NewScan

RoofBird’s projects on cards

RoofBird.com , India’s first exclusive residential real estate web portal, has announced its plans to tie-up with more than 100 reputed property developers during the next one year, to promote residential projects through its end-to-end online marketing services.

RoofBird’s services portfolio is custom-built for developers and offers a dedicated website for each developer and detailed listing of their projects in the online portal, high visibility in search engine results, email marketing services, enquiry generation and offline customer support services.

“We have already tied up with close to 40 reputed property developers and these developers have listed about 100 residential projects coming up across major cities. With current drive, the total number of property developers at RoofBird.com will be increased to about 150 by the end of this year,” says Mr Premkumar Ponniah, CEO & Founder Director, RoofBird Online Services Pvt. Ltd.

Courtesy: The Hindu dated 17/05/2008

Property potals cast their web

Marketing of land, apartments and commercial spaces has traditionally been conducted through the print media, outdoor advertising and property shows. But property portals are fast emerging as popular alternatives for reality developers in India, especially for reaching out to NRI buyers.Even domestic customers are increasingly accessing online portals for information.

This is true especially for the high-salaried IT and ITeS sector employees.Further, the boom witnessed in the country’s real estate market over the past couple of years has transformed most regional developers into national players.

For instance, DLF, Unitech and Parsvnath of Delhi, Hiranandani of Mumbai, Sobha, Prestige and Puravankara of Bangalore now have projects across India. To popularise their brands in new markets and attract buyers, they are using traditional as well modern, sophisticated mediums, including the web, to reach the target customer.

With an estimated 40,000 property classifieds appearing in newspapers across the country and nearly 20 times that number being placed on property portals, the industry felt the need for a proper eval uation mechanism to assess these listings.

Makaan.com has made a beginning and initiated an evaluation system — makaan rating — where users can evaluate properties based on the usefulness of the listings.

Similarly, with hundreds of property portals dotting the web, customers have an obvious question. How to differentiate between the good and the bad, the effective and the ineffective? After all, home buying is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most. As in most industies, users will determine which portals last.

Today, customers are in a quandary. On the one hand, buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase for most in their lifetime. Unlike in the past, the choice is wider and buyers would like to do their own research, besides taking friends and relatives into confidence before zeroing in on a property. In such a scenario, a property portal helps customers look at various offerings from developers and do a comparative study before arriving at a decision.

Though hundreds of such portals are there on the web, only a few offer complete endto-end solutions.Interestingly, there seems to be a close connection between matrimony and realty in the online space, as also jobs.

Some of the leading portals, which have established themselves in either matrimony or jobs verticals, have got into online realty space too.Sitting on a large customer database could be the primary reason and this helps them to score over others.

Indiaproperty.com, promoted by leading matrimonial site, bharatmatrimony.com and 99acres.com, backed by naukri.com top in terms of recall value. Yet another portal, makaan.com, launched recently by the People’s Group that owns leading matrimonial portal, Shaadi.com, has fast emerged as a popular site through its aggressive promotional strategy during the IPL cricket extravaganza.

“property developers are increasingly realising the benefits of being on the internet, which is turning out to be a very powerful medium to reach out to Indians across the world, especially the NRIs,” says Murugavel Janakiraman, managing director, indiaproperty.com.

While these portals earn revenues through both classifieds and displays from commercial and residential properties, new players are eyeing niche segments to make a mark. Chennai-based real estate consultants, RECS Group has promoted RoofBird.com as an exclusive portal focusing only on the residential segment.

It provides offline support service to customer for site tour, negotiation and an expert’s help in taking a decision.“Indian customers have started expecting and demanding better customer service, thanks to globalisation and exposure to developed markets.

Foreign investments and a boom in the real estate sector have forced local property developers to become better organised and adopt a professional approach, which is now reflecting in their marketing channels,” says Premkumar Ponniah, Director, Roofbird.com .

