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Property registrations in Mumbai soar to 10- year high in July month Knight Frank report

Industry expert believes shift in capital allocation is the main reason attracting people towards real estate.

Property registrations in Mumbai soar to 10- year high in July month Knight Frank report

Mumbai BMC region sets a 10-year high record in property registrations. The department registers over 9,037 units in July 2021, a 15 per cent more compared to June 2021 and a sharp increase as compared to 2,662 units in July 2020.

The July month this year was 57 per cent higher than the pre-Covid period in July 2019, according to a report put up by property consultant Knight Frank.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank, said, “As the economy revives and the lockdown restrictions ease further, with the increase in the pace of vaccinations, we expect this momentum to sustain provided we avoid the third wave. The fact that new registrations for July have also shown an encouraging increase over the last few months also bears testimony to the fact that demand for new homes remains intact.”

The registration of new residential homes was 57% in July compared to 42 per cent in June, 29 per cent in May, and 7 per cent in April, as per the report.

The easing of lockdown restrictions is one of the main reasons for record registration as customers could easily visit project sites and closed the deals. The July month growth is consequently related to demands from preceding quarters.

One other cause for the growth is the leeway of four months given by the Maharashtra state government to homebuyers in property registration after stamp duty payment to resolve crowding issues in registration offices.

The decision gave the option of 4 months window till July 31st to homebuyers who purchased residences and paid stamp duty on or before March 31, 2021, for registering their residential property.

The report mention, “Before this leeway was permitted, for over 95 per cent of registrations in the recent years, the difference between the date of payment of stamp duty and date of registration was less than 10 days and for less than 2 per cent of the registrations, the difference was over 30 days.”

According to Chief Economist & National Director Research of Knight Frank India, Rajani Sinha, real estate property demand is coming from end-users rather than investors for the last few years, which leads to continuity in the trend.

“After the closure of the stamp duty window in March 2021, the relatively affordable segments (<1 cr) have dominated the major share of sales. The majority of homebuyers in the mid to high-income segments had purchased their apartment before the closure of the lower stamp duty window ending March 2021,” Sinha added.

Meanwhile, luxury homes with a high price bracket are continuously being bought for the last couple of months in Mumbai and its metropolitan region. Affluent people and Bollywood celebrities are the ones investing in these properties.

“With investor sentiment across different asset classes showing sharp swings post the pandemic, the property has been leading the ‘favoured list’ among investments. HNI and property investors have driven the enhanced quantum of investments in property through July 2021,” said Niranjan Hiranandani is National President, NAREDCO.

Industry expert believes the shift in capital allocation is the main reason attracting people into real estate sector.

“We have seen the pandemic bring about a paradigm change in terms of both, wealth creation as also growth. Real estate, especially residential, has done well through the pandemic as an investment option; and this, in turn, is leading to a shift in capital allocation towards real estate,” Hiranandani said.

The report also points out the preferences of homebuyers that have also changed amid the pandemic. The second Covid wave and lockdown have led the homebuyers to seek homes that provide safety and security.

“The jump in property registrations in July 2021 has happened on-demand from end-users; driven by the ‘hybrid’ model of work as also ‘work from home’ in the ‘new normal’. Homes that fit the requirements caused by the pandemic have registered high sales. Integrated townships which offer the entire gamut of amenities and facilities required as a result of the lockdowns have seen customer preference grow to post the second wave,” Hiranandani said.

The report mentions the unlocking of the city, opening of the economy, the rise in vaccination drives and resolution between the state government and developers to help real estate grow in Mumbai. However, many developers feel that it would be challenging to continue this momentum in future, and government support will play a major role in the industry.

“There is still demand among the homebuyers, and we believe the numbers will see a gradual uptick if the State Government takes necessary measures to sustain the demand by reconsidering to trim the stamp duty till March 2022,” said Ashok Mohanani, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra.

