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The Delhi High court has summoned the directors of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure, in response to a plea by 126 buyers of Ansal API's real estate project, The Fernhill, located at Sector 91, Gurgaon. In their petition, they buyers had alleged defaults on the part of Ansal API in delivering the project within the promised time frame as well as the grace period provided under the clauses of the builders-buyers agreement. The directives stated that a status quo was to be maintained regarding title and possession of the properties including the plots in question. The court has summoned them stating that the real estate developer in coalition with a finance company have misled the court by manner of concealing material facts, and by acting in a manner so as to disregard and frustrate the orders of the court.
Sunteck Realty has launched a new phase with the campaign ‘One World One Price’ at its Sunteck One World mixed development township in Naigaon, Vasai Virar. Sunteck One World is one of the biggest townships in the area, spanning across 150 acres. The project offers opulent one and two-bedroom homes in addition to numerous other world-class amenities. The entire development has over 60 per cent open green space. Phase 1 of Sunteck World is occupied by more than a thousand families. Sunteck Realty Limited is a Mumbai based real estate and construction company founded by Kamal Khetan. The twin cities of Vasai-Virar are a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and considered to be the fifth largest city in Maharashtra.
The real estate arm of ASK Group, ASK Property Fund has exited the Eldeco Group’s South Delhi commercial project called Eldeco Centre, have generated an IRR of 21% on its investment of Rs 120 crores. In September this year the fund exited another investment in Gulshan Homz for their Gulshan One 29 project in Noida after two years, having achieved an IRR of 21% on their investment. The fund recently collaborated with Sriram Properties Limited to set up a co-investment platform to develop ‘Golden Ira’ a plotted development project in Bengaluru. Both companies intend to infuse capital to the tune of Rs 125 crores and re-launch the project under the name ‘Shriram Pristine Estates’.
The Housing and Urban Development Department is gearing up to redevelop housing societies across the state via joint development agreements with private builders. So far, twelve locations within the state have been identified as potential development sites. The homes are to be constructed using Mivan technology which is an aluminium formwork system over a span of two years. For construction of these units, the private developer will be awarded with a fixed number of free for sale apartments in exchange. The agreement will be entered into for a period of 80 years.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed Raheja Developers to compensate a homebuyer for delay in delivery and possession of a Villa in their Gurugram project. The homebuyer had booked a villa in phase 1 of “Raheja Aranya City” in 2012 and paid multiple instalments over the years. The builder cited force majeure as reasons for the delay, however the NCDRC has rejected this claim and asked them to compensate the buyer to the tune of Rs 1.2 crores plus Rs 50,000 for litigation costs. The builder has been given six months to execute the order, after which an additional penalty of 15 per cent simple interest per annum will be added for the period of delay.
Earlier this week, in a bid to provide respite to homebuyers and developers, the boards of Noida and Greater Noida civic authorities approved several amendments to their policies pertaining to housing. The most notable amendments include changes to the rescheduling of dues wherein a builder or buyer can reschedule payment on an outstanding for up to two years. The authorities amended the time extension policy to allow new projects to request for up to 13 years of extension. Structural audits will have to be carried out the at the cost to the builders for the first five years of issuance of the occupancy certificate. Lastly, All pet owners will have to register their cats and dogs with concerned authorities.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to pay a sum of approximately Rs 470 crores to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for land owned by them in the Dahisar region of Mumbai Suburban. The land parcel is said to be around 58acres large. In exchange for this plot, the AAI will receive 40acres of government land in Gorai. The BMC intends to create a 10acre public park within the plot, akin to the Azad Maidan and Oval Maidan in South Mumbai. The redevelopment and rehabilitation of structures present within the land parcel allegedly have a development potential worth over Rs 50,000 crores.
According to a report filled by an Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Supertech has allegedly offered possession to homeowners across 148 towers, plots and villas without having procured an occupancy certificate for the same. Approximately 9,000 flats in 18 projects are already occupied. According to the management Supertech has applied for the OC for all these projects and all other approvals and NOCs have been procured. However, their application for the final OC has been held up by local authorities on account of outstanding dues payable by the company.
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded 10 properties belonging to the ITC Hotels Group with the coveted “LEED Zero Carbon Certification”. This certification is awarded to building that operate with net zero carbon emissions annually. An entity’s carbon balance should be either ‘0’ or -ve. (Carbon Balance = Total Carbon Emitted - Total Carbon Avoided). According to the board, the ITC Hotels is the world’s largest chain with the maximum number of LEED Platinum-certified properties.
Canadian Property Management Fund Brookfield is looking to sell three of the company's assets in Mumbai and Gurugram. The properties are said to be collectively worth USD 2 billion. The company intends to sell only a portion of these assets to outside investors and the remaining half to its publicly traded Brookfield REIT. Earlier this year the Brookfield REIT reported a forty eight percent rise in income to 240 crore rupees for the quarter ending September. Its net operating income stood at 162 crore rupees for the same period last fiscal year.