According to him,property Portals are 24X7-marketing platforms.Further, the success rates of marketing campaigns on such Portals are measurable, which may not always be the case with the print media.

“By being simple, such portals are an open book that gives complete freedom to customers in taking decisions,” Ponniah says.As a result of the ongoing recession in the US and a general slowdown globally, the percentage of NRIs buying homes in India is on the rise and these portals act as an effective medium to woo this segment of rich buyers.

From around three per cent, the NRI share has now gone up to 10 per cent of the total high-end projects launched and sold in the country.Three years ago, when the realty market was going great guns, a builder had to simply place an ad in the print media and the project was sold out in no time, says Janakiraman.

“However, now, that the going is tough, the developer is looking at more mediums to offload his inventory in an effective way. Naturally, it is the internet that is drawing the attention,” he says.

Going a step forward,property potals are now conducting property shows abroad.Indidproperty.com organised property shows in the West Asian region and reported enthusiastic response.Indiaproperty.com has reported sales of Rs 200 crore in just two days in Dubai. ??

Courtesy: The Financial Chronicle dated 17/07/2008

Property Markets find ways to beat slowdown

Single bedroom flats back in city projects

Rajesh chandramouli | TNN

Chennai

There’s hope on the horizon for prospective buyers disheartened by the runaway real estate prices. Developers are understanding the need to provide homes for small families and are drawing up plans for single bedroom apartments in their complexes.

Prominent developers, including Mumbaibased Hiranandanis (Hirco) and the Emirates’ Trading Agency (ETA), are looking to target newly-weds and single people, a segment of buyers ignored for the last 10 years.

According to sources, ETA’s Rosedale in Padur on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Hirco’s Palace Heights coming up off GST Road in Oragadam, and Prince Condominium at Sriperumbudur have single bed units, while Olympia is planning to introduce them in its OMR project.

Today a double or a triple bed flat costs upwards of Rs 40 lakh. If a single bed apartment is available below Rs 20 lakh then the housing need of a large segment is taken care of.

“It is possible to come up with flats below the Rs 20 lakh budget. If a developer is providing a 600 sq ft apartment at Rs 3,000 a sq ft and adds a lakh for car park, the cost for the buyer will be below Rs 20 lakh,” sources said.

“From the standpoint of developers, in a large complex there will be single, double, triple and penthouse apartments. Providing single bed and studio apartments is a welcome move. From the customers’ standpoint, it gives a young software engineer or a newly married couple the chance to buy property.

Since the size of families is shrinking, single beds are a viable option,” Ramaswamy, senior consultant, Roofbird, an online residential service provider, told TOIGOING SOLO Single bed apartments to cost less than Rs 20 lakh Singletons, newly-weds seen as ideal buyers Flats to be between 550 and 900 sq ft Small flats turn popular yet again.

Chennai: Single-bedroom apartments are not new concepts. They existed in the developers’ scheme of things till 1995-96, when rising disposable incomes coupled with the housing boom pushed people to bigger asset buying, forcing developers to scrap it.

“We are planning to introduce single bed/studio apartments in land parcels that we have on the OMR. The ideal configuration would be 550 to 700 sq ft. With a lot of people moving to the city, we find a big market. Also, for newly weds, if there is an option at sub Rs 30 lakh, they will be keen to buy it up,” Chandrakanth, director of Olympia, said.

In the case of Rosedale, as many as 128 apartments of the 440 units will be single bed. “The apartments range from 784 sq ft to 905 sq ft. We are pricing it at Rs 3,500 a square feet,” officials at ETA said.TNN

Courtesy:The Times Of India dated 25/06/2008

Homeward ho!NRIs browsing property portals

A significant of residence buyers in 22-34 age group are using online sources for information

J.Malarvizhi

Chennai The increasing number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) looking to re-settle in the country and the affluent tech-savvy people buying houses before the age of 40 are increasingly turning to property portals for information, say builders and portal administrators.P.L. Ganesh, project manager at Chaitanya Shantiniketan builders, says that the organisation is receiving a “reasonable amount of enquiries through portals.”