Published by– Ankit Gohel

Oberoi Realty doubles its sales bookings to Rs 828.52 crore in Q2 this year

On Thursday, Oberoi Realty doubles its sales bookings to Rs 828.52 crore in the second quarter ended September on improved housing demand by low mortgage rates.

Oberoi Realty doubles its sales bookings to Rs 828.52 crore in Q2 this year

On Thursday, Oberoi Realty doubles its sales bookings to Rs 828.52 crore in the second quarter ended September on improved housing demand by low mortgage rates.

The company collected Rs 328.30 crore in its sales bookings last year as shown in a regulatory filing.

Oberoi Realty sold over 200 apartment units during July-September quarter as compared to only 45 units sold last year.

The company sold over 4.4 lakh sq. ft. area in terms of total volume in the second quarter of this year, which was more than which it sold in the same period last year 1.3 lakh sq. ft. area.

During the April-September period this year, Oberoi realty sold over 239 units compared to 50 units sold last year in the same quarter.

The company has now sold over 5.36 lakh sq. ft. area in the first six months of this fiscal year against 1.42 lakh sq. ft. in the first half of last year.

The company records Rs 998.49 crore in sales booking from April-September 2021 from 352.09 in the year-ago period.

Oberoi Realty is a Mumbai-based leading real-estate developer in the country.

Published– PTI

Sobha Limited clocks 49% growth in Q2 sales bookings on better housing demand

The company has successfully sold properties worth Rs 689.9 crore across various regions in India.

Sobha Limited clocks 49% growth in Q2 sales bookings on better housing demand

Leading real estate firm Sobha Limited on Monday said it has recorded 49 per cent growth in sales booking worth Rs 1,030.2 during the second quarter on better housing demand.

The company has successfully sold properties worth Rs 689.9 crore across various regions in India.

In its regulatory report, the sales rose to 13, 48,864 square feet in Q2 of this fiscal year from 8, 91,700 square feet in value during the same quarter of the last financial year.

The company recorded Rs 1,713.1 crore in sales bookings during April-September in this financial year which was 1,177.6 crore in the same period of the last year.

Sobha Limited earned revenue of Rs 3,137.2 crore in sales bookings in its last fiscal year.

“With the festive season coming in and our planned new launches in the coming quarters, we are expected to sustain momentum in the second half of the financial year,” Sobha said in the filing.

In a statement, the company said that it had achieved record sales volume at sustainable price realization in the Q2 of FY22.

“This was primarily driven by good sales numbers achieved in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Pune and GIFT CITY. The Kerala region has shown improved sales performance as compared to Q1 FY’22. It could have done better but for the prolonged impact of Covid second wave,” the company said.

Bengaluru-based Sobha Limited is a leading real estate group developing residential and commercial projects across the country.

Published by– PTI

Affordable housing loan defaults soar to 7.2%, says ICRA

Increase in loan defaults is a concern; however lenders don’t have to bear huge losses because of the secure nature of these loans.

Affordable housing loan defaults soar to 7.2%, says ICRA

Due to the economic downturn during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, finance companies recorded a rise of 7.2 per cent in June compared to 5.1 per cent in March in loan defaults.

Rating agency ICRA in its report said the asset quality was already performing badly when the world was facing the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. The financing companies (HFC) were affected because of the lockdown in numerous areas in the first quarter of 2021-2022 (FY-22)

While the government directs for moratorium and restrictions on loan collection to banks in Q1 of 2020-21, but there were no restrictions this time round but loan defaults still surge. The 30-day plus dues were 3.2 per cent in March 2020, but delinquencies in 90-day plus- a way to treat loans as non-performing assets remained under control in Q1FY22.

Over the last two fiscal years, AHFCs have made their balance sheet strong with higher provision covers across the various buckets, said the rating agency.

ICRA say the overall portfolio of the companies is limited to less than 2 per cent help finance companies prevent huge losses because of the secured nature of loans.

