Efficient Support Services Ensure Malls' Success

Support services have become a major part in a mall’s image, and play a vital role in attracting footfalls. In India, facilities such as parking, security and housekeeping have evolved over the years to provide world-class services to mall customers. 

Pankaj Renjhen

In fact, it can be said that support services are the backbone for any shopping mall. Moreover, with the growing popularity of e-tailing, a superlative experience and provision of outstanding facilities in malls have become even more important to give customers are reason to visit, shop and use malls as social destinations that go beyond just plain shopping.

The expectations and aspirations of the consumers have increased over the years. The differentiating factors for the shopping malls today have become offer of integrated value-added services and facilities. The ambit of key support services has also expanded to include more facilities and services. Services which were considered value-adds few years back are now basic requirements which any mall should provide.

These services include valet parking, pharmacies, clothes alteration and shoe repair, car wash, first aid, travel desks, rent-a-stroller facilities, baby feeding and changing rooms, privileged parking for women, wheelchair ramps and various forms of assistance for the differently-abled, digital mall directories, currency exchange, cab service on call, and concierge desks, among others.

India Vs. Global Standards

Almost all the Grade A malls in India provide excellent support services and facilities for their visitors. Nevertheless, despite the massive progress seen so far in Indian malls, we have still to see the arrival of genuinely international standards. In international malls, a variety of other support services such as lockers on rent, print and copy centres, tour buses, Metro ticket machines, coupon books, pet stations, prayer rooms, post boxes and security escort are provided to visitors. 

Some of these aspects are obviously dictated by the culture of a nation, while others have more to do with what other infrastructure and social facilities are available in a city.

For instance, The Dubai Mall offers superlative services and facilities to its visitors. It is a mall of truly international standards that caters especially to tourists from around the world. From personal shopping experience to tour buses and mobile charging stations to Metro ticket machines, it provides a genuinely bracing and superlatively convenient experience to shoppers and the tourists alike.

Not surprisingly, it is one of the most visited shopping and leisure destinations in the world, attracting over 92 million visitors in 2015 alone. It is also home to one of the world's largest aquariums and aquatic zoos, and other attractions that make it immensely popular.

The Role of Mall Management

Professional mall management is a critical component for the smooth functioning of a shopping mall, and we are seeing increasing adoption of such services by the mall developers. As the Indian retail real estate sector moves towards for greater sophistication and maturity, the demand for increasingly advanced and efficient mall management service providers will see a quantum forward leap.

In today’s dynamic market, it has now become imperative not only to manage shopping malls well but also keep the operational cost competitive for optimal net returns. Professional mall management ensures that all operational aspects of the shopping mall are taken care of in an integrated manner.

Support services are required in every region and each city as they attract the consumers to the mall, and mall management has become an integral factor that decides how successful a mall is. Today, consumers need a reason to come to malls over and above shopping. They expect a high quality of services, comfort and hassle-free shopping. 

An efficient customer interfacing strategy adds to the image of the mall and leads to repeated visits. Likewise, a clean and attractive ambiance, good infrastructure, efficient and sufficient parking facilities and frequent organization of events extends the stay of the consumers in the mall.

By Pankaj Renjhen, 

Managing Director - 

Retail Services, JLL India

Bahrain-based Al Namal Group Partners with Square Plums for Co-living Apartments

Al Namal Group , a multinational conglomerate founded by Bahrain-based NRI Varghese Kurien, is entering the co-living homes sector in India through an 'operating agreement' with Square Plums, an upcoming brand of co-living homes based in Bengaluru.

Co-living homes are fully furnished, ready-to-move-in homes based in gated communities available on rent for youngsters relocating to cities for job placement.

Al Namal Group and Square Plums have been in discussions for the last few weeks and cemented the deal during Kurien's visit to Bengaluru for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January.

As part of the agreement, Billionaire Kurien led Al Namal Group plans to build 2 million sq ft of co-living homes in Indian metro cities. The group has earmarked investment of Rs. 300 crores for this foray.

Square Plums was founded in early 2016 by Rajesh Kotta and Hemant Attray, both alumni of BITS Pilani. It has managed to create an aspirational brand of co-living homes that is popular among the young executives working at leading MNCs and IT companies. In August last year, it had announced raising an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian Angel Network.

