Page 112 - Real Estate

I-T dept raids realty players including Bhutani Infra, Logix in Noida

The Income-Tax department on Thursday searched major real estate groups based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh as part of a tax evasion investigation against them, official sources said. The premises of realty groups like Bhutani Infra, Group 108, Logix and some other companies were raided by the tax department, they said. A total of 37 premises in Noida, Delhi and neighbouring Faridabad (Haryana) have been covered during the searches that were launched after noon, the sources said. There was no immediate response from Bhutani Infra, Logix Group and Group 108 when contacted by PTI. The books of accounts and inventories of these groups were looked into by the search teams, the sources said, adding that the raids were going on. Bhutani Infra, which deals in luxury projects, stated last year that it was developing a 15 million square feet area in four projects in Noida and is expanding out of the national capital region for the first time in four locations, including Goa. The Logix group has

Chennai sees record office space demand in 2023; leasing up 61%: CBRE

Chennai has achieved an all-time high demand for office space in 2023 calendar year at 10 million square feet on better demand from corporates, according to CBRE. Real estate consultant CBRE on Thursday said that the leasing of office space in Chennai grew 61 per cent to 10 million square feet in 2023 as against 6.2 million square feet in the previous year. Overall, the office market across nine major cities witnessed a gross absorption of 61.6 million square feet during 2023, registering a growth of 7 per cent from 57.8 million square feet in the previous year. This marked a 4-year high leasing activity after it touched the peak in 2019 with 65 million square feet. BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) firms led leasing activity with 22 per cent share in 2023, followed by technology companies (21 per cent), engineering & manufacturing companies (15 per cent), and flexible space operators (14 per cent), the consultant highlighted. "In 2023, the global economy, while ...

Share of GCCs in office transactions rose to 35% in 2023: Knight Frank

Chennai witnessed the highest GCC focussed transactions at 6 msf, followed by Hyderabad at 4.1 msf and Bengaluru at 3.8 msf

Indian-origin realty developer booked for perpetuating $93 mn fraud scheme

An Indian-origin real estate developer has been charged by federal authorities in the US with perpetuating a USD 93 million fraud scheme. Rishi Kapoor, a Miami-based developer, faces charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. The SEC announced that it obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief concerning the alleged USD 93 million real estate investment fraud perpetrated by Kapoor. The SEC also charged real estate company Location Ventures, its affiliate Urbin and 20 other related entities in connection with the fraud scheme, a statement said. According to the SEC's complaint, from approximately January 2018, until at least March 2023, Kapoor and certain of the defendant entities solicited investors by, among other things, making several material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Kapoor, Location Ventures, Urbin, and their real estate developments. The false statements allegedly included misrepresenting Kapoor's compensation; his cash ...

UP Rera directs real estate developers to sell units on carpet area basis

The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority on Wednesday directed housing project developers in the state to sell units or apartments as per carpet area only. As per the provisions of the RERA Act and pursuant to other legal agreements and contracts, there is no justification of 'Super Area', UP RERA said. The sale of apartments on this basis will be considered illegal and according to the provisions of RERA Act, buying and selling of apartments is legal only on the basis of carpet area, it said in a statement. "There is no abbreviation or definition of Super Area in the RERA Act. It is indeed necessary for allottees to consider Carpet Area as the actual area of the unit or apartment and pay the promoter according to this area," UP RERA Chairman Sanjay Bhoosreddy said. According to the RERA Act 2016, promoters mention the number of units, and their types along with floor, balcony, terrace and area of other spaces while registering the project on the portal. In this, they ...

U'khand HC seeks reply from SIDCUL on allotment of green belt land to firms

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from SIDCUL on allotment of green belt land in SIDCUL Haridwar to companies. Hearing a PIL that contended that provisions of environment impact assessment 2006 were not followed by SIDCUL in the allotments, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma asked SIDCUL to submit its reply on it within a week. The next hearing in the case has been fixed for January 9. In the Environment Impact Assessment, a provision of green belt has been made on the land allotted to the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (SIDCUL) to protect the environment. It was claimed in the PIL that the land has been allotted to industrial companies by SIDCUL, Haridwar without following the provisions of Environment Impact Assessment.

Sales of homes up to Rs 50 lakh dip 16% last year; total sales 10-yr high

Sales of homes costing up to Rs 50 lakh fell 16 per cent last year to nearly 98,000 units across eight major cities due to a rise in property prices and high mortgage rate, according to Knight Frank India. Nevertheless, overall housing sales, comprising all price points, rose 5 per cent annually to 3,29,907 units during 2023 across the top eight cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. New supply in homes costing up to Rs 50 lakh dropped 20 per cent in 2023 year-on-year. This also resulted in fall in sales of affordable homes. The overall sales reached a 10-year high, driven by higher demand in the mid-income and luxury home segments. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Wednesday released its report through a webinar, showing that sales of residential properties priced Rs 50 lakh and below fell to 97,983 units last year from 1,17,131 units in 2022. As a result, the share of affordable homes in total

