Realty faces Reality

The whole business model depended on the ability to infuse cheap monies at the earliest stages, including additional infusion through exits at the end of each stage to be able to funnel monies back to stage one-- land acquisition. Further, as each project funds another in this working-cap intensive business, liquidity is the key driver of the business. With decreasing options, distress-sale of land parcels was the only option for some. 

“We see the discount on offer as the last attempt of developers to hold on to current prices with a marginal discount of 5-8%, before they are forced to adjust property prices taking into account the challenging macro economic realities. We do not expect volumes to recover in the current economic uncertainty which would worsen the cash flow problems for the sector. We expect sharp and visible correction in prices by developers from early next year,” said a report of JM Financial. 

In most cases, we observed that property prices were maintained or increased from the level they were about six months back. Taking into consideration the slowdown that capital market related activities have seen, we feel that the current prices are not in line with the affordability of buyers. 

The government, in March 2005, amended existing norms to allow 100 per cent FDI in the construction business. This liberalization act cleared the path for foreign investment to meet the demand into development of the commercial and residentialreal estate sectors. It has also encouraged several large financial firms and private equity funds to launch exclusive funds targeting the Indian real estate sector. 

“With debt market getting dried up, developers facing the heat of liquidity crunch and PE funds shying away from real estate investments and speculative investments at an all time low, we can expect a 15-20 per cent correction by the first quarter of 2009,” said Anuj Puri, managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle. 

Moreover, private equity investors who had been picking realty deals earlier this year appear to have tightened their purse strings now. September month has witnessed only two transactions worth just $12 million. 

According to real estate consultants, seven major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore showed a marked decline in demands during the quarter ending September. Leasing of office space had also slowed down significantly. 

Only those players who have achieved substantial revenues from past deals could expect to rise against the tide. “Rationalise costs, move to affordable housing and be realistic in pricing; those who cannot do that would be in danger of being pushed to bankruptcy,” warns PINC Research's Shenoy.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real_Estate/Realty_Trends/Realty_faces_reality_15-20_correction_by_Q1_2009/articleshow/msid-3659279,curpg-3.cms

‘Affordable Housing’ Is The New RE Mantra

In the changing real estate scenario, the demand for properties in the price segment of Rs.30 lakh to Rs. 60 lakh was high but this segment also face a shortage of supply in the city. Contrary to this, there is an excess supply of properties costing above Rs.60 lakh. And this could reinforce the view that the year could end up as ushering in the concept of affordable housing.

The online real estate portal ‘makaan.com’ which has come out with property trends for the city, in its research publication notes this factor and points out that a high per cent of the property seekers are looking for properties in the range of less than Rs.60 lakh. “Over the past few years, all major developers have been focussing on higher end of the price band which now has fewer takers,” it says while stating that there is a huge oversupply of properties above Rs.1crore.

Trends on property rates brought out by the portal record the prices rising in some areas while in others, they dipping a bit. It categorised Kandakuru, A.S. Rao Nagar, Habsiguda, Medchal, Motinagar, Tellapur and Thimmapur among others as ‘Movers’ that have recorded more than 8 per cent appreciation during the review period, that is June 2008 to August 2008. The ‘Shakers’, locations which have seen more than 6 per cent softening of prices, include Safilguda, Vijayawada highway, Venkatapuram and New Bowenpally.

On the rental front, the demand for rental properties is the maximum in Hyderabad followed by Secunderabad and Greater Hyderabad. And the demand also happens to be maximum from tenants willing to spend less than Rs.10,000 per month followed by the slab of Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000 per month. A mismatch in demand and supply gets underscored in this aspect with the portal survey putting the supply of properties for rent of less than Rs.10,000 at only 25 per cent against 28 per cent supply of properties for rent in the range of Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000.

“Due to rising property prices, house owners are increasingly finding it difficult to rent out their properties in the sub-40,000 budget as a result the supply of properties with rentals above Rs.40,000 is more than the demand for those properties in the market,” it says. As part of its nationwide series of events, the Makaan.com organised a two-day property show in the city last week. The show inaugurated by its Business Head Aditya Verma had 20 leading developers showcasing over 100 property options in the range of Rs.5 lakh to Rs.5 crore.