Kurien remarked, "We are bullish on the India story and have already invested hundreds of crores in commercial and real-estate projects in many cities of Karnataka and Kerala. Co-living homes are a new class in the sector and we have been watching this space for a while."

Mohammad Mansoor, MD of Exelon Solutions who advised Al Namal on the deal added, "After 

doing our diligence, we have found that Square Plums, with its focus on high-end, branded homes specifically designed keeping in mind the needs of co-living youngsters, is an ideal operator partner for us. The technology and marketing platform they have built is the key for us to succeed in this venture." 

Rajesh Kotta, founder & CEO of Square Plums, commented, "Finding a quality rental home is still a challenge in Indian cities, especially for singles. Over the last one year, especially following the investment from Indian Angel Network in August, we have built a branded product that ideally suits youngsters looking for a home in the city."

Hemant Attray, co-founder of Square Plums, signed off, "Homeowners who partner with us have found that on an average, rental yields from Square Plums branded homes can be up to 80% higher. In this partnership with Al Namal Group we look forward to bringing the Square Plums co-living home experience to over 7000 youngsters across 3 cities in India."

Piramal and Ivanhoé Cambridge Announce Joint Residential Developments in India

Piramal Enterprises Limited has announced a strategic partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec), to provide long term equity capital to blue chip residential developers across the five major metro cities in India.

Ivanhoé Cambridge is allocating an initial US$250m for this purpose. PEL will commit an additional amount alongside and co-invest between 25% and 50% of each transaction.

There is a strong demand for equity in the capital stack as blue chip real estate developers increasingly prefer the option of partnering with investors in the early stages of the development life cycle over high cost financing.

Naturally, the capital will be made available to a selective list of Grade A developers who have already demonstrated a track record of execution capability, corporate governance and strong return potential. The investment focus shall include the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Delhi (NCR), Bangalore, Pune and Chennai.

Ajay Piramal

Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enterprises Limited said, "We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global institutional leader of great reputation with a long term value system and investing philosophy aligned with our own. Given the scale of our existing real estate offering and roster of existing developer relationships, the partnership will enable us to execute on very compelling opportunities to deliver high quality residential developments in the local markets that we service."

Khushru Jijina, Managing Director, Piramal Fund Management said, "This alliance with Ivanhoé Cambridge is consistent with our philosophy of acting as a perpetual provider of capital and underlines the confidence reposed by institutional investors time and again in our abilities as a fiduciary. We believe that the timing is opportune for the provision of both pure and preferred equity capital at an early stage in the project life cycle. Such equity funding with Tier 1 development partners will enable us to deploy capital over a longer time horizon and facilitate participation in larger projects with the ability to generate returns across real estate cycles."

Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer, CDPQ, said: "India represents a key market for our global growth.  We look forward to a long-term and fruitful business relationship with Piramal in the years to come."

Daniel Fournier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ivanhoé Cambridge said: "We are excited to participate in India's success story alongside one of India's leading fund manager. Piramal, with its long experience, impressive track record and strong relationship with India's top developers, will certainly play a key part in the success of this important investment. India's compelling demographic and economic fundamentals combined with supportive government policies bode well for a long-term residential development strategy such as this one." 

Budget or Luxury Property: Which Is a Better Investment?

This is a big question in every property investor's mind - do you stand to profit more from luxury properties or budget homes? Generally, lower-end real estate needs lower capital, which makes it especially appealing to small-time investors. Luxurious real estate, however, is an asset class reserved for people with a lot of capital to spend on a prime residential property.

So, what are budget properties?

Budget housing primarily targets the middle and lower-middle income bracket of buyers. This would include regular starter homes in emerging or non-prime areas. Such homes are cheaper and not top of the line, but they are adequate to meet the requirements of the mid and lower income groups. In other words, investors with smaller budgets can invest in such properties - though even the more well- heeled property investors in India often investing in bulk in budget housing projects to capitalize on the high-demand middle and lower middle-class marketplace.

Now that we've defined budget housing in a nutshell, what is high-end real estate and how does it compare as an investment with budget housing?

What is luxury property?

Luxury housing caters to the wealthy who have a predilection for first-class amenities and facilities, which they are not averse to paying a premium for. Basically, such properties must be exclusive, desirable and unique in many ways. Premium central location used to be a primary factor while selecting a luxury property - but with the new trend of extremely prime and ultra-modern projects coming up even in newer areas, this is no longer strictly true.

