For all the talk about a slowdown in the economy, real estate prices in most parts of the country have not corrected as much as most prospective buyers would have liked them to. But, shares of most real estate companies are not finding any takers even after falling nearly 50% from their record highs in January this year. This would suggest that the ongoing sell-off in real estate stocks is a good opportunity for bargain hunting. Yet, most brokerage houses are advising their clients against doing so, as they foresee testing times for the sector in the near term. In fact, many of them are recommending that existing investors cut their losses right away as they could be in for a long wait for share prices to come anywhere near their lofty highs.T he sharp rise in real estate prices, coupled with high borrowing costs has let to softening of demand. The slump in the stock market, too, has contributed to the trend as many investors were earlier routing their gains in share trading into real estate.Industry experts feel that companies that have managed to buy land in Mumbai at reasonable rates could be good bets even in these turbulent times. With outlook on the market as a whole being bearish, brokers expect realty stocks to slip further.Most property developers in India were riding the wave of an unprecedented demand due to a combination of rising affluence, tax benefits for home owners and low interest rates. But, this fuelled speculative buying in the sector, causing property prices to soar to exorbitant levels.

Akme Projects Ltd, the flagship company of The Anil Nanda Group has entered into a joint venture (JV) with private equity company, MPC Synergy Real Estate, to construct seven premium residential projects at an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore. The 50:50 JV called Akme Rhine River Projects will develop seven projects at Ludhiana, Mohali, Greater Noida, and two each in Bangalore and Gurgaon by 2012. The JV is optimistic of a total sales turnover of Rs 7,000 crore over the next four years. The joint venture would construct more than 7,600 apartments and 400 villas in seven projects, which will be launched in 2008-09. MPC Synergy Real Estate is a JV between Geneva-based private equity investment fund Synergy Asset Management Fund and MPC Capital, the largest listed fund in Germany, with over $18.5 billion assets under management. Akme Projects has its presence in the Bangalore property market and the launch of the Ludhiana project marks the company's entry into north India. It has delivered 2.7 million square feet of area so far, and has plans to achieve 10 million square feet by 2010, mostly in the housing segment. Akme is bullish on realty growth due to its demographic advantage and said there is a great demand for quality residential dwellings.

Deyaar Development PJSC, the Dubai real-estate company whose former chief executive officer is under detention, ended an Indian property development contract with Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd. The deal was scrapped on May 6 by "mutual consent" and Deyaar is in talks with other potential partners to invest in the "attractive" Indian market. Deyaar announced the agreement with Ansal in May 2007 to build "mixed-use townships" in India. The company's plan to participate in the Indian real estate market remains on track. The parting was "amicable". They are not tying up at this stage. There is no real reason for it.

Axiom Estates, being a leading provider of India Property Services to the Indian Diaspora around the globe provide the best in class options that match client requirements, best practice transaction structure & support, and key collateral services to enable clients to get the best out of their investment. Axiom's extensive network, marketing and sourcing arrangements with leading players in Indian real estate, there direct presence across India and internationally, gives an unique and incomparable access to the dynamics and drivers of the Indian real estate. Axiom estates is orgainisng a Road show(7th-28th june’08), in which they have several of India's top brand developers participating including the likes of SD Corp, Hiranandani Upscale, Rustomjee, Unitech, Parsvnath, Emaar MGF & Kumar and launching some very exciting new projects. They also have over 300 new developments in 20 cities to offer.

Sterling Urban Developments, a joint venture floated by HDFC Property Fund (a subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Corporation) and Bangalore-based Sterling Developers will take up development of 150 acres in Whitefield at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The project, ‘Sterling Villa Grande’, is being taken up in Whitefield and will see a total built-up of 20 million square feet at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The project is being built in phases. Along with the Bangalore project, the company is also into expansion. As part of expansion the company has commenced property development in Pune and Kochi. The company is actively considering acquiring two infrastructure companies to aggressively enter infrastructure sector. Sterling Developers’ investment plans span education and hospitality sectors as well. The company has acquired land for hotel project in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Currently, the company owns and manages the Canadian International School, in Bangalore and is planning one each in Lonavla and Noida. The move by HDFC to invest in the property development of Sterling Developers follows a string of high-profile global private equity in Bangalore real estate. Global institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Blackstone, Citi are actively hunting down lucrative investments in this market which is witnessing growth at a furious pace.

Real estate developer Nirmal Lifestyle Ltd plans to build five integrated townships costing about $5 billion (Rs20, 300 crore) in 10 years. The firm, which has developed a township, and residential and retail projects in the city, said three of the townships will be in Mumbai, and one each in Pune and Indore. Each of the projects will include an IT special economic zone, and will have about 20 million sq. ft each. The company is finalizing the land acquisition for these projects. They plan to fund the land acquisition through internal accruals. For each city, they will also look at partners but that will only be on maturity of the project. They also plan to go public in the next 12-18 months. Nirmal is currently developing a 3 million sq. ft shopping mall in Mumbai and a 1,080-room hotel project, jointly with France’s Accor SA. Real estate developers in India have rushed to set up industrial zones and townships in the last few years due to easier investment rules and rising demand for homes and offices.

Mahindra Lifespaces Developers (MLDL), the housing and real estate arm of the $ 7.5 billion (Rs 30,566 crore) Mahindra Group, is planning to enter the business of building low-cost houses for the middle-income group. Low-cost houses have become a fad among young people, as they are available at an affordable cost of Rs 25-30 lakh. The company has tied up with BE Billimoria and Co (BEBL), which specializes in construction technology, to bring down construction costs in the long run. The group’s principal activity has shifted its focus to developing residential and commercial real estate, with a special focus on housing. The company has announced that it is going to develop 25 acres of land at the Multimodal Internal Hub Airport of Nagpur (MIHAN), at a total investment of close to Rs 500 crore. The development of MIHAN area will broadly comprise development of airport and aircraft maintenance area, special economic zone and support infrastructure. The investment towards land will be Rs. 21 crore initially and this will go up to Rs. 75 crore over three years. The MLDL-BEBL consortium will form an SPV (special purpose vehicle) company to undertake the project, in which 70 per cent equity will be held by MLDL and 30 per cent by BEBL.

