Housing for all by 2020, says HUPA minister Naidu

Creation of 100 smart cities and reducing interest rate on home loans to ensure housing for all will be the focus of the new Urban Development and Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister (HUPA) Venkaiah Naidu.

UD Ministry will also give priority to linking of twin cities and infrastructure development of satellite towns and cleaning of religious cities across the country.

"Housing is a priority area and it is my passion. My priority will be to ensure housing for all by 2020 and to reduce interest rate on home loans," Naidu said here today after assuming charge of UD and HUPA ministries.

He said that during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, interest rate was brought down from 11 per cent to 7 per cent. Now it has gone beyond 10 per cent.

Terming "affordable housing for all by 2020" scheme as his "most favourable agenda", Naidu said, "People of the country should be in a position to have 'pucca' houses for each one of them. It is not an easy job. But is possible. We have to make serious efforts for it.

Seeking cooperation from corporates, he said, "I want PPP, CSR and corporates to take care of their staff in housing. We want state governments to participate in it. Municipal bodies also should join us in this mission for housing for all.

"I also want PSUs like LIC, banks, railways, even Defence to not only take care of their serving persons but also their ex-staff also."  He said he would be taking up the issue with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley soon.

With NDA assuming power the JNNURM, one of the flagship programmes of UPA government, is coming to an end and there will be a new programme to develop infrastructure in cities, he said.

North India's tallest residential tower is coming up in Noida

Real estate construction company Brys Group is building north India’s tallest tower in Noida’s 150 sector, a top company official said.

Christened as ‘Brys Buzz’, the 81-storeyed building will have 291 housing units, Being built at the cost of about Rs 1000 crore, Brys Buzz will have 111elevators and a helipad on top of the building, Rahul Gaur, Chairman and Managing director of the firm said.

“We are investing around Rs 900 crore-Rs 1,000 crore and the project will be ready by 2018. We are financing the project using our resources and also from leading bankers,” he informed.

Being built by a leading Arabian construction company, the project has received all necessary clearances like environment, fire, pollution, sanction plan and height. The building is being constructed taking seismic factor into consideration, Gaur said.

Informing that out of 291 flats 65 have already been booed, Navneet Gaur, director of Brys Group, said, ‘80 per cent of the bookings were from India.’

The company also opened offices at Dubai to cater to international clients, and also has plans to reach out to clients from Canada, Los Angeles, London and Australia.

Post Polls: Chennai realty to be on growth path

The much-anticipated elections are over and we have a new government at the Centre. There have been a lot of anticipations and expectations from the new government on revival of the real estate sector, which have been in doldrums for more than few years now. Chennai real estate, the robust among its peers, has been treading on the growth trajectory albeit slowly, owing to weak economic sentiments prevailing across the nation. We have spoken to a few frontline builders in the city to know what is in store for the sector in Chennai post elections. Our esteemed panelists include: Colonel Achal Sridharan, Managing Director at Covai Property Centre; S.Stalinraja, Sr Manager - Sales & Marketing of Omshakthy Homes Private Limited; Sathish Kumar, Managing Director of Anandam Foundation.

1. Real estate growth in Chennai has been stagnant for the last few years. Do you see any hope of its revival post elections?
   

Col Sridharan: Real estate can’t be compared to stock market, which has daily high or low. Volatility is not sharp or sudden in property market. Prices of homes go up or come down depending on various parameters. More so, growth of real estate largely depends on economic revival. It can’t happen overnight. With the new government at Centre, it depends on the policy of the new set-up. People should wait for congenial environment to invest in properties.

S.Stalinraja: Yes, we have a hope of revival after the election. Today, not only real estate sector, the whole of Indian   economy is stagnant. Because of this, investors are hesitating to put money into real estate projects. On the other side, price hike in all the products and services in our country is forcing end users not go for big commitments like purchasing a property or investing in gold etc. So, if we get a good market sentiments owing to strong economy, we can see a boost in sales post elections. This is entirely depends on the new government and its policies towards reviving the economy. As construction industry is the second largest after agricultural, we hope the government will give priority to this industry.

Sathish Kumar: This is a hypothetical question. We have been waiting for the sector to see the light for the last more than three years. There have been a lot of bottlenecks the present government should face while reviving the economy and so, the sector. Real estate has been facing series of problems such as labour, rise in input costs and ground value, delay in getting necessary plan approvals etc. A good portion of our investment is getting wasted on these issues and so developers are forced to sell at a high price to protect their profit margin. So, we are not seeing any immediate revival of growth of real estate sector. Stable economy and rupee value and friendly lending regime would make the market breath easy. The prices too will come down for the benefit of customers.

