Hyderabad is the world’s second most affordable office market: Survey

BANGALORE: Hyderabad is the world's second most affordable office market after Surabaya in Indonesia, according to a survey, while Chennai and Pune are at fifth and sixth positions, reinforcing India's reputation as among the cheapest destinations for foreign firms to set up operations.

"Tier II cities in China and India continue to dominate the list of top-10 most affordable markets globally," said a survey by consultancy firm DTZ, which measured occupancy costs per workstation in 126 business districts across 49 countries in 2012.

"2012 has seen office space absorption rates across Indian cities drop by a fifth. We expect the office space absorption to be stable in the current year, driven by signs of overall improvement in global and domestic economies. Rentals are also expected to appreciate across the country," said Rohit Kumar, head of research at DTZ India.

According to the survey, it costs companies between $2,620 (about Rs 1.41 lakh) and $9,810 (Rs 5.27 lakh) per annum per employee in the top six Indian cities to set up operations, compared with $23,500 (Rs 12.63 lakh) per workstation in London West End.

China's Chongqing and Nanjing, followed by Cancun in Mexico, also figure among the ten most affordable markets. As per the report, a majority of markets in North Asia and India saw a 2-10 per cent rise in occupancy costs. This has forced occupiers in many markets to increasingly consider secondary space, particularly where prime space is limited to cut cost.

The total commercial office space absorption for the quarter ended December 2012 was 6.8 million sq ft, a decrease of 19 per cent compared with the previous year. Vacancies across cities are expected to rise in 2013, except Bangalore, a recent report by DTZ India said.

"Companies continue to consolidate and relocate to less premium locations. Many firms are now looking to cut real estate costs, which comprises 22-27 per cent of the total operational expenditure, the second biggest component after human resource," said Sridhar Raghavendra, founder of FM Zone India, a real estate and facility management firm.

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Residential market grows in Guduvanchery-Thiruporur Road, Chennai

Chennai

Strategically located on the Grand South Trunk Road (GST), Guduvanchery has always been a preferred a residential location in Chennai owing to its excellent connectivity and immediacy to SEZz. However, the buyers’ focus is now shifting towards the road stretching from Guduvanchery to Thiruporur. This is a result of escalating residential values in the locality owing to increased guideline values along the GST road. Thus, Guduvanchery, once considered amongst the affordable locations of Chennai suburbs, has become relatively expensive now.

The Guducanchery-Thiruporur stretch has been brimming with real estate activity for quite sometime now with pace of construction and sales picking up in the last six months. “Several developers have completed their projects here while others are under construction,” says Abdul Kasim Tariq of Smart Choice Realty, a city based firm. “Nearly 2000 apartments,” continues Tariq, “have come up on this road of which about 1000 are completed while the remaining would be given possession in another 2-3 months.” Some of the developers to have set base here include Lancor Developers, DVS Developers and Sriram Shankari Developers among others.

Demand on this stretch is being driven by the two SEZs. Guduvanchery falls between the Mahindra World City and MEPZ, both located 13-15 km away. “The maximum demand exists for 2BHKs followed by 3BHK units which are available for a price range of Rs 2,400- 3,000 per sq ft,” informs Tariq.

At present the Guduvanchery-Thiruporur road is generating a lot of interest from the investors. Talking about this Tariq says, “Nearly 60 per cent buyers are investors who either invest for long term returns or for rental returns. Only about 30-40 per cent demand comes from the end users.” The stretch has seen an average appreciation of nearly 40 per cent in capital values of projects in the last 2 years thus promising good return on investments. There is also a huge demand for rented units from the professionals working in the SEZs. The rental values vary between Rs 8000-9000 per month for a 2BHK units and it ranges from Rs 10000-12000 per month.

Source: MagicBricks.com

RBI rate cut may boost demand for real estate

The rise in demand will be mainly in tier II and tier III cities where prices are still affordable, say analysts

Banks have a 67% share of the housing finance market, estimated at `7 trillion as of 31 December. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) monetary easing could prompt a rise in real estate demand, leading to prices firming up after having dropped around 4% in the recent past, said R.V. Verma, chairman and managing director of National Housing Bank (NHB), the regulator for housing finance firms.

