MagicBricks.com is taking its online real estate initiative offline with a series of property bazaars from January 12 to March 9, 2008 in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur, Noida, Gurgaon, and Ludhiana. The fair is being conducted under the banner of MagicBricks.com Property Bazaar 08. The property fairs would be offering residential and commercial real estate options as well as financing options at a single venue.

Commenting on the initiative, R Sundar, President, Times Business Solutions, said, Real estate in India is witnessing a boom and is by far one of the best investment opportunities available in the country. Growth across India has been inclusive in nature, affecting development of real estate and infrastructure, not only in the metros, but in Tier 2 and 3 cities as well. MagicBricks.com is hosting the Property Bazaar across these cities to serve as a platform for buyers and sellers to come face to face and take advantage of the current real estate boom.

Anil Kumar Sharma, CMD of Amrapali Group, remarked, The property bazaars organised by MagicBricks.com in the past were very successful events and builders and developers received good response from property seekers for their property. We look forward to continuing and developing our rapport with MagicBricks.com and are participating in the upcoming MagicBricks.com Property Bazaars across India.

R K Maheshwari, Vice President-Marketing, Parsvnath Developers, said, The previous property fairs organised by MagicBricks.com were big successes and attracted genuine buyers. We look forward to the forthcoming series of MagicBricks.com property bazaars at various cities.

Source : exchange4media.com

Real estate developers in India are planning alternative measures to cut down costs of construction by about 15 to 20% owing to the recent hike in raw material inputs costs for construction, especially, cement. Red Fort Capital, in association with Nagarjuna Constructions and DLF, has replaced the use of cement in residential and hotel projects with cellular light weight concrete.

Besides, Red Fort Capital is currently talking to big developers in India to replace the use of cement with cellular light weight concrete. This will benefit real estate developers in reducing costs of construction by 15%.

This is an emerging trend in the Indian real estate market, Kuldip Chawlla, director, Red Fort Capital Advisors Private Ltd, told FE.

More : financialexpress.com

Knight Frank, the leading independent global property consultancy, says the global real estate market is going through one of its toughest phases. According to Nick Thomlinson, the general picture remains sluggish across the board, but the key market in slowdown mode at the moment is the US. He fells it is not just the residential housing market in the US where the funding has dried up but also the commercial segment. In this interview he talks about the slump in the US housing market and potential of growth in Indian realty sector.

NDTV: Do you see a cooling off in the real estate prices in different markets?

Nick Thomlinson: No doubt the real estate prices are cooling off more faster in some areas. The prices are cooling off in Europe and it is gradually spreading across India and Asia Pacific.

More : ndtvprofit.com

Land, capital and execution skills — most players in the real-estate business come armed with the first of the three considered mandatory to break through in the business.

But Mr Prakash Gurbaxani, CEO, QVC Realty, the countrys first private equity-backed real-estate start-up firm, unlike most of his competitors, dived into the brick and mortar world with the second — capital — and built a team that could execute its plans.

Mr Gurbaxani, a new-age entrepreneur and founder of 24×7, explaining his shift from IT-enabled services (ITES) to realty, says in 2005 he realised that the real-estate sector would see a sea change in the way it operates: from a fragmented, traditionally owned business, to a more professional and competitive operation. With deregulation, the supply-demand constraints will go away and customers will have more choice than ever before.

More : thehindubusinessline.com

A rental budget Rs 40,000 is big enough to get you an apartment in upmarket south Delhi and Gurgaon. In south Delhi, two-bedroom apartments of 2,700 sq ft are available in Gulmohar Park. Defence Colony has similar options. Greater Kailash II has three-bedrooms of 2,200 sq ft. Saket and New Friends Colony offer three-bedroom builder floor of 2,700 sq ft.

Lajpat Nagar is slightly expensive because of its location and good connectivity. Here one can get two- and three-bedroom apartments of 900 sq ft and 1,600 sq ft, respectively.

West Delhi areas like Punjabi Bagh and Kirti Nagar offer very few options. Three-bedroom furnished apartments of 1,900 sq ft are available here. Three to four-bedroom, 1,800-2,000 sq ft apartments are available in East Patel Nagar.