2. What do you think the new government at the Centre should do to boost the growth real estate sector?

Col Sridharan: As I told earlier, it depends on the policy the government is going to adopt. As far as real estate growth is concerned, lot needs to be done to boost the growth of the sector. Instead of simply creating homes, the government should look at the infrastructure part first. Only in India, we develop homes and then look development around. We ask for water, sewage and electricity connection after making homes. We suffer due to lack of connectivity and proper roads and look at the mercy of the government agencies. Instead, the government should identify places for development and give full facilities and amenities such as shops, banks, markets, play area, schools etc to the residents. If all these facilities are available, the cost of construction would automatically come down and so the property prices. We, developers, have to run from pillar to post to get all required approvals for building multi-storey complexes. We have to provide adequate water, sewage disposal system, streetlights etc and these costs reflect on the prices of the property we sell to our customers. So, the government should make the approvals system simple. Instead of waiting for six months to one year for getting all approvals, the time period should be lessened to one month. This will also reduce the property prices. It will in turn boost the growth of the sector.

S.Stalinraja: Real estate sector is one of the revenue earning sectors in our country. The forthcoming government should keep this in mind while devising policies, which should help boost the growth of real estate across the country. Some of the key issues like infrastructure development in tier II and III cities will help the builders to do projects in these areas. Since the infrastructure and other development are already in place, developers don’t need to spend money unnecessarily on developmental activities such as water, sewage, road or power. This will also cut down the construction cost and benefit the end users. The government should work on service tax policies for real estate sectors. Now days, customer are paying 20-30 per cent as tax and other government levy in the total cost of the property. This is significant considering the basic cost of the dwelling they buy. For example for a flat costing Rs 20 lakh, customers are ending up paying Rs 4-6 lakh more in the form of taxes.

Sathish Kumar: One of the major problems we face is due to delay in getting government approvals for our projects. Whether it is environment clearance given by central agencies or getting local approvals, we have to struggle a lot to get these things done after spending a lot of time and money. This translates into selling property at a higher rate to protect our margin. The government should also pass the Real Estate Regulatory Bill. This will regulate the sector and also stop the fly-by-night people to make quick money by cheating the gullible customers.

3. Post elections, do you expect further price correction or surging of home prices in Chennai? Why?

Col Sridharan: There will not be a sudden plunge or surge of property prices as being speculated in a section of the media after the new government takes over. Any price upheaval will largely depend on economic situation. If we have strong economy after six months and competitive interest regime, we shall see prices going up considerably. Also, developers would like to clear all pending inventory rather than launching new projects. Only after clearing the unsold homes, they would launch new homes and these homes will be sold as per the prevailing market condition. In Tamil Nadu, we have about 50,000 surplus homes which need to be sold first. So, I am not seeing any drastic fall or up in property prices post polls in Chennai or the whole of Tamil Nadu.

S.Stalinraja: There will be a price correction but not immediately. We have huge piling of unsold housing stocks to be offloaded in the market. Any price rise will affect the sale of these ready-to-move-in houses. However, we developers have to bear the brunt of other eventualities such as sudden increase in input costs such as rise in steel, cement or sand prices. We can’t help but to pass it on to the customers. There will be rise in property prices in the coming days, but it will be a gradual one and not immediate as we witness in stock markets.

Sathish Kumar: As we all read in a section of the press, the real estate sector in India is not fragile as being portrayed. In Chennai, I don’t see any price correction as of now as the market is end-user-driven one compared to Delhi or Mumbai. Prices also don’t go up suddenly like its peers in north or western cities. Prices in Chennai have been steady for the last three years and we expect the economy to stabilise before the end of current fiscal. There should be a revival of economy and we hope that the new government at the Centre will take corrective measures.

Compiled by K Ramanathan

Chennai on global realty map

Chennai has been identified as one of the 12 top global cities for future real estate investment, due to the presence of wide mix of industries and high number of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI), according to a report.

Compiled by Candy & Candy, Savills World Research and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, the report has also identified the city with ‘English-friendly’ work environment, presence of new-tech industries and financial centers, favourable conditions for international companies, and a large, young and well educated population.