According to a BSE filing by Godrej Properties (GPL) a contract has been signed for the development of 14.27 acres of property in Gurugram, Haryana. The projected is expected to have a potential revenue of around Rs 3,000 crore. Earlier this year, the company purchased an 18.6-acre land tract in Kandivali, Mumbai. This project has an estimated 3.72 million square feet of developable space and a potential revenue of around Rs 7,000 crore. It was also the highest bidder for two contiguous land parcels in Noida with a total bid value of Rs 377 crore.
The Government of India is gearing up to develop around 35 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLP) across the country at a total capital cost of Rs 50000 crores. The project is being headed by The National Highways Logistics Management Ltd, a subsidiary of The National Highways Authority of India. Of the 35 projects in the pipeline,15 will be awarded in the next three years. Work has already begun for the development of one such park in Chennai, the tender for which was awarded to Reliance Industries (RIL). This will be followed by parks in Indore, Nagpur, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Pune and Anantapur. The development of the latter will commence by the end of the next fiscal year. The development of MMLP is part of the Bharatmala Pariyojna program of 2017.
As per official records released, The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) has been able to collect only Rs 2641 crore of its intended goal of Rs 4000 crore in property tax for this fiscal year. This discrepancy is being largely attributed to the shift in focus towards electoral duties in the recent months. The civic body however is confident of achieving its goal by early 2023 if not sooner. In the last 4 years the Palike has collected more than Rs 11,000 crore in property tax, with the highest collections being made from non-residential properties in the city.
According to a press release by the company, Piramal Realty is set to invest a sum of Rs 3,500 crore into four on going residential housing projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) the coming two years. The identified projects have the development potential of over 12 million square feet would create more than 12,000 residential apartments. The projects are in Mulund, Thane, Mahalaxmi and Byculla. Established in 2012, Piramal Realty currently has 15 million square feet of residential and commercial space under construction in MMR.
After successfully establishing several retail and commercial developments throughout Gurugram, Elan Group recently launched its first residential property, a super luxury development called “The Presidential” in Sector 106, Dwarka Expressway, Gurugram. Shortly after its launch, the company announced a record-breaking sale of Rs 2,500 crores for the project, making it one of their most successful launches till date. The project will span across 30 acres and contain over 1,800 apartments with configurations of 3, 4, and 5 BHK, and duplex penthouses. The project will be rolled out in three phases.
Purva Real Estate Fund, the Real Estate Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) of realty firm Puravankara has acquired 100acres of land in Guduvanchery, Chennai for a reported sum of Rs 200 crores. The company is currently developing a plotted land project and intends to launch three more plotted development projects by March 2023. The plotted development is said to have a revenue potential of over Rs 900 crores. The Fund plans to invest in various plotted land and residential development projects under both brands; “Purva Land” and “Provident” across cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and Hyderabad.
Mantri Serenity, a stalled residential project located on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru will be the first project in the city to be completed with funding from the government initiated Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing Fund (SWAMIH Fund). The project was launched in 2012 but shut down midway in 2018 due to insufficient funds. SWAMIH Investment Fund provided undisclosed funding to the project in October 2020. Towers 4 & 5 of the project have already received Occupancy Certificates (OC) from the Bengaluru Development Authority.
Renowned builders Casagrand have launched a world-class residential community Casagrand Aria in Tambaram near Chennai with prices starting at just Rs 25 lakhs. The Tambaram complex which spans 4 acres, will contain 817 luxury 1 and 2 BHK high-rise lifestyle apartments. Casagrand Aria will provide homebuyers with over 85 top-notch interior and outdoor amenities with luxurious 17,000 square foot clubhouse and several other exclusive amenities. The entire project has been carefully planned to create an adequate footprint with over 70% open space and 30, 000 sq ft of landscape areas for maximum light, ventilation, and recreational activity.
The Central Government recently issued a directive to all states to take a call on self-declaration which would allow construction workers to self-register, in a bid to speed up the process and ensure maximum individuals are able to receive their benefits. According to the Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996, a 90-day work period is needed for a construction worker to become eligible for registration. The state of Maharashtra has approximately 14 lac active registered workers. However, the state has a back log of more than 40,000 pending applications to clear.
Earlier this week the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-RERA) slapped hefty penalties on 13 real estate developers in the state on account of ignoring orders and intentionally not complying with the pertaining laws. The authority has followed section 38/63 of the RERA Act 2016 which empowers the authority to penalise the non-compliant promoter with up to 5 percent of the total cost of the project. The collective penalties amount to approximately Rs 1.78 crores.
