Chennai

The 3-day event by Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), Tamil Nadu members, drew an encouraging response from prospective home buyers in and around the city. The property fair showcased 250 plus properties in Chennai Trade Centre from developers across the city.

Over 32,000 people visited the event and the volume of business generated by 65-member developers during the show has been estimated to have crossed Rs 100 crore. The developers are quite upbeat over the outcome of the show and the impending potential for housing market in and around the city for the rest of the year.

Housing finance companies and banks have issued in-principal sanctions for home loans worth Rs 150 crore on submission of basic documents during the show. The encouraging response for home loans could be attributed to the flexibility in terms of lending rate and concessions extended during the show. Even the property developers have offered sops by way of reduction in rates for those who were buying during the event.

According to CREDAI sources, residential properties in the price range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 4 crore including high-end homes drew good response. The properties showcased during the show varied from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 10 crore covering apartments, villas and developed plots. A majority of the response was from the end users who have evinced keen interest to invest in residential properties.

The number of exhibitors was more than previous years and the layout was done in such a manner to give a thrust to the concept stalls over traditional cubicles. This has given a better image of the exhibits in a market where fierce competition dominates today.

In order to create awareness about the intricacies involved in the home buying exercise, leading law firm Rank Associates has been engaged to provide free legal advisory services to prospective buyers. CREDAI Tamil Nadu has a consumer redressal mechanism and the grievances received have been passed on to the committee for quick processing.

As the overall response to the Fairpro 2012 has exceeded CREDAI’s own expectations, they are contemplating to extend the show to NRIs as well in future in select countries like Middle East, Singapore and UK.

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/credai-property-fair-draws-positive-response

Real estate sector optimistic about coming Budget

While the 2011-12 budget offered a mixed bag to the realty sector, developers believe that very little was extended to them and customers and not enough steps were taken to improve the significance of the housing sector. “Even today the Indian real estate sector has been facing its problems like slowing economy, delay in decision making process, and hike in interest rates,” says Dhaval Ajmera, Director of Ajmera Realty and Infra India.

However, the real estate industry remains optimistic and looks forward to some reforms in the coming budget. The real estate sector is primarily looking forward to the RBI’s intervention to control the inflation which has adversely affected the industry. A sheer relief could be by bringing in affordable housing. “The Government wants to increase more housing stock, but we expect tax exemption for rentals and on profits. For instance, if the flat is less than 1,500 sft, the returns from it should be exempted from income tax,” says G Yoganand, President, CREDAI, Hyderabad Chapter and Chairman, Manjeera Group.

Affordable housing should be considered important with priority lending given to banks who could in return offer concessional costs to keep the cost of tenements within the reach of common man. “The budget should look forward to extending the existing benefit of Section 80 IB (10) of the IT Act for developing affordable housing as the country is still in a huge shortage of tenement,” adds Ajmera.

Last year, one percent rebate was provided for affordable housing costing between Rs 10-15 lakh. Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle India is of the opinion that the scope of this rebate should be amplified and broadened to include a wider price band of budget housing so as to boost the flagging sentiments in the housing sector.

Experts are of the opinion that the interest subvention of one percent on home loans could be raised from Rs 20 lakh to 30 lakh due to increase in cost of raw materials and various taxes incurred during home buying. Additionally, allocating more funds to the Rajiv Gandhi Avaas Yojana will do well to the real estate sector.

The real estate industry is also hoping to get an industry status as the sector is a major driver for economic growth and generates countless jobs across its various verticals. As the second largest employer in the country contributing five percent to India’s GDP, Indian Realty deserves a preferred treatment to give a further boost to our economy. Industry status would help the sector to access debt lending at more competitive interest rates and lower collateral values.