What exactly does exclusivity mean? After all, by virtue of every home having only a single owner, can it not be argued that all homes are technically 'exclusive'? Not really. As far as high-end real estate is concerned, exclusivity means closeness to other high-end residences, and suitable access to a variety of tasteful conveniences like five-star hotels, shopping malls, sports complexes, and parks.

In areas like Pune's PCMC where planned urbanization has preserved a lot of the available green cover, natural beauty is also an essential determinant in defining exclusiveness. While some buyers may favor mountainside views, others are more into countryside or lakeside and park views. In recent years, integrated luxury townships have been offering such features - and a lot more.

Generally, well-to-do luxury home buyers want the same things that all buyers for lower-end properties do, just on a considerably bigger scale. While budget home buyers are satisfied with rudimentary security, regular maintenance of the project and basic fixtures and fittings, luxury homeowners expect advanced facilities and project management that provide a seamlessly comfortable, convenient and visually enriching experience. They also expect round-the-clock electronic and human surveillance of the premises, smart security and convenience features in the properties, and top-grade international branded fittings.

Obviously, luxury properties cost a lot more than budget homes. The question is, do luxury properties make more sense investment-wise than budget homes? There are various schools of thought on this, with a lot of emphasis being laid on the fact that the highest demand in India is for budget housing.

However, market readings also indicate that the number of wealthy home buyers in India is on the rise - and these buyers all seek top-class, refined housing with all the latest amenities and facilities. 

Moreover, they are invariably not dependent on home loans and have enough wealth to make outright purchases. Simultaneously, a huge complement of India's highly cost-sensitive budget housing segment of buyers is sitting on the fence, waiting for declining home loan interest rates and a correction in property prices.

Also, over the last couple of years, a volatile economy has significantly impacted pricing of luxury homes, making them more affordable.

Closing Verdict

It is fairly safe to say that both budget housing and luxury properties are finding buyers in India. It is certainly advisable to run an all-inclusive market analysis locally before embarking on a real estate investment, since the exact dynamics driving ROI on different property typologies differ on a market to market basis.

For instance, investment in a luxury integrated township in the Pimpri- Chinchwad Municipal Corporation make a lot more sense that investment in a small budget housing project, because luxury townships offer residents neighbours of comparable status and purchasing power, highly adequate facilities such as green open spaces, in-project schools and shopping malls and superlative project maintenance and smart home features at a unit level.

 By Anil Pharande, 

Chairman - 

Pharande Spaces

XRBIA's Affordable Housing Model to Expand Globally

After carving a niche for themselves in the Indian affordable housing sector, affordable housing giant, XRBIA Developers has identified international locations where demand for affordable housing is predicted to increase in the next decade, and has prioritized six projects in UK, Africa and Dubai as initial locations for international expansion.

XRBIA has initiated its inaugural international project, through a partnership with a social housing developer in the UK, which is expected to launch in April this year.

XRBIA's decision to expand internationally is underpinned by the fact that affordable housing shortages are not unique to India, but present across the globe. Similar long-term market trends are driving supply shortages in many cities, namely, population growth, urbanisation and shrinking household sizes.

According to the United Nations World Urbanisation prospects Report (2016), continuing urbanisation and population growth are projected to add 2.5 billion people to the world's urban population by 2050, with 90% of the increased concentrated in Africa and Asia. At the same time, there has been a reluctance of existing real-estate suppliers to cater to the budget-friendly sector of the market and provide solutions on the scale necessary to address the scale of the issue.

In London, for example, the proportion of Londoners aged between 25 and 34 who own their home has fallen from 38 per cent in 2008 to just 25% in 2016, while the supply of 'genuinely affordable homes' slumped to a mere 780 homes in the same year.

Rahul Nahar, Chairman of XRBIA Developers Ltd commented: "Since we are going into an international market, we will have to tie-up with local developers. XRBIA is currently leading the drive for affordable housing supply in India, with a sale and build rate of 2000 houses a month. 

Having fine-tuned a business model that works, XRBIA is now rising to the opportunity and international partnerships are the logical next step to expand reach. Such partnerships will combine the efficiencies of XRBIA's large-scale operations with the local expertise of developers."