The report, which found 12 cities around the world having strong residential property growth in the next few years, said, "Prices in these cities are much lower than many other developed cities, which make them attractive to yield-seeking realty investors."

The list ranges from well established cities such as Melbourne and Hong Kong to cities in developing countries such as Jakarta and Chennai, that have a high number of UHNWIs.

"Chennai offers an English-speaking work zone. Also, the city is home to traditional hub driving inbound banking financial services and insurance (BFSI) businesses, which makes it stand apart from Hyderabad and Bangalore. Chennai also has high quality healthcare and education systems, a vital ingredient for growth," said Udai Shankar, a property consultant.

Yolande Barnes, Director, Savills World Research, who conducted the analysis said: "As prime real estate in many premier cities has become more fully valued, emboldened investors are now spreading their wings and looking for high yielding secondary properties in those cities and (properties) in second-tier cities in countries with strengthening economies."

“For many ultra-high-net-worth-individuals real estate has become a unique asset class, but investment to date has focused on prime property in the top tier world cities which have shown record market growth,” said Nick Candy, CEO of Candy & Candy. “Real estate will continue to play an important part in global investment with investors now looking beyond established safe havens and prime world cities,” he added.

For example, a two-bedroom apartment in prime selling areas in Chennai is priced at Rs 96 lakh and in secondary ones they sell at nearly Rs 24 lakh. "This adventurous approach will not only provide higher income returns but also an opportunity for significant capital growth. Real estate values will grow as new cities all over the globe rise on fortune's wheel. Property rents and values will rise in line with new and growing economic strength," the report further said.

“Compared other frontline cities, Chennai is growing at a faster rate despite gloomy economic condition. It is an end user driven market having good mix of trades. Chennai is also known for top-notch medical facilities, education and automobile industry, besides well established IT and IteS sector offering high employment opportunities. Because of all these, demand for homes is fairly high here. The capacity to observe LIG to high-end homes makes the city a sought-after destination for realty investors and end users,” says Partha Srinivasan, CEO of Partha Homes and Developers.

The report also noted the property purchasing habits of UHNWIs. Three markets – Germany, Japan and the United States – top the list as the global locations with the highest value of direct real estate investment by UHNWIs. Together they account for 39 per cent of all UHNWI global real estate holdings.

Plan ahead to make Chennai a world-class city

For any city, infrastructure development is a key for its economic growth. Chennai is no exception to this trend. The southern metro, though one of the fastest developing cities in the country, still to have basic infrastructure in place. Bad roads, poor drainage system, dark streets, inadequate pavements, dismal drinking water supply and the list can go on and on. What needs to be done to make the city a truly world-class for denizens? K RAMANATHAN spoke to AJIT KUMAR CHORDIA, the newly appointed President of CREDAI-Chennai and Managing Director of Khivraj Tech Park, N NANDAKUMAR, President of CREDAI-Tamil Nadu and MD of Devinarayan Housing & Property and NIRANJAN SHARMA, Senior Vice-President of Sathyasai Foundation, to know about their views on the impending issue.

• Can you tell us any two best and worst infrastructure developments happening or happened in Chennai and how it had impacted or its possible impact in future?
  

AJIT KUMAR CHORDIA: The construction of 100 feet road of OMR has both good and bad. Good in the sense that IT companies have proliferated and also huge residential development followed. However, it was badly executed, as the service roads were and even today have not completed. Peak hour traffic movement is slow, the proposed construction of flyovers is long overdue and public transport is poor. The development on the Bangalore Highway also suffers similar lag, as roads are not completed and development overtakes infrastructure.

Next good thing to watch in Chennai will be the Outer Ring Road. I see huge development on this stretch. This road is expected to be 200 ft and if completed in full unlike in bits in pieces like OMR, it will spur huge activity.

N NANDAKUMAR: One of the remarkable infrastructure developments worth mentioning is the creation of the Chennai Trade Centre, which is seeing round-the-year patronage. The parking and overall infrastructure is currently reflecting signs of adequacy and has not impacted the passage of routine traffic unless otherwise hampered by VVIP movements. Yet another development is the retention of the green space in the heart of mount road (Horticultural Park), which does bring about a commensurate balancing of the eco system in the otherwise concrete jungle.

In the case of infrastructure projects, which have not brought about significant value addition, and worth mentioning here are the flyovers constructed in Alwarpet and in Adyar leading to Latice Bridge Road, wherein these creations have only complicated the movement of vehicular traffic resulting in unprecedented choking.