Mentioning the growth of AFHCs in real estate, ICRA said the total loan balance sheet of new financial organisations in the affordable housing projects is increased 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 60,468 crore as of June 30. However, the growth is much lower than the last five averages of 24 per cent. Loan financing in affordable housing is about 5 per cent of the overall loan book of HFCs.

The report says the long term growth in affordable housing credit is positive because of favorable demographic profile, under-penetrated market, tax reduction, and government initiative for ‘Housing for All’.

Adequate funding would be crucial for the AHFCs if they want to scale up, added ICRA.

Published by– Abhijit Lele

Bangalore-based realty firm RMZ Corp appoints Avnish Singh for MD position

The new managing director will look after the RMZ’s revenue growth across India

Bangalore-based realty firm RMZ Corp appoints Avnish Singh for MD position

RMZ Corp, a renowned developer in Bangalore has appointed its new managing director-Investment Management Avnish Singh.

RMZ Corp is a privately owned real estate firm in Bangalore that invests and develops residential and commercial projects in various major cities. The new managing director will look after the RMZ’s revenue growth across India.

Avnish Singh will be handling new project acquisition and capital raising roles to drive growth strategy. He will also help develop new global partnerships and strengthen the current ventures of the company.

Avnish Singh is a founding member of JLL and has over 20 years of Industry experience. He has worked at Tishman Speyer and GE Capital Real Estate, the company said in a press release.

He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School, ICFAI, Fergusson College, and Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics.

Realty Group, RMZ Corp aims to increase its 67 million square feet land parcel, which is worth $10 billion to 87 million square feet worth $15 billion by 2026, the company said in a statement.

Published by– PTI

Raymond Realty to invest into commercial real estate with its premium residential project

Raymond Realty plans to expand its business beyond Thane through various joint ventures without exercising land acquisition.

Raymond Realty to invest into commercial real estate with its premium residential project

On October 5, Raymond Realty announced its ‘Grade A’ commercial project spread across 9.5 acres that includes high street retail shops in Thane. Besides this, the company is also looking to develop a premium residential project comprised of 3BHK and 4BHK apartment units with a total area of a million square feet.

Raymond Realty has a sizeable land parcel in Thane which will be used to build one million square feet of commercial project in the first phase of construction. Over 8 lakh sq. ft. area is used for rental purposes while the remaining space is used for high street shopping space, said the company.

With the full swing construction of the project and the completion of its three towers, the company will deliver the units 24 months before its RERA deadline.

“Two years ago when we came into the business everybody said what is Raymond doing in the real estate business and what do they understand about the business. I think the biggest advantage we had coming into this business was that we understood nothing about it. And we rewrote the rules of the book to be able to craft our own journey and write the book to say that this is the way it should be done,” Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of Raymond.

Mentioning about the project completion he said, “Many firsts here – people said will they actually construct these buildings? Well, they are up. As a company, we have been the fastest real estate site in the company and that too through the pandemic. We have put up a slab every seven days. This is the first thing that is different,”

“On December 10, 2022, at 10 am we will hand over the keys to the first apartment. This is a big statement, big brand reinforcement. As a company, we are cognizant of the pandemic and we are emphatic to our customers. We have taken a decision that any customer whose money has been forfeited, has 24 months to come back to us and we will give him credit for every rupee that he has paid us,” he said.

He said the real estate business has become a significant vertical for the Raymond Group. “This is just the beginning. We have demerged this business with the approval of the board. And the idea is to take this business for its humble beginnings to a completely different level,” he added.

Besides introducing new housing and commercial projects, Raymond Realty is looking for numerous joint ventures with other companies without exercising land acquisition in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Recently, Raymond Realty got various business proposals across MMR, and the company is on a path to increase its revenue in real estate.

“The current project has given us enough confidence now to expand our horizons beyond Thane and our venture into real estate is not limited to land monetization only,” he said, adding “We are exploring various options of joint development without land acquisition outside Thane,” he said.

Raymond Group is looking to create a subsidiary for its real estate business that will help create growth business opportunities in the future.