“The real estate sector should be granted industry status. It is a big employment generator in the country, and it gets no support from the financial sector. Getting the industry status will improve the sector. The government is moving in the right direction by passing stricter legislations. Also, the relief on income tax should be increased from one lakh, for people who have taken a home loan. Real estate suffers because it is not a priority sector and banks don’t finance real estate projects. However, this year seems better as the market is improving,” says Bimal Kedia, Managing Director, Theme Ambience Constructions.

There is a severe shortage of finance and whatever finance is available is coming in at a huge rate which is fuelling the realty prices and also many a times makes developers scrap the launch of new projects. The real estate industry also expects the Finance Ministry to relax the norms on FDI and ECB, especially for township projects which will give developers source funds at a much reasonable cost. “Relaxing norms for repatriation of FDI in real estate is the need of the hour. Currently, it is not possible for foreign investors to repatriate real estate investment proceeds for a period of three years, which is hampering investment flow into India. The market environment needs to be rendered more investment-friendly,” says Puri.

Meanwhile, an increase in infrastructure spending in urban areas with a view to unlock the value of neglected and hidden land assets in suburban and peripheral districts is expected. “With growing urbanisation in metros, the real estate sector is seeing huge opportunity for creating newer townships. It is vital that the government promotes townships alongside industrial belts and give developers fiscal benefits to township development to entice developers in this segment,” says Ajmera. Additionally, clear guidelines should be announced by government in order to avoid any kind of ambiguity on point of levying Service Tax on under construction projects.

Yoganand adds that considering the fact that nearly 35 percent of sale value of a home consists of various taxes such as excise, VAT, service tax, stamp duty among other things, “we hope that the Budget 2012-13 would bring about appropriate reductions in their tax rates, bring down registration charges to less than five percent to the delight of home buyers who are already burdened with high interest rates on housing loans”.

Source: Times Property, Times of India, Hyderabad

Credai Tamil Nadu showcases over 250 projects

Chennai

The fifth edition of Credai Tamil Nadu’s Fairpro 2012 has witnessed participation of 65 developers showcasing around 250 completed projects ranging in value from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore. An estimated 100,000 people are likely to visit the 3-day event starting Friday, 17th February at Chennai Trade Centre.

This is the first time that a larger area has been taken at the Chennai Trade Centre venue in response to the overwhelming demand from member developers to display a wide range of housing options to homebuyers. Last year’s show generated business worth Rs 100 crore.

Inaugurated by D Jayakumar, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, the highlights of the show include spot booking incentives and discounts, spot approval of home loans, competitive lending rates by housing finance companies and banks besides legal and financial advice from experts in the field. In order to simplify the home-search exercise, a special published report has segregated the availability of various residential projects with developers offering projects in the respective locations.

Speaking on the occasion, K Phanindra Reddy, IAS, Secretary to the government, Housing and Urban Development Department, said the state government has already started interaction with Credai to address the industry’s concern over the delay in planning approval process and assured that it will be proactive in tackling the issues. He said that despite recession and its impact on the economy, real estate sector was doing reasonably well and contributed to the exchequer by way stamp duty revenue besides generating employment to people who have migrated from other states. He assured the industry that the state government would work towards making the approval process as easy and smooth as possible.

Credai members are anticipated to induct 30,000 residential units into the market this year. Though the state housing board has land parcels in Chennai and tier III cities, not much development has taken place since five years. While the state population is 7.2 crore, the state slum clearance board has built only 2 lakh housing units so far and Tamil Nadu Housing Board has built 4 lakh units. Additional 6,000 units are under construction. So the development will have to invariably come from the private sector if the pent up demand in housing and the growing hiatus between demand and supply is to be bridged in the state.

Though there are several developers across the state, there are stringent norms to become a Credai member. Among the criteria specified for membership, specific mention must be made about completion of a minimum area of 2 lakh sqft and the need to abide by the prescribed Code of Conduct and standby the ethical practices. There are 117 members in Credai Chennai and the state has 260 members.