NIRANJAN SHARMA: Infrastructure in Chennai in general is awful and needs better planning from qualified architects. I feel Kodambakkam over bridge on famous Arcot Road, which connects arterial Anna Salai and Nungambakkam to Western Chennai’s key areas, was a bad planning. The bridge and the entire Arcot Road, which extends up to Porur Junction, need to be widened. But, due to encroachments and other administrative wrangles, people suffer and so the surrounding areas. They should have provided adequate space for future planning on both sides while constructing the bridge some forty years ago. Another bottleneck is Numgambakkam subway, which too suffers, as there is no provision for future expansion. The planning is done whenever there is any crisis and not anticipating one in future. Chandigarh model should be adopted. Underground drainage, water and power distribution and connecting roads all need a complete re-planning.

On positive side, the proposed over bridge from Central Railway Station to Aminchakarai junction would reduce the traffic on the arterial Ponnamalle High Road. But this project is still to get approved. Simiularly, the proposed monorail project too will improve the transportation networks significantly in certain unexplored areas.

The ongoing metro rail project is running behind the schedule. This project should have been conceived a decade back and now, even it becomes operational in 2015, it won’t serve the purpose fully, as demand would be much more than what is being offered.

• According to you where we lag behind in providing the best infrastructure to homebuyers?
  

AJIT KUMAR CHORDIA: Water and sewerage supply, and public transport. In addition to roads we need this to go hand-in-hand. When the government collects huge infrastructure and amenities charges for the homeowners, it must provide this also. Buying water through tankers is very expensive and unsustainable.

N NANDAKUMAR: Currently the city is developing laterally in different directions. Unfortunately developments are being done even before basic infrastructure and social infrastructure are available. The creation of basic infrastructure and social infrastructure is primarily vested with the Government and unless the Government maintains pace in creation of the above, the development activities undertaken by private developers may not result in holistic habitation.

NIRANJAN SHARMA: I have been in Chennai for more than two decades. There is a basic fault in urban planning here. People don’t learn from mistakes. There have been many instances of flooding due to improper drainage system. Till now, the situation is same, though efforts are on to construct separate drains to take away excess rainwater. However, due to poor planning in some places, people divert sewage into these drains. So, we must plan for future. Here authorities plan it ‘as-and-when-required’ basis. Officials should go to other states and countries and study the sewage disposal model there. Nowhere I have seen the sewage lines go through the center of the road. This is bad planning. The government should take initiative to improve the living condition of people by providing good roads, better sanitary condition, uninterrupted water and power supply, efficient sewage and garbage disposal system etc. Importantly, new areas should be developed after providing a complete living condition there.

• Why even within city people suffer due to lack of basic infrastructure?
  

AJIT KUMAR CHORDIA: Within city while drainage connection and water supply is reasonable, here it is only the quantity of water supplied is the problem. City planning should go hand- in-hand with the growth of population density.

N NANDAKUMAR: The existing infrastructure in Chennai city is significantly aged and though modernisation and upgradation is apace, the rate of growth with influx of urban population versus the progress of infrastructure are disproportionate. As a result, there are perpetual constraints for people within the city.

NIRANJAN SHARMA: As I told earlier, planning is the key. We have failed to develop the city fully but are developing outskirts. Within the city, the roads are in awful state in many areas. More so, the height of the road is getting increased notwithstanding the fact that the adjacent houses are getting dwarfed and are vulnerable for inundation during rainy season in the absence of proper drainage system. Milling system has not been followed to re-lay old roads. Residents complain of inadequate water and power supply. We have been making multi-storey buildings but sans basic infrastructure.

Several residents in Mugappair, Annanagar, Maduravoil, Amabattur, Porur, and even posh areas in Virugabakkam, Valasaravakkam, etc complain of frequent disruption in power and water supply. Roads in many areas are in pathetic condition. So, it is the duty of the administration to take a good care of the infrastructure. They should first improve the basic infrastructure within city and then concentrate on outskirts, as infrastructure is important for economic development.

• What best can be done to make the facilities in Chennai a world-class?
  

AJIT KUMAR CHORDIA: Adopting green initiatives like encouraging recycling of waste water, smaller desalination plants for fresh water, extending MRT or mono rail to peripheral regions will result in making Chennai a world class city. We must look at Singapore for inspiration.

