After recording significant leasing in 4Q10, Mumbai city witnessed moderate transaction activity in 1Q11 as the major office occupiers of India Inc awaited the impact of budget on their corporate real estate strategy for the next fiscal year.
Indian real estate is expected to face “large-scale distress” amid rising borrowing costs and shrinking access to credit that may force developers into fire sales for assets, according to Knight Frank.
Mumbai saw a steep rise in property prices during the boom period of 2008. However, the economic slowdown in 2009 led to a property market crash which made itself very tangible in Mumbai in the first quarter of 2009, stabilizing by the middle of year and rising again between the 3rd and 4th quarters.
As Central Business Districts (CBD) begin to gradually lose their sheen against alternative locations because of their inability to offer Grade A buildings at competitive rates, retrofitting emerges as a preferred option (as compared with redevelopment) for quality improvement to increase the attractiveness and economic life of existing old buildings.
As real estate prices shoot up and interest rates, the outlook for the sector does not look too bright. In its year-end report, Knight Frank has stated that new home sales in India have fallen by 25 per cent due to soaring prices. With the Reserve Bank of India tightening lending norms to developers and raising interest rates, the property market is likely to plumb new lows in 2011 as buyers disappear.
Coldwell Banker UAE now offers a diverse portfolio of properties…
There is a school of thought that states that you should buy a home as soon as you can afford it, or as soon as your home loan application is approved. In fact, the only question one tends to ask in context with home buying is whether property prices and interest rates are amenable at that point in time or not. On the surface, this makes sense. However, not all surfaces are reliable mirrors.
The buzz word among realty consultants at the beginning of the year seems to be price correction. After the real estate firms like Jones Lang LaSalle India and Cushman & Wakefield forecast of a correction in real estate prices in 2011, now Crisil also forecasts a price correction, though in select pockets.