"The scale of the challenge we face is greater than the capabilities of any one enterprise, and industry leaders, local experts and public bodies must work together if a solution to world's housing shortage is to be realized," he said.

About XRBIA Developers:

XRBIA understands India's need for smarter, efficient and sustainable cities which offer a higher quality of life to its people. With a goal and vision of building '100 future ready cities by 2030', XRBIA is embarking on a new journey that lays the benchmark for quality and modern urban development in the country. The brand is driven by technology in all they do from construction & operations, enabling customers to measure, manage and pay for services that they use.

XRBIA matches the global trend of increasing affordability by designing compact homes and offering standard amenities including free car parking, a community center with a swimming pool and commercial complexes.

This year alone XRBIA built cities across 18 locations in India and launched 40,000 houses spread across Maharashtra. At XRBIA, the aim is not to build only houses, but cities that are environmentally friendly, technologically advanced, committed to education, dedicated to health, and that foster community spirit.

Mall Owners Look for Sales Data Capture at POS to Bridge Rental Loss

As commercial real estate growth remains sober in cities across India leading to high vacancy levels in Malls, space owners these days adopt new strategy to bring tenants to cover rental revenue loss.

As per the trend, retailers agree to pay less monthly rental but part a percentage of their monthly sales revenue to the shop owners. However, in the absence of a reliable real time sales data capture system, retailers show tweaked sales data to pay low rent to the owners thus causing huge loss to the later.

But with the availability of new POS software to capture real time sales data from shops, mall owners sitting at remote place don’t have to need to worry over rental loss. Not only this! They can use these data to find seasonal footfalls, popular merchandise, peak time sales, customers’ shopping pattern and behaviour, and host of other information.

As the concept is new and picking up in India, several POS software vendors offer reliable, transparent and sustainable Concessio  naire Sales Data Capture solution to Indian retail sector. POS vendors also offer such services in international and domestic airports and shopping centres across India which can give real time sales to owners and cut revenue loss due to suppression of real sales data.

Airports and shopping malls require innovative technology to track sales from commercial tenants in real time and POS software such as Pathfinder’s POS PATROL offers exactly the same with additional benefits to both retailers and space owners in terms providing visibility of real time retail operations, customers’ preferences and analytical data on various parameters which can be used to improve sales.

The commercial structures are empowered to automate data capture processes through consistent and dependable system and the requisite data can be accessed online and interpreted for future usages. Sales Data Capture solution has revolutionized airports and shopping centres by offering Retail Intelligence services which has helped brands and space owners alike to improve operational efficiency, reduce cycle time, fast realization of revenue, high cash flow and improved non-aviation revenues.

POS Patrol, for example, has so far wired over 9500 retail outlets spread across 60 shopping centres and four international airports where every sale is accounted for consistent data flow and auditing.

Commenting on the new trend, Bhaskar Venkatraman, Founder and CEO of JusTransact.com, a leading e-commerce portal dealing with Point of Sale technology products and solution in India, said: Capturing real time sales data at Point Of Sales (POS) counters is the best possible way to track sales and avoid tenant-owner conflicts over revenue sharing data. The sales data capture offers Retail Intelligence services which is beneficial for both retailers and space owners.”

Benefits for retailers

Data captured can help airports and shopping malls to develop a good tenant mix, which brings more footfalls and revenue.

The sales and other information can be used to understand the Retail Dynamics of array of stores spread across vast area in just one stroke, which otherwise will be time consuming, difficult to manage, involves huge man power, and also error-prone in collecting sales data.

The data on retail operations can be utilized by stores to improve insights on sales revenues and performance.

How it works

Take for example a shopping mall having more than 100 retail outlets. All these shops are provided with POS solution for billing, staff and inventory control. At the same time, a hidden software tool is embedded with each POS system which sends every sales detail to the server of the mall owners. As these days, rents are paid on the basis of revenues generated per month, such sales data capture software restrains retailers from concealing the actual sales data to pay low rent to shop owners.

The same system also works for airports where Concessionaire Sales Data Capture system is used to wire all the retailers inside the airport premises to capture real-time sales data. 

K Ramanathan

Also published in

EPR Retail News

Origin Launches Shubh Atika for Women in Mumbai

Mumbai-based Origin Realtors LLP has launched a new project in Mira Road under their brand, Shubh, with an innovative concept 'Atika' to celebrate womanhood.