Tata group chairman, Ratan Tata, already named among the world’s most influential business people from India, has made it to a list of the 30 most powerful in the British construction space with a ranking higher than even the UK’s Minister for Housing. The list compiled by UK-based digital magazine Contract Journal, which features people with a direct influence on the construction industry, has placed Ratan Tata at the 16th position. Already providing products that feature in many British homes after its takeover of Tetley in 2000, Ratan Tata’s Tata Group now supplies the mainstay material in most of its offices: steel. Earlier this month, the U.S. business publication Conde Nast Portfolio had named Ratan Tata among the ‘73 Biggest Brains in Business´ for his $2,500 car, Nano. Moreover, Time magazine had chosen Ratan Tata as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Real estate companies are now trying their hands at new sectors. Realtors like Parsvnath and DLF forayed into telecom and now SRS is entering into fashion. SRS Group, one of India's leading real estate developer with business interests in real estate and township development, multiplex cinemas, retail, hospitality and aviation sectors, has announced its definitive plans to foray into retailing of branded apparel by launching the first exclusive apparel retail store under the brand - FASHION WEAR, at Crown Interiors, Faridabad, Haryana. The group also plans to build and operate 15 metro based hyper markets with an area of 50-80,000 square feet each. The total area under operation is expected to be around 15,00,000 square feet by end the end of the year 2009.

There is a shortage of housing of over 20 million dwelling units in both rural and urban areas. The investment required to achieve the National dream of everybody owning a home is estimated to be around Rs.400,000 crores including cost of civil infrastructure like water supply, sanitation, electricity, roads etc. Till a decade or two ago, the responsibility of providing housing and urban infrastructure was left to the Improvement Trusts/Housing Boards/Development Authorities. However, it was observed that despite best efforts, they have not been able to meet the challenges and expectations of the public. There is a shift in the approach to encourage more competitive participation of private sector in housing and civil infrastructure development. Following this trend, Delhi-based real estate developer, Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd will develop houses for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society at Ashiana Colony in Lucknow. The company will develop a total of 2,352 houses for the EWS sections of the society, which will be constructed under the scheme of 'Mayavar Kanshi Ramji Nagar Awas Yojna'. The company has been awarded the contract worth Rs 48.5 crore by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). These houses will be developed by December 2008. Also, concerned over the rising shortage of housing in India, the National Housing Bank (NHB) has announced the launch of pro-poor housing finance schemes in India.

Despite of the fact that the Haryana government has failed to provide adequate water and power to the existing population, the Haryana government continues to indiscriminately release licenses to developers for more projects. Being worried about the severe depletion of groundwater which will in turn lead to environmental and ecological degradation due to mindless and unplanned development. The residents' associations of Gurgaon have moved the Supreme Court, seeking a complete ban on any more residential and commercial projects in Gurgaon and surrounding areas. They have demanded that the state agencies should first ensure adequate water supply to the existing population before thinking of future expansion. The petition also sought immediate ban on mass-scale extraction of scarce groundwater and its misuse for construction and commercial activities by the builders. What's more, due to shortage in canal water supply, 70 per cent of the total water demand is being met by extracting groundwater The Central Ground Water Authority has announced Gurgaon as 'Dark Zone' and as per its report groundwater is being drawn three times its recharge. The petitioners have also claimed that a number of developers had managed to get environment clearances from the Ministry by furnishing false information that fifty percent of the water used in the construction process was supplied by the municipal sources (canal supply) and rest half by the contractors. The petitioners have brought into notice that in less than 15 years more than 10, 000 acres agriculture land has been converted into modern townships comprising state-of-the art residential, commercial and industrial townships.

Real estate developer Landmark Group would invest over Rs 4,000 crore in developing 12 properties across the northern region in the next 3-4 years. The company would fund the projects through internal accruals and raisings from private equities. Though the prime source of funding for these projects would be company’s own resources but it will also encourage private equity players' participation. The NCR-based firm has planned to develop three hotels, two five star and one budget hotels in the next three years, which could entail an investment of about Rs 700 crore. Landmark Group is developing a 3,000-room five-star hotel in Dharuhera and a budget hotel in Gurgaon with about 120 rooms. Besides these projects, Landmark Group is currently developing 600 flats in a residential project at Gurgaon. Landmark Group has posted a turnover of Rs 430 crore during the last financial year. The net worth of the company, at present, stands at about Rs 1,350 crore.

Many expect a further correction in home prices in India. Since the volumes of property transactions are going down, hence the asking price for property will also go down. Additionally, over-supply of property is posing as a major reason for the slow down in Real Estate prices.Recent media reports have also suggested the same trend. Reports suggest that Real Estate Prices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and National Capital Region have corrected 15-20% in the first quarter of this year. Market-watchers say that this trend will be repeated across the Tier II cities and suburbs too. No wonder property developers are wooing prospective users with all sorts of offers. Some are even offering lower EMIs for flats while some are offering goodies like cars along with property. Still others are wavering off the stamp duty prices.
Are the property prices coming down in your area? Is the property slow down really impacting the end user in a major way? Should the home seekers cheer for some reasons? Is there a possibility of a market dive? Or is this a temporary phase in the housing segment?

The main difference between a realtor and a real estate agent is credentials. People use the terms REALTOR® and real estate agent interchangeably, but that is incorrect. There are differences between REALTORS® and real estate agents. They are not the same. Although both are licensed to sell real estate, the basic difference between a real estate agent and a REALTOR® .As such, the main difference that you hear a lot about -- but are likely confused about -- is that a REALTOR® must subscribe to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. But what does this mean to a consumer? A realtor has more training and experience in the real estate market than does a real estate agent. Where both a realtor and real estate agent have licenses, the realtor has gone the extra mile in obtaining a further level of expertise in their professions. Realtors® follow a code of ethics and typically receive many helpful tools from the Association including a legal hotline and official contracts to write offers. When you hire a real estate agent you are essentially hiring the brokerage. The broker is your agent and his salespersons are his agents. So when you go out looking at homes with a salesperson, you are essentially dealing with your agent’s agent. However, usually everyone down the line is a Realtor® because every agent in that company is a member of the Association of Realtors®.