SOURCES:
Hindu

Bombay Real Troubles...

Tony Fernandez (name changed), a property broker in Borivali in suburban Mumbai, recounts this story with some sadness. Two years ago, when he was selling a flat to a retired person, there was a delay in payment because of some paperwork.

As a result, the buyer had to pay some interest amount to the builder. While making the final payment, including the interest component, there was a shortfall of Rs 5,000. When the buyer requested for a month's time to pay that amount, the builder called him a liar.

Today, the same builder calls up Fernandez every day to enquire if there are buyers for his new building. "Even a year ago, builders would not bother to call us up and would give us some paltry sum as brokerage. Today, they are willing to offer up to 2 per cent and another 0.5 per cent, if we can sell more than two flats," says Fernandez.

But sales have been hard to come by. Earlier, Fernandez would sell two flats a month on an average, but in the last three months, he has not sold even a single flat. "Buyers come, see the flat and sometimes even haggle over the price. But later, they do not call back," adds Fernandez.

The situation is same in Thane. "Earlier, builders would refuse to pay us any brokerage for selling their flats. Our commissions mainly came from buyers. Now, even big builders are offering us 1.5-2 per cent," says a Thane-based broker.

It is not just areas like Borivali or Thane. All over Mumbai, the scenario is quite similar. In upmarket areas like Bandra and Khar, the going brokerage is as high as 4 per cent. "Builders call us within hours when we take a potential buyer to check out their building," says a broker from Bandra.

The keenness to sell is quite evident. For instance, brokers say, a very well-known builder in Khar area, whose old properties also command a premium in the secondary market, is now willing to double their commission from 1 to 2 per cent. In fact, some builders are going all out. According to another broker, a builder with a tower-project in Oshiwara has approached a set of brokers to market it.

The deal includes a flat commission of Rs 500-700 per square feet of area sold. On a price of Rs 9,000-10,000 per square feet, this implies a hefty 5-8 per cent brokerage. These big brokers, in turn, are offering 3-4 per cent commission to other brokers for selling the same.

The main reason for this is the cash crunch that many builders are facing. Many are paying in excess of 30 per cent interest for loans they have taken from financiers. With banks reluctant to lend and sales drying up, they are now luring agents to raise sales.

According to property experts, this is the last-ditch effort by many builders. Even last Diwali, the number of deals was down 30-40 per cent. Another bad buying season would mean that many builders would find themselves in serious financial trouble.

Source: Business Standard

Internet Business Website Marketing Techniques

Ten Useful Internet  Business Website Marketing Techniques

If you are starting an online business you may need to find ways to promote it. You may find that some techniques work better with certain types of internet operations than others.

In order to determine what will work for you it may take a little bit of research. It may take a fair amount of trial and error as well. The following is list of different website marketing techniques you may implement for promotional purposes:

1. Search Engine optimization: One of the most useful ways to promote your website is to make sure it ranks high in search engine listings. This requires the use of a variety of SEO techniques. One of the most useful of all SEO practices is keyword optimization. When the pages of your site feature information about relevant keywords people are more likely to find your site than if they are not keyword optimized.

2. Directory submission: If your site is listed in the appropriate directories, it will increase your exposure. Plenty of opportunities for low-cost and free listing are available on the World Wide Web. Online phone directory listings and specialized listings may be your best choice, but a listing in any relevant directory will most likely help.

3. Submit articles: Another useful way to gain exposure is to submit articles to a variety of newsletter and directory sites for free. Usually you will receive a link back to your site in return.

4. Create a blog: When you create a blog that contains useful content more people are likely to link to it. This will help improve the Page Rank of your site. Moreover, it creates additional opportunity for site exposure.

5. Offer free tools: One of the most effective ways to create returning traffic to your site is by offering free tools. For example, quite a few real estate agents offer mortgage rate calculators. Likewise, travel agents offer destination search tools.

6. Create an e-mail signature: This usually is placed at the bottom of every single e-mail you send. It provides a way for people to remember you each time you e-mail them.