Builders with unsold stock may raise home prices, Verma said on Thursday.

“The Residex (index of property prices in various Indian cities) for January-March could reflect this trend. We are watching it closely,” he said.

RBI cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points (bps) in its 29 January review of monetary policy, and analysts expect it to follow an easy money policy to boost economic growth. Following the RBI rate cut, many banks announced cuts in lending rates, fuelling expectation of a pick-up in retail housing demand. NHB also reduced its prime lending rate, or the rate at which it it lends to other banks, by 25 bps to 9.75% the same day. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The rise in demand will be mainly in tier II and tier III cities where prices are still affordable, said Verma.

“There has been a position of oversupply, which has had a moderating effect on prices. Prices are down 3-4%, primarily in tier II and tier III cities, because this is where the demand for housing loans is concentrated under the slab of Rs.10-25 lakh,” Verma said. “However, because of the increase in positive sentiments and the likelihood of lending rates going down further, the demand may pick up again leading to a price rise in houses by developers which have been under pressure till now.”

Banks have a 67% share of the housing finance market, estimated at Rs.7 trillion as of 31 December. In the Trend and Progress of Housing in India 2012 report released on Thursday, NHB said the housing finance industry could see around 20% growth in 2012-13 from the previous year.

Industry experts said prices are likely to rise in some areas.

“In markets like National Capital Region (NCR) or Mumbai, there have been fewer launches, but pricing has not taken that much of a hit. Prices have been stable or have seen a marginal increase,” said Neeraj Bansal, director, real estate, KPMG. “However, in other parts, where demand has gone down significantly, the developers have been offering good discounts on available prices for ready properties.”

The outlook has become more positive following the cut in interest rates. “There is an increase in positive sentiment, which may lead to an increase in prices in select cities,” he said.

The industry also expects the budget will contain steps that will boost the industry.

“If the industry receives a stimulus, the following quarters post the budget can see more buying from end-users, which will invariably lead to a rise in housing prices,” he said. Bansal said Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, NCR, Chennai and Bangalore may see house prices increase in the near future. According to some industry estimates, house prices could rise 5-10% in the next few quarters .

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Property show at Hitex centre

HYDERABAD, FEB. 5: The real estate portal IndiaProperty.com will host the ninth edition of its property show Gruhapraveshm 2013 during February 8-10 at Hitex Exhibition Centre here.

Ganesh Vasudevan, Chief Executive Officer of Indiaproperty.com, in a statement said the growth of IT and ITES sectors and the cosmopolitan nature of the city is slowly becoming a choice of residence for many.

“The attractive real state prices and new infrastructure projects are giving a push to the residential and retail investments in the city,” he said.

The show provides an extension of the online support to buyers and developers and provides an opportunity for potential home buyers to interact with one another at a common platform. The event will showcase over 200 new properties.

The company stated that Hyderabad is basically a services sector growth driven market with preference for gated community ventures and projects offering quality amenities. Areas such as Gachibowli, Kondapur, Madhpur and Miyapur close to the IT hubs are popular.

The portal is providing ‘Call n List’ service to enable customers to list property online by providing information through a toll-free number.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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CREDAI hails infra status move for affordable housing

Welcoming Union Housing Minister Mr Ajay Maken's move to accord infrastructure status to affordable housing, realtors' apex body CREDAI called for extending similar treatment to the entire housing sector.

"We are happy that the Centre has come half way through on the developers and customers' demand for according infrastructure status to the housing sector to facilitate easy financing and other benefits and to give a much-needed boost to the most important need of a man after food and water," said Mr. Lalit Kumar Jain, National President of CREDAI.

CREDAI - Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India - has over 10,000 members and associations in 20 cities across the country.

Mr. Jain said Mr Maken, in his speech in Mumbai at an international conference, has made a good beginning and "we hope he will move further in a positive direction."

