DLF sells 1,200 units in Panchkula in a week

DLF, India’s largest real estate company by revenue, has sold more than 1,200 units of the Panchkula Valley project in less than a week of opening sales…. 

Trikona Advisers (TAL), the erstwhile advisor of UK-based, India-focused real estate company Trikona Trinity Capital Plc (TRC), said it would claim £112 million (Rs 800 crore) in damages from the latter for “unlawful attempt to terminate’’ the management agreement with it…. 

In what can prove to be bonanza for private developers, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has decided to house encroachers on its lands on the lines of slum rehabilitation scheme…. 

With the launch of affordable housing and improved liquidity scenario, the Indian real estate sector is looking optimistic after going through a rough patch since 2008. While Indian real estate may be geared up for better times in 2010, the liquidity crunch witnessed in 2008-09 has led to a situation wherein there is a need for easing of lending norms for the sector. Given recent controversies surrounding FDI in the sector, clear policy statement on FDI participation is a necessity. We believe that the government needs to adopt a multifold strategy for revival in the real estate sector. The following would be our expectations from the union budget:… 

The housing ministry has sought an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore in the Budget 2010-11. This marks a jump of Rs 150 crore from Rs 850 crore that the ministry received last fiscal…. 

We feel that finance minister has indeed a very tough task this time because while on the one hand, there is a fiscal deficit, on the other hand, the initiatives what this government has taken to bring up the people who have so far not been able to be brought back into the main stream via certain social welfare schemes needs to be continued…. 

We are hopeful of a positive 2010 for the India real estate sector. Overall, there should be a focus on the real estate sector in general and housing, in particular because real estate contributes more than 7.5 per cent to the GDP. Also the real estate industry generates about 30 million jobs, which the government can hardly ignore…. 

Coming out with its expectations from the union budget, the Sahara India group said that the pent-up demand for affordable housing in the country should be given top priority…. 

Real estate players have called upon the government to continue with its reform agenda in Budget 2010. Cash-starved realtors are also looking for more sops to be able to roll out new affordable housing projects and integrated townships…. 

Urging finance minister Pranab Mukherjee not to be swayed by concerns on rising inflation, DLF chairman K P Singh said the government needed to focus on growth in the forthcoming Budget to achieve 9-10 per cent economic expansion during 2010-11….

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recently submitted its proposal for the Union Budget 2010-11, to the finance ministry seeking incentives for a vibrant and sustainable property market…. 

Abhisheck Lodha, MD, Lodha Developers expects that Budget 2010-11 would announce tax incentives to the real estate sector, besides a much needed reduction on Stamp Duty. This will lead to further investment in affordable housing projects which is expected to fuel urban development…. 

We suggest setting up of a single window clearance for all real estate projects, completely doing away with all tedious procedures…. 

There is an urgent need for a tax holiday to be declared to make affordable housing for low and medium income groups a reality…. 

Fiscal incentives for the development of real estate sector along with the liberal investment and policy reforms have brought it to the to the centre stage…. 

The real estate industry suffered a severe blow during the economic slowdown last year. However, it also created new opportunity in areas that were largely untapped until recently…. 

Real estate and housing are a critical part of the economy. It generates huge demand ranging from steel and cement, to consumer durable goods and sanitary ware, to electrical goods and other services in the construction industry. It is, therefore, regarded as a strong indicator of the economy. So it is important to bolster this sector by considering the following measures:… 

Global economic meltdown had left the worldwide real estate sector in tatters. Nevertheless, the real estate sector in India is in the recovery mode aided by affordable housing, declining property prices, improved job market, lower interest rate, better liquidity situation and an overall improved economic scenario. However, the sector needs a budgetary push to be on the path of speedy and sustainable growth…. 

Led by power and roads & ports, the net bank credit to the infrastructure sector has nearly trebled to Rs 64,321 crore during the first eight months of the current fiscal, over April-November 2008-09, according to an Economic Survey…. 

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has taken up the task of constructing 15,008 affordable houses, expected to be ready in Mumbai in the next two years…. 

A new four-storey commercial building at Worli is being sold for Rs 640 crore, pitching it as one of the costliest in the country. The Nusli Wadia-led Wadia Group has reportedly finalised the mega deal with Axis Bank, which is planning to shift its headquarters to the building…. 

The AP Real Estate Developer’s Association (APREDA) will enter into an agreement with the Project Directors of Housing of Kurnool and Mahbubnagar districts, to take up construction of houses in the flood hit parts…. 

Citigroup’s private bank and conglomerate China Resources Group have launched two real estate funds to invest in Chinese shopping malls and hope to raise about $500 million, the Reuters has reported, citing sources with knowledge of the plan…. 

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s idea of building diverse infrastructure facilities, which includes cultural complexes and houses for staff and super-fast passenger rail corridors, promises to fuel construction growth but sector experts said the outcome would depend on how quickly these projects grind their way through the bureaucratic process…. 

New procedures for approval of highway projects under the NHDP affected its bankability, resulting in award of barely 13 per cent of the target during 2009-10, the Economic Survey has said….