Shubh's concept of 'purposeful housing for special sectors of the society' has been created to honor and nurture niche segments. Currently, it is focusing on special sectors of the society like women, senior citizens, and military personnel, etc. Shubh initiatives offer a unique advantage to these special sections - ownership exclusively to the members of these categories with an initial foray into the world of women.

Shubh Atika for Women

Atika is a unique tribute to the strengths and creativity of women with its one-of-a-kind property with ownership exclusively for women. Atika is embellished with basic and high-tech amenities. Well-connected to the MMR region, the project is a 5-minute drive from the station and a 5-minute walk to the Western Express Highway.

Atika is conveniently close to shopping areas, markets, salon, and restaurants. Its retail space, Aspire Zone, located on the ground floor, includes commercial establishments like a supermarket, clinic, pharmacy, ATM, and more. To ease the hectic lifestyles of professional women, schools, colleges, theaters, sports clubs, police station, fire station and hospitals are stationed in the vicinity. Atika has given importance to security and an array of top-notch amenities. It has been planned specially for the welfare of women.

Spread across a sprawling 2,245 square metres, Atika has a large part of its expanse dedicated to green open spaces. The project has magnificent 21-story towers scaling a height of 67 meters. Every adobe of Atika is meticulously constructed with the finest imported materials and contemporary design.

The opulent flats have spacious configurations of 1 and 2-bedroom apartments, ranging from 480 sq. ft. to 677 sq. ft. All of the apartments enjoy ample sunlight, fresh air and breathtaking views from all sides.

Bhavya Shah, Director, Origin Realtors LLP, said, "I am delighted to announce that Origin debuts on to Mumbai's real estate scene with a confidence born of concrete achievements. We undertake to scale greater heights of unparalleled design, state-of-the-art technology and inspired vision. Origin presents a union of precision, original design and the assurance of timely delivery. Origin's Shubh aims to honor special sections of the society, because they deserve it. With Atika, we are saluting women, with ownership exclusively for women."

About Origin Realtors LLP:

Origin Realtors LLP debuted on Mumbai's vast real estate industry in 2016. It boasts an extensive land bank, stretching across the metropolis. Each of Origin's projects will ensure homes with meticulous planning, foresight and an uncanny knack for anticipating the varied needs of its inhabitants. The projects have been crafted with an eye to sound construction and comfort for its residents.

JLL India Appoints Manish Aggarwal as MD for North and East

Leading international property consultancy firm JLL India has appointed industry veteran Manish Aggarwal as Managing Director - North and East India operations. Previously, Aggarwal was MD - North and East India at Cushman & Wakefield, and prior to that held key positions at Knight Frank and Colliers. He will be based in Gurgaon.

Manish Aggarwal

Manish Aggarwal will primarily focus on strengthening JLL's Delhi NCR transactions businesses, while simultaneously overseeing the firm's Eastern India operations. As a part of his new role, Aggarwal will also assume a senior leadership seat within JLL's India Leadership Council (ILC), a press note from JLL India said.

Santhosh Kumar, CEO - Operations & International Director, JLL India said: "Drawing on his extensive experience as a real estate expert across asset classes, Manish Aggarwal will drive our growth in North and East India. He has managed a variety of complex, high-value assignments with major Indian and international corporate clients, developers and funds. His indubitable abilities and deep connections with key stakeholders in these two critical markets made him the natural choice for JLL."

"As a real estate services professional, the move to JLL India is a logical transition for me," said Manish Aggarwal. "During my long career in the realty space, I have witnessed the transformational growth of this firm globally as well as in India. It is the pre-eminent and leading name among international property consultancies in India, with a vast operational platform that presents me the kind of challenging professional opportunities I prefer. I am highly enthused about applying my core competence in the North and East Indian markets to advance JLL's business there and to spearhead the next phase of growth in these critical markets," he added.

Manish Aggarwal's multi-faceted expertise, which includes identifying new business avenues, cross-selling opportunities, strengthening client relationships and ensuring service delivery have come into play from Day 1 of his appointment at JLL India. He is one of the rare real estate professionals specialized virtually in all key aspects of the realty business. Apart from office real estate transactions, he is an expert in real estate-focused Capital Markets, Land and Industrial services and Investment Services, including Valuations.