Of the enquiries from NRIs, most are from those returning to the country rather than those looking for investment.“NRIs contribute a lot of the property transactions in the country at present. Chennai is one of the more favoured destinations – it is touted as a place with good infrastructure, opportunities and amenities,” says T. Shrikanth, National Head (Sales and Operations), indiaproperty.com.

The portal that is little more than two years old has reported a tripling of visitor traffic between March and May this year.From interactions with builders, Mr. Shrikanth finds that as much as 40 per cent of their property transactions are with NRIs. Premkumar Ponniah, Chief Executive Officer of residential portal for property in major Indian cities, RoofBird.com reports that several visitors to the site are from the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and West Asia.

Suresh Krishn, Managing Director, Isha Homes, says that more than half of all buyers are in the 25-37 age group now, when as recently as a decade ago buyers were exclusively above 45.A significant amount of residential buyers in the 22-34 age group used online sources to find more information on residential projects, says Ramesh Nair, Managing Director – Chennai, of property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

Various Option

Many of the websites offer visitors the option of hunting for rentals, land or developed property according to budget and location across the country.

In the city itself, the free classified ads papers remain the favoured source of information for those looking for rentals. However, builders are beginning to find that websites help them reach target audiences more effectively.

Effective means of advertising:

“Portals are low cost and effective means of advertising, especially if the portal is a very high traffic website,” says Mr. Nair. Advertising on portals is a supplement to the more traditional advertising methods, says Mr. Ganesh. Chaitanya Shantiniketan has begun to spend about 8 to 10 per cent of the advertising budget on portals in the past three months and has seen an increase in enquiries in the period.

Isha Homes has also seen increased inquiries in less than nine months when it started advertising on five or six websites, says Mr. Krishn.

Courtesy: The Hindu dated 05/06/2008

Property prices may head south: HDFC chairman

Mumbai, July 16 Property prices, barring certain areas in big metros, may witness further correction in the near future.The smaller pockets have already seen a 15-20 per cent decline in the recent past, according to Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Ltd.

Some areas in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi may not see a drop in prices because there is a huge demand for property from multinational companies, but suburbs and smaller cities have already seen a declining trend.Addressing the annual general meeting of HDFC here on Wednesday, Mr Parekh said purchasing real estate is not an attractive investment option now. But he does not expect a slowdown in housing demand, as there is a huge demand for housing in the country.

Mr Parekh also dismissed reports about defaults by big builders, but said that some big deals could collapse as builders had committed to buying land at high prices, which no longer seem profitable. There have been some cancellations of large deals recently.He said HDFC is expected to register a 25-30 per cent growth in loan disbursements in the current year.

Responding to a query on interest rate hike, Mr Parekh said a further revision of lending rates would be subject to the Reserve Bank of India hiking rates in its forthcoming credit policy.

A hike in the rate would also depend on the cost of funds, he added.HDFC had increased lending rates by 75 basis points for individual borrowers and by 125 basis points for corporate lending from July 1.

No STAKE SALE by CITI

Answering queries from reporters in the sidelines of the AGM, Mr Parekh denied reports about Citi Group selling its stake in HDFC.Citi, which holds 11.74 per cent stake in HDFC, is the single largest shareholder in the company. “I have talked to Citi officials and they said they are not selling it now”.

But many investors have shown interest in picking up stake in HDFC, following media reports about a likely stake sale, he added.Rumours of Citi Group selling its stake in HDFC followed reports of the group selling a number of its non-core assets globally.

Citi’s 11.74 per cent stake would be worth Rs 5,500-6,000 crore based on current prices. Mr Parekh also assured shareholders that in case a stake sale takes place, HDFC would ensure that the stake is distributed among two to three institutional investors, rather than a single investor.

