Udhayam Theatre complex for sale

CHENNAI, FEB. 3: The Udhayam Theatre complex, a nearly 1.4-acre plot at Ashok Nagar in the heart of the city, is back on the block for a potential sale.

In a public notice today, the court-appointed receiver has called for bids for the 26-ground (62,400 sq.ft.) with a four-screen cinema complex and a marriage hall.

The upset price has beenset at Rs 95 crore.

LAST DATE FOR BID

The last date for the bid is March 20, 2013. The bids will be opened on March 23.

This is the third time the property, with over 50 shareholders, all members of six promoter families, has been put up for sale since 2009.

It had originally been put up for sale through an international property consultant who had tried an e-auction with an upset price of about Rs 100 crore. But the deal could not be finalised then.

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Schools move south for more space

CHENNAI: When Irudaya Gandhi's husband left for Dubai last year, she had two options - continue to live with her children in their apartment in Royapettah or move closer to her parents' house in Chitalapakkam. For the 37-year-old the choice was obvious and she moved.

"Three years ago, the choice may not have been so easy because I have the children's education to think about. I realised there are many schools in the suburbs and decided to move," said Gandhi, whose children study at N S N Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

Five to seven years ago it was not uncommon to find families moving out of the suburbs in search of good schools in the city. Over the last couple of years, with the development in the suburbs, urban experts have been noticing a trend of reverse migration where families are moving back to the suburbs.

"While education is among the driving forces for this trend of reverse migration, there are other factors such as congestion in the city, pollution and skyrocketing real estate prices that are driving people to the suburbs," said Raj Cherubal, founder of Chennai City Connect, an NGO that works on infrastructure issues.

The lack of space and soaring real estate prices within the city have pushed people wishing to start schools outside the city limits. "To start a new school within the city is close to impossible. The management has to deal with outdated and unnecessary regulations regarding the size of the buildings and space, among others. The process is relatively hassle-free while setting up a school in the suburbs," he said.

Many schools have mushroomed in the southern suburbs such as Chromepet, Chitalapakkam, East Tambaram, Palavanthangal and Madipakkam. "When we set up our school in Nanganallur, there were hardly any educational institutions here. Within a decade, at least 10 recognised schools have come up," said K Vasudevan, principal of Prince Matriculation Higher Secondary School, which has more than 2,700 students.

With the development of the suburbs, connectivity to the city has also improved, drawing more students from the city. Although education is the driving force, families who have moved say staying in a suburb has other advantages. "Water is available in plenty. It is relatively less noisy, congested and polluted," says K Jeevan who moved to Indira Nagar two years ago after renting out his house in Vadapalani.

"Today, only a few banks are headquartered on Anna Salai. A large number of companies and factories are in Sriperambudur or on OMR, which were very different places 15 years ago. Residential clusters have started coming up here. With different types of schools coming up, people have no reason not to set up base here," said P Vishnucharan, correspondent of Shree Niketan Group of Schools in Tiruvallur.

Real estate prices have gone up by close to 40%, say builders. "The prices have touched Rs 3,200 to 3,500 per sq.ft. Despite the rise, the demand is high as the cost is less than the city," says Prakash Challa, national vice-president of real estate body CREDAI.

For the original post visit: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Schools-move-south-for-more-space/articleshow/18327309.cms

Property values rise by 21% in Perumbakkam, Chennai

Chennai

With the IT sector growing across Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), real estate market of Perumbakkam, a suburb in south Chennai, is benefitting on account of its location. Being 2 km away from OMR, it is almost equidistant from all prime IT hubs such as Velacherry and Sholinganallur and the commercial Thoraipakkam. As per MagicBricks.com data, the locality has witnessed a whopping 21 per cent rise in property prices in the Oct-Dec, 2012 quarter.

Perumbakkam is well connected through OMR, Tamabaram-Velacharry Road and Medavakkam-Sholinganallur Road. Its strategic location has been a major reason for a steady demand and capital appreciation in this area. “Perumbakkam enjoys good connectivity with important roads and is close to the upcoming ELCOT SEZs. Therefore, one can expect a good increase in values in five years,” says R Murugesan, CEO, Shriram Properties.

“Apart from the location advantage, another factor adding to the price rise is the Government’s policy of premium FSI which came in 2010. The policy gave the builders a scope to make larger homes, due to which the prices have risen from Rs 2800 per sq ft in 2010 to Rs 5,000 per sq ft in 2012,” says A Jaiganesh of India Infoline Ltd.

The locality is primarily driven by end-users accounting to almost 60 per cent of the total buyers. Thus, in accordance to the demand, majorly 2 and 3 BHKs of sizes ranging from 900-1,500 sq ft are offered in Perumbakkam. The average prices of these range from Rs 3,800-5,000 per sq ft,” says Dhan Raj of Naidu Realty, a city based realtor.