Harmani H Sahni, CEO, Raymond Realty said, “We are creating a subsidiary for the real estate business. All projects will be transferred into the subsidiary. It will be a pure-play real estate entity that will, going forward, manage its own funding, raise its own funds, and then work on the expansion. Going forward, we will focus on joint development and not buy any fresh land. We already have a land bank in Thane which is adequate for us for many years to come.”

While mentioning future business prospects, he said, currently they are planning to focus on MMR because real estate is a big market, and they have already invested in it.

During the project launch, the company also announced that customers who were unable to make payment and lead to their unit forfeited due to financial reasons can now get forfeited

“During the pandemic year, there were some customers who faced financial difficulties. And because of that some of the payments did not come on time and we had to cancel those apartments. The money had to be forfeited as per RERA. As a humanitarian gesture going forward, for all those customers for whom the money has been forfeited, we are giving them 24 months’ time starting from the cancellation date, so that if their financial situation improves or some of them who lost their job, find employment or are able to surmount some other difficulty, they can come forward and book another apartment and we can give them full credit of the money that was forfeited,” he said.

With a total of 2350 units, Raymond Realty has sold over 70% of its total inventory. Raymond entered into the real estate space in 2019 with 100 acres of land parcel. The company launched its maiden project ‘10X’ that is spread across 14 acres which has 42 storied towers providing over 3000 well planned 1BHK and 2BHK units.

Published by– PTI

Supreme Court says model builder-buyer agreement is essential for real estate

Supreme Court says model builder-buyer agreement

On Monday, The Supreme Court said that it is essential for the country to introduce a builder-buyer agreement for the real estate sector to protect consumers as developers put numerous clauses in the agreement that consumers do not pay attention to.

A bench consisting of Justice DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarthna issued a notice to the centre on the plea and sought a response.

The bench said the agreement is important to protect consumer rights as most builders often put a number of clauses in the agreement that most people do not pay attention to. There should be some uniformity in the agreement. Hence, a model builder-buyer agreement should be placed in the country.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner advocates Ashwini Upadhyay said that the centre should present a model agreement countrywide as some states have this and some don’t which leads to no uniformity in those agreements.

During a court hearing, the bench said it is an interesting matter as it can easily be dealt with Real Estate Regulations Act and knows its importance.

States that have model agreements are often manipulated by the builders by changing conditions and clauses. Hence the centre should frame it and should be issued to all the states and union territories of India said advocate Vikas Singh.

Senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy representing a group of home buyers said that they are also looking for the implementation of the model agreement to help safeguard the interest of consumers.

The PIL was filed by Upadhyay wanted the centre to frame model agreement for builders and buyers to protect the latter and promote transparency in the system with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act, 2016.

Filed in October of this, the plea has sought a solution from all the states to implement the ‘Model Builder Buyer Agreement’ and ‘Model Agent Buyer Agreement’ to avoid mental and physical pressure on home buyers.

The plea filed by Mr Upadhyay said “Promoters, builders and agents use arbitrary one-sided agreements that do not place customers at an equal platform with them, which offends Articles 14, 15, 21 of the Constitution. There have been many cases of deliberate inordinate delays in handing over possession and customers lodge complaints but the police don’t register FIRs, citing arbitrary clauses of the agreement.”

Delays in project delivery are affecting home buyers to suffer mental and financial pressure but also feels that their right to life and livelihood is violated stated in the PIL filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.

PIL also mentions, “Builders issue revised delivery schedules again and again and adopt arbitrary unfair restrictive trade practices. All this amounts to criminal conspiracy, fraud, cheating, criminal breach of trust, dishonestly inducing delivery of the property, dishonest misappropriation of property and violation of corporate laws.”

It is stated that developers follow pre-launching project practice without authority approval across the country and often term it as ‘soft launch’ or ‘pre-launch to attract customers’ attention and openly violate the laws. However, no actions are taken against any builder to date in this regard.