More : expressestates.in

The issue of land acquisition for the setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has focused national attention on the loss of agricultural land. Addressing a National Development Council meeting on December 23, 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: I agree that we must minimise the diversion of agricultural land and, given the choice, must opt for using wasteland for non-agricultural purposes. However, it must be kept in mind that industrialisation is a national necessity if we have to reduce the pressure on agriculture and provide gainful, productive employment to millions of our youth who see no future in agriculture.

It is obvious that the prime ministers statement was directed more at assuaging the violent opposition to the deprivation and displacement unleashed by land acquisition than at generating employment in off-farm activities for the rural youth. If this were not so, the government would have provided a figure on the threshold level for this diversion so that agricultural land is protected. In fact, the government itself does not know how much agricultural land has been diverted till date, as the Planning Commissions July 2006 report of the Working Group on Land Relations for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan made clear.

The reason for this lack of awareness is not difficult to figure out: both the government and the private sector have partnered in appropriating agricultural land to promote industry, real estate, infrastructure, highways, dams, etc. All this purportedly to benefit the public, which somehow does not include people engaged in agriculture. The fact is that diversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural use will not only continue but also enjoy official sanction. As always, it is the poor who will pay in terms of livelihood loss and food insecurity.

More : infochangeindia.org

Russian conglomerate Sistema, on Tuesday announced plans to invest $100-200 million in developing hotels, offices and residential complexes in major cities Hyderabad, Bangalore,Chennai, Delhi and Mumba. The revelation came after the companys decision to invest $5 billion in the countrys telecom sector earlier in the year.

(live-PR.com) - Russian conglomerate Sistema, on Tuesday announced plans to invest $100-200 million in developing hotels, offices and residential complexes in major cities Hyderabad, Bangalore,Chennai, Delhi and Mumba. The revelation came after the companys decision to invest $5 billion in the countrys telecom sector earlier in the year.

Sistema has clinched an alliance with India Shyam Group, which has divested 51 percent stake in its telecom venture in favor of Sistema. The Sistema-Shyam joint venture will be developing a 22-acre property in Gurgaon, on the periphery of Delhi. The venture is Sistemas first undertaking in the construction and real estate market outside Russia and Ukraine.

More : live-pr.com

If you are looking to make money from property, and dont have billions of rupees to spare, you cannot be looking to buy a villa in New Delhi. Lesser mortals will necessarily have to look at areas where development has not yet taken place, yet. There is no dearth of such places either. However, many are still seething from the effects of investing in places where no development is likely in the near future as well.
This week we look at a property that is really a pioneer in the area. Literally, it is the only residential activity from a builder, in this area. The area is in Rewari district, but it along the NH 8. It starts right where Dharuhera ends.

Reaching there
There are two properties we look at this week, both by the same builder. Called the Golden Villas and Golden Heights, Phases I and II, both on the NH 8. When going from Delhi, cross Manesar and move towards Bhiwadi. The phase I is on your right, 9 km from Bhiwadi-Dharuhera crossing. This is near the 84th milestone from Delhi. Go down further 5 km, and to your left will be the phase II.

Twin advantages
The land for these two projects is not in the R-zone yet, but the change of land usage (CLU) has been done by the builder, and proposed sectors of Rewari are going to come up near the two projects, in the future.

More : expressestates.in

Real estate developer Rakindo Developers has unveiled its plan to build a $1.5 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) integrated township at Coimbatore. It is expected to be ready for launch by the last quarter of 2008. The flagship project of Rakindo Developers in the texcity will be developed over 1,000 acres with an 18-hole golf course as the centrepiece, Rakindo Developers MD Prasad Koneru told ET here on Thursday.

The self-sustaining township would house luxurious golf course villas with scenic mountains and lush greenery in the background. We are a master developer, who believe in the concept of optimum utilisation of land rather than looking at per sq ft utilisation, he said.

The project will be independent of the existing infrastructure system, by bringing in a comprehensive facility management, he said. On pricing, Mr Koneru said while golf-facing villas would command a specific price, there would also be high-end and medium-range apartments.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Vishal Retail Limited has opened one new Showroom on Monday i.e. April 14, 2008 at Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan comprising an area of 10,000 Sq. Ft.

The total number of stores opened by the company has reached to the tally of 105 stores spreading across an area of 22,20,732 Sq. Ft. (Approx).

The stock was trading at Rs.827.05, up by Rs.18.20 or 2.25%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.850 and low of Rs.818.45.

The total traded quantity was 1740 resulting in a turnover of Rs 14.4 Lakhs.

Source : equitybulls.com