Commenting on the economic growth, Mr Parekh said that he expects a growth of 7-7.5 per cent in the current fiscal, in view of rising inflation and oil prices.With supply side improvements, especially in the agricultural sector, prices could come down, he added.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008

Parsvnath picks up 38% stake in Nano City project

Real estate company Parsvnath Developers Ltd (PDL) on Wednesday announced that it has picked up a 38 per cent stake in Nano City Haryana Ltd, a proposed knowledge city project spread over 11,000 acres in Panchkula near Chandigarh.

“We will be making an investment of Rs 400 crore as equity and debt. Parsvnath has acquired 38 per cent stake in the project for Rs 41.5 crore, while the balance contribution will be debt. The total project cost will be Rs 50,000 crore,” Mr Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Developers Ltd, said at a conference here.

In the public-private partnership, Haryana Government through HSIIDC would hold 10 per cent equity stake, while 52 per cent will be with a Group promoted by Mr Sabeer Bhatia, the creator of Hotmail, which was acquired by Microsoft for about $400 million in 1997.

The Nano City project is modelled on Silicon Valley and would come up in phases. In the first phase, the company will develop about 5,000 acres in 5-6 years, while the balance 6,000 acres would be developed in the second phase. The entire knowledge city is expected to be completed in 10 years.

The project — fully approved by Haryana Government and located in Panchkula near Chandigarh — would include four districts — IT, University, Airport and Biotech. The project is expected to attract companies involved in creation of Intellectual Property, particularly those involved in software development, nano sciences, drug discovery, bio-technology, energy research and semiconductor research.

“India has done well in embracing service economy and the next wave will be all about knowledge economy which, in turn, is heavily dependent on Intellectual Property (IP). We hope to get world class educational institutions and research firms into Nanocity,” Mr Bhatia said. Parsvnath’s Rs 10 shares were down nearly 5 per cent on the NSE today at Rs 103.20.

According to the project master plan, 25 per cent area would be earmarked for industrial use, 30 per cent for residential and 10 per cent for educational institutions. “Going forward, we will be raising funds for the project through Private Equity (PE) placements and an initial public offer in 18-24 months,” Mr Jain added.Mr Jain said that the land had been notified by the State. “We will be completing the process of land acquisition in 6-9 months,” he added.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008

Realty developer Bearys starts Montessori schools

Real estate developer Bearys Group has started Montessori schools at two of its developments, LakeSide Habitat at Hebbal and Harmony Homes at Hennur Road, in Bangalore.

Mr Syed Mohamed Beary, Managing Director, Bearys Group, said that the schools, which are run under the ‘His Grace’ brand, are not commercial ventures and will be part of the amenities on offer. The company started its first Montessori school in Mangalore in 1997.

There are plans to start 100 schools in five years. For this, the company hopes to tie-up with other developers to set up schools in their developments. “We will take the space on rent, set up the entire facility and manage it also,” Mr Beary said.

The company is currently “in talks with three major Bangalore-based developers” for the same. “We are now creating our logistics. Once that is set up, we can create these schools at a faster pace,” he added.According to him, the response for these schools has been good. Currently, there are 45 children — between two-and-a-half and five-and-a-half years of age — in each schoo.

Besides, the company has also adopted corporation schools near its project sites. “We redesign buildings, making them environmental and user friendly, thus, making the ambience inviting for the children,” said Mr Beary.

The company has added a dining and multi-purpose halls to the school’s infrastructure near the LakeSide Habitat development; and at the school near its upcoming Bearys Global Research Triangle, an IT park in Whitefield, it has built a dining hall.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008

QVC Realty to launch first project in Bangalore soon

Bangalore, July 16 The real estate sector, which experienced an unprecedented growth over the last three-four years, will go through some consolidation over the next year or two,” said Mr Prakash Gurbaxani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, QVC Realty.

He said that supply was increasing now across asset classes, and business was becoming more competitive. “In such a scenario, only people with development skills will succeed,” he added.

QVC Realty, which is the first venture-capital backed real estate start-up company with an investment of $100 million from private equity fund management company IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd, plans to launch its first project ‘QVC Hills’ in Bangalore in “two-three months near Nandi Hills”, Mr Gurbaxani said.

