Real-estate slow-down may see sellers slashing their prices to induce buyers

The investors who are comprised of property and private equity funds from affluent savers all across the world to invest in the real-estate market in India which saw a surge in between 2005 to 2008. With more than five to seven billion or even more spent in this sector many property developers are looking for an exit as they were promised double-digit returns during the years of the real-estate boom. 

The Indian partners had promised these companies who stepped in as joint ventures that they will acquire cheap labour, the partners were promised quick clearances and ready buyers from the Indian partners. But this was not completely true as there were many delays in approvals, cost escalation, softening property prices and picky buyers, the cycle of projects have stretched well beyond the life cycle of funds.

Many real-estate developers find themselves in a situation where a prominent Bangalore property developer is going through, he is stuck with 170 acres of land which is jointly owned with a private equity fund and because of this he is unable to buy out from the fund nor it can attract new investors about the bankability of a new project-be it commercial space or office space. But as in all these markets, you do find new investors like sharks ready to pounce on a distressed buyer by offering a beaten down price.

When it comes to refinancing of these transactions there has been a spree. They are selling a sizeable holding of their stake to other private equity funds, in rare cases the partners are lending from Indian non-banking finance companies, banks and large Indian business corporations to buy out their joint venture with those partners. Bank loans are generally granted where the risk is less when the venture is complete and most apartments are sold to buyers. Non-banking institutions grant credit by issuing non-convertible debentures given by the borrower who has to fork out 15-19% interest. 

There has been a flurry of projects in the mid, lower and affordable segments and not in luxury projects which was once the pinnacle of real-estate, and it is from that segment where most developers are trying to bail out off. 

So what will be the outcome when new investors come in?  A few Chinese funds announced deal would be at a discount, it is the reason why the prices of real-estate are unlikely to go up in a hurry. Prices may remain the same in the metropolitan cities but not everywhere. With the new law issued by the Central Government mentioning the real-estate developers should complete the projects on time to avoid a penalty, this would mean the prices would be slashed to increase supply in the short-term. If the market takes a long time to pick up then another set of investors would be left with burnt fingers.

Bangalore to get No 1 position for the home price rise

Mumbai and Delhi NCR has for a larger amount of time given the property buyers the best property price and value appreciation. After the down sliding years in the major IT cities of the Bangalore and Pune these amazing cities have come up as a strong and emerging centers for the capital appreciation and have been most popular among the residential properties of the city.

As per many surveys conducted by the major real estate gurus it is estimated that Bangalore has been voted as the highest average capital appreciation under the middle income housing segment. This survey has shown around 41% of appreciation between the initial six months of the 2011 and the same situation has continued for the next consecutive year. Following the growth pattern with the same graph was Pune which showed around 28% growth. In the very same time Pune followed a growth of about 39% in the capital values for the major and the most premium properties. These figures reported by the survey were the highest recorded in the country that too in that particular segment and market. Bangalore followed close behind with nearly 37%.

As per the disparity which prevails in comparing the residential price tags in the city. The world famous firm Cushman and Wakefield has classified the middle income housing under the terms where any property below Rs. 5000 per sq. ft. is a kind of middle income housing whereas all other property above the price are under the category of high end.

The middle incomes as well as the high income segments are performing well in the real estate market of both Delhi- NCR and Mumbai as well.

The super stable markets in the real estate segments of Bangalore and Pune where the end users are majorly driven they are surely the ones to record the highest value of the average increasing capital values. It is therefore, clear from the survey that the investor driven market of Delhi and Mumbai have not performed well comparatively.

In the times passed by the IT sector of India has seen a growth transformation, which has resulted in the creation of very many jobs. This drastic increase has also led to the increase in the salary at many levels. In India there is a very varied correlation between the IT Sector and the property price appreciation. Those cities whose economies are to a greater extent led by the IT sector also tend to witness a prosperous demand for the middle income as well as the premium housing.

Those cities which are majorly IT driven are seen more engrossed in the level aspiration and expecting high in limits. There aspiration is comparatively more for home seekers and also their purchasing power, a much higher exposure to the International housing as well as luxury standards, they also aspire much about the contemporary concepts like the environmental sustainability.

According to many major real estate analysts here has been no major growth in the residential real estate of Bangalore and Pune as a result the two major IT sectors have remained on a balanced equilibrium for a longer period. The case is absolutely opposite when the real estate sector of Delhi NCR and Mumbai are concerned there the real estate prices are increasing at a much higher rate.

The Realty sector drops in the initial partial of 2014: A word of caution

The real estate market in India has been seeing a chum all during the last half of the year 2013 especially the first half of the year 2014. The year has not been so promising though. Many of the realty developers feel so.

As a result many of the real-estate projects have been delayed. Many new launches have come to a stagnant stage marking the delay. The data has shown a clear hit drop in some of the most potential hot spots in the construction sector.

