Real Estate Archives

Private Equity Still Votes For Commercial Real Estate

The commercial segment saw a total PE inflow of nearly USD 2.8 bn in 2018 – up from USD 2.20 bn in 2017
Office yields are 12-14% PA, rental yields for housing 2.5-3.5%
Residential revival depends on returning investor interest

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

If the prolonged slowdown in the residential was not bad enough, to begin with, major policy overhauls over the last five years – DeMo, RERA, GST, amendments in the Benami Transactions Act etc. – literally paralysed the residential segment.

While any policy change brings with it some amount of teething pains, the residential segment took a prolonged hit because it had attracted the bulk of black money in the sector. Commercial real estate was far less affected, if at all.

Residential was also far less organized than the commercial office segment. Largely driven by IT/ITeS and BFSI sectors, the commercial real estate segment has been quite transparent and predictable – the primary criteria for foreign investors’ confidence.

Commercial Vs.

by Arun Chitnis

Approx. 8,574 keys to hit the market in 2019; nearly 19% increase over the last 2 years
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) sees 17% growth between 2016 and 2018
Average daily rates saw a 6.25% rise in 2018, faster than 4.5% long-term inflation rate
Goa saw the largest signing of keys in 2018 at nearly 2,209 keys, eclipsing Bengaluru by just 192 keys
Hotel transaction volume hit an all-time low in 2018 at INR 5,354 mn since 2007; 2019 likely to witness the sale of high-value hotel assets valued USD 800 mn across key markets

Mumbai, 10 April 2019: With demand finally outpacing supply, the Indian hospitality industry is on an upswing. The ‘India Hospitality Industry Review 2018’ report by HVS ANAROCK predicts RevPAR to grow by 9.5% in 2019.

Interestingly, Q1 2019 itself saw unexpected growth in the India hotel industry. The successful transaction of the Leela Hotels & Keys portfolio in Q1 2019 set a healthy tone for the start to the year, and trends indicating that 2019 could see transaction volumes reach around USD 800 mn.

by Anuj Puri

New supply across top 7 cities up by 27% q-o-q – from 55,600 units in Q4 2018 to 70,490 units this quarter; defies conventional election period trends
Pune and MMR see max. quarterly rise in both housing sales and new supply; absorption in Pune rose by 24%, in MMR by 19%
Bengaluru frontrunner in shedding unsold stock; sees 9% decline in Q1 2019 over previous quarter & a 27% yearly fall
New affordable housing supply sees over 47% q-o-q jump – from 20,800 units in Q4 2018 to 30,750 units this quarter
Annual housing sales rise 58%, new launches up by 91% across the top 7 cities

Defying previous election year trends when sales and new launches remained muted during this period, Q1 2019 saw both housing sales and new supply rise due to multiple Government sops in the first three months of 2019.

ANAROCK Property Consultants’ data shows that housing sales rose by 12% and new residential supply by 27% q-o-q due to sops in the interim budget, GST rate cuts and lowering of home loan rates post RBI’s recent repo rate cut.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Gudi Padwa is a traditionally auspicious time to invest in real estate in India. While Gudi Padwa is a Maharashtrian concept, the period of oncoming spring and the sense of renewal it brings is acknowledged across the country.

Punjab has its Baisakhi, Andhra Pradesh has its Yugadi, Tamil Nadu celebrates Puthandu and Kerala knows it as Vishu.

Historically, Indians have always seen certain dates as highly auspicious for property purchase and other wealth-creation measures.

For this reason, property sales tend to spike up during festivals like Gudi Padwa and builders align various offers, schemes and discounts with them to encourage this brief phenomenon.

In recent years, this trend came in on a more subdued note because of the prevailing conditions on the real estate market.

In fact, Gudi Padwa in 2018 was anything but a vibrant time for the property sector. It was defined by significantly lower housing sales than developers would have wished for.

However, 2019’s Gudi Padwa is very different.

The slew of sops offered by the Government in just the first three months of the year –

by Anuj Kejriwal

Anuj Kejriwal, MD & CEO – ANAROCK Retail

The advent of ecommerce in India ‘smartly’ altered the shopping habits of Indian netizens. Anything and everything – from groceries to apparel to electronics etc. – is now just a click away.

For a while, it appeared that ‘couch potato shopping’ was gaining prominence and disrupting the entire brick-and-mortar business. It now emerges that this has not really happened.

Despite causing disruptions, the ‘ecommerce effect’ was not enough to have a significant and lasting impact on the conventional retail formats.

For a while, online giants like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart were basking in the rising success of the effervescent Indian ecommerce business arena. They were manoeuvring strategies to penetrate deeper into newer markets by way of discounts for their customers.

And then, the Government pulled out a wild card – and thereby threw a major spanner in the works – with the new ecommerce policy.

It came as a shock for the affected entities, including consumers who were buried deep in the world of cash-backs and deep discounts. However, thanks to the new policy, traditional retailers now had a more level playing field and could regain a significant share of their brick-and-mortar stores.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The new GST-related announcement has given real estate developers the choice to either opt for the old rates and the accompanying input tax credit (ITC) benefits or else to adhere to the new reduced GST rate of 5% without ITC.

