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India has been ranked as the 16th most expensive retail ‘high street destination’ in the world by a latest report. According to the report ‘Main Streets Across the World (MSATW) 2007′ by real estate consultants firm Cushman & Wakefield, Khan Market in New Delhi is the most expensive retail destination in the country with rentals of Rs 950 per sq ft per month in the second quarter. It witnessed an annual growth of 35.7 per cent over the same period last year.

“Khan Market is the biggest riser in the ranking of the world’s most expensive shopping locations in terms of retail rents, moving up eight places from last years 24th position,” the report said.

New York’s Fifth Avenue retained its title as the world’s most expensive shopping destination followed by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris.

“Retail is going through a revolution in India, although a part of the increase in rents is due to lack of high-quality space in the right location,” Cushman & Wakefield India national head (retail) Rajneesh Mahajan said.

The report said India also figured among the world’s top 10 locations that witnessed highest rental increase in local currency terms.

Connaught Place in Delhi is the highest gainer in Asia and second only to Chicago’s East Oak Street across the world, with an annual growth of 87.5 per cent.

Kemp’s Corner in Mumbai has also witnessed high rental growth of 78.2 per cent, making it the fourth highest riser of rental growth.

Greater Kailash in Delhi and Fort/Fountain and Colaba in Mumbai were also among the highest rent rises recorded with increase of 57.1 per cent, 55.2 per cent and 51.1 per cent respectively.

In the period, the rental in the Connaught Place was Rs 750 per sq ft a month, while the same for Kemps Corner was Rs 490 per sq ft per month, the report added.

Source: http://inhome.rediff.com ...;         & nbsp; 

Apartment spread cross 6,500 sq ft with private parking bays on each floor, exclusive elevator for each apartment, ultra-luxurious amenities and a manicured garden thrown in. The building is Ellora Castle, the price of each apartment is Rs 6 crore and the location is

Ellora Castle is just one among the 119 stalls at the ongoing Haute Property exhibition in Vashi (November 16 to 19 at the exhibition grounds outside Vashi station), which is mainly targeted towards homebuyers from the Mumbai metropolis.

“From being a low-cost housing destination, Navi Mumbai is now the preferred option for many high net worth individuals because of the quality of life it has to offer,” says Bhupendra Shah of Bahamian Group, part of the exhibition’s organising committee.

Till a few years ago, Navi Mumbai promised affordable housing and a lot of people shifted from Mumbai to bigger flats in the satellite city. Today, the real estate prices in areas of Navi Mumbai like Vashi and Palm Beach are on par with or even higher than the suburbs of Mumbai. For those with large families, Navi Mumbai is the one of the few places where one can afford a palatial penthouse or a four-bedroom flat with a view.

For the others, most nodes of Navi Mumbai offer row houses, independent houses and flats at affordable rates. Shopping malls, wide roads, good schools, sprawling markets and good connectivity are the key factors that make Navi Mumbai an attractive housing option.

“The infrastructure of Navi Mumbai is improving with each passing month,” says Nerul-resident Naresh Sawant. In the last two months, three major malls have been inaugurated in the city, giving the local residents lot to choose from for the weekend outing. Educational facilities are also a major reason for people preferring Navi Mumbai. There are about 10 engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai, apart from medical, degree and catering colleges and institutes.

Prakash D’Mello, who moved to Koparkhairne from Chamber, reminisces, “We bought this house about 11 years ago and have seen the place develop. What I like about Navi Mumbai are the educational facilities. They are far better from most schools of Mumbai and affordable too.” His wife Sujata adds, “The bus depot is just a couple of minutes away that connects us to the rest of the city and Mumbai.

Navi Mumbai is also quite spacious with with a lot of greenery around. This is what we call luxury” While educational facilities are the preference of some people, others prefer the peace that Navi Mumbai offers. Rakesh Sharma, resident of Belapur is very happy with his house in the Artists Colony “With the extra FSI, our house is much bigger now. For me the serene surroundings itself are inspiring and I sometimes wonder how people live surrounded by busy roads and continuous traffic in Mumbai.”