With the Indian real estate market slated to grow 35-40 per cent in value terms over the next two years, private equity (PE) players are lining up significant investments in the segment. Led by Blackstone and the PE arm of Deutsche Bank, a host of players -including Red Fort Capital Advisors, Starwood Capital and Walton Street - are expected to invest close to US$ 12 billion combined in homes, offices, townships, hotels and other projects. In 2006, markets regulator SEBI opened up the real estate market to PE investments. The first year was a learning period. The following year saw a real correction in the market, with large incremental growth rather than dramatic growth, where stock market money went into special purpose vehicle-level investments. Experts say that in calendar 2007 alone, PE players would have invested US$ five billion in the Indian real estate sector. But there is need for investments of up to US$ 18-20 billion, which are expected in FY09 and FY10. Investments of US$ 1,400 billion are being made by Real Estate Investment Trusts globally. Hence, more global investors will start looking at Indian realty. This investment zeal comes in the backdrop of a much broader enthusiasm that PE players have shown across sectors in India in recent times. This trend is likely to continue strongly through 2010, driven by robust economic growth and attractive market valuations.

The palatial residence, on a street dubbed Billionaires’ Row, is believed to have been bought by Britain’s richest man, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. He is believed to be close to exchanging contracts with owner Noam Gottesman, a US-born financier. The home in Kensington Palace Gardens, West London, Princess Diana’s former street, is being sold furnished and with an art collection. It works out at an astonishing £8,000 per square foot. Mr Mittal, who denies being the buyer, has been looking to splurge some of his £27.7billion fortune on a home for son Aditya, 32. Mr Mittal moved into the half-mile, tree-lined private avenue four years ago after paying £67million for a 12-bedroom home. His new pad pips the £115 million previous record – paid in March for a flat being built in nearby St James’s Square.

Brigade Group recently announced the launch of Brigade Courtyard luxury apartments located in HMT Township in North Bangalore. A gracious neighborhood well connected to schools, hospitals and upcoming Orion Mall & Multiplex at Brigade Gateway. Brigade Courtyard is a four-storeyed apartment building and is designed with a refreshing concept of private terrace areas attached with every apartment. These apartments come with luxury specifications like vitrified tile flooring, premium fixtures and back-up power. The project also offers good leisure facilities like a multi-level club house with swimming pool, indoor games, gym, multi purpose hall, party terrace, top covered stilt parking and more. The new international airport is easily accessible from this place via Ring Road which takes approximately 30 minutes.

The Real estate industry in India has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few years. However, the country still lacks a credible way to cross-check the price swings (real or reported) in the sector. For example, recent reports of residential prices cooling off in major cities of the country could not be verified. There was no authentic data to indicate such a trend. Thus, property buyers remain confused, not knowing, for instance, whether Mumbai property prices fell more than that of Delhi in the last quarter? The same does not happen with equity investors. If, at the end of the day, anyone wants to know the day’s market trend, he could visit BSE/NSE website or see next day’s newspaper to know the exact rise or fall of Sensex or Nifty. And nobody questions the authenticity of Sensex or Nifty as a barometer of market sentiment. With years of index publishing, a sort of credibility and association has been built with the equity investors by these financial institutions. Could National Housing Bank (NHB) replicate the same with various real estate stakeholders — government and policymakers, builders, individuals and housing finance industry? Could it start making its real estate index figures (Residex) public, say every three months? However, getting data from NHB has been tough for analysts. With various mutual funds planning to soon launch real estate funds, it is imperative that a reliable index data, preferably from a government body like NHB, is made available to act as a benchmark. Capturing real estate prices in India has its own challenges. Thanks to different types of housing that are made available by builders, there are large variations in property price in a single locality. It is difficult to put a single price to a locality which has different class of houses, say premium as well as low cost. However, NHB with its wealth of information on loan disbursements and other crucial figures could do a lot for the industry. If NHB cracks the same, it could be one big step towards making the industry more competitive.

DLF group presents Park Place located in DLF City, Phase V, in close proximity to DLF Golf Links. It features an open-layout with buildings being placed in a manner that there is no overlooking and most of the apartments (50% at least) enjoy the views of structured landscaping. Each apartment is centrally air conditioned and has all other amenities including a Club, school, medical center etc. within the complex. The apartments are fitted with modern electrical security system and have complete power back up facilities. The sprawling 30-acre DLF Park Place has been planned keeping some very important people in mind. Here everything has been thoughtfully planned to surround you and your family with not just an inspiring ambience but top-notch amenities as well. DLF Park Place offers two great residential options - Park Towers and Park Heights. Whatever you choose you can be sure of findings touches of a luxurious lifestyle and upscale living. At Park Place, you will find that your apartment will be a home like you would have made it your way. Inside every apartment you will find judicious planning that offers you more space to live without compromising on aesthetics.

Venture capitalist Milestone Capital Advisors would invest up to Rs 1,200 crore in Tamil Nadu to build green housing units that are affordable too. The objective of Milestone Capital was to facilitate investment in various areas of the Indian economy. Chennai and other cities like Coimbatore and Madurai in Tamil Nadu offered big opportunity for real estate investment in the country. The company was largely looking at Tier-I and Tier-II cities. The company had so far floated two funds. The first one was for Rs. 250 crore and the amount were disbursed for 14 projects, of which nine were in Chennai. The second one was for Rs. 1,000 crore, which was invested in readily available properties such as warehousing and office complexes. Now the company is floating its third fund, Milestone Domestic Scheme II. It is for the first time that the company is purchasing agriculture and non-agricultural lands and developing and selling them in the form of plotted land. The company would invest Rs. 1,000 crore in the third fund. This fund will deploy 40 per cent for joint development projects and 60 per cent through special purpose vehicle route. The amount would be raised from high net worth individuals and financial institutions. This fund would be primarily used for the construction and development of low-cost and green housing and also large warehousing across Tamil Nadu. Apart from the domestic fund, the company was targeting to raise Rs. 1,600 crore from the international market. The land bank of the company was 300 acres across the country.

Rentals of residential properties in central Delhi has appreciated up to 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 as demand continues to be buoyant despite the capital witnessing saturation in development of new space. Demand in these locations was driven by expatriates who have the ability to pay higher rentals. Majority of the south Delhi locations registered an increase in the range of 7-11 per cent primarily due to limited scope of development and buoyant demand. Leasing activities were active across all micro-Markets as the end-users had deferred their purchase decisions due to expected corrections in the prices in near future. The capital values of the south Delhi locations had also risen in the range of 10-34 per cent over the quarter mainly due to limited supply and relatively high demand. The suburban locations of Gurgaon and Noida witnessed marginal appreciation of 2 per cent over the quarter. End-users as well as investors have adopted a wait and watch policy in anticipation of correction in apartment prices and home loan interest rates.