With the Delhi NCR office being one of JLL's most dynamic business centres, Aggarwal's leadership will contribute significantly to reaffirming the firm's stature as the region's leading International Property Consultancy.

Raheja Imperia Sets Benchmark for Low Density Luxury Housing in India

With a whiff of fresh air and a perfect solution to affordability, location and infrastructure, Raheja Universal's Imperia at Worli in Mumbai is the premium offering from the world-class developer.

One of the only few luxury developers in the country, Raheja Universal believes in creating large private spaces and offering open spaces and green cover within their properties as well. The project is constructed on a virgin plot, implying that there would be absolute privacy and unmatched luxury.

Raheja Imperia is based on the Low Density concept, giving residents more open space with larger green cover. It comes free of public car parking, SRA, or rehabilitation requirements, which means that the benefits of the facilities are solely for residents to enjoy; a much craved privacy in a densely populated city like Mumbai.

With configurations of 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 BHK and all lavish amenities inside, the entire project has four demarcated zones, with 30 amenities, that promise to take care of individual needs of every family member. For instance, Imperial Park - a leisure walk, the serenity of meditation, Banquet Gardens, Outdoor Gym, Central green, Senior citizen' zone, jogging track, meditation zone, jacuzzi along with tranquil waterfall makes it serene and restful place to indulge oneself in.

For the fitness and sports enthusiasts, there's Club Imperia - an indoor club house that has a gymnasium, squash court and games room that relaxes and rejuvenates them after a long day. And the activity zone called Score promises to keep the kids occupied with the play area, mini basketball court, net cricket area and skating area.

Raheja Imperia

617 feet above the bustling city, take a dip into the highest infinity pool in Mumbai - Aeon, while enjoying the sunset with a glass of wine in the hand. An unparalleled view of the city's skyline from Atmosphere - the Sky Deck or Horizon 50 is a perfect setting for residents to spend time with some beautiful company.

Raheja Imperia is all set to redefine the very concept of luxury living in India. If the home is where the heart is, then make sure it is set on Raheja Universal's extravagant and grand Raheja Imperia.

About Raheja Universal:

Raheja Universal is a leading real estate developer catering to the mid- to high-end luxury housing segment and commercial property in India. Headed by Suresh Raheja and his sons Rahul and Ashish Raheja, the company has completed development of over approx. 6.28 mn sq. ft. of real estate across 48 premium projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) region. Raheja Universal is known for its excellent execution, planning, monitoring and control. The company is backed by an experienced and qualified team of professionals who have the ability to identify land and develop projects with potential for capital appreciation.

The company has completed some landmark residential projects which include One Altamount Road, Raheja Anchorage, Raheja Atlantis, Raheja Legend, Raheja Empress, Raheja Sunkist, Raheja Exotica I and II and Raheja Acropolis I and ll. The commercial projects include Raheja Chromium, Raheja Centre-Point, Raheja Plaza, Raheja Titanium and Stanchart Tower.

The company has been the recipient of the Business Super Brand 2008, Consumer Super Brand 2009-10, Consumer Super Brand 2011-12 and Power Brand 2012 awards.

Qatar Holdings to Pump US$ 250 mn in Arthveda's Affordable Housing Fund

In a significant foreign investment in the affordable housing sector, Arthveda Fund Management Pvt. Ltd has said that Qatar Holding Llc has committed to invest $250 million in its affordable housing fund.

Bikram Sen, chief executive of Arthveda Fund, said that the subscription of the entire corpus of its foreign direct investment-compliant affordable housing fund by Qatar Holdings is the first significant foreign inward investment into India’s affordable housing segment after the recent Union budget.

The Union Budget on 1 February gave a big push to affordable housing projects and announced many incentives to realize the government’s housing-for-all initiative.

India needs to build 19 million urban housing units in the low- and mid-income category by 2022 across tier I, II and III cities which require a capital of $1 trillion, according to estimates by Arthveda.

Arthveda is an associate firm of Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL).

“Arthveda’s affordable housing fund leverages our entire group’s leadership in the low and mid-income lending segment and applies that to investments in affordable housing,” said Kapil Wadhawan, chairman and managing director of DHFL and Arthveda.

Apart from the affordable housing fund, which is Arthveda’s first offshore fund raising, the firm has raised domestic real estate funds earlier.