Last week the Haryana Forest Department in Gwalpahari sized four acres of land by destroying five farmhouses that were illegally constructed. The demolished structures were built on land falling under sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Protection Act (PLPA) where non-forest activities cannot be carried out on land categorised as ‘gair mumkin pahar’, i.e., uncultivable land. The land in questions is situated in the Aravali Forest area. The razzing was conducted in accordance with the directive issued by the National Green Tribunal in September this year.
The Gurugram Police have arrested Mr Amit Austin, the proprietor of Manish Switchgear and Construction, the company commissioned to conduct the repair work that caused the death of two women residing in Chintels Paradiso in Gurugram. The women were killed when the dining room on the 6th floor of Tower D collapsed bringing down with it the roofs and floors of all the flats below. A magisterial inquiry found that the retrofitting in Flat D603 was the key trigger for the collapse, thus holding Chintels India and Manish Switchgear and Construction responsible for the accident. Mr Austin will be produced in a city court in the coming week.
JMS Group, a real estate company headquartered in Gurugram, procured a RERA registration number from the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA) for its projected development project, The Pride located in Sector 95 A in New Gurugram close to the NH-8 and KMP/Western Peripheral Expressway. The development of New Gurugram is supported by the Gurugram-Manesar Masterplan 2031. In comparison to other Gurugram micro markets, this Sector has superior infrastructure including wide roadways, robust rainwater drainage systems, an underground electric cable network and service roads.
The K Raheja Corp backed Mindspace Business Parks REIT (Mindspace REIT) has become the country's first REIT to issue commercial papers after SEBI gave its approval for the same in September 2022. According to its BSE filing, the company has issued commercial papers worth Rs 100 crores for a tenure of 3 months at an interest rate of 7.2 per cent per annum. The commercial papers issued by Mindspace REIT has received a credit rating of A+ by CRISIL.
In a bid to streamline procedures, remove ambiguity and ensure compliance the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering proposals to introduce governance norms, akin to those in place for listed companies, for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). In another decision made this year SEBI will allow Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to participate in Credit Default Swaps not only as protection buyers but also as protection sellers. By making this allowance SEBI hopes to provide AIFs with greater investment flexibility and facilitate deepening of the domestic corporate bond market.
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) recently published an order outlining the model agreement for sale's non-negotiable terms. According to authorities, several sale agreements uploaded do not follow the model form. While modifications to the agreement for sale are permissible by MahaRERA, all modifications must be noted in the deviation sheet and uploaded accordingly which many are not doing. Key provisions that include the builder's liability for structural flaws for a period of five years, acquiring OC, forming a society, and executing registered conveyance deeds in favour of societies in a timely way are non-negotiable but often left out by errant builders.
According to a BSE filling Keystone Relators who sells real estate under the Rustomjee Brand will team up with Raj Doshi Exports to develop a residential project in Mahim, Mumbai. The development will be created on a land parcel measuring roughly 6,100 square meters. The development is said to have a saleable carpet area of over 2,80,000 square feet. The project will officially be launched in the new year.
According to a report published by Knight Frank India, the total number of private equity investments in real estate in 2022 totalled to USD 5.13 billion, indicating a dip of 17 per cent from the USD 5.20 billion registered in 2021. The office sector remained on top, garnering almost 45 per cent while warehousing came in second with a share of 37 per cent. Residential attributed to 12 per cent and retail to the balance 6 per cent. Mumbai led in cities’ race with accounting for 41 per cent of the total investments followed by Delhi NCR at 15 percent and Bengaluru in third place with 14 per cent.
Nearly eighteen months after the Supreme Court deemed The West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Act (WIBHIRA) as illegal and unconstitutional, the state of West Bengal finally implemented the RERA Act by creating the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA). West Bengal was the only state in country that had not implemented the RERA Act since its passing in 2016. They evaded doing so by creating the WBHIRA as a state substitute to the RERA Act, something no other state in the country had attempted to do.
Gujrat based co-working and accelerator platform DevX has recently launched 400 flexible work seats in Andheri East, Mumbai. The new space launched in Mumbai spans across 30,000 square feet and is valued at Rs 3.2 crores. The company hopes to increase its presence in Mumbai to 50,000 square feet in the near future. At present, the company oversees approximately 7 lac square feet of space across the country in over 11 cities with investments to the tune of Rs 60 crores in the pipeline. The company currently has 15,000 seats with places to double this number by the end of the next year.
Mumbai based developer Jagdish Ahuja, along with his son Gautam have been detained on account of fraud cases amounting to Rs 27 crores registered against them with the city’s Economic Offenses Wing (EOW). The builder collected money from individuals for a residential project in Chunnabatti but failed to register the flats in their name or provide a refund of their money as promised. The father-son duo is also being sued in 355 cases of bounced checks.