7. Pay Per Click ads: An ad that is included on search engine pages that only requires advertisers to pay when people click on the ads is very effective. You can set a daily budget so you only spend as much as you can afford to invest on these ads.

8. Participate in forums and blogs: if you are a naturally outgoing person, you can use that to your advantage. Often you are allowed to include one link to your website in posts. Beware of spam rules though so you do not get into trouble.

9. Create a newsletter: The best use of this technique is when you have already created a database of site visitors. If they subscribe to a newsletter, it can remind them of your presence online. Sending out newsletters is meant for only people who want to receive them though. So, you are advised to be very careful.

10. Host a contest: This is a fun way to attract visitors to your site. It adds to your credibility when you pay out a prize that you promise to them, too.

You also need to beware of what not to do when promoting your site. One of the primary major offenses is to send out unwanted e-mails to people who have never asked to receive them.

You also need to be careful about how you post your links too. They only belong on site pages where you have permission top place them. Likewise, never place links from another site unless you are sure it is acceptable to do so.

Honeymoon Is Over for IT professionals

The honeymoon is over for IT professionals in Hyderabad with the employer turning king, finally. The kid glove treatment that professionals have been used to over the last few years is now fast becoming a thing of the past with the global financial crisis over the last one week snowballing into stricter working conditions in IT majors.

When a senior manager breezed into his boss’s cabin and declined a sixmonth relocation to Bangalore that he had been asked to take up, he was curtly told to quit. “This was a rude shock — being given a pink slip for what was hitherto a routine behaviour,” confides a friend of the manager.

An IT major laid off 70 people recently for a more unexpected reason. They had over-quoted expenses filed for reimbursements. “These were to the tune of Rs 1,000 (per application) of say a mobile phone bill or some such small expenses. Earlier such things were overlooked in the larger interest to retain a good hand and the manager would ignore such small transgressions.But this time around, 70 people were asked to leave,” says a senior official of the firm.

Money management has become crucial, say industry experts, pointing out that with 50 per cent of the IT projects coming from financial institutions, there is no scope for any leniency in the execution of the existing projects.

“If earlier, I could say no to a project, I could get away with it with my manager sympathetically nodding to my reasons. Now, when a colleague recently said no, he was asked to quit,” says an employee of an IT major. He says that “you may quit” line has been dropped in the recent past fairly frequently.

Positions left vacant when people quit are no longer being filled. An IT major has ruled that all such positions would be left vacant for at least three months. And circulars to this effect were sent to all senior officials.

If jumping jobs was a favourite hobby among the mollycoddled professionals, they now rue that job sites have dried up of openings. “Less than a month ago, a search on popular job portals would easily yield at least three pages of openings in various companies. Now it throws barely half a page of job results,” rues an IT professional. A job portal official confirms that the number of openings posted by any IT firm on their web site has slipped from say 35 until recently to 20 now. It is not just IT but other sectors, mainly financial, that are reeling under the meltdown. “I was asked to trim my team of seven to four. The idea was to trim in a way that I saved maximum money so I had let go of a senior hand and two new recruits to strike a balance,” says a team leader working with a financial securities firm.

Unrealistic goals, a way to downsize staff

Some IT firms have taken another route to downsize. “They recruited a big team on high salaries for our insurance division. Now, they have set unrealistic targets for the team. They are working under great stress to meet the target, failing which they will face the axe,’’ says a senior executive of a financial services intermediary.

He notes that the focus of firms such as his is only on insurance. “Dmat, loans, SIPs are all sidelined now,’’ he says.

These harried professionals are hoping that the slowdown doesn’t last longer than the expected nine months to one year period.

“Salaries and increments would take a huge hit if this continues,’’ says a senior manager with an IT firm.

SOURCES:
Times Of India

Identifying genuine demand critical for realty developers — Deepak Parekh

The days of real estate developers building high-end luxury homes country-wide are numbered as the more ‘nimble’ developers have assessed genuine demand and have been able to shift to other opportunities like affordable housing.

Speaking at the inauguration of FICCI International Real Estate Summit 2008, Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC, said that for real estate developers, ``identifying genuine demand is critical and one should not be swayed by the herd mentality.”