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/credai-tamil-nadu-showcases-over-250-projects

Fifth annual FAIRPRO to start off from Feb 17 in Chennai

Chennai - Touted as the fairest property fair in Chennai, 65 eminent developers will be coming together at the 5th annual FAIRPRO, which will be held at the Chennai Trade Centre from February 17 to February 19. FAIRPRO is organized by the local chapter of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India), the apex body for private real estate developers in the country, and will underscore its new ‘Mission Transparency’ initiative. Bound by a rigorous Code of Conduct, the builders exhibiting at FAIRPRO are operating under strict instructions to be transparent in all dealings and documentation with customers and to disclose and declare all components of the sale in consideration. “Transparency is our key focus this year,” says T Chitty Babu, President of CREDAI, Chennai chaper, adding, “We wish to promote our philosophy of Ownership without burden.”

According to him, only properties that have been “legally cleared” and have been approved by CREDAI standards will be exhibited at FAIRPRO. He says, “We intend to offer this platform for homeseekers to help them own a property that is based on the strong values of trust and integrity. As per the rules of CREDAI, customers will be given a clear break-up of all the costs involved of the property they intend to purchase, which means there will be no hidden costs.”

Stressing the fact that only legally approved properties are being exhibited at the fair, Ajith Chordia, Treasurer of CREDAI, says, “Customers sometimes tend to be unaware of the hidden taxes such as vacant land tax and the buyer comes to know about it only after the sale.” This year, CREDAI has gone the extra-mile by offering a legal counter which will be set up at the fair to answer customers’ queries on the legal aspects of their purchases. “The legal corner will be managed by our rank associates, so that buyers can make purchases confidently,” says N Nandakumar, Secretary of CREDAI.

As the number of builders who will be converging this year at FAIRPRO has risen exponentially this year, Suresh Krishn, Convenor of FAIRPRO is optimistic about the positive impact that the fair can create. “The reach of the upcoming fair is estimated to increase by nearly 50 percent. The FAIRPRO website has already registered over 20,000 hits and nearly 85 stalls have been booked so far,” he says. In his view, the most important increase is the sizeable expansion of the product range. “We are offering an unbeatable variety with projects ranging from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 10 crores. This year, we expect to create transactions to the tune of nearly Rs 250 crores,” he says. With a staggering 250 projects on display, the three-day fair is set to be a unique opportunity for interested buyers to compare prices and projects offered by the exhibitors. Spot booking, numerous discounts and hassle-free home loans are also some of the highlights of FAIRPRO 2012.

Source: The Times of India, Chennai

CREDAI property fair to be held from Feb 17 to19

CHENNAI: FAIRPRO, the annual property exhibition of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India, Tamil Nadu chapter, will be held in the city from February 17 to 19. Sixty-five builders will showcase 250 projects at prices ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore at the Chennai Trade Centre, said Suresh Krishn, convenor, FAIRPRO.

Only projects approved by the regulatory agencies and vetted by CREDAI's legal wing will be listed for sale, he said. With a view to minimizing inconvenience to prospective home buyers, the FAIRPRO team has introduced e-service for issuing entry tickets and registration.

So far, about 20,000 people have hit the FAIRPRO website and 600 people have booked tickets, he said. CREDAI Tamil Nadu president T Chitty Babu called upon the central and state governments to be considerate towards the real estate sector.

The growth of the sector will be affected if tax benefits are not extended to realtors and tax exemption on home loan interest component is not increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, he said. Ajit Kumar Chordia, MD of Khivraj group, called upon the state government to slash stamp duty for registration of properties before it announces a revision in the guideline values.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/11891636.cms

Realtors’ body releases directory

The Estate Agents’ Association of Pune (EAAP) has released the seventh edition of `EAAP Directory’ 2012-16. The directory was unveiled by Lalit Kumar Jain, president, (national), Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI).

The EAAP Directory will act as a ready reckoner for individuals and organisations related to the real estate industry and will be useful for buyers and sellers of property, said a press release. It will have a database of registration offices in and around Pune, contact details of all EAAP members, useful tips on buying and selling property and conversion tables along with articles contributed by industry veterans, said the release.