Owing to this, the rental market too has witnessed an escalation of 8 per cent in the last 6 months. The rental values range between Rs 15-18 per sq ft.

Looking at the prospects of the locality, many new developers have entered the realty market including Indiabulls developers, Embassy Property Developments Ltd, Renuka Foundations, Chettinadd Housing and Rajarathanam Constructions.

Thus, with its outstanding connectivity, proximity to commercial locations and social infrastructure, Perumbakkam seems to be good for all buyers. While there is comfort for end-users, investors can hope for large appreciations in the coming years.

Shradha Goyal, MagicBricks.com Bureau

You are here:Home»Property News»Chennai real estate news Residential plots- the preferred property type in Sriperumbudur

Chennai

Sriperumbudur, an industrial hub strategically located along the Chennai-Bangalore highway, is witnessing a huge demand for residential plots. As per the data on MagicBricks.com there exists a demand of nearly 75 per cent for residential plots in the locality. Affordable prices as compared to other parts of the city and good connectivity are driving demand. The locality connects Tambaram, Tiruvallur, Oragadam and Poonamalle.

Availability of space at less per sq ft value in comparison to the Central Business District (CBD) areas has prompted many developers and buyers to start real estate activities in this area. “Plot rates are comparatively affordable here than other areas closer to city. Investors and speculators have invested more in plots. More demand is seen for plots having a size of 600 to 3000 sq.ft,” says A M Haree, vice president, marketing, V G N Developers. “Moreover,” he continues, “the demand is largely limited to a budget range Rs 18-25 lakh.” Residential plots are available for a price of Rs 400-1000 per sq ft.

The hype around the upcoming Green Field international airport has also enhanced buyer interest in the locality giving an added edge to the property segment. The industrial development in the locality is a known fact. Sriperumbudur houses various software and manufacturing industries such as Nokia, Saint Gobain, Ashok Leyland, Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, BMW, Godrej, Motorola etc. Professionals working in these organisations have been driving the residential demand in the locality. However, investors have also entered the market with plots offering an appreciation of 20-30 per cent, informs Haree.

Apart from investors, end users are also eyeing plots here to build their own homes. Apart from the industrial developments with several automobile and electronic companies offering job opportunities, several educational institutes are also in place here. Thus the prospect of having an independent house at affordable prices in a locality with reasonably well developed infrastructure is set to drive demand for plots here.

Source: MagicBricks.com Bureau

Housing Board to redevelop flats in Chennai

Chennai

The state government on 29th January announced redevelopment of 17 housing board residential enclaves in various parts of the city.

The government is planning to construct multi-storeyed apartments in those locations at a cost of 1,740 crore. Of the 6,254 apartments to be constructed, 3,646 will be earmarked for government officials’ rental accommodation and the remaining 2,608 will be sold to public under self-financing scheme.

Existing buildings in those places are low-rise structures that had underutilised the permissible floor space index (FSI is the ratio of land area to the built-up area). While redeveloping them, the government will be able to construct more dwelling units.

There are 2,238 apartments at sites identified for redevelopment. They include Peters Colony and Lloyds Colony in Royapettah and Todhunter Nagar in Saidapet. They are in a dilapidated condition and need to be pulled down urgently.

Though the government had planned to redevelop the 25-acre housing board site at Foreshore Estate, it is restrained by the new Coastal Regulation Zone notification. Hence, multi-storeyed buildings cannot be constructed there.

Observing that planned development leads to provision of all basic amenities to the people, a government release said only 6,950 sq km area of the total 1,28,869 sq km under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) had seen planned development. To ensure better development in the remaining 1,21,919 sq km, the state is in the process of developing a master plan, the release said.

As a first step, the DTCP has tied up with Bharatidasan University to prepare a master plan for 8,447 sq km area in Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tuticorin, Tirupur, Erode and Hosur. The project is expected to cost 4.92 crore.

The state has earmarked 10 crore for carrying out maintenance works of government officers’ quarters at Thanjavur, Erode, Hosur, Trichy, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Villupuram, Tirunelveli and Salem. From now, people applying for DTCP permission to construct buildings can submit their applications online. It is expected to eliminate delay caused in processing applications. The government has sanctioned 2.20 crore for this purpose.

Source: The Times of India, Chennai

HDFC’s luxury home show redefines demand pattern in Chennai

Chennai

India’s premier housing finance company HDFC’s 2-day luxury home show held recently in Chennai drew encouraging response from HNIs and corporate executives. Understandably the organisers have restricted the total number of exhibitors to just 12 in order to create an ambience where visual display would do the talking rather than just discussion across the table. A wide range of products from apartments to duplex homes and villas valued at Rs 2 crore and above per unit were on display.

Over 600 people visited the 2-day show held at Leela Palace Chennai in MRC Nagar. Significantly there was not much media glitz for the event as the city’s high profile customers were specifically targeted and invited through database of both HDFC and HDFC Bank. The demand for average home loan size ranged from Rs 1.5 crore onwards. A few developers have clinched deals during the show days and the event has convinced the developers over the consistent and growing demand for high-end homes in the city, according to the organisers.