According to data released by the MahaRERA authorities, since its inception over 35,000 projects have been registered with the authority. However, in the last five years over 2,7500 projects worth approximately Rs 90,000 crores have stalled. The builders in question procured registrations numbers for their respective projects but failed to adhere to the norms set by the authorities ultimately causing their registrations to lapse. Apart from defaulting on possession dates, authorities have found that several builders have also found loopholes in the law to divert funds from one project to another.
Earlier this month, the department for town and country planning passed an order for the demolition of over 15 colonies that had been illegally constructed on agricultural land. Together these colonies had encroached approximately 70 aces of prime agricultural land in and around the city. The offenders in question are said to have sold the plots of land illegally and constructed colonies without the requisite permissions from the competent authorities. Some of the structured razzed include shops, property dealers’ offices, houses and boundary walls.
Residents of the BDD Chawls in Worli, Mumbai have been offered the option of availing a monthly rental compensation of Rs 25,000/- instead of opting for a transit home while the chawls are being redeveloped. The Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of MHADA has confirmed that the state government has approved of the same. As part of the redevelopment Phase 1 almost 4,400 families were asked to vacate their homes whereas there were only 3,100 transit homes to accommodate them interim. Therefore, a need to create an alternative option was necessary.
During the 48th GST council meeting, the Finance Ministry announced its intention to create a provision that would allow unregistered buyers who cancel their purchase of an under construction flat or long-term insurance policy, to claim for a GST refund directly from the government. The council advising the ministry has recommended that such amendments be made to the CGST 2017 rules along with issuance of a circular detailing the procedure for filling out an application for refund for unregistered buyers.
The Michaels Organisation has been commissioned by Disney to create an affordable housing project containing 1,300 units on an 80-acre land parcel which is a part of Disney World’s Land. Only those individuals who fall within a certain income bracket will be able to apply. The company hopes this new initiative will help ease the looming housing crisis in the state while creating new jobs in Central Florida via construction and operational activities needed for the project. Disney will collaborate with The Michael’s Organisation on construction and design.
Earlier last week, Poonawalla Fincorp, a non-banking division of the Poonawalla Group, announced that it has sold its housing subsidiary Poonawalla Housing Finance to private equity giant TPG for a sum of Rs 3,900 crore. Poonawalla Fincorp was acquired by Magma Fincorp for Rs 3,456 crore in February 2021 and is currently held by Rising Sun Holdings, a business that Adar Poonawalla owns and controls. It offers a variety of loans such as personal loans, loans to professionals, company loans, SME loans, loans against property, and affordable house loans.
As a result of a search conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November of the Sallarpuria Sattva Group’s Bengaluru office and in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 (PMLA) the ED attached land and bank assets belonging to developers in Hyderabad and Bengaluru totalling Rs 78 crores. The assets include real estate worth Rs 37.58 crore owned by SA Builders & Developers, and a bank balance of Rs 41.05 crore held by Neelanchal Technocrats Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based developer and member of the Sallarpuria Group.
Raymond Realty’s TenX Habitat has been successfully completed and delivered its first three towers 24 months ahead of schedule leaving homebuyers overjoyed. The project was launched in 2019 and is set to become the tallest structure in Thane Skyline with 42 stories and 10 towers. The Address by GS and TenX Habitat, two of the group's premier real estate developments have secured the top two spots in the Thane city area with 78 and 124 apartments sold for Rs 201 crores and Rs 147 crores respectively. This accomplishment is consistent with Raymond Realty's robust second-quarter sales growth, which increased by three times, to Rs 245 crores from Rs 81 crores in the prior year.
‘Golden Ira’ a plotted development project belonging to Golden Gates Group and IIFL Group in Bengaluru has been acquired by Shriram Properties. The project's acquisition and development will require capital contributions of up to Rs 125 crores as part of the transaction. The company is gearing up to re-launch the Project under the name ‘Shriram Pristine Estates.’ This will be the first investment under the recently concluded co-investment platform set up jointly between SPL and the ASK Property Fund.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering lowering the minimum amount of capital required to list a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on the stock market. Currently REITs in India must have upwards of USD 60 million in assets to be eligible for listing. Although no official statement has been released by SEBI rumour are rife regarding this possibility. REITs were first introduced in India in 2019. We currently have four listed REITs on the NSE and BSE.
In a press statement released, Lodha Group (Macrotech Developers) claims to have raised over Rs 3,500 crores by selling 7.2 per cent of its equity share capital via Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) by way of offer for sale. Entities selling their equity shares include Sambhavnath Infrabuild, Sambhavnath Trust, Hightown Constructions and Homecraft Developers and Farms. According to their BSE filling, the shareholdings of the promoters will be free of all encumbrances having achieved a 25 per cent free float.