Jain said, “Along with new opportunities, new challenges are also cropping up. Owing to urbanisation, migration is also growing. Thus, active participants in the urbanisation process would be the beneficiaries. Organisations such as EAAP should create a platform for canvassing better infrastructure in Pune.”

Nitin Nyati, secretary, CREDAI-Pune Metro, Govind Bhagchandani, president, EAAP, Ravi Varma, former president, EAAP and National Association of Realtors-India, Kishen Milaney, vice president, EAAP and NAR-India, Prakash Butani, vice president, EAAP and Vanessa De Souza, secretary, EAAP, were also present on the occasion.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Realtors--body-releases-directory/903780/

Now, home buyers can complain by e-mail

CHENNAI: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI), a forum of builders, has put house buyers' grievance redressal mechanism on the fast track by introducing an e-based redressal system.

Hereafter, house buyers in Chennai can prefer complaints against builders to CREDAI's grievance redressal forum by e-mail, said N Nandakumar, chairman of mission transparency, an initiative undertaken by the builders' body across the nation to improve the quality of service offered by its members.

CREDAI national secretary T Chitty Babu said here on Monday that the grievance redressal forum in TN, established two years ago, had received 27 complaints and that all those disputes were settled.

Babu said builders could be held responsible for defects like cracks developing in pillars, beams and roofs of residential buildings even after a decade of construction.

Replying to a question on if there was any timeframe for customers to prefer complaints against builders, Babu said, "Builders gives a guarantee for 12 months. The proposed real estate regulatory bill is likely to extend this deadline to two years.

"But in case of major structural defects, there is no timeframe. If a competent agency proves that the quality of construction is substandard and the building is structurally weak, then the builder can be taken to task even after 10 years of construction."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Now-home-buyers-can-complain-by-e-mail/articleshow/11611175.cms

Qualifying test devised for realty brokers

PUNE: The Estate Agents' Association of Pune (EAAP) has devised a test for real estate brokers who intend to become its members.

EAAP president Govind Bhagchandani told reporters on Tuesday that RE-MET (Real Estate Membership Entrance Test) is an entrance level test mandatory for aspiring real estate consultants who wish to be members of the association. It is an online test, developed and offered by National Association of Realtors - India (NAR - India) of which EAAP is a founder member, Bhagchandani added.

The test module shall attempt to create a clear qualitative difference between its members and any other practicing real estate consultants, he said. The existing members of EAAP would also have to clear the test, he said, adding that the process of existing members taking the test has already begun.

Bhagchandani said anybody can take the test and obtain a certificate from EAAP.

EAAP vice president Kishen Milaney said the association is also planning to start a 'Customer Redressal Cell', where it will look into the complaints made by customers against their members and mediate to solve the problems.

He said as part of its Silver Jubilee Celebration, EAAP has planned a seminar 'Marketing Real Estate (Best Practices)' at Hotel Sun & Sand on January 19. The association will also release its EAAP directory at the hands of CREDAI (National) president Lalit Kumar Jain on January 21, he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Qualifying-test-devised-for-realty-brokers/articleshow/11536867.cms

Punjab realty sector to be sluggish till polls over: Experts

CHANDIGARH: The real estate sector in Punjab is likely to witness sluggishness in the run up to Assembly elections in the state next month, with investors expected to adopt a wait-and-watch policy with regard to new investments till the next state government comes to power, say experts.

The maximum impact of the upcoming elections is expected to be visible in new and upcoming residential projects, which still require statutory approvals from various government authorities to take off, as investors and financiers will be reluctant to infuse money into these projects in the wake of the Code of Conduct coming into force, real estate experts said.

The Election Commission of India yesterday announced that elections for the 117-member State Assembly in Punjab would be held on January 30.