Area like Noida and Mumbai have the highest number of inventories unsold that too these figures are much higher in all the major metros. Gurgaon and Mumbai lead to the most expansive nearly a Crore unsold inventory. The survey was initially conducted in Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune and also other places including Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and also Ahmedabad.

The real estate market of the national capital region NCR has seen a huge degradation when compared with the figures of the last year. Many of the new launched have suffered a loss by 5 % and the sales volume also showed a deterioration by nearly 22 % this data is as of the first quarter of 2014 when compared to that of 2013.

The affordability factor is also going through many interrogations as the prices marked by the stagnation of the income levels remains unchanged, making the affordability highly difficult. As per the data around 40 % of the projects under the construction process have been delayed, blemishing the buyers believe or confidence. This situation has certainly reduced the interest level of people which has resulted in low sales in a much lower pace.

Nevertheless the survey clearly portrays that in spite of the present on going activities the region is still investing from a very projected and spectated perspective with the hopes that there will certainly be a rectification in the market that will exclusively result in a market appreciation of the precious investments.

The real estate market in the southern region has been much stable; as the sales in Bangalore are witnessing a hike by nearly 6% with each year passing. The survey also brought the fact much in notice that the real estate market of Bangalore caters nearly to the 80% of the end users and also possess a maximum of local purchasers who are mainly the working population and also the NRIs. In fact Bangalore nearly account for about 17 new launched and has seen a huge increase in the supply in the same amount of time which is roughly 8% when compared with other metros who have seen a tough deadline. Thus, the real estate market of Bangalore is much capable to the ongoing uncertainty and disparities prevailing in the economic matters, but still the realty builders’ still carry on to render options equally in the upper or the mid segmented sectors.

Tricks used by real estate developers to attract the home buyers these days

There is a lack of transparency in the real estate market today. The real estate developers are doing a lot of stuff to attract the buyers and the potential investors. To their projects the realty developers are nearly at their toes and are trying to crack a deal. For many of the home buyers buying a house is an extremely important affair and they need to be careful enough as they have to spend their savings of a lifetime. These days a lot of developers in the real estate market have set many tricks and traps to gain the attention of these buyers.

The article discusses some of those gimmicks and traps by the real estate developers which are indeed the eye opener for them.

Freebies and discounts: These days the realty developers are offering various discounts which are kind of more of common practice these days. The most popular kind of freebies given away is gold coin, parking space, club membership or some other holiday and tourist packages. The buyers think that its wise deal and they end up taking free being thinking to have saved a lot of money. The reality to this is according to a new rule passed the real estate developers cannot charge the buyers of a parking space and it should be inclusive with the payment of the house. But to seeing on the other side of the coin the parking space these days is given away for free. The give away discounts and freebies are nothing but just a candy to attract the buyers and the in fact do no real good to the investors.

Rental Returns Guaranteed: Rentals are guaranteed and are offered by the developers to the investors who are willing to take rentals on a continuous basis. In simple language this means that the buyers are entitled to get a rental income of around 8 to 12 percent which of the total value of the property as promised by the realty developer. This offers the free maintenance of the property. The trick of this scheme is; the realty developers do it when they are undergoing some cash crunch but if the developer fails in accumulating needed cash then there is also a possibility of a bounced cheque. While going in for such contract one must make sure that there are no hidden costs which are included in the agreement only.

The Pre EMI Schemes: The simple meaning of the pre EMI is it gets disbursed majorly depending upon the stages of construction. This means the buyers need not pay any EMIs until the construction gets over and also unless the possession is handed over. Many of the real estate developers choose the option of pre EMI sharing in which they have to pay this amount within a period of 24 months.

The word of caution before going in for such an option is that the home buyers should make sure that the developer does not have any padded cost. Along with such an option the real estate developer might not give away any kind of freebies. Even in the case of project delay the Pre EMI might also get extended and the home buyers will lastly have to pay the entire amount on their own.

The Model Flat: Understanding the blue prints and the prototype is really hard for common people. To make things much simple the real estate developers make a model flat for the home buyers. The catch in this is while preparing the model houses the developers may add a lot of amenities and embellishments which might miss lead the buyers. In a prototype the same place might appear big but in reality it might turn out to be comparatively small. It is one kind of a created illusion from which the buyers and the investors might be aware of.

Offer Warranties: As developers these days are providing certain appliances along with the residential units. The have also initiated the giveaway of warranty cards along with these gadgets. This clearly means that these days when buying a house the developers are getting a warranty for their amenities and comforts. The one major trick with this attractive offer is that the real estate developer only gives away the papers of the warranty, just in case of any defect or malfunction such amenities like geyser, kitchen chimney or bathroom fittings the buyer only needs to run to the product manufacture. There the problem could arise the real estate developer during that time might turn into a deaf ear after handing over the apartment.