The demand for high-end apartments valued at Rs 2 crore and above and located within city areas continues to dominate as is evident from the quantum of enquiries received by exhibitors at the show. The other category for which visitors evinced keen interest to ascertain the multiple options available and the time frame involved in completion is villas under various stages of implementation in city’s suburbs and peripheral areas.

There were limited luxury home shows held in the city earlier but they were fizzled out due to a combination of factors. What has made HDFC tick is the focused thrust given to invite the high profile clients to ascertain the demand pattern for high-end homes, according to industry sources. The strategy worked well for both the organisers and the exhibitors and it was a win-win situation. It is no wonder that encouraged by the response to the maiden luxury home show, the company is planning to repeat the show in the city.

V Nagarajan, Property Consultant

For the original post visit: http://content.magicbricks.com/hdfcs-luxury-home-show-redefines-demand-pattern-in-chennai/

Housing demand robust in tier II and tier III cities

Top six cities — Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai saw housing sales drop by 16 per cent to around 2 lakh units during 2012 because of high property prices, weak business sentiment and costlier home loan, as per a report by property consultant Knight Frank but real estate companies say housing demand continues to be robust in tier II and III cities.

Many developers were reluctant to launch new residential projects as a result of which the launches in 2012 slump by 30 per cent. “The overall residential market in these cities was plagued by high property prices, relatively higher mortgage rates, weak business sentiments and a bleak employment scenario. This is reflected in the launches which declined by 30 per cent in 2012 in comparison to a fall of 7 per cent in 2011.

“It is true that the high interest rates and input cost kept housing prices elevated in 2012,” confirmed realty firm OMAXE CMD Rohtas Goel when contacted by The Pioneer. “Housing demand continues to be robust in tier II and III city as affordability is a key factor in these cities even for middle income group. Cities like Jaipur, Indore, Lucknow, New Chandigarh have always found flavour amongst the people due to infrastructure boost and employment opportunities in these cities,” he added.

Realty firm Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pardeep Jain admitted that demand for housing differed from cities to cities. “In my view demand in 2012 was good on city to city basis,” Jain added.

Similarly developers’ apex body CREDAI Chairman, Lalit Kumar Jain said: “While there could be different statistics on the real estate industry performance, it is certain that the general atmosphere is not at all conducive for great sale of properties. First the cost of realty has been shooting up due to a variety of reasons like the ever increasing cost of inputs like cement, steel and even labour”.

“Adding to this was the inordinate delays in getting approvals. The cost of funding for both the developer and buyer was and still is very high. This has adversely impacted the project execution and even sales. There are quite a few projects that have been halted for want of funds and ever increasing costs,” he added.

The six cities witnessed launch of 2,41,811 homes in 2012 as against 3,43,142 dwelling units in the previous year, the report said, adding that absorption declined to 2,09,787 units in 2012 from 2,49,127 homes in the previous year. "This can be clearly seen by closely studying the gap between the launch and the absorption numbers. This gap reduced to 32,000 units in 2012 compared to 82,000 and 94,000 units in 2010 and 2011, respectively," Knight Frank said.

The two biggest residential markets i.e. NCR and Mumbai account for almost 60 per cent of total absorption, followed by Bengaluru (13 per cent), Pune (11 per cent), Chennai (9 per cent) and Hyderabad (7 per cent). Recently Finance Minister P Chidambaram had asked the developers to sell their unsold inventory at a lower price.

On upcoming policy review by RBI Goel, said: “It is widely expected that RBI will reduce rates as it is imperative for rates to come down in view of the economic condition.” Parsvnath Developers Chairman quantified his expecation on rate cut when he said: “We expect RBI cut rate by 50 basis point.”

“We expect the RBI to take a pragmatic and practical view of real estate industry that contributes almost 5 per cent to the GDP (Coupled with the construction industry, the contribution amounts to 11 per cent ). RBI, unfortunately, has negative approach towards real estate and the risk weightage of 1.25 percent that it gives discourages commercial banks from funding our projects,” CREDAI Chairman expressed his views on policy rates.

“We, therefore, expect RBI to cut down the repo rate and facilitate a drop in the rates of interest. Instead of choking supply by restricting funds, RBI should take steps to ensure increased supply of housing stock and allow the demand-supply market scenario to function to the benefit of the ultimate buyer,” he added.

CREDAI Chairman also said that the sector needed immediate banking reforms to rejuvenate the real industry to revive the economy as realty supports 400 plus industries. Real estate can be the new growth engine for the economy and we are sure the planners, bankers and the government realizes this indisputable fact”.

For the original post visit: http://www.dailypioneer.com/business/124670-housing-demand-robust-in-tier-ii-and-tier-iii-cities.html