Last week, several lenders including Bank of India and HDFC Bank raised their benchmark lending rates, hours after the RBI decided to boost the repo rate by 35 basis points. This action will cause an increase in EMI. The state-owned Bank of India announced on its website that the effective Repo Based Lending Rate (RBLR) as of December 7 is 9.10% based on the revised repo rate (6.25%). According to the HDFC Bank website, the one-year MCLR which serves as the benchmark for many consumer loans has risen by 50 basis points to 8.60%.
In a bid to ensure homebuyers approaching the MahaRERA REAT are receiving justice, the MahaRERA authorities have directed 13 district collectors to follow up on cases where dues are pending from the builders. These districts include Pune, Thane, Palghar, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nashik, Chandrapur, Sindhudurg, Satara, Ratnagiri, Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban. In last five years over 730 warrants have been issued which total to approximately Rs 730 crores in compensation payments due from developers to homebuyers. The compensations have been awarded for shortcomings such as delayed possession, abandonment of project, inferior quality of construction, changes in project plans, etc.
The Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman charitable trust has engaged international property consult Knight Frank to sell its land holdings in Mumbai that sum up to 960 odd acres of land located in the Palghar area of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The original landowner Mr Jamshed Khodaram Irani donated more than 2,300 acres to the Charitable Trust in 1928. Since then, several portions of the land were taken back by the government for several purposes, leaving behind only 963 acres. With the sale of the plot, the Trust hopes to use the money to continue its charitable activities in the area to help locals and individuals belonging to the Pari Zoroastrain Community.
According to a statement released by the State Forest Department last week, the Sohna Municipal Committee will begin demolishing 179 unlawfully constructed farmhouses in the Raisina Aravalis from 12 December 2022, Conferring to Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which protects land as "gair mumkin pahar (uncultivable hill)," 424 farmhouses in Sohna were found to have been built unlawfully. So far, 80 structures have already been demolished and 165 have received court-ordered stays. The demolition work was delayed due to GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan against Air Pollution).
Mumbai based Wadhwa Group has collaborated with 75-year-old leading Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation to utilise technology promoted by the later for the development of a residential project in Mulund by the group. The technology to be harnessed will focus on enhancing safety of structure, increased usage of renewable energy such as solar power and use of artificial intelligence (AI) for managing building facilities and customer service. The project in question is called Atmosphere O2 and is scheduled to be completed in December 2025. It is spread across 5.13 acres with up to 85% open spaces.
As a result of the FIR logged against Sobha Builders and others by the Haryana Police, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached immoveable properties of the company, allegedly worth Rs 200 crores. According to the FIR, the Haryana Police believe Sobha Builders and others have colluded to sell land that was earmarked for the “no profit no loss (NPNL)” scheme in the open market for a substantial profit. In its regulatory filling, the company has issued a statement saying the are fulling cooperating with authorities and believe a favourable outcome will soon arise. The plots in question our present in the company’s township developement Sobha International City, located in Gurugram.
Accacia, a proptech start up focused on assisting the real estate and infrastructure sectors in decarbonisation has raised upwards of USD 2.5 million in a seed funding round. The primary investors are B Capital and Accel. Several notable venture capitalist firms such as Good Capital, Blume Ventures, Loyal VC and Rainmatter Fund are said to have participated in the funding round. Acaccia will use the money raised to expand their presence in Southeast Asia while extending their foot to foreign markets in the Middle East, USA and Canada.
The alternative investment arm of the Motilal Oswal Group, Motilal Oswal Alternates has pledged to invest a sum of Rs 450 crores into two projects in Gurugram being developed by Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate (SPRE). Of the two projects, one is commercial project that has partially completed, leased and operational properties while the other is a residential township project that began construction in 2021.
The MahaRERA authorities are preparing to approach the Maharashtra state’s Urban Development Department (UDD) to propose a dedicated portal catering to construction approvals such as the commencement certificate and occupation certificates. A commencement certificate is one of the many mandatory documents requested by MahaRERA when issuing registration numbers. The authorities believe that the creation of such a a portal will allow both authorities and potential home buyers to view and verify construction approvals of a project. Currently there is no dedicated portal displaying this information.
The Special Window for Affordable and Mid-income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I has raised a sum of approximately Rs 15,000 crores in its final close on 6 December 2022. The fund has already completed construction of 19,550 homes and is set to deliver another 20,000 for the next three consecutive years. It received a capital infusion, as promised, from the Government of India to the tune of Rs 5,000 crores earlier this year. The additional fund is likely to allow the entity to continue funding ventures until December 2024.
Delhi based tech start up Onsite raised USD 1.5 million in seed funding from Madhumala Ventures and Artha Venture Fund amongst others. The company plans to utilise the money raised towards expanding their market footprint while focusing on product development. Onsite helps small and mid-size construction businesses standardise their procedure to create a better synergy between their site and office teams. Their multi-lingual interface boasts of over 1 lac satisfied customers.
