Track2Realty: It is usually believed that any sort of affordable housing reduces the property values of the neighboring properties as well. In the Indian market context, however, various studies as well as on-ground experiences in India reveal that this age-old preconception does not hold true.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In 2010 when Le Meridien Coimbatore, a Rs. 300 crore project of Appu Hotels, announced to open a nine-storeyed hotel with a total built-up area of seven lakh sq ft, spread across a 6.75 acre plot, there were not many takers. The critics either termed it as an over ambitious project or a venture that was ahead of time.
Track2Realty: CBRE recently conducted a research study on more than 300 prominent global brands to identify trends on operational dynamics, expansion and extent of penetration across leading cities. The analysis reveals that while India has emerged as a prominent destination for leading retail groups as varied as food and beverage (F&B), fashion and apparel, and big box hypermarket chains, F&B retailing remains one of the most penetrated segments in terms of global retailer presence, while the hy
Track2Realty: Describing Union Finance Minister’s Arun Jaitley’s maiden budget as “half glass full” and half filled with hopes, realtors’ apex body CREDAI Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain said it met with some expectations and left some out.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The sentiments in the property market are subdued across the country and the transactions have nosedived in most of the major markets. However, Gujarat real estate seems to be picking up to buck the trend otherwise and the sentiments are changing for the better. This is reflective in the transactions that are happening across the state.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Government of India has been re-evaluating policy measures and modifying these or initiating fresh mandates in order to give a boost to the industry. Changes in policies pertaining to SEZs towards reducing area requirements, the easing of norms for external commercial borrowing (ECB) for development of affordable housing and the augmentation of limits for listed NCDs will go a long way in clearing bottlenecks faced by the sector.
Track2Realty: Several years after New Delhi, the country’s political capital, witnessed a transformation with the implementation of the Delhi Metro, the financial capital of Mumbai is set to experience a similar phenomenon with the imminent commissioning of the Versova Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) corridor of the Mumbai Metro. With equity participation from Reliance Infra and Veolia (a French transportation major), this PPP initiative has all the hallmarks of a game-changer for the city’s transportation and realty landscape.
Track2Realty: Transactions in India’s real estate space might have slowed down over the last two quarters, but the sector has not been overwhelmed by the state of the wider economy. Despite the subdued pre-election economic scenario, in fact, the period observed an increase in private equity activity.
Track2Realty Exclusive: As the country faces problems over land acquisition, events around the issue have been tarnishing the image of India’s built environment. Across sectors — real estate, infrastructure and construction events have not been conducive enough to create a good environment for investments. In addition, fragmentation and irregularities within the market, instances of fly-by-night-operators duping the consumers, an absence of regulation over transactions and developers have given a bad name to the environment.
Track2Realty Exclusive: There is no clear-cut definition of the term ‘affordable’, as it is a relative concept and could have several indirect meanings in different contexts. In India, private developers primarily target luxury, high-end and upper-mid housing segment, since it fetches a premium over low income housing. This leads to a sustained supply for this segment, increasing market competitiveness for developers.