Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has announced the launch of his signature real estate development, Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard, to be located in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Stars shine for realty brands!

The 8-billion dirham ($2.2-billion) development will come up on Dana Island off the Ras Al Khaimah coast and will comprise studio and one and two-bedroom apartments.

New breed of brand ambassadors!

In an interaction with reporters here ahead of the Cityscape 2008 real estate exhibition, which started Monday, Shah Rukh said he had a fetish for houses and that was what led him to this project.

"I have a strange fetish for home. It's close to my heart," he was quoted as saying.

"Bit by bit, I have built my home where the future of my children lies. While I have done so much for my home, why can't I extend this to others?" he asked.

The development will be designed by well-known architect Toni Ashai and will also comprise an underwater discotheque, a public square on the beach and a theatre.

The project will cover three million square feet.

The film star has associated himself with the project through TSA International Investments, a leading real estate financial consultancy in the UAE.

Khan already is associated with the UAE's leading real estate developer Nakheel and owns a house on the posh Palm Jumeirah manmade island off the coast of the Dubai.

Mumbai based real estate developer, Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd (SMRL) is planning to invest around Rs 20,000 crore across the country in the next eight years, a top official of the company said. Mr. Sunil Mantri, chairman of SMRL, said the projects would be part-funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt. The company is planning to invest in Karnataka and Tier II and Tier III cities. Mr. Mantri said, the company would launch two residential projects in 2008 and six mega township projects each with minimum of 25 acres in 2009 in Bangalore. SMRL has earmarked Rs 350 - Rs 400 crore for these projects, he added. In addition a township project covering 200 acres would be developed in Belgaum, a Tier II city in Karnataka. Other Tier II cities in Karnataka under the company’s scrutiny are Mysore, Bellary and Hubli.

The financial crisis in the US is expected to have a cascading effect on the Indian commercial real estate sector that has already slowed down considerably over the past one year. According to industry sources, there could be a softening in the values of commercial property to the tune of 10% to 15% post the US meltdown. As a result, vacancy levels in commercial space across the country are expected to touch 10% by the end of this year from 6% last June. Market analysts can see prices cooling and projects being held up because of the drying up of cheap funds. In fact, raising funds from US and Western European investors, who accounted for a bulk of FDI in the sector, will now be difficult. Mr. Anuj Puri chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj says, "Flow of funds from the US will definitely come down, at least in the short term. Funds to both private and public equities of developers are likely to fall. They will have to look at new avenues like Middle-East and Korea. Although this development will have no direct impact on the real estate sector, there may be indirect ramifications. Foreign capital for private equity investments in Indian real estate may be affected, and the stock of listed companies invested in these portfolios could take a beating due to negative sentiments."

At Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri (West), owners have not been able to lease out their plush 3-bedroom hall kitchen (BHK) flats for the last four months despite revising the monthly rent downwards to Rs 65,000 from Rs 85,000. At Matunga, a one-BHK flat was recently leased out at Rs 32,000, while the market rental rate is set at Rs 38,0000-40,000 a month. At Carter Road in Bandra (West), lessees are quoting Rs9 0,000 for a 3BHK, which earlier commanded a rent of Rs 1.5 lakh a month. At Powai, rents are in the range of Rs 30, 000 to Rs 1.10 lakh a month, down from the Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh band quoted earlier. The slowdown in the sale of flats is spreading to Mumbai’s rental market. According to property brokers, in the past three months, rentals have dropped by almost 20-25% in prime residential areas. The drop is a result of high lease rates demanded by landlords and cost-cutting measures adopted by companies in the light of the global credit crunch. And the effect is visible in areas like Bandra, Powai, Sion, Andheri and LBS Marg where a large number of investors have put their flats on lease.

Haryana Urban Development Authority is set to launch a new Group Housing Scheme in Gurgaon. According to sources, in order to meet the growing demand for houses, around 1000 multi-storeyed dwelling units are expected to come up in various sectors of Gurgaon, tenders for which will be floated in two months. Under the scheme, out of over 500 plots of half-an acre each, a certain percentage will be reserved for the economically-weaker sections, central government employees and defence personnel, said HUDA officials. The scheme envisages there should be a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 90 members for a group housing society. The authority will be allotting housing sites to cooperative group housing societies registered with the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Haryana and the Welfare Housing Organisations registered with the Registrar (Firms and Societies).