An affordable house financing scheme called Roshni was introduced by PNB Housing Finance (HFC). The programme will allow anyone to apply for loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. This initiative fits with PNB Housing Finance's long-term objective of facilitating and supporting a person's desire to buy a home. The Company most recently established Roshni-focused branch offices in Chennai, Coimbatore, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore/Ujjain, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, and Varanasi.
The Telangana Government and CapitaLand India Are said to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly establish a data centre at CLINT's International Tech Park Hyderabad (ITPH) which will be situated in Madhapur. The ITPH data will span across roughly 250,000 square feet and have a 36-megawatt (MW) power capacity. The project is anticipated to require an investment of over INR1,200 Crores (S$210 million) which will be made over the course of the following three to five years.
The state government of Maharashtra has struck down the April 2022 decision of the MVA regime to prohibit redevelopment of single buildings in a MHADA complexes. Residents whose buildings may have deteriorated more than neighbouring structures can now apply for redevelopment and need not wait for cluster redevelopment to take place. Earlier this week, the President of India signed off on amendments to the MHADA Act thereby allowing owners and tenants to apply for redevelopment of building termed ‘hazardous’ or ‘dangerous’ independently if faced with opposition by local authorities.
The Reserve Bank of India has raised interest rates for the fifth time since May 2022. The benchmark lending rate has been increased by 35 basis points to 6.25 percent as of 7 December 2022 in an attempt to tame inflation. This decision is likely to push home loan rates back to pre-covid levels. In totality, the benchmark lending rate has gone by 225 basis points in the last seven months. Experts believe the trajectory of rising interest rates may give the rental market a well-timed stimulus if potential homebuyers find that purchasing a house is beyond their budget.
Having secured investments of over Rs 800 crores, Hyderabad-based real estate developer Aparna Constructions and Estates is gearing up to introduce four residential projects located near the city’s IT sector and Outer Ring Road. All four projects will offer 2.5 to 3 BHK configurations with carpet areas ranging from 1,314 to 1,981 square feet. The ticket prices will range between Rs 90 lacs to Rs 1 crore. With these new developments, the company has launched a total of seven residential projects in this fiscal year.
The Bombay High Court has directed the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and state government to file affidavits in response to PIL filled seeking clarification on the inclusion of Mahim Nature Park, a protected area, in the plans of the Dharavi redevelopment project. In October this year, the state government released a tender inviting entities to bid for the redevelopment of the 600acre slum located in the heart of the city. Mumbai based Adani Group bagged the project after offering the highest bid of Rs 5,069 crores. Activists who have filled the PIL fear the Park will be unlawfully redevelopment along with the rest on the area.
According to data released by the Maharashtra registration department earlier this week, the state property registration department has already met 78 per cent of its annual revenue target for the year in November. The robust collections are being attributed to several high-value property registrations, higher ready reckoner rates and stamp duty fees. The state is said to have collected approximately Rs 25,000 crores as of 28 November 2002, inching closer to its yearend target of Rs 32,000 crores.
Earlier this month the Supreme Court took a decision to revoke its 10 June 2020 order which had a set a fixed 8 per cent rate of interest in debts for land supplied on lease to various builders. With the new order, builders will now have to pay up pending dues related to their land allotments. Builders believe this decision is likely to result in the many filling for bankruptcy and the postponement of registration of over 1.6 lac properties in Noida and Greater Noida as issuance of occupancy and completion certificates is directly dependent on payment of debts.
To file an appeal in response to a ruling by the Assam REAT, the RERA Tribunal has directly M/s Arya Erectors India Pvt Ltd to deposit a sum of Rs 32 lacs in an escrow account with them. The company is challenging the order passed by the REAT which stated that the company must pay Rs 1.5 crores to a disgruntled homeowner who had purchased a villa from them for delayed possession. The REAT also slapped an additional penalty of Rs 1.5 lacs on the company for other charges. Section 43 of the RERA Act 2016 requires a promoter to first deposit with the Appellate Tribunal at least 30 per cent of the penalty or as determined by the Appellate Tribunal before challenging any penalty imposed by them.
Paranjape Schemes has launched “Swaniketan”, a housing project specially catered for differently ables children. Located in Western Pune, the project will be developed in two phases and will contain 240 apartments of 2 and 3 BHK configurations. All the amenities required for special children, including medical centres, early intervention centres, round-the-clock respite centres, vocational centres, and hostels for special children will be made available. The company has partnered with Saad and Forum for Autism members to develop an organisation called FFL Kutumb which will oversee the management and operations of Swaniketan.