While not exactly ground-breaking, it is indeed an intelligent move by smart play by the incumbent Government. With this decision, it has carefully side-stepped conflict with both builders and buyers.

Most developers reacted to last month’s announcement of the new GST rate minus ITC with trepidation.

There was justifiable worry about what would happen to the input stock which they have accumulated much before as part of their long-term purchases. For them, this new move will be beneficial.

However, developers choosing to go with the second option of new GST rates may not be able to hike property prices in the immediate future.

The possibility of prices being hiked was a matter of concern for aspiring buyers, but the fact is that developers can ill afford to test the currently fragile market sentiment by raising rates immediately.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

After zeroing on a property, buyers need to identify a suitable home loan lender to fulfil their financial needs.

Officially, there are two major lenders in the market – banks (including both public and private banks) and the housing finance companies (HFCs).

To get the best deal, a buyer must select a lender depending on their prevailing interest rates, eligibility criteria, processing fee and other factors.

Both banks and HFCs have their own pros and cons. Here are some advice and guidelines for taking a home loan in India.

Banks vs HFCs: Which is the better option?

Declaring an outright ‘winner’ among the two options is indeed difficult. Earlier, the steep interest rates of HFCs gave banks an edge.

However, now there is a parity between the two as most HFCs offer loans at rates within 8.6%-11.2%, while banks offer loans at 8.3%-10.5%. The gap has significantly reduced and buyers may now consider either option.

Eligibility criteria & process:

Rising NPAs over the past years have compelled banks to follow stricter norms for lending.

by Arun Chitnis

To market properties across India to Kenya’s populous & thriving ‘44^th tribe’ targeting investments in their homeland

Nairobi, 10 March 2019: India’s leading real estate agency ANAROCK has partnered with Satguru Group for an event to promote investment into Indian real estate by Kenya-based NRIs. This feature-rich event will be held on Sunday, 10th February 2019 in Nairobi.

During the event captioned as ‘Karmbhoomi Se Janambhoomi’, ANAROCK and Satguru Group will showcase attending NRIs with some of the best investment opportunities in India real estate.

The spread of options will encompass all housing formats from apartments and villas to townhouses in both the affordable and premium segments.

Shajai Jacob, CEO – GCC, ANAROCK Property Consultants says, “While there is a constant discussion revolving around NRIs from the Gulf, US, UK and Europe, Kenya-based Indians do not seem to appear on anyone’s radar. This is surprising, given that Kenya-based Indians – though only about 1% of the country’s population, are actually heavily involved in Kenya’s economy. In fact, Indians in Kenya contribute substantially in most of the sectors driving Kenya’s economy and operate countless small and large business enterprises in all of Kenya’s major geographies.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Nearly 60% of women home seekers prefer a property within the budget-range of INR 80 lakh; 52% will opt for ready-to-move-in homes
Women homebuyers benefit from lower stamp duty charges, low home loan interest rates, and tax deductions
Women must now mandatory be either co-owners or sole owners of affordable homes.

There’s a famous saying – the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. This is so apt today, as women are excelling across sectors and increasingly making their mark in a male-dominated world.

The 21st-century millennial woman is progressive and increasingly financially independent. This had led to a distinct shift in her investment preferences – where gold and fixed deposits were the primary choices for Indian women, real estate now rides high in her investment portfolio.

In fact, in ANAROCK’s consumer sentiment survey, nearly 20% of participants were women. Among the many highlights of this survey – nearly 42% of women respondents preferred real estate as an investment asset class, followed by 30% for FDs and a mere 17% for gold.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

No discussion about Mumbai’s notoriously land-starved real estate market is complete without mentioning the massive tracts of land held by various Government and non-Government agencies and bodies.

Arguably, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is currently one of the largest landowners in the country’s otherwise land-scarce financial capital.

Mumbai Port Trust owns nearly 1,900 acres of commercially useable prime land in South and South-Central Mumbai along the sea-facing eastern coast. If put to good use, this large tract of land can help considerably in solving the city’s immense housing shortage.

Initially either oblivious or indifferent to its real worth, the port authorities have now realized that they sit on a veritable goldmine that can fetch massive capital. However, it is definitely not as easy as it may appear since many are now trying to capitalize on this precious land.

Some existing lessees are refusing to vacate the leased premises – even post expiry of their lease period of 100 years – or even allow the rentals to be hiked to match the current market rates. Others are engaged in long-drawn court cases commissioned by either party.

Private Equity Still Votes For Commercial Real Estate

Indian Hotel Industry’s RevPAR to see 9.5% Growth in 2019 – HVS ANAROCK Report

Govt Sops Boost Housing Sales By 12% In Q1 2019 Over Q4 2018: ANAROCK

Housing Sales May Surge In Gudi Padwa 2019

New Ecommerce Policy: Retailers Seek To Override the Fallout

GST Announcement: Government Side-Steps Conflict

Banks Vs HFCs: Which Is The Better Home Loan Option In India?

ANAROCK Partners With Satguru Group For India Real Estate Investments By NRIs In Nairobi, Kenya

Millennial Women: Riding High On Home Ownership

Mumbai Port Trust: Multiple Issues, No Easy Solutions