First phase

The first phase of the project, about 102 single-family homes or villas, will come up in 26 acres; Phase II with 250 villas will be spread over 37 acres. The villas would be priced between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 4 crore.

The company will also be launching two projects in Gurgaon, “with a cumulative development of 1,200-1,400 homes”, Mr Gurbaxani said. The company, which also has its presence Pune and Chikmagalur, is actively looking at Hyderabad, Chennai and Coorg.

Though the company has a land bank of 250-300 acres, Mr Gurbaxani said that land-banking was not their “business model. We own lands where we know we can develop in the next 12 months”.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008

Nagarjuna Construction to invest up to Rs 500 cr in airports, ports

Hyderabad, July 16 Infrastructure major Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd plans to invest up to Rs 500 crore in the next three years in creating port and airport infrastructure in the country.The company in consortia is already involved in two small greenfield airport projects in Karnataka and a deep water port in Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The focus of the Rs 3,478-crore, Hyderabad-based company is to tap the potential in regional airports and non-metro (tier II cities), according to Mr Raghu V. Alluri, Associate Head (Projects).The distinctive feature of the company’s approach would be to provide value addition to the airport projects. This would be through the creation of support infrastructure that will draw industry, service sector etc., he told Business Line.

Terming it as a ‘pull factor’ — which means the support infrastructure would attract sectors such as IT, hospitality, cargo business or industry that depends on airport activity — Mr Raghu said, in both the Gulbarga and Shimoga airport projects in Karnataka, this was being implemented.

The company through its Infrastructure Holdings Ltd is in consortia with Maytas Infra, Hyderabad and VIE India Projects and Holdings to implement the two airport projects under public-private partnership.

Looking ahead

On future plans, Mr Raghu said the company has been pre-qualified for the proposed Udaipur airport in Rajasthan. “Our focus would be on strengthening in the domestic market first and then look at global opportunities at a later date,” he said.

“We will look at global opportunities on a selective basis. As of now, (we) have not bid for any. The company has an exclusive tie-up with Vienna Airports Company, Austria for the domestic market,” Mr Raghu explained.On the reason for focus on regional airports (which would be greenfield airports), he said there is a huge potential for air cargo growth in regional areas.

The consortia is confident of constructing the airport in 18 months from getting all the clearances. In both Shimoga and Gulbarga, the construction phase will begin shortly. With the Karnataka Government planning for SEZs, the scope for infrastructure creation is growing. Similarly, talks are on for setting up a budget hotel, he said.

In the ports sector, the company, in consortia with Maytas Infra, SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd and Sarat Chatterjee and Co Ltd, is developing the Rs 1,590-crore all-weather deep water port at Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008

Medium, small realty firms in for liquidity crunch, says Crisil report

Mumbai, July 16 Rating agency Crisil has said a number of medium-sized and small real estate developers could face a liquidity crunch in the months ahead.

It foresees delays in many ongoing and planned real estate projects, leading to the possible sale of projects or even enterprises. This will result in some consolidation in the sector. From among the larger developers, those who had not over-leveraged operationally were well placed to tide over the current crisis and even emerge stronger.

The agency in its recent report ‘Liquidity pressures in realty could lead to shakeout’ said that increasing real estate prices over the last three to four years had resulted in a large number of developers acquiring land at high rates in anticipation of a further increase in prices, and in them scaling up their operations multi-fold.

While some developers managed to finance this growth through a prudent debt-equity mix, most medium-sized and small developers relied heavily on debt.The current situation exposes the pitfalls of such a strategy. There has been a slowdown in the sale of real estate projects across India since early 2008 — across residential, commercial, and retail segments.

Demand has moderated with the sharp increase in real estate prices, coupled with rising interest rates that have made housing loans progressively expensive.In particular, residential projects, which have been funded largely by customer advances, have been severely hit by the slowdown in bookings.

Courtesy: Business Line dated 17/07/2008