After air pollution levels reached a worrying height of 407 AQI this Sunday, the Centre’s air quality panel directed authorities in Delhi NCR to ban all non-essential construction work as envisaged under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). AQI levels above 400 are deemed hazardous. A meeting was held on Sunday to review the air quality in the region along with forecasting meteorological conditions and the air quality index of Delhi.
Several disgruntled homebuyers collected to protest outside Raheja Developer’s office in Gurugram earlier this week over delayed possession for the Raheja Revanta Project located in Sector 78, Gurugram. The individuals claim to have paid up almost 90 per cent of the total value of their flats. The project began five years ago and is still currently far from complete. Spokespersons from Raheja Developers issued a statement discussing details of the measures being undertaken by the developer to speed up the construction and delivery of the project.
Blox, a real estate prop tech platform launched in 2020 has recently raised almost Rs 100 crores in a series A funding round. The company intends to utilise the funds for market expansion, improving product offerings and building data infrastructure around the customer, broker, and developer segments. The company will also use the newly acquired capital to increase their focus on technology advancements to improve product development frameworks.
Centrum Housing Finance, the financial arm of Centrum Group has reportedly paid a sum of Rs. 112 crore rupees to acquire the home loan portfolio of National Trust Housing Finance. The companies are said to have entered into a binding agreement but no official spokesperson for either party has released any details to the press. National Trust Housing Finance is a Chennai-based institution that offer affordable housing finance across 17 cities in four southern states of India. It’s loan book exceeds Rs 300 crores and employs over 100 individuals.
Godrej properties recently announced an upcoming launch of a premium housing project in Ashok Vihar, Delhi. The project will be developed on a 27acre land parcel that the company purchased in February this year for a reported sum of Rs 1,300 crores. The project is aimed to generate over Rs 8,000 crores in sales income for the company. Godrej Properties has beefed up its presence in Delhi-NCR this year by launching two projects this year: Godrej Connaught One, a compact luxury development near Connaught Place in another residential complex in Central Delhi.
The Supreme Court has passed a judgement ordering two illegal buildings constructed in 2011 in Nerul, Navi Mumbai to be brought down. The families residing in these buildings have been given six months to vacate. Individuals who purchased flats in the complex where aware of the legal standing of the buildings. The court has ordered for the civic and police officials involved in allowing the construction to take place to be held liable as well. The plots in question had been allotted for the creation of a public garden according to the area’s development plans.
In a monumental decision by the Supreme Court this week, land and property owners can no longer evade taxes levied on land, redevelopment rights and property transactions by creating partnerships firms. Last week, the apex court ruled that revaluation surplus in a partnership will no longer be exempt from taxation such as capital gains tax. Common practice up until now has been for individuals holding real estate assets in a partnership structure to evade capital tax via simple restructuring. With the new ruling, firms facing a tax liability post revaluation will force the original owners of the property to pay the tax if they wish to take the funds infused by new partners out of the firm.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and its affiliate IFC Emerging Asia Fund partnered with Bengaluru based Puravankara to invest around Rs 550 crores in the development of several residential projects under their ‘Provident’ band which is focused on affordable housing. IFC is now partially exiting a 1.4 million plotted development scheme in Bengaluru at an alleged IRR of 20%. IFC had invested approximately Rs 150 crores into this project over the span of two years. Having already invested about Rs 320 crores rupees raised from IFC, Puravankara hopes to raise further capital from IFC in the future, owing to the positive experience both parties have had so far.
In what is being construed as the largest contract to be secured by Crystal Lagoons, the company has collaborated with Champion’s Group to create over 100 Public Access lagoon Projects, known as PAL developments and real estate projects in India over the next 20 years. The agreement includes creation of these projects in 26 out of 28 states in the country. With this partnership, Champion’s Group aims to establish a new real estate portfolio with developments targeted at the high-income market that need a membership fee, somewhat equivalent to a classic country club.
Noted industrialist and administrator of F E Dinshaw Charities and F E Dinshaw Trust, Nusli Wadia has put up for sale approximately 20 acres of land in Malad, Mumbai valued at roughly Rs 100 crores. There three plots are presently encroached upon by slum dwellers. The entities are planning to sell the land parcels on an ‘as is where is basis’. The tender for sale was announced in early November and the set reserve price is said to be 25% of the ready reckoner rate according to land valuation experts.
In what is being construed as one of the largest warehousing deals in northern India, Blackstone has reportedly paid a sum of Rs 700 crores to Vertical Housing for their warehousing assets in Jhajjar, Haryana. The asset comprises of both operational assets and strategically located land plots that lay the foundation for potential future growth. Approximately 1.5 million square feet of the assets acquired are currently leased and functional. During the first half of 2022, the I&L industry attracted around $144 million in greenfield and brownfield assets from international and domestic firms.