We're delighted to introduce you to a remarkable new community that will add more to life in suburban Chennai— Hiranandani Palace Gardens. This exciting new township will offer today's families everything they're looking for—elegant residential towers and low-rise buildings, parks and gardens, world-class schools, shopping options from boutiques to malls, recreational facilities, family hospital, convenient transportation links, extensive local employment and much more. The adjoining 118-acre IT/ITES Business Park being developed right next to the vibrant new Hiranandani Palace Gardens Chennai township will offer the perfect blend of corporate and residential lifestyles - a true 21st century business destination. Palace Gardens will also offer retailers the opportunity to connect with multi-generational customers who wish to make the most of their new homes and enjoy their new community to the fullest.

An apparent slowdown in the real estate sector is forcing PE (private equity) funds to rein in their exposure to the sector, with nearly 30 per cent of the deals now stuck over valuations. PE funds and analysts have become far more cautious in evaluating real estate investments in India. Marginal slowdown in the Indian economy, distressing conditions at home (for foreign players) and the dampening of investor confidence because of mortgage crisis in North America and Europe being some of the reasons for the PE funds to become cautious. One of the analysts said that some of the funds are tightening norms for valuations after the slowdown and at least 30 per cent of the deals are taking a much longer time to go through because of valuation issues. As the residential projects are in a correction mode, PE funds are becoming more selective. The evaluations are more rigorous than they were a year ago. With the stock market on a downslide, real estate companies deferred their IPO plans and turned to PE funds to raise money. Some of the PE funds, particularly foreign funds, are taking a more cautious approach. Funds are now more selective and wary of the delivery timelines, costs, quality as well as performance of projects. Because of the slowdown faced by the sector, the developers were witnessing more realistic valuations of their projects. As a result, PE funds are getting wider choices at attractive valuations than was the case earlier. Once the stock market returns to normal, “real estate companies might return to the market.”

Under pressure from rising input costs and stricter norms to deliver flats to buyers as per deadline, India's real estate developers are waking up to global realities. They are now adopting unique technologies to develop quality projects within tight deadlines. With inflation pushing up project costs and consumer forums penalizing builders for delayed delivery of flats, many developers are now hiring the services of foreign project management consultancy companies and techno construction firms for faster implementation of projects, which come with cost advantages. Speeding up construction for a demand driven market like India is the need of the hour and technology based companies have a bright future.

Only one thing could be more exhilarating than your home, the realization that it’s yours. Now feel at home in your dream home. The opulence of Orchid Woods radiates an extraordinary glory. So much so, that the beauty surrounding it is overshadowed by its sheer stature. The royal towers host a lifestyle equally imperialistic. You will have an experience of lifetime, living in the lavish homes blessed by the nature. Beautiful gardens, cool-blue swimming pool and state-of-the-art health club make for wonderful elite living. Orchid Woods takes the connoisseurs to the next level of aristocracy. Orchid Woods Life is about to enfold you into a charmed existence. Where the special privilege of being alive is discovered everyday. Located at Gokuldham, the 3 majestic towers bring you an unbelievable blend of exclusivity and serenity, peace and excitement, lifestyle and nature. It is expected to be completed by December 2010.

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) is investing about Rs 6,000 crore for an eight-lane access-controlled expressway. Part of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project, it would be taken up in three phases. Five agencies are working on this project on a build, operate and transfer basis. This is likely to be ready by 2010. The government would take financial assistance from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and would soon call for tenders for the project. Also 33 radial roads would be laid at a cost of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh for better connectivity to the city. Work on four radial roads has already begun. Huda has also identified land for setting up the digital entertainment city and will soon form a special purpose vehicle for the purpose. It is also planning a health city with participation from global players. The government is also intent on developing townships along the Outer Ring Road. With all these developments taking place in the city, it seems Hyderabad will leave all the other cities in the race.

The addition of new real estate investment products and property funds that developers are lining up are expected to exacerbate the talent crunch in real estate. Though regulatory clarifications are still awaited, fund houses are already on the hunt for key personnel, who have the caliber to look after investments in real estate. People who have worked with property consultants and investment banking firms are being mostly preferred over the other lot. With talent in short supply, speed is of essence. Poaching from competitors is rampant. At any given point in time, good people have 2 to 3 offers in hand. There is a premium on readymade talent. Not surprisingly, salaries are flying. On an average a professional gets 25-35% increment annually. Were they to change jobs, the increment rises to 40%-50%. For companies, the cost implications multiply if there is a delay in projects. That makes these companies more than willing to meet the rising expectations of candidates. Educational institutes have been quick on the uptake, launching specialized courses. According to a Ma Foi Employment Survey, real estate is likely to add about 47,000 professionals in the organized segment this year. How will the demand be catered to? Overseas talent is one answer. Salaries in India have become comparable to those in the US, and the subprime-triggered slump there is helping draw talent. Another approach could be hiring advisory services instead of hiring and developing in house talent. What’s your take on this???

Over a long period of time Noida has amazed everyone around the neighborhood to look at this place with flabbergasted expressions. But things have moved on and today it is Greater Noida which has changed. Welcome to Greater Noida, a city where the grass is greener, the roads wider, air cleaner, where power cuts are unheard of and proactive governance is a way of life. No delays, no congestion, hence no worry. These enhancements have put Greater Noida firmly on the world map. Globally, the IT industry is expected to be the engine for economic growth and social development for a long time to come.In addition to this super premium group housing in a league of its own has come up in Greater Noida seeing the potential of the city.” Celebrity Greens”- Designed to be the finest address close to the proposed Taj Expressway. To shape an exclusive new community of the crème de la crème for an elevated living experience. Conceived and designed by FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS, world’s leading architect firm, Celebrity Greens has been recognized with the highest honor for the Best Design in Residential Projects by Architectural Review. FXFOWLE needs no introduction in the world of architecture and with an impressive portfolio of innumerable award winning projects across the world; it has a reputation that is hard to match. Celebrity Greens celebrates the very essence of FXFOWLE vision and spirit. It offers various amenities-swimming pool, wifi connectivity, health centre, community centre & club, nursery school, high-speed internet gateway, enclosed parking area in basement with stilt car park, wide ramps & driveway and plenty of space for visitors’ car parking.

