South Delhi demand spills over into Gurgaon

Trammell Crow Meghraj Property Consultants report says it’s the new destination for non-polluting industries.

Growth in IT sector, booming economy and construction of Delhi-Gurgaon expressway has all given boost to real estate in Gurgaon.

With time and changing life style, markets have matured and shown sufficient appetite for high-rise condominium housing as well, according to a report released by Trammell Crow Meghraj Property Consultants.

Unlike other towns in the NCR, the regional development plan for NCR perceives Gurgaon as a centre for non-polluting high technology industries, with an objective of controlling the growth of Delhi, and shifting the growth spill into the suburbs, the survey adds.

Real estate market of Gurgaon has been derivative of property markets of Delhi and for a long time acted as its extension.

Place of residence near to work place is being preferred with more and more corporate setting up their office premises in Gurgaon

Property rents go up 100% in Gurgaon

The MCD drive is forcing companies to flee from Delhi to Gurgaon. The move has shot up commercial A-grade real estate rentals by almost 100% in the suburb. Prime A-grade space in the Capital has also shot by up to 66%, whereas prices in Noida, which has less A-grade space available, are relatively stable.

DTZ India MD Ankur Srivastava said, “Rentals of prime A-grade offices in Gurgaon have shot from Rs 30-33 per sq ft a month six months ago to Rs 60-65 a sq ft now, due to the MCD drive.”

While some are in the process of shifting to Gurgaon, Rediffiusion DYR has already relocated. Express Builders’ JB Goel said, “Shifting to Gurgaon will continue as the suburb offers a safe haven, away from government threats.”

Majestic Properties director Anurag Gupta, however, said, “The current MCD drive against illegal commercial establishments is to be lauded. But they should be phased out in an amicable manner.”

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=146155

THE NR EYE: Remitting property sale proceeds is now easier

A recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announcement easing remittance of property sale proceeds should come as a welcome gesture for non-resident Indians (NRIs) wanting to gain from the current boom in real estate India.

The RBI has removed the lock-in period for remittance of sale proceeds of immovable property in India by non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origins (PIO), provided the amount being remitted does not exceed $1m in any financial year.

Earlier, NRIs and PIOs were permitted to remit up to $1m per calendar year for any bonafide purpose out of the balances in their NRO accounts.

These measures were announced as a follow-up of the recommendations of the Tarapore Committee on Fuller Capital Account Convertibility (FCAC).

Further, all categories of foreign exchange earners will be allowed to retain up to 100 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings in their Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts. The RBI also enhanced the ceiling of overseas investment by mutual funds of from $2bn to $3bn with a view to providing greater opportunity to mutual funds to invest overseas.

Don’t count on bank for your second home loan

People looking for a home loan in India to buy flats larger than their current homes as an investment option, or to secure the future of their children, may now find it difficult to obtain finance. Banks, which once zealously solicited loan takers, are now turning them away.

In line with the RBI’s ‘warning signal’ to banks issued earlier this week on credit policy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has urged banks to curtail their lending to ‘overheated sectors’ like real estate in India.

“While it is a good sign that people are willing to leverage current earnings over a longer term to acquire assets of a much larger size, we must be on guard on this,” he said at a banking conference in Hyderabad.

What Chidambaram meant was that although investing with an eye on the future is sensible, care should be taken to discourage speculative buying.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1062035