“It is necessary to state that registration of the project with the regulatory authority has been mandatory before it is launched for sale and for registration the basic pre-requisite is that the developer must have all the requisite approvals. Thus, the buyer is protected as the project is ring-fenced from the vagaries of non-approvals or delays in approvals which are one of the major causes of delay for the project,” the plea said.

The plea submitted to the court also sought an order of compensation to the buyers for the losses incurred because of delays by the builders and to recover their money.

Published by– PTI

Macrotech Developers sold properties for nearly 1,100 crore in London

The company said, they saw rise in customer enquiries and visits which indicates strong sales growth in the current quarter.

Macrotech Developers sold properties for nearly 1,100 crore in London

Macrotech Developers sold properties worth Rs 1,100 crore of its London projects last month. The company said it expects to sell the entire project before the 2023-24 fiscal years.

Providing an update of its sales performance on October 4, the company said in a regulatory filing that “Travel restrictions to the UK for visitors from the USA and Europe were eased starting in August 2021, allowing prospective purchasers to visit our 1 Grosvenor Square development for the first time since its readiness. In the month of September, the project achieved Pre Sales of £110 million (Rs 1100 crores).”

The company update mentions that they have received numerous property enquiries and visits from the customers which indicate strong sales growth in its current quarter. The company said, “The current performance exceeds our business plan and if the trend continues without any further unforeseen events, we expect to sell out the project ahead of our business plan of FY 24, expediting the release of capital for our growth and deleveraging.”

The company which was earlier named Lodha Developers said their project Lincoln Square achieved pre-sales of £35 million (around Rs 350 crores) during the current quarter which records the best quarterly performance.

Macrotech Developers came into London real estate in 2013 when it acquired the famous Macdonald House at 1 Grosvenor Square in Central London from the Canadian Government for over GBP 300million (Rs 3,100 crore)

With its first purchase, the company also acquired New Court at 48 Carey Street in Central London for 90 million pounds in 2014.

Published by– MoneyControl

42 developers make it to IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021

Real estate tycoon Rajiv Singh of DLF and family crowned the list with a wealth of Rs 54,100 crore followed by Mangal Prabhat Lodha and family of Macrotech Developers with a wealth of Rs 42,500 crore among real estate developers across the country.

42 developers make it to IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021

The real estate sector contributed total of 42 and added list of 9 new individuals to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. The big developers trusted with the financial backing and a proven track record gained market share and the sector testified a 49% increase in its wealth compared to year 2020.

It also comes as no surprise that Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has again topped the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021 for the 10th year in a row with a whooping wealth of Rs 7, 18,000 crore making him the richest man in the country.

Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Group makes it second on the list, with daily wealth accumulation of over Rs 1,000 crore a day over the past year.

Four businessmen made it to the top 10 for the first time – Arcelor Mittal’s Lakshmi Mittal, Kumar Mangalam Birla of Aditya Birla Group, Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod Shantilal Adani and Jay Chaudhry, founder of Zscaler.

Real estate tycoon Rajiv Singh of DLF and family crowned the list with a wealth of Rs 54,100 crore followed by Mangal Prabhat Lodha and family of Macrotech Developers with a wealth of Rs 42,500 crore among real estate developers across the country.

Chandru Raheja and family of K Raheja Group were third with a wealth of Rs 38,900 crore and Niranjan Hiranandani of Nidar was at number four with a wealth of Rs 34,100 crore, as per 2021 List.

The fifth spot was held by realtor Jitendra Virwani of Embassy Office Parks with a wealth of Rs 23,700 crore. Vikas Oberoi of Oberoi Realty gained the sixth spot with a wealth of Rs 20,200 crore.