N NANDAKUMAR: A drastic review on the maximisation of land utilisation in allowing hi-density developments bringing regimented classification of developments and delineating commercial zones will enhance the asset quality in addition to propelling the capability of the urban habitat. With enhanced patronage of the public transport system, which can happen with practicable and qualitative public transport system in place, Chennai can become comparable with world-class metros.

NIRANJAN SHARMA: Apart from improving basic infrastructure, the city needs better transport system. Though we are developing metro rail, it should have been here a decade back. Our planning does not match with the population growth and its need. Secondly, we have to learn from certain developed cities like Chandigarh, Pune etc. For example, Chandigarh was planned in 1950s keeping in mind the growth of the city in next 100 years. Apart from dependable transport system, we need to concentrate on other basics such as safety and security of residents, advanced lighting system, green initiatives to conserve resources and better sanitary environs to make Chennai comparable to certain advanced overseas cities.

CMDA pushes to reduce housing prices in Chennai

To make affordable housing a reality in Chennai and its outskirts, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has come up with a unique plan calling all those holding land parcels as large as 50 acres and above for a joint development with hosts of benefits such as single window clearance, additional FSI in build-up area and infrastructure and other facilities around the vicinity.

All these years, private developers in Chennai have been showing least interest towards developing affordable houses as there were no attractive incentives available for them from government’s side. Generally, low-income housing projects are launched at far off places from central business district of a city due to low land cost. More so, these flats are normally built in a range of 400 to 500 sq ft and mostly belong to one BHK, So, builders in general don’t prefer LIG and MIG projects due to low profit margin. The CMDA’s move would encourage developers to venture into low cost housing projects along the periphery of Chennai.

According to informed sources in CMDA, under the scheme, those who have 50 acres and above can make a representation for a joint housing development. The CMDA will undertake the exercise of conceiving, site planning, infrastructure development etc. In short, the building authority will clear all necessary approvals in one shot for landowners, who can then convert the land into a marketable property without any hassle. One of the most important advantages is that if the landowners wish to develop the remaining area, they will get 50 per cent more Floor Space Index (FSI) in built-up area, which can be sold at the market price.

Another significant advantage is that the CMDA will absorb the expenses for approval fee and infrastructure by way of acquiring the required land portion equivalent to the guideline value of the land. The rest of the portion can be built and marketed by the landowners. So, the express approval process and support for project implementation are the great advantages for the developers/landowners.

The offer by CMDA did not restrict a single landowner having huge land parcel, but for an assorted people who individually owns small units. These people can jointly declare their land measuring 50 acre and above by for such development making a single entity among themselves as power of attorney.

The latest move by the CMDA has been widely welcomed by developers and realty experts in Chennai as it provides minimal procedures in approvals, transparency, confidence and above all involving authorities for land development. This will also increase the affordable housing stocks in Chennai and hence reduce the cost of housing across the board, feel Mahendran, Managing director of Sai Developers Private Limited.

According to an official with CREDAI-Chennai, the move would encourage landowners in suburban and peripheral areas to participate in the process of boosting affordable housing across the state.

A latest report by global real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield said that Chennai would be witnessing a demand-supply gap for affordable residential units over the next three years. The overall estimated supply would be around 1.59 lakh units while the demand has been pegged at 2.58 lakh units, showing a steep gap of 60 per cent.

Property prices to go up post polls, says a survey

Mumbai: Good news for those who are planning to sell the property as prices are likely to increase in six months after the new government assumed office, according to a survey. Of course, those investors who missed the bus, can venture into buying property now for short-term return.

If the Housing Sentiment Index (HSI) assessed by a leading property portal and IIM Bangalore are to be believed, real estate prices across major Indian cities will see an upward revision in the next six months.

The survey team analysed eight cities viz  Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Noida, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.

"Indian real estate is bound to remain attractive in the medium term with faster growth expected in the Tier II cities. Competitively priced urban pockets such as Noida, where robust supply is backed with a promise of better infrastructure, received a thumbs-up from end users.

"However, active interest will take another six to nine months, since consumers expect prices to go up only after six months, post the 2014 elections," Magicbricks.com Business Head Sudhir Pai said in a statement.

The national HSI remained positive at 108. An HSI score of 100 suggests that prices would remain static.

