1.Mumbai rentals to be dearer.
In a move that would impact existing tenants and migrants moving into Maharashtra, the state government has proposed a hike in stamp duty on Leave and Licence Agreements (LLAs). The state’s move, if implemented, could potentially increase the cost of renting a property in Mumbai, Pune and the tier-II cities and may end up as a good example for other states on what not to do.
2.Equinox Realty to invest Rs 600cr on housing project in B'lore.
Essar Group real estate company Equinox Realty will invest about Rs 600 crore on construction of its first housing project in Bangalore. The company, which forayed into the realty sector in 2007, has appointed construction major L&T to build its housing project 'Water's Edge' spread over 8 acres of land.
3.Real estate mutual funds yet to take off.
In spite of permission from the regulator, no fund house has come forward to launch a real estate fund. Mutual fund houses in the country have so far not evinced interest in launching real estate mutual funds though regulations have been in place since 2008 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
4.Escrow services for real estate transactions still to gain popularity.
In an industry where every year $2.5 billion, or about 13,000 crore, worth of institutional real estate transactions are completed, the value of disputed transactions alone since 2006 adds up to $3 billion, says real estate consultant Knight Frank. Typically, the stakes in such realty deals, which also include foreign private equity money and large institutions, are so high that both parties - the buyer and the seller - cannot afford for transactions to stall due to last minute hitches. Hence, the need for escrow services.
5.I don't want to bite more than I can chew: Darshan Hiranandani.
Darshan Hiranandani, 30, managing director of the Hiranandani Group of companies and son of patriarch Niranjan,spearheaded the realty group’s foray into Dubai and, more recently, its entry into the power sector. There’s also a dispute between his father and him on one side and his sister, Priya Vandrevala, over control of some of the family’s projects in the country.
6.Sahara, ICICI, Bhushan Steel in fray to buy Parsvnath's Connaught Place land.
Sahara Group, ICICI Bank, Bhushan Steel, Bharti Realty, Red Fort Capital and Shri Lal Mahal are understood to be in the race among others to acquire Parsvnath Developers' 1.18 acre of prime commercial land near Connaught Place in the National Capital. In January, Parsvnath had announced plans to monetise the KG Marg land, which it had bought for Rs 200 crore in 2008.
7.Hotel Leela Venture: Huge land bank could help retire debt.
Reports about the Rs 3,000-crore debt restructuring proposal of Hotel Leela Venture hitting a wall highlights the contrasting fortunes of one of the premium hospitality fir-ms in the industry and its pee-rs such as Indian Hotels Company and East India Hotels. A key problem the company has been grappling with for a long time is its high debt. On a consolidated level, it had a debt of 3,800 crore at the end of FY11. For the six-month period ended September, 2011, considering the stand-alone level of operations, debt rose to Rs 4,295 crore. Also during the period, the debt-to-equity ratio, on a standalone basis, was 2.15, against 0.72 for Indian Hotels Company and 0.15 for EIH.
8.Intelligence platform to launch vertical.
For just Rs 10,000, you can get details of a real estate project — including information the developer won't share with you. Real estate intelligence platform PropEquity has said it will shortly be launching a B2C vertical to cater exclusively to consumers who want to invest in the real estate sector.
9.A city in transition ,PUNE REDISCOVERED.
Pune is not the place it once was. Over the years, it has welcomed change with open arms. However, the city has retained its old-world charm and the quaint characteristics of the Maratha days, making every Punekar proud. Sudarshan Purohit captures the essence of the diverse city. Pune, Queen of the Deccan. Years ago, the British would retire from the heat and dust of Bombay to the pleasant climes of this small town amidst the Sahyadris. They set up their army cantonment to the north-east of the old town in 1817, renamed the place ‘Poona’, invented a game that was initially called Poona (and later renamed Badminton), set up a rail link between Bombay and Poona so they could get there faster, and probably thought they’d finally ‘civilised’ it.
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