Want to invest in real estate? Has the recent crisis put you off? Don’t worry, the sector is still swinging. Real estate will always be in demand, and now there are more ways than one to make it pay.

Your elders always drilled it into you that you’ve got it made when you can buy or build your own home. This is one injunction kids all over the world are given, regardless of culture. The solidity that a piece of land gives is a great comfort. Despite the jitters the market gave you after the ‘sub-prime contagion,’ real estate is still hot. All the world’s a village now, and if you would rather avoid U.S. real estate for whatever reason, invest in international real estate, by all means. Do it through real estate stocks.The first way to do this is invest in property development companies. These guys issue IPOs, and then are traded on the secondary market. You can pick them up from either place.The second way is through Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs.If your country has recognized real estate investment trusts (REITs), these are safer than either of the previous two options. Real estate stocks are not exactly property, but give you market beating returns that are real enough. Do you agree? What have you invested in?

There is good news for all the homebuyers who intend to own a house of their own. As Reserve Bank, relaxed the risk provisioning norm for housing loan up to Rs 3 million on May 15th.This inturn would make it easier for banks to provide loans for purchase of residential properties. This move is expected to reduce the cost funds of housing loans up to Rs. 30 lakh.
The central bank issued notification in pursuance of the annual credit policy announcement made by the Reserve bank Governor Y V Reddy on April 29. The RBI has modified the provisioning limit for housing loan to take care of the growing property rates mainly in the urban centers. As per the Basel II norms, banks are required to keep 9% of the specified portion of the loan amount as capital.
For up to Rs 3 million housing loan the risk provisioning norm would apply for the 50% of the loan value. Earlier the specified amount was 75% of the loan value between Rs 2-3 million. For loans exceeding Rs 3 million for purchase of residential property, the banks would have to make a risk provision on 75% of the loan amount.
The move would provide the bank additional capital for lending more to housing sector. However, it may not result in immediate softening of interest rate for the housing sector

Rosedale Garden is tailor made to suit the lifestyle of NRIs. Rosedale is a Garden Apartment Complex in a modern planned city, a future of Kolkata. Spread over 16 acres of prime real estate in Newtown, Rajarhat, Kolkata, Rosedale Garden is probably the largest project of its kind providing all facilities and amenities that are enjoyed in the West. It is not a 'sub-zero temperature in a blast furnace'; outside of Rosedale Complex is not-congested, no pollution. Newtown is open and airy with greeneries, lakes; far from noise and pollution, dust and smoke. Rosedale Garden will provide the cosmopolitan lifestyle with rural flavors. It is near to Airport, Saltlake City Center. You reach Rabindra Sadan faster from Rosedale Garden than Southern part of present Kolkata. The overwhelming responses from NRIs, from all corners the globe, have motivated Rosedale Garden is actively pursuing to develop a 2nd NRI Complex for Residential and Commercial purposes.

Kolkata-based real estate developer Salarpuria Group will execute projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in West Bengal by 2010. The expansion plans includes setting up a Novotel Hotel, promoted by international hospitality major, Accor Group, at Rajarhat. The investment in the project would be close to Rs 200 crore. Besides this, other major investments of the company includes two IT special economic zones (SEZs) at Bantala 20km south-east of Kolkata, and Kalyani in Nadia district, 40km north-west of Kolkata. The company has already received in-principle nod for the SEZ projects from the Central government. The SEZ in Kalyani would be spread over 250 acre. The construction for the recent Rs 1000 crore project would start within a year. The project is scheduled to be over by the next three to five years and possesses the potential to generate sales worth $3 billion Salarpuria To Develop Projects Worth Rs 1000 Crores

With little supply in the central business district, Bangalore, India’s information technology hub, saw the highest demand for office space in the first quarter of 2008 at 5.14 million sq. ft. It was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising New Delhi and its satellite cities, with 2.2 million sq. ft. A report says though the demand for office space remained upbeat at 14 million sq. ft across India’s cities; around 15.54 million sq. ft of supply has come into the market in the same quarter. In both NCR and Bangalore, much of the limited supply was a result of large pre-commitments in 2007 that were delivered in the first three months of this year. The demand in Bangalore has been spurred by a number of new aero-engineering and logistics companies here. The problem here is, with huge demand for Grade A office space in prime areas and little supply, there is a problem of oversupply in peripheral areas like Whitefield and Marathahalli. In Mumbai 11% of the total projected supply of 2008 (19 million sq. ft) entered the market in the first quarter and most of these are in suburban business districts such as Andheri, Bandra-Kurla Complex and a special economic zone in Powai. Office rentals increased marginally at 6% with about a 7-9% rise in Bangalore and a sharp 24% growth in Pune. NCR rental values rose 2–4% in select micro markets while the commercial segment of Gurgaon saw rentals going up 3% with fresh supply in the quarter. Rental values fell in certain areas such as the IT segment in Noida, which saw a 4% fall due to fresh supply along with the existing vacant stock.

When we hear someone talking about “Goa” the images of beaches, lush forested hills, shiny sand, swaying coconut tress, and charming faces start evolving before our eyes. Also known as India’s smallest state, Goa is a tiny land located on the west coast of India. It is a boom time for property market in Goa with more and more investors ready to park big money here as they are confident to get lucrative yields in long term. Despite all the controversies and protests by non governmental organizations, the investor-sentiment in Goa remains up and positive. Real estate developers say that investors, who have inclination towards Goa, are all the way excited about properties in Goa and wish to grab the one for them, at the earliest. One of the property projects in Goa that is seen as one of the most potential investment options is “Coastal Paradise”. Spread across 11275 sq. mt of land, "Coastal Paradise" is residential complex which is in proximity to three most famous beaches of south Goa named Benaulim, Colva, and Sernabatim as well as to Margao city. The project offers Studio & 1 - 2 BHK Apartments as well as 3 BHK row villas scheduled for completion by December 2009. The project includes a swimming pool, landscaped gardens to give the residents a luxurious feeling, adequate front and backyard space ideal for parking or delving in a fit of landscaping all meant to provide you the luxurious living with nature.