According to the survey, Mumbai posted a housing sentiment index of 106, turning positive for the frst time. "Healthy demand from Navi Mumbai and Thane resulted in this gain. Infrastructure developments in Navi Mumbai including Trans-Harbour Link and the proposed international airport are turning this location into an attractive investment option," he said.

Bangalore topped the list of cities with an HSI of 140, witnessing a further 15 per cent jump in HSI from the previous quarter.

Strong demand from the infotech sector and comparatively affordable prices make this city an attractive option, the survey said.

Hyderabad, with an HSI of 97, witnessed a four per cent drop this quarter, after the Telangana issue weighed down sentiments in this city, it said.

"While the average waiting tie has dropped to a little over eight months this quarter, the range-bound increase witnessed across cities and sectors indicate that people are awaiting election results to make real estate

decisions.

"Clarity will set in, based on election results and well after the new government takes charge," IIMB-Century Real Estate Research Initiative Lead Researcher Uma Sitaraman added.

Hiranandanis among Singapore's richest property tycoons

Singapore: Indian origin property magnate Raj Kumar Hiranandani and Asok Kumar Hiranandani have been named among Singapore's top ten richest property tycoons and the two have a collective net worth of USD 2.6 billion, says a report.

Raj Kumar Hiranandani, owner of the Royal Holdings Organisation was placed in the second position with a net worth of USD 1.4 billion, while Asok Kumar Hiranandani, chairman of the Royal Group was ranked seventh on the list with a fortune of USD 1.2 billion, a PTI report quoting Wealth-X report, said.

Members of the Kwee and Hiranandani families took six of the ten spots on a wealth-X ranking of Singapore's wealthiest real estate tycoons, ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm Wealth-X said.

"...Collectively the six brothers from these two families hold USD 7.2 billion in assets - nearly half of the USD 15.57 billion combined net worth of their peers on the list," the report said.

The four Kwee brothers of the Pontiac Land Group – a luxury property development company specialising in commercial, residential, hospitality, and retail properties - collectively have a net worth of USD 4.6 billion.

The list was topped by Philip Ng Chee Tat of Far East Organisation whose personal net worth stood at USD 5.2 billion. He succeeded his father as head of the business in 1991.

Others on the list include Kwee Liong Phing ranked fourth with a net worth of USD 1.2 billion, Zhong Sheng Jian (5th, USD 1.2 billion), Koh Wee Meng (6th, USD 1.2 billion), Kwee Liong Seen (8th, USD 1.1 billion), Kwee Liong Keng (9th, USD 1 billion) and Chua Thian Poh (10th, USD 950 million).

Only two individuals on the list are self-made, while the rest of the individuals on the list inherited some of their wealth, but have also expanded their fortunes through their own business endeavours, Wealth-X said. There are 1,355 UHNW individuals in Singapore with a combined net worth of USD 160 billion, according to the Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2013.

Among these are 27 billionaires with a combined net worth of USD 64 billion.

Akshaya launches new project in Thoraipakkam

 Chennai: Akshaya, the real estate developer, has recently announced the launch

of its latest project ‘Tango’ at Thoraipakkam, OMR. The project is spread across 3.87 acres of land that houses 250 apartments and many more world class amenities, the company said in a statement.

The homes will be built with modern contemporary style of architecture having innovative Tango-themed landscape. The apartments will be 2, 3 and 4 BHK that range from 676 Sq ft to 2355 Sq ft in four blocks with 13 floors each, apart from a 10-floor tower housing retail, commercial and recreational spaces.

Tango connects with Madhya Kailash, Adayar, Tidel Park, and Thiruvanmiyur, the thriving IT hubs of Chennai and is said to be having an easy accessibility to educational institutions, hospitals, hotels and recreational centres.

T Chitty Babu, chairman and CEO, Akshaya Pvt Ltd said, this project would be one of the fine residential projects in Chennai to provide all the amenities within the city limits. The project is elder-friendly and disabled-friendly with specially designed ramps, grab bars in common areas. There would be no sharp corners in the construction and floors will be anti-skid, he reminded. This is said to Akshaya’s 155th project.

IRB Infra bags Rs 3,200 crore road project in Maharashtra

IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited, the Mumbai-based highway construction company, has bagged a road project worth Rs 3,200 crore in Maharashtra from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The company said that this is for the 4-laning of the Yedeshi to Aurangabad section of National Highway 211 (NH-211) from 100 kilometer to 290.20 kilometer.