G Amarender Reddy and family of GAR with a total wealth of Rs 12,000 crore; Basant Bansal of M3M India with a wealth of Rs 5,700 crore; Roop Kumar Bansal of M3M Group with a wealth of Rs 5,700 crore; Atul Chordia and family of Panchshil Realty with fortunes worth Rs 5,300 crore; Kabul Chawla of BPTP with a wealth of Rs 2,000 crore; Pankaj Bajaj and family of Eldeco Infrastructure and Properties with a wealth of Rs 1,900 crore among others were the new entrants in the list this year.

In the overall listing, with Rs 1, 54,300 crore, Radhakishan Damani of Avenue Supermarts retained the seventh position in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. Avenue Supermarts’ share price has increased by more than 500% and made its CEO Ignatius Navil Noronha the richest professional manager residing in India with a net worth of INR 5,100 crore since its IPO in 2017.

New Delhi registered an increase of 39 individuals followed by Mumbai which registered a net increase of 38. However, home to 25 percent of the total list, Mumbai remains the preferred city for India’s biggest wealth creators, followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru.

With 302 and 167 entrants respectively, Maharashtra and Delhi are the preferred states of residence for individuals in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. Gujarat added 15 rich listers to overtake Tamil Nadu to fourth place.

“IIFL Wealth Hurun Rich List 2021 is an indication of investor interest in Indian companies. In the real estate sector, this is reflected by stronger valuation multiples compared to the start of the pandemic. India’s huge unmet housing demand coupled with rising income levels will definitely evoke more sales in the sector, especially from the top developers featured in the IIFL wealth Hurun India Rich List. Real estate will be one of the biggest contributors to India’s 5 trillion GDP target and one of the biggest wealth-creating sectors in the country,”  Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India told MoneyControl.

Commenting on the launch, Anirudha Taparia, Joint CEO, IIFL Wealth, said, “IIFL Wealth has been associated with the Rich List for some years now and while we are happy to see that the list has grown 10 times in the last 10 years. Our country has emerged significantly stronger from the much critical pandemic situation. While the challenges were aplenty, the optimism of a fast recovery, has taken our indices to new highs in recent times. Being a wealth manager of choice, this report is not merely a compendium of wealthy business owners and professionals – but a reflection of how and where wealth creators are expanding their wealth.”

Delhi Government extended the date for 20% circle rates rebate till December 31

Delhi Government extended the date for 20% circle rates rebate till December 31

On September 30, the Delhi government decided to extend 20% reduced circle rates till 31 December for all the properties in a notification shared by the revenue department.

The following decision is made to boost the real estate market and increase its revenue after it took nose dive during Covid-19.

“Lt Governor of NCT Delhi hereby notifies the extension of relaxation of 20 per cent in the minimum rates (circle rates) till 31.12.2021 for valuation of lands and immovable properties in Delhi… Lt Governor further directs that they shall come into force with immediate effect…,” the notification said.

In a Twitter post by Cabinet minister, Govt. of NCT of Delhi (Law, Revenue, Transport, IT and AR) said “with the city slowly recovering from the aftermath of COVID, here’s good news for Delhiites!!! We have further extended the 20% slash in circle rates till 31st Dec 21 under Hon CM Arvind Kejriwal.”

Earlier on February 5, the Delhi government decided to reduce the circle rate which was till September 30. Circle rates were reduced to 20% for residential, commercial and industrial properties across all locations of Delhi.

A circle rate is a minimum rate recognized by the government through the registrar or sub-registrar office of Delhi for the registration of property transactions. On the other hand, stamp duty is paid on the higher value of declared transaction value and the cost is calculated as per the chart applicable for the certain area of Delhi.

Circle rates are based on the market value and the facilities available in the area, and this is the main reason they tend to vary from region to region in Delhi. According to these parameters, the government has divided different areas into 8 categories Category A, Category B, Category C, Category D, Category E, Category F, Category G, and Category H. Category A is the most expensive area while Category H has the lowest value in the city.

Commercial properties have usually higher circle rates compared to residential properties which have low rates. The circle rates are dependent on the type of property. The registration value of the apartment is different from floors of independent houses even if they are located in the same area.

Published by– Vandana Ramnani

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