Ayala Corporation of Philippines and its affiliate, Arch Capital Management, plan to invest $100 million in the Indian property market in the next two years. Ayala being one of the largest real estate brands in Philippines and the private equity fund is currently evaluating property in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and the national capital region. Though they are majorly eyeing on the smaller cities due to there being more scope and room of development .Also residential projects are on top of the priority list of Arch Capital Management. The fund is also considering investing in retail and IT projects. It recently closed its first deal in India last month with Mahindra Lifespace Developers. They will develop a residential township in Chennai, a project in which it holds a 49 per cent stake.

There is good news for all the homebuyers who wished to own a dream house of there own but couldn’t possess due to the skyrocketing property prices. If you are waiting for property prices to fall by the end of the year to buy your dream house in the city, you may be doing the right thing! Realty experts predict a 10-20% fall in residential prices in and around metros.There is respite ahead for people who want to invest in residential property in metros. According to experts, this segment of the market is set to witness a slide in prices soon. That's because over five million sq ft of residential space is under construction currently in areas in and around Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore. They say a majority of this supply will hit the realty market over the next 6-12 months. Since there are fewer takers for residential property in prime locations right now, it could force to bring down prices. In certain markets the reason is oversupply. In certain markets the size of the market is very small and the number of projects that have been announced, or which are being sold in the market are much more. Secondly, there is an absence of investors in the market, so it's a purely end-user market. The stock markets have corrected, peoples' perception that they have lesser wealth right now, also effects the real estate market. Experts say the demand for houses in the metros has already reduced by 40-50% in the last few months. While investors and speculators seemed to have left the realty market for now, end-users continue to drive the market but they make up only about 30-40% of the total market size.

Rentals of commercial properties, which had risen to prohibitory levels, have come down, bringing much respite to retailers and people in search of affordable office space, say realty observers. However, the slippage, along with stabilization of rentals of residential properties in Ahmedabad, has shrunk returns on investment in the real estate market. After rising steeply for 3 years rentals have shown resistance over the past few months in the city. The Ahmedabad market is yet to experience demand from IT/ITES companies that have been driving real estate growth in other cities.Property prices don't necessarily go down when rentals stabilize. The city's real estateis expected to show stability till 2009. Rentals have been a stable source of income for people who let out residential or commercial property. But decreasing rents discourage investors from holding on to their properties. The real estate market of Ahmedabad has been showing signs of stabilization and is expected to remain mild for some more time. There has been an oversupply of similar types of property. Realty investors are one of the biggest groups to park money in new projects in emerging areas. Shrinking returns dampen their interest in the real estate market. Due to which local developers have been on a land acquisition spree, but developing new properties doesn't seem to be on their agenda. Some builders, who have expressed their desire to expand aggressively, are using funds to build their land bank.

There’s news for all those people who are eyeing NCR for property investment. The NCR board is likely to hike the minimum floor area rates (circle rates) for property transactions in and around the Capital by 20-30%.A circle rate is the floor price at which property transactions are registered, and quoting a lower price is not allowed. Therefore, higher circle rates mean more transparent transactions. In addition, home loan seekers would get bigger loans from banks as the property price reflected in the document would be higher, closer to the market value. The circle rates in NCR are far below market rates.
Even after the proposed hike, rates would be far lower than market rates. The board feels circle rates should be revised every year to reflect the actual value of land. In many cases, there is a huge difference between the actual market price and floor price set by state governments. There is much room to revise rates in NCR as well. States need to follow a calibrated approach in revising rates. Rate hikes from time-to-time do not pinch the buyer and enrich state coffers.

After seven years of hectic activity, the Bangalore real-estate market is hesitant, perhaps more on the part of bulk investors than serious home buyers. Blame it on the rising inflation or the economic crisis in the US. Like other locations, Bangalore real-estate, termed ‘hot’ by leading realty consultants, seems to have cooled off in the last few months. Though property prices have not seen a dip, home sales has come down “at least by 50 per cent”, say consultants. Certain Grade ‘A’ developers have experienced a sustained drop of around 50 per cent on the monthly level of bookings compared to what they enjoyed prior to December 2007. First-home buyers, it seems, are still interested in the market, though it is the second- or third-home buyers who are shying away. However, reputed developers offering homes in booming locations in the city are still selling. In fact, some of them have upped their pricing by 3-7 per cent, with South and South-West homes costing 3-5 per cent more. In the North of the city, prices have gone up by 8-12 per cent. Many indicate that this is a correction phase and not a crash as witnessed in 1996. The market currently is more need-based and mature; there’s no need to panic. There’s a 10 per cent more supply than demand in the market now but this should get absorbed by the last quarter of 2008-09.Its expected that the prices will head north again in the third and fourth quarters, and recommended that the buyers should make their deals then. According to the Cushman and Wakefield report, capital values appreciated marginally by 1-2 per cent across micro markets in January-March 2008 on account of increasing demand, primarily from a migratory and working population. It is expected that both capital and rental values in the city will continue to stabilise during the next few months across select micro markets (Whitefield, Kanakapura Road, Outer Ring Road) with a large number of investment-based properties expected to see softening of rates over the next six months.

Kolkata property market has been growing by leaps and bounds and is today one of the most lucrative investment destinations in the state. The city has attracted around 25,000 crore in real estate over the past two years. Recently, I got my hands on the news which says Realty major from Singapore is setting up luxury condos in New Town, Kolkata, complete with wi-fi connectivity, an aroma garden, an elevated green podium to camouflage the underground parking lot and a mini cricket field. Elita Garden Vista, a 1,278-unit complex, is being developed on a 25-acre land parcel in Action Area III of the Rajarhat Township by Keppel Land Limited, the property arm of the Keppel Group, one of Singapore’s multinational behemoths with core businesses in offshore and marine infrastructure and property. Keppel Land’s Indian partners in the project — the first in the city being developed by Singapore realty major — are the Jatia Group and the Puravankara Group. It’s set to be ready by end-2011.The group also plan to do at least three more projects in India, both in the residential and retail/commercial segments in the next five years. The condos will be housed in 15 towers, with the tallest going up to 30 storeys. Besides recreational amenities like a central swimming pool, a clubhouse, a gymnasium and a children’s playground, the complex will have features designed to suit the needs of IT professionals. Calcutta being amongst the most significant IT growth centers in India after Bangalore and Hyderabad and our project, with an average unit price of around Rs 50 lakh, has been created to facilitate the lifestyle of the executives in the new-age service sectors. This project will provide a huge fillip to Calcutta’s property market. Improvements in the city will pave way for more investments and make the investors feel confident about selling their real estate projects. Kolkata possesses an untouched potential and is likely to see an astronomical growth of 25-30 per cent in very near future.