Source: Hindustan Time

With a growth rate of 30 per cent and projected figures of 90 billion US dollars, by 2015, it can be safely said that the real estate sector in India is booming.

India is being acknowledged as the one of the fastest growing economies in the world and in this current economic scenario, real estate has emerged as one of the most appealing investment areas for domestic as well as foreign investors. And this high growth curve in the real estate sector owes some credit to a booming economy and liberalised Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) regime in the real estate sector.

In March 2005 the government of India amended existing norms to allow 100 per cent FDI in the construction business. This liberalisation act cleared the path for foreign investment, to meet the demand of development of the commercial and residential real estate sectors. As per the new rules, the minimum land area for development by foreign investors was lowered from the earlier floor of 100 acres to 25 acres.

Also, the economy continues to grow rapidly, hitting 9.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2007, following the 9.4 per cent growth recorded for the whole of last year. Then there’s the rapidly expanding service sector, FDI growth, a surge in exports, rising global competitiveness and increasing domestic demand, all contributing to a strong economy. This pace of economic growth shows no signs of slowing.

With forecasts of economic growth rates of at least six to seven per cent per year, India is expected to become the world’s third largest economy (measured in purchasing power parity) by 2010. With the fundamentals of the Indian, economy apparently sound, and prospects for continued growth very good, the real estate industry can only flourish.

One of the main propellers of this growth is also the rapid urbanisation of Indian cities. The Indian government has estimated a shortfall of 20 million accommodation units. This quantum of demand, coupled with a short supply, ensures that there’s a great requirement for residential realty. This in turn translates into great opportunities for real estate companies providing quality township projects.

It is also estimated that India will need 475 billion dollars in the next five years to upgrade its infrastructure. This level of investment opportunity hasn’t gone unnoticed by global investors and has drawn the heavy weight investors to India. Sunil Gomes, director of development real estate, Istithmar, shares how India maybe a high risk market for some but it’s also a high return one.

But the real story lies in the deeper changes within Indian society, that are expected to have an even greater impact on real estate. India has a young profile today. Half of its population is under 25 years and the country’s median age is 24 years (2005);compared to 33 in China and 43 in Japan. The country is urbanising at a rapid rate of 2.5 per cent per year.

The number of cities over one million is expected to double from 35 in 2001 to 70 cities by 2025. Mumbai and Delhi is projected to be the world’s second and third largest cities by 2015. Tier 2 cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai are becoming increasingly important in this scenario.

However, Tier 3 cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Kochi still lack liquidity. India’s large population is now being viewed as one of its key strengths, especially a young and urbanising population. More importantly, this young customer base has an evergrowing demand for products and services and is providing massive labour market opportunities as well. This new brand of consumer’s rising disposable incomes is also being generated towards lifestyle products, real estate included.

The trend towards urbanisation is part of a long-term structural change in the Indian economy. Where now, less than 30 per cent of the population live in cities, that figure is expected to double by 2030. While India is still considered under performed as compared to China, as far as investments are concerned, it’s also interesting to note that unlike in China, higher FDI inflows are the effect, and not the cause, of high growth rate in India.

The obvious inference is that while policy, institutions, incentives and regulations do matter, it is the perception about investment viability that is the most significant determinant of FDI. India, attempted development of infrastructure, simplification of procedures and a gradual change of mindset, which has led to its increased attractiveness to investors.

The Indian real estate market is expected to have access to about $10 billion (Rs 41,000 crore) in private equity (PE) funds this year, which should help cash-strapped developers overcome conservative lending by banks, stricter rules for placements before share offers and tougher guidelines for overseas borrowings.

All this activity has also encouraged several large financial firms and private equity funds to launch exclusive funds, targeting the Indian real estate sector. Besides increasing professionalism in the sector, it would bring in advanced technology and help in the creation of healthy and competitive market environment for both, domestic and foreign investors.

Also, the entry of Real Estate Mutual Funds (REMFs) or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) will definitely ensure more availability of funds to the developers and faster growth of real estate sector, according to industry experts.

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