PropsAMC, the asset management services, and data intelligence division of Square Yards has recently announced its foray into real estate investment opportunities via a fractional ownership platform. Backed by proprietary tools and data analytics, the company aims to offer young working professionals an opportunity to invest in high-quality “income-generating” real estate properties and other secured real estate securities at a fraction of the actual cost. The company aims to provide investors with an IRR of 14-15% on the capital invested along with a 7-9% annual yield for a period ranging from 3 to 6 years.
In a recent press release, India’s first Wood Frame Construction (WFC) company Nesca Homes announced its intention of constructing 10,000 wooden buildings by 2030. The company is a one window solution supplier of wooden buildings. They have assisted Forestry Innovative Investors in British Columbia, Canada in the past and have conducted multiple demo projects across India including the MAK project in Hyderabad. Their core competencies lie in value engineering, estimations and construction management in Canadian pinewood and technology.
Earlier this week the President of India signed off on the proposed amendments to the MAHDA Act 1976, paving the way for owners and tenants to initiate development of a building once categorised by the civic body as dangerous. Presently over 50 building in Mumbai has been declared dangerous. Society members of these building were unable to start the redevelopment process but were being made to pay CESS for the same. With this new development tenants and owners can now apply for redevelopment easily, reducing the time otherwise spent procuring requisite permissions and cooperation from other entities.
According to a recent report published by JLL India, start-ups have dominated the office leasing arena by taking on over 6.5 million square feet of space in the first half of this calendar year. The start-up’s share in gross leasing grew from 17 per cent in 2021 to 28 per cent in H1 of 2022 in the top eight cities of the country. Bengaluru led the race with an approximately 2.5 million square feet leased by start-ups this year, followed by Delhi NCR at 1.9 million square feet and Mumbai at 0.95 million square feet.
The state of Maharashtra has developed an online web portal that will allow citizens to make changes to land records from the comfort of their own home. The website offers ten services including applications for corrections, new name additions and heirship. Once submitted, an application ID is generated which can be used to check the status of the request. The entire process from application to the changes being reflected on the website takes approximately forty days.
According to recent reports, only 7,000 of the 16,000 plots allotted by the MIDC offices in Nagpur and Amravati for industrial estates are being actively developed. Several reasons have been cited for the delay with the primary reason being touted as disruption caused by the Covid pandemic. The Vidarbha Economic Development Council has urged MIDC to create an amnesty program to help them cope. Their recommendations include deduction of fees and penalties levied from underutilisation and water usage. Several allottees have been unsuccessful in utilising their land parcels and wish to surrender them but are unable to because of the heavy deductions made by MIDC.
Delhi based Trident Realty is gearing up to launch an integrated luxury township that will span across a 200-acre plot of land in Panchkula in Haryana. With a goal of deleveraging, the realty firm will use a portion of the money raised from banking institutions for its Trident Hills project to complete and hand over this new project. The company is said to have already invested a sum of Rs 400 crores which it intends to utilise to complete construction and deliver 450 plots already purchased by buyers in the new project.
The Indian government is in conversation with experts to set up a credit guarantee scheme for construction of warehouses in the country. The proposed fund will be developed under the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA). Their goal will be to work with banks and non-banking institutions to offer credit facilities only to entities with NWRs or e-NWRs, thereby ensuring more people line up to register. With this fund, they hope to ease capital flow while reducing cost of capital for construction.
On 29th November 2022, the government of Maharashtra opened the financial bids for the redevelopment of the Dharavi slums located in Mumbai. The winner of the bid was to be decided based on the highest initial investment pledge. DLF Group quoted Rs 2,020 crores and Gautam Adani led Adani Realty quoted Rs 5,060 crores, ultimately winning the bid. The project is scheduled to be completed over 17 years. The redevelopment will be undertaken via a Joint Development Agreement with the state government and Adani Realty.
In July this year, Delhi based Signature Global filled a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its maiden public issue. As per latest updates of the SEBI website, the realty firm has received an observation letter from the entity implying a green light for the proposed IPO. According to documents filled, the IPO will comprise of a fresh issue of equity shares amounting to Rs 750 crores and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to Rs 250 crores. International Finance Corporation and Sarvpriya Securities will sell equity shares worth Rs 125 crores each.
Following the completion of their project "Aaradhya Highpark" (Towers A, B, C, D, and retail) 16 months early, MAN Infraconstruction Ltd (MICL) will debut its upscale residential property Aaradhya Parkwood through its subsidiary Man Vastucon LLP shortly. The project will span across 2.5 acres of land and offer over 5.3 lac square feet of carpet space for sale. This project alone has the potential to bring in over Rs 800 crores in revenue for the realty firm. The project would comprise 1 and 2 BHK luxury apartments with over 60+ amenities and facilities designed in the state-of-the-art clubhouse.
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