Red Fort Capital, an international private equity fund, is planning to invest Rs 3,500 crore in the country’s real estate sector during the next one year. The money will be invested in real estate projects — commercial, residential and retail — as well as land acquisitions. It has also launched a domestic fund few weeks back through which it plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore. The proceeds would be deployed into non-foreign direct investment projects. Construction has begun for Prestige’s project in Bangalore, Indu project in Hyderabad, Chennai and NCR, Delhi. The company is looking at property investments in about 15 other cities that have high income and employment growth and cheaper land. The company will target the middle income groups, earning between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 11 lakh per annum. Red Fort will develop the low-cost houses in partnership with the Bangalore-based Prestige Group and Hyderabad-based Indu Project and will have around 40-80 per cent stake in the projects. Red Fort is in the final stages of discussion for investing in budget hotel chains. It plans to capitalize on its existing land bank of over 1,000 acres pan India. It has land in North Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi.

Deutsche Bank's alternative investment management business, RREEF Alternative Investments (RREEF), plans to invest a further $1 billion over three years in India's and infrastructure sector. As they see India as a particularly attractive emerging real estate and infrastructure market for high return-oriented offshore clients. The new venture, RREEF India Advisors, which will be run by country head Kishore Gotety, will be eyeing potential real estate deals. They’ll be working on deals involving roads, power, airport and railway terminal projects. The preferred deal size would be between $50 million and $150 million and they are already evaluating deals in western and northern India. The company has invested about $70 million in another Indian company, Golden Gate .Properties Ltd., which is involved in primarily projects in southern India. RREEF said it has formed a 60:40 joint venture with Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd's (NCC) unit, NCC Urban Infrastructure Ltd., to develop a $400 million realty development project in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The project, scheduled to be completed in five years, will involve construction of residential, commercial and hotel properties. It's known that India needs more than $450 billion in investments for developing infrastructure. RREEF, which has country specific funds like Japan and Hong Kong, currently does not have specific plans for an India specific fund......... the money, will be drawn from its international funds. With such developments taking place the boom in Indian is here to stay.

The property market has boomed since India eased rules on inward investment in the construction industry in early 2005, partly fuelled by pledges by foreign investors that they will pump up to $20 billion into the country. But government figures show only about $2 billion has actually been spent in the last three years. Real estate prices have cooled in the last six months. Developers had piled into the top-end of the where profit margins are highest. Young people don’t have housing open to them. Developers are targeting the young workforce in a country where double-digit salary hikes are common in sectors such as real estate, information technology and financial services. What’s on the market so far isn’t satisfying demand .It was a rising market so people didn’t think. Developers have been overpaying for land, making the wrong product and not doing their research. Analysts say the strong supply of high-end apartments in many areas, including Bangalore and New Delhi, is likely to hit prices. Developers are giving away freebies to lure buyers, with one even including a car in the package. India’s biggest property firm DLF is changing its designs for apartment blocks in New Delhi’s suburb of Gurgaon to squeeze in more two-bedroom units, along with four-bedroom homes.Land prices have quadrupled in many areas over the last three years but many in the industry expect prices to drop anywhere between 15 percent and 50 percent in the coming year.Developers hope authorities will allow them to build taller blocks by raising a measure of building density called the floor space index (FSI). The Maharashtra state government made such a move last month to ease a housing shortage in Mumbai. Indian property investors are targeting lower- to mid-end house owners in the booming economy now that sales of plush apartments have slowed. With the number of families earning more than $5,000 a year set to double to around 20 million in the next two years, demand for small and simple apartments is set to mushroom. But there’s a need to reduce land costs, increase FSI, build infrastructure first.

Residential dwellings built around a golf course are the latest buzzword in the super-premium housing segment of the Indian realty industry, estimated at $15 billion and growing at 35 per cent annually. The golf cities make an attractive preposition for NRIs and HNIs who together constitute 50 per cent of buyers in the premium housing segment. These high end customers are ready to pay big bucks for a sprawling home amidst the greens with a promise of high class lifestyle. So from the top brass of the corporate world to those who aspire to arrive in life, everyone finds residences built around the golf course an ideal abode. Golf home projects are exclusive projects. Slight slumps in the market that generally slow down the middle housing segments usually do not affect these projects, as the buyer is exclusive and very selective about the property. And the trend is fast spreading from metros to emerging cities. Earlier golf was restricted to a select group, but it has grown popular over the years with many middle level executives and business class taking active interest in the game. No wonder big players like Unitech, DLF, Ansal API, Omaxe and Jaypee have already taken the plunge with an array of golf-centric projects.“Golf is not just a game but it’s a symbol of urban upper class lifestyle.”

After growing at a fast and furious pace over the past few years, the Real estate sector in southern India is cooling down. This has been caused mainly by a slowdown of the IT sector that impacts the region in more ways than one. Besides, rising home loan interest rates, climbing input rates and a general consumer reaction to the escalating cost of properties have begun to take a toll on realty in this part of the country. Plus there has been an oversupply of highly priced properties, creating some sort of a glut. Further, the builders’ community has been affected by the tightening of the credit norms as well as the negative sentiments in the money and stock markets. This downturn, however, is lending a long-overdue rationality to the market. Only the professionally well-organised and coporatised builders will be able to move on. Reading the ominous portents, builders are also diversifying into hotels, spas, hospitals, warehouses, SEZs and other segments, to escape the dependence on the cyclical residential real estate sector. The ripple of the downturn has touched almost all southern cities. But, there’s an upside of this downturn. The most beneficial outcome of all this might be that it will force builders and developers to cater to demands in the sub-Rs 35 lakh and lower affordable housing category, for which there exist crying need and a huge pent-up demand.