Spiralling interest rates, coupled with slackening demand for property, has already made a significant dent on the property market in Punjab, with sales prices of real estate products dipping by 10-15 per cent in the past six months, they said.

"Investors do stop or become reluctant in investing in new projects during state elections as they wait for formation of a new state government, which may go for changes in policies for the real estate sector," CREDAI (Punjab) President Kulwant Singh told PTI today.

However, he said the elections will have no impact on ongoing projects.

The country's leading real estate developer, DLF, had also recently opined that the real estate industry faced a "little bit" of a slowdown during elections.

"There could be an impact... People become a little wary of investing in the real estate market during elections... They want to watch stability (till the next state government is formed)," DLF India Executive Director (North) Rahul Mehta had said.

Apart from this, financial institutions have already seen an up to 20 per cent drop in credit offtake by real estate developers, especially in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, in the past four months.

"Investors are switching over to a wait-and-watch policy concerning real estate buying," HDFC Joint General Manager (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh) P C Srivastava said.

Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), who are among the key players in the real estate sector, also stay away from the property market till the next government comes in.

"NRIs will refrain from buying new properties in Punjab until the new state government is formed," NRI Sabha (Punjab) President Kamaljit Hayer said.

Nevertheless, the real estate experts avowed that whichever political party forms the next government, it will continue to support the property market through its policies.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news-/punjab-realty-sector-to-be-sluggish-till-polls-over-experts/articleshow/11242703.cms

Property deals peak ahead of guideline value revision

CHENNAI: With the new market-based guideline values for property registration set to come into effect from January, builders and buyers in the state are rushing to seal deals before the charges go up. The number of property deals has seen a sharp rise ever since the plan to revise guideline values was announced. In November alone, the state government earned Rs 715 crore from stamp duty and registration charges.

"There is panic in the minds of buyers and builders, as stamp duty and registration charges will go up once the new guideline values come into effect. A huge number of transactions take place daily these days, especially in Chennai and Coimbatore," a senior government official said.

In all, the government realized Rs 3,965 crore till November in the current fiscal from property registrations, 23.17% higher than the corresponding period last year. The November earning is the highest for a month in the last 20 years. In 2010-11, the government's revenue from stamp duty and registration charges was Rs 5,020 crore, and this fiscal it's expected to go up to Rs 6,500 crore.

Guideline value is the minimum value of a land fixed by the government, based on which stamp duty and registration charges are calculated. The charges add up to 9% of the property value. The draft of new guideline values is expected to be published on December 15, and the final values will be announced in January. The values were last revised in 2007.

While Chennai, expectedly, recorded the maximum number of property transactions -- 3.45 lakh deals in the last eight months -- Coimbatore was close behind with 3.18 lakh deals. The reason can attributed to the fact that Coimbatore has become a preferred destination for tier-two investments in the state with many business houses setting up facilities in the city, thereby giving a push to the real estate market.

Members of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), a body of organized real estate developers, have taken exception to the new guideline values proposed by the government saying they do not reflect the market reality.

If the guidelines values of properties on Oppanakara Veethi, Cross Cut Road, DB Road and Trichy Road in Coimbatore have seen a three-fold rise in the revision, properties on Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, Boat Club Road, Poes Garden, Gopalapuram IInd Street and Montieth Road in Egmore in Chennai have been valued eight to ten times higher, they say.

CREDAI president T Chitti Babu said they were not against revision, but "a multifold increase was not acceptable." "There is a need for a study to understand the market prices. Otherwise, it will lead to malpractices and actual transactions will not come into revenue records. The officials have also found justification in our demands," he said. A crucial meeting convened by chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi on tax revenue on December 19 will throw some light on the final guideline values.

Tamil Nadu is among a very few states that do not revise guideline values periodically. Hence, major discrepancies exist between guideline values and market prices of properties.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Property-deals-peak-ahead-of-guideline-value-revision/articleshow/11054212.cms