use the argument that there are so many industries in Manesar, and the employees working there will need a place to stay. Let me ask one question to those people. If already, so many employees are there, why are they not buying now at a lower price rather that buying in resale from an investor after 3 years?
  
• Again, people will not stop their argument about industries in Manesar. Then,I think someone should tell them the definition of a good house. A house is good not because of the industries surrounding it. If that was truth, then Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar will be the first choice for residential area.
  
• When I called up DLF office, even before the project was officially launched, one guy picked up the phone who told me that the project was sold out. First thing, if it was really sold even before launch, then its against the Supereme Court order of Banning Prelaunches. Second, after that call I called up more than 10 brokers, and they told me that lots of flats are available. Who is the liar here???
  
• About the location, it is around 1 km from the highway(NH8), in front of Honda factory. But if you see the surroundings, its nothing more than a barren land with a few houses(5-10)near by. Not even a single shop nearby. So, be ready to travel 5-10kms for a a milk packet.
  
• And most importantly, the cost of the flat. I checked about the 3BR 1760sq.ft flat, Its total cost including all the charges comes to around 50lacs(may be a bit lesser). So, if the builder gives the possession exactly after 3 years from now, I'll paying an interest of atleast 17-20lacs on my loan. And that makes up the Cost Price as 70 lacs. Lets reduce it to 65 lacs. Now after 3 years, I dont think that barren piece of empty land surrounding these flats will convert into a really nice and happening place full of houses and shopping areas. So, finally, you have to find a mad person who is ready to buy a flat in a village for more than 75 lacs(let us suppose you expect 10lacs return from your investment).