According to Arthveda, affordable housing is the main focus area in the country’s growth agenda and will trigger more foreign investments into this sector. The positive FDI policy changes that happened in this segment will also continue to give a boost to inward investments. 

The government of India has gradually removed minimum project and investment ticket size restrictions in this segment, which should significantly catalyze development and investment, Arthveda said in a statement.

Omkar Realtors Unveils Higher Floor Balance Inventory at Ananta Project in Mumbai

"For the first time Omkar has offered home loan at just 4% interest rate for customers along with a very lucrative static floor price rise," said Amit Parsuramka, Chief Marketing Officer, Omkar Realtors & Developers Pvt. Ltd.

Mumbai-based Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd, one of the leading premium housing brands, has unveiled limited inventory of ready-to-move-in apartments for its higher floors in its project Ananta by Omkar located at Goregaon East, Mumbai. The project offering 2BHK apartments have a base pricing of Rs 12,750 sq.ft. and static floor rise from 15th -31st floors. 

The mid-ticket sized project offering a panaromic view of Sanjay Gandhi National Park with ready-to-move-in apartments are elegantly designed; offering the best of amenities ranging from Italian marble flooring in the living room, modular kitchens and wooden flooring in AC bedrooms along with a host of other amenities.

Omkar has also introduced flexible payment plan with a booking amount of only Rs 2 lakh for this project which is strategically located at 5 minutes distance from the western express highway and enjoys good access from the Aarey colony, Mohan Gokhale & Film city road.

The 2BHK apartments in the size-range of 1064 sq. ft. to 1242 sq. ft. saleable area has been constructed in just 1.5 years using the innovative fastest construction technology called Tunnel Form, making it the fastest construction of any development in Mumbai.

Ananta offers a wide range of amenities which includes a double height lobby; children play area, swimming pool, jogging track, gymnasium, landscaped garden, acupressure walkway and multi-gaming facility. In addition, the sheer value homes include invaluable specifications with zero compromise on all fixtures and amenities.

JLL India Makes Strategic Investment in Cloud1 Enterprises

International property consultancy JLL India‘s proprietary Real Estate Technology Investment vertical has announced an investment in NCR-based Cloud1 Enterprises, an end-to-end cloud-based platform that enables corporates to deploy telematics technologies to bring efficiency to employee transportation.

JLL India’s recently established structured vertical makes proprietary investments into early-stage technology companies with the potential to disrupt the real estate business.

Anuj Nangpal, Head – India Real Estate Technology Ventures, JLL India says, “Estimated at US$ 2 bn in India alone, the employee transportation sector is currently highly fragmented, inefficient and opaque. The potential for further optimization of company transportation costs via data analytics and telematics is phenomenal. Functionalities like mapping and routing have become basic features throughout the globe in this industry. Cloud1 will focus on data integration with traditional fleet management systems to convert telematics insights into fleet productivity.”

Cloud1’s business model is not predicated on a high customer acquisition cost and corresponding burn rates as a result of deep discounting. Proprietary algorithms allow intelligent utilization of vehicles and real-time trip monitoring, which enables Cloud1 to squeeze ultimate efficiency out of the value chain and offer employers a dedicated trip based model.

Sumir Anand, Co-founder – Cloud1 says, “Adhering to global standards of compliance and transparency, Cloud1 – unlike other technology providers – has made up-front investments to tech-enable vehicles which are supported by a 24 x 7 Command Center. Our platform and solution completely de-risks our clients from having to invest in technology. The grey area of employee transportation is one of the Indian industry’s biggest pain points; with Cloud1, we envisage a paradigm shift in this daily necessity – and the substantial operating expense it usually involves. We have invested over 18 months in developing and perfecting the platform.”

The current daily transportation cost per employee ranges between INR. 6000 to 13000 per month, and Cloud1 is confident that this figure can be reduced by at least 15%. In addition, up to 60% reduction can be realized in direct manpower deployed to service the organization’s transportation needs.

Cloud1’s services can imply an overall saving of up to 20% towards this expense – while adding substantial safety and security for employees. At current estimates, this could reflect an overall reduction in operational costs for the industry to the tune of INR 1200 –1500 crores per year.

“Cloud1 offers a managed services model to its clients via a telematics-enabled employee transport platform seamlessly integrated into the vehicle,” says Anuj Nangpal.