India’s real estate stocks that once paralleled the boom in property values may start to see more softening, in line with the tepid market. After the stock market crash, real estate stocks have been trading at a discount of 15-50% to their net asset values (NAVs), or the value of their assets less liabilities. And the recent drop in their values will likely stay until property developers start executing and selling more projects, say industry experts. Analysts say property stocks are overvalued and a correction in stock prices is bound to happen. Developers have taken on more projects than they can execute and valuations will not improve until we see projects actually being executed. Due to which the property stocks will be halved in value. Analysts also believe the correction in property stocks will be accompanied by a correction in real estate prices across the country. Developers in India were riding a high after an unprecedented economic boom and tax benefits for home buyers made it attractive for thousands of Indians to own homes. The resultant demand and boom also resulted in speculative buying, or flipping —holding properties for a short while to cash out on gains. Developers need money and if they can’t sell projects at the current high price levels they will have to bring down prices. However, not everyone thinks real estate valuations will come down. Many feel that real estate stocks have fallen but this has got to do more with the meltdown in the global markets. I think real estate stocks will recover when the market conditions improve.

The Indian real estate sector is set to get a breather from the market regulator SEBI's move to allow Real Estate Mutual Funds. Real Estate Mutual Fund Scheme means a scheme of a mutual fund which has investment objective to invest directly or indirectly in real estate property and shall be governed by the provisions and guidelines under SEBI (Mutual Funds) regulations. The SEBI added that the schemes will have to be close-ended with its units listed on a recognised stock exchange wherein the net asset value (NAV) will be declared daily. Real Estate Mutual Funds (REMFs) have a useful purpose and a role which until recently was missing in the real estate ecosystem. REMFs should help ease the situation and compensate to some degree the relative absence of public equity and challenging debt markets..At present, not much equity funding is available to projects below 50 thousand square metres of built up area or 25 acres and there is hardly any domestic secondary market for stabilised income yielding assets.Mr. Mayani added, “Besides, with foreign money not permissible in fully built up commercial, residential and retail assets, this is a good vacant space for REMFs.REMFs would buy fully built assets and it should help unlock capital for developers. Also, with 15% allocations, which REMFs would have towards under-construction assets, some additional equity should also be available for non-FDI compliant projects. Introduction of REMFs is certainly timely and well intended REMFs would help in creation of an alternative investment portfolio for small investors or households who do not have the technical ability and the means to directly invest in the sector, catalysing a sophisticated and liquid market for mortgage backed securities and mobilisation of retail funds for assets through a regulated institutional route.

Kolkata’s realty market is growing. The real estate market of Kolkata is comparable to tier-II cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune and is even ahead of these in terms of pricing of some of the recent deals. The IT realty market is hotting up too. Estimates suggest that about 120 lakh sq.ft. of new plug-and-play IT infrastructure will come up in Kolkata in the near future.TCG Real Estate, a part of The Chatterjee Group promoted by Purnendu Chatterjee, is planning to take up an IT park project at Sector V, near the Salt Lake area, with an investment of around Rs 250 crore. The entire project, would be spread over 11 lakh square feet and split in two phases, and is slated to be completed by 2012. TCG was also exploring the possibility of executing similar projects in places like Siliguri and Rajarhat. The project, to be launched in the latter half of the year, would be funded through internal accruals. In the first phase of the project, around 6 lakh square feet area would be developed, with ground floor dedicated to retail space. TCG Real Estate, which has a presence in about eight cities across India, has a tie-up with the US$ 25 billion US-based Vornado Realty Trust for partnering its large format projects like special economic zones (SEZs). Biotech Park park in Pune, World Trade Centre in Delhi and Bengal Intelligent Park in Sector V, near Kolkata, are some of the major projects of TCG. The company has a landbank with capacity to develop US$11.1 million sq feet of projects.

Real estate in Mumbai has been on an upswing in the last three to four years, and continues to display tremendous potential. A multitude of factors including increasing urbanisation, rising disposable income, easy availability of finance and favourable tax regime have backed the development of real estate in the city. With the demand for housing in Mumbai high and shortage of land to meet the rising demand, the city’s western suburb Bandra could see availability of close to 60 acres of real estate for development. The residents of the Maharashtra government’s employee staff quarters have suggested that government redevelop the colony spread across 96 acres. The relocating of existing staff in the multi-storey buildings will require 25-30 acres of land while the government can exploit the rest for further development. The project will also fetch additional revenue to the government that is spending Rs 15-20 crore on annual maintenance. If the approval for the project is granted it would result in a significant supply of real estate in Bandra, which would inturn attract corporate houses to set up new offices .According to the industry experts, the real estate rates at Bandra-Kurla Complex have jumped 100 per cent in the last three years. The additional of piece of land will have huge impact of the area’s realty considering the strategic position of the colony. The specific assessment is not possible as the project will take time to come up if approved. The staff has already paid the cost of the houses through the HRA deductions and it is impossible to buy new houses at such high realty prices. With such developments taking place there is no chance for the real estate growth in Mumbai to come down.

For the past few years, mostly since the IT boom and lot of NRI's pumping money into real estate in India, prices, especially in the major cities, have skyrocketed. Madurai is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu, in South India. Madurai is famous for Meenakshi Amman Temple. Apart from this; it is well connected by air, rail and road to all major cities. Madurai is selected for starting many IT and ITES company. Domestic flights connect the city to state capital Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. International connectivity from Madurai airport, located 13 km from the city centre, is also expected to begin this year. In fact, according to a Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) report, real estate development is increasingly moving to the southern and western parts of the city, mainly around the airport, Rirupparankundram Road and By-pass road. This is due to a scarcity of land in the CBD (Chinnakadai). The city has witnessed encouraging commercial development over the last three-four years. The state government has transferred two land patches — 29 acres at Ilandhaikulam and 213 acres at Vadapalanji — to ELCOT for SEZ development. Sify, HCL, TCS, Wipro and CTS have booked their space for campus developments in the SEZ. Upcoming developments in Madurai include three IT/ ITeS/ SEZs, covering a total area of approximately 128 hectares.This apart, the Tamil Nadu Housing Board proposes to set up several office and commercial complexes in five prominent places in Chennai and Madurai to meet the demand for commercial space, according to a recent state policy note. The residential space in Madurai, like all other small towns, is largely skewed towards independent homes culture. However, the apartment culture has picked up due to an increasingly investor population that’s now driving the demand for residential apartments and villas. This has attracted many national and international developers. New supply is largely concentrated towards south/south-east Madurai.Madurai is soon gonna become one of the hot spots for investing in real estate.