CREDAI has been relentlessly campaigning for infrastructure status for housing sector, declaring it as an industry and creation of special housing zones with tax reliefs on the line of SZEZ," Mr Jain pointed out.

He expressed the hope that the State Government will take note of Mr. Maken's suggestion to increase FSI limits so as to encourage housing for slums that sprang up in central locations.

"We have been stressing that nobody would like to be displaced from the area where one has grown up and has his source of income there. Relocating such people - who are in millions - will only lead to added pressure on the existing infrastructure like travelling," Mr. Jain argued.

Half of Mumbai lives in slums and the solution to housing shortage is manifold. Mass rental housing for the benefit of people with transferable jobs and those who cannot immediately buy houses of their own, affordable housing for low income groups and economically weaker sections with enhanced FSI limits and special housing zones on the outskirts like Navi Mumbai and Thane and Mira-Bhayander are some of the solutions that CREDAI has suggested.

CREDAI has also put forth a plan of action to the government to come with realty reforms covering banking and administration. Affordable finance for affordable housing sector and speedy or single-window system of clearances, automation of the project clearance process to eliminate human interaction that causes corruption are among the steps that CREDAI suggested.

Mr. Jain expressed the hope that the Centre will follow-up with Mr. Maken's welcome move and announce some pragmatic and practical measures to give boost to the housing sector.

Housing, along with construction industry, contributes as much as 11% to the GDP and supports some 400 industries which can substantially multiply if supported with proactive policies. Hence revival of housing sector is vital for rejuvenating the national economy, he added.

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Hyderabad Second Most Affordable Office Market in World

Bangalore: Indian cities are on the list of world’s most affordable office markets, according to a report published by DTZ, a property consultant. Indian cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune are on this most affordable list and Hyderabad stood at second position on the list.

"Tier II cities in China and India continue to dominate the list of top 10 most affordable markets globally," DTZ said in its report.

The report mainly highlighted the occupancy costs for prime office space across 126 markets globally.

"The most affordable office market remains Surabaya ($ 1,610 per workstation per annum), followed by Hyderabad and Chongqing," the report said.

Indian cities like Pune and Chennai stood at fifth and sixth positions, respectively. But, London’s West End has come up as the least affordable office market worldwide, according to DTZ.

"At $ 23500, London West End has regained its position as the world's most expensive office location in 2012, overtaking Hong Kong which was the least affordable market in last year's report." the report said.

(With PTI inputs)

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Green spots to be reclassified as industrial zones

CHENNAI: In a move that will bring down the city's green cover to a mere 3%, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has decided to reclassify several green zones as industrial zones in the suburbs. Noombal village in Ambattur and several areas in Thiruverkadu that are under threat from rampant real estate development are being reclassified. The concept of protected green belts with construction and development norms was introduced to maintain the greenery and reduce pollution.

A senior CMDA official said they have decided to reclassify Noombal village, near Poonamallee bypass road, from green to industrial category. "Noombal and several green zones in Tirverkadu have lost their green cover. Major developmental and construction work has taken place in these areas. The government as well as private parties have been responsible for the spate of development activities. Noombal was not included in the list of green zones in the CMDA master plan released in 2008," he said.

As per CMDA records, the area has already been turned an industrial or commercial area. "Of course, reclassification will make the area free from regulations," said a CMDA official. "But development has been taking place in all these green zones since the late 1990s," he said. The process of reclassification will require several rounds of consultation with people and experts. The decision is likely to receive objections from environmental groups. Reclassification will make the area free of regulations. Green zones, mostly agricultural lands, are major sources of ground water and balance ambient temperature levels in the summer.

M G Devasahayam, a member with the CMDA monitoring committee, said CMDA has made a disastrous decision. "This is another example of introducing a system to help the real estate mafia. The plan will make Chennai unlivable as temperatures will rise and groundwater will deplete if the remaining green cover is destroyed," he said. "Inviting industries into an already over-crowded region will only make things worse," said a consultant with the state government.

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