According to the Ernst &Young (E&Y)-FICCI report, ‘Indian Real Estate — shifting gears,’ which was released at the summit, the concept of affordable housing has gained momentum for most players to capitalise on a volume-driven business and cater to the pent-up demand and ready market. Innovative marketing strategies, smaller-sized units and new technologies that aim at reducing construction costs are being featured as part of the low-cost housing development strategy.

In view of the high rate of vacancy (20 per cent) across 40 million sq. ft. of operational malls in the top eight cities of India, abandoned mall plans are scrambling to be converted into office space, while certain cities are already seeing an oversupply of commercial space, especially in the light of the slowdown in the IT and BPO sectors.

The HDFC Chairman said developers need to realise that their absurdly high margins cannot sustain.

Developers also need to guard against the dangers of excessive borrowing, Mr. Parekh said.

For the future, there will be the need to create innovative financial instruments that could support financially distressed developers to tide over the crisis. For capital raising, while the IPO market may take time to recover, there is sufficient interest from foreign investors to participate in the Indian real estate market through the private equity and FDI route, he said.

On a positive note, Mr. Parekh said that in the first quarter (April-June 2008) about 20 per cent of the FDI inflows were in housing and real estate. The long-term prospects of the commercial real estate market continued to remain positive owing to the growing opportunities in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, logistics and education. The residential housing market would also continue to show robust growth given the strong demand, favourable demographics, increasing urbanisation and rising disposable incomes.

Emaar MGF Boulder Hills Hyderabad

Emaar MGF Boulder Hills Hyderabad

Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club is a world-class leisure and residential community spread out over approximately 531 sprawling acres. It has been envisioned as a complete, self-contained township spread around an 18-hole championship golf course where every home is designed to the most demanding international standards. Apartment lifestyles within Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club are the epitome of distinctive living. Quality of life within this prestigious gated community is characterized by outstanding levels of comforts, convenience and security. Truly a place to call home, The Excelsior apartments are fully integrated with all recreational and leisure amenities and offer the best in design and quality. The clubhouse is a recreational axis in the heart of The Excelsior at the Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club. Spread across 33 acres Digital Greens is Boulder Hills Golf and Country Clubs very own special economic zone. The Mall of Hyderabad at the Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club will be a unique blend of sophisticated retail and leisure facilities spanning 1.5 million square feet, upgrading the shopping experience into heavenly levels. It will include three hotels, several restaurants, multiplexes, supermarkets as well as showcase some of the finest luxury brands from around the world.

 

Location:

 

Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club is located in Gachibowli in Hyderabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, in South India. Ideally located 45 minutes from Hyderabad Airport and within close proximity of IT Corridor and opposite to Indian School of Business (I.S.B), and just 15 minutes away from the Novotel Hotel and the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.

 

Amenities:

 

Spacious living rooms with attached balconies overlooking, Golf course/landscaped gardens, Grand entrance lobbies for each tower with reception and waiting area, Kids play area, Apartments serviced with elegant lift lobbies and elevators, Restaurant, Supermarket, Adequate power backup, Hyderabad Digital Greens, The Mall of Hyderabad, 5 Star hotel, Business hotel, Boutique hotel, Club house with Fitness centre with aerobics room, gymnasium, yoga and meditation, Swimming pool, Exclusive beauty parlors for gents & ladies, Basket ball (single loop), Games room with billiards & Table Tennis, Fully equipped Tot lots (children play area), Jogging track, Squash court.

 

Project options:

Type	Size (sq. ft.)	Price (INR)
2BR-2T	1880.22	1,03,41,210
2BR-2T	1983.19	1,30,89,054
2BR-2T	1976.2	1,33,88,755
3BR-5T-1SR	2582.99	1,70,47,734
3BR-5T-1SR	2913.48	1,97,38,827
3BR-5T-1SR	3911.62	3,11,52,141
4BR-6T-1SR	4895.82	3,91,66,560
4BR-6T-1SR	5115.82	4,09,26,560
4BR-6T-1SR	5443.26	4,35,46,080
4BR-7T-1SR	4886.21	4,39,75,890