“With an entrepreneurial team of seasoned ITeS professionals with combined domain experience of over 70 years, Cloud1 has developed an accountable service delivery solution with practical and real-time tools to solve the transportation problem for BPM and InfoTech companies who currently rely on an unstructured vendor base for the daily commute of several lakh employees. Cloud1 seeks to offer the safest, most reliable and cheapest technology-enabled solution to corporate transportation teams. Thus, this investment is perfectly aligned with JLL’s commitment to offer technology-based services to the industry,” he says.

As opposed to current pure software platforms, Cloud1’s solution directly integrates vehicles with Cloud 1’s 24 x 7 Command Center, which actively monitors exception alerts on each trip and captures all critical data points – including driver authentication, vehicle compliance, safety and security alerts and route deviation.

Thus, the solution creates a completely secure, transparent and efficient employee transportation service offering and eliminates the need for clients to have ‘dedicated in-house’ call centers. Cloud1 will partner with its clients to offer analytics about data generated on its telematics platform to drive further efficiencies. 

Budget 2017: Govt Sets Sight on Affordable Housing and Rural Vikas

It’s Budget time yet again, and hosts of expectations and aspirations for ‘relief’ from the stressed real estate sector as usual. The Union Budget 2017 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely indeed has something to cheer about for the realtors but lack of futuristic approach to revive the sagging sector has disappointed many.

Infrastructure Status to Affordable Housing

The Modi government has surely appeased the middle class and neo middle class by announcing infrastructure status to affordable housing segment and providing income tax benefits to the lower income earners as the tax rate for income between Rs 2.5 lakh to 5 lakh has been reduced to 5% and taxpayers in other categories can also save upto Rs 12,500 per annum.

The move will create more disposable income for home buyers of the respective salary brackets, who can look for suitable real estate investments in the coming months.

The infrastructure status to affordable housing will infuse fresh impetus into developmental projects as developers can now look for cheaper loans to start low-cost housing projects in tier II and Tier III cities and also in rural areas. The Government’s proposal to build ten million homes by 2019 in rural areas under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) will open more options for home buyers and real estate investors to park their funds in good housing projects.

Buy and sell in two years!

The bringing down of capital gain time limits for properties to two years from three years will benefit both investors and second hand home buyers as the later will have more options to choose the best available property in lowest price. For investors, they can offload properties after two years of holding and go for more profitable realty investment.

Major Misses

Though the Budget has several micro proposals to boost realty sector, lack of big-ticket announcements will have direct bearings on its growth. The Budget missed out on giving any additional income tax benefit to first-time home buyers, increasing tax savings on housing loans and raising the house rent deduction limits, a long time desire for middle-class home buyers.

Taxing the wealthy

On the other hand, the government has proposed to tax for those getting rental income above Rs 50,000 per month. Tenants can henceforth deduct 5% TDS from the rent they pay and deposit it in owners’ tax account. The proposal will benefit the government to unearth more unaccounted rental incomes as home owners will be compelled to show the rent received as income in their corresponding IT return. However, the proposal may increase the rentals across cities as owners may pass on their TDS loss to occupants by jacking up the rent, a big negative for rental real estate.

No second home please!

To curb wealthy investing multiple homes and getting away with interest subsidies and tax benefits, the government has proposed to cap the benefits for second home buyers. Tax benefit on loan repayment of second home will be extended up to Rs 2 lakh per annum only. The move will not only discourage second time home buyers but also impact tax-planning of existing investors. The clause in the Finance Bill 2017 proposes that both the interest as well as the rental income will be taxable, hence increasing the financial burden of the owners.

Low interest rate may trigger housing demand

With demonetisation bringing more liquidity to banking sector, the lending rate is expected to go down further in the coming months if other metrics remain stable. This will trigger demand on various housing categories. Though the government has reduced the interest rates up to 4% for neo middle income group home buyers for low budget homes, unless the overall lending rate comes down further, demand for new homes will not see a significant rise in the near future.

Overall, the Budget proposals for 2017-18 can be seen as a positive move to revitalize real estate sector and bring new hope to buyers to have their own home this year. With rural housing and infrastructure and low income groups getting prominence, the government has surely set its sight on making homes affordable for everyone by 2020.