It said that the project, with a concession period of 26 years, has to be completed in 910 days as build-operate-transfer (BOT) on design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) pattern under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-IV, according to Exim News Service.

It added that with another 4 laning project, the Solapur to Yedeshi section of NH-211 from the start up to 100 kilometer in hand, IRB would now be developing the entire road length of 288 km from Aurangabad to Solapur.

It further added that it has sought Rs 558 crore as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from NHAI for the project.

According to the statement, IRB has an order book of Rs 5,800 crore in the construction segment and, post this announcement it has increased to Rs 8,600 crore, for execution in the next three to four years.

Govt should use funds effectively to develop affordable housing: CBRE

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) The government should effectively use the fund allocated for development of affordable homes in order to reduce housing shortage in the country, property consultant CBRE said.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the progress of Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) scheme under Rajiv AwasYojna (RAY) during 2011-2013 which saw only 1,920 units being completed and another 4,848 units under construction, CBRE South Asia CMD Anshuman Magazine said in a statement that, "Although the Interim Budget announcement supporting affordable housing was welcomed by the real estate industry, the segment has a long way ahead as yet."

According to Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry (HUPA), the total housing shortage in the country was 18.78 million at the start of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and out of this 96 per cent was in EWS and LIG segments, says a PTI report.

He noted that a key push was given to the housing sector, with the allocation of Rs 6,000 crore for the Rural Housing Fund and another Rs 2,000 crore for the Urban Housing Fund, at the Interim Budget 2014–15.

"However, with a substantial amount of funds already allocated for the creation of affordable and/or low-cost, mass housing in the previous fiscal left unused, the effective utilisation of fund allocation for affordable housing cannot be stressed enough," Magazine said.

He noted that the National Housing Bank (NHB) is yet to set up Urban Housing Fund.

The consultant said the Rajiv AwasYojana has been empowered to extend financial support to states for the

creation of affordable housing stock through PPP under the Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) scheme.

"Under this AHP scheme for the period 2011–2013, about 11 affordable housing projects across Rajasthan (eight projects in Jaipur) and Karnataka (three projects in Bangalore) were in progress at a total approved project cost of Rs 231.33 crore, as of January 31, 2014.

"This translates to about 6,768 affordable dwelling units, of which 1,920 have been completed and 4,848 units are under construction. For bridging an urban housing shortage of almost 18 million homes for the EWS/LIG segment, these figures fall woefully short," he said.

Magazine said although the government has put in place various funds and bodies to bridge the enormous housing shortage gap in urban India, much more needs to be done as far as implementing these policies are concerned.

"One can only hope that India’s new political dispensation will work towards implementing these key policy initiatives, with better ground results," he added.

 He also stressed on providing loan access to EWS and LIG segments and relaxation in the current FDI policy on real estate such as easing the three-year lock-in period.

Resale home prices may dip further: JLL

Mumbai: With around 36 new residential projects launched over the last three quarters at almost 15-35 per cent cheaper rates than those for resale properties, the secondary home segment in Mumbai has come under immense stress pushing it into near stagnation, PTI report quoting a recent survey, said.

According to property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), city developers, who fear competition from the resale property market are selling new properties at lower prices, which may force the latter to take corrective measures on pricing.

"There has been a robust demand for new launches as the prices are much lower than the resale properties. The registration data for secondary sales in Mumbai shows that prices of resale homes have, in fact, stayed aggressively high even though actual transaction volumes have failed to justify them," JLL CEO - Residential Services Om Ahuja said.

The data shows transaction volumes have become increasingly stressed.

"It is a self-evident market truism that high prices cannot sustain in an environment wherein volumes do not support them. The prices on Mumbai's secondary sales market will have to come down so as to sustain buyer interest," he said.

Given the pricing war being waged by the primary sales market, the situation does not call for a mere softening of prices, but a full-scale correction in the resale property prices, Ahuja observed.

The report noted the registration data over the past three quarters revealed an increasing number of the city's home buyers and investors are moving towards new launches as their objective is to capitalise on the significant price advantage that these projects offer.

"With discounts hitherto unheard of in Mumbai's notoriously pricey residential market, the visible shift in the preferences of potential buyers from the resale to the primary market presents no mystery," he said.

In the first quarter of 2014, city's western and central suburbs witnessed the most new residential launches as well as robust absorption. In the same period, transaction volumes on the resale market of these precincts were very minimal.