Adani Group to fund Dharavi project via internal accruals, SPV stake sale

The Adani group, which is redeveloping Dharavi slums, plans to finance the entire project via internal accruals and possible sale of equity in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up for the project, according to sources. Earlier this week, the company had appointed three companies, including noted architect Hafeez Contractor, as city planners to present a draft development plan for the Asia's largest slum cluster. In a statement, the group, which has promised to invest Rs 21,000 crore in the project, said it roped in design firm Sasaki, consultancy firm Buro Happold as design planners for the project as well as some experts from Singapore Housing Development Board. The statement did not mention any timeline for the project. The Adani group had in November 2022 won the bid to redevelop Dharavi, with an initial equity investment of Rs 5,069 crore. Hafeez Contractor is known for revolutionary social housing and slum rehabilitation authority projects in the city, while Sasaki is an

ED opposes interim bail plea of Supertech chairman in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed in a Delhi court an application filed by the chairman and promoter of real estate major Supertech Group, R K Arora, seeking interim bail for three months on medical grounds in a money laundering case. Arora's application was moved before Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on account of his deteriorating medical condition which has been aggravating ever since his incarceration as he was already suffering from various life-threatening diseases. Enforcement Directorate's Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta and advocate Mohd Faizan Khan told the court there was no need to release the accused on bail since all medical assistance he required was already available in the prison. The judge is likely to take up the matter for further consideration on January 5. The application, moved on December 22, claimed Arora required treatment at a private hospital. It is pertinent to state herein that the Applicant warrants urgent ...

Office space demand up 15% in top 8 cities, Bengaluru sees 14% fall: Report

Leasing of office space rose by 15 per cent across eight major cities last year, despite a decline in demand in Bengaluru, the largest workspace market, according to Knight Frank. In a webinar, real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Wednesday released its report on the Indian housing and office market. The data showed that office demand grew 15 per cent annually to 59.6 million square feet in 2023, despite global economic and geopolitical concerns. The demand was mainly driven by Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which took on lease 20.8 million square feet last year, up 58 per cent from 2022 level. Knight Frank highlighted that the total office leasing number is the second-best year with the peak level achieved in 2019 at 60.6 million square feet. According to the data for 2023, compared with the previous year, the leasing of office space in Mumbai grew 16 per cent to 7.4 million square feet. Delhi-NCR saw a 14 per cent rise in office space demand to 10.1 million square ...

Kolkata's real estate market shows robust growth in 2023: Knight Frank

Kolkata's real estate market witnessed unprecedented growth in both the residential and office segments last year, a real estate report said on Wednesday. The city experienced a stellar year in office leasing transactions, with a staggering 1.4 million sq ft of office spaces transacted in 2023, marking a healthy 20 per cent growth year-on-year (YoY), Knight Frank India's Residential and Office Market Report (H2 2023) stated. This is also a 9-year high in office leasing transactions. The report also notes phenomenal growth recorded in new office completions, reaching a remarkable 0.8 million sq ft in 2023, a staggering 332 per cent jump YoY, making it the highest volume recorded in the past five years. The surge was fueled by robust occupier interest across various sectors, indicating a positive economic outlook, "The commercial market in Kolkata is now witnessing a consistent rise in transactions exceeding half a million with significant engagement from India-facing business as ...

Real estate players seek a host of benefits from the upcoming Budget

In 2023, the Indian real estate sector - both housing and commercial - witnessed a strong momentum fueled by demand, supply, and absorption

Robust prospects fortify NMDC stock; India's steel demand may stay strong

NMDC's FY24 iron-ore production (April-November) stood at 27.3 million tonnes (MT) up 17.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) while sales volume grew 24.8 per cent Y-o-Y to 28.1 MT

Indian real estate in 2023 saw highest investment inflows since 2020

The leading sources of foreign capital in Indian real estate were Canada and Singapore accounting for 78% of the total inflows

John Abraham buys luxury bungalow for Rs 70.83 cr in Mumbai's Khar area

The transaction was registered on December 27, with John Abraham shelling out a stamp duty of Rs 4.24 crore for the bungalow

Housing sales in Gurugram up 13% in 2023; down 7-8% in Noida: Anarock

Housing sales in Gurugram rose by 13 per cent annually in 2023 on high demand, especially for luxury flats, but Noida and Greater Noida saw a 7-8 per cent fall, according to Anarock data on the Delhi NCR market. Real estate consultant Anarock's data showed that sales of residential properties in Gurugram went up 13 per cent to 36,970 in 2023 from 32,615 units in the previous year. However, sales in Noida fell 8 per cent to 5,840 units from 6,360 units. Greater Noida saw a 7 per cent drop in sales to 10,180 units from 10,985 units. Ghaziabad, too, witnessed a fall of 8 per cent to 6,340 units from 6,890 units. The total housing sales in Faridabad, Delhi and Bhiwadi decreased to 6,295 units during 2023 from 6,860 units in the previous year. Overall, the Delhi-NCR saw only a marginal growth of 3 per cent in housing sales to 65,625 units during 2023 from 63,710 units in the previous year. Anarock Group Regional Director & Head of Research Prashant Thakur said, "Apart from Gurugram, ..

Mumbai property registration up 4% to record 126,907 units in 2023: Report

Property registration in the Mumbai municipal area increased 4 per cent year-on-year to an all-time high of 1,26,907 units in 2023 on the back of better demand, according to Knight Frank. The registration number hit a record in 2023, beating the previous high of 1,22,035 units in the previous year, real estate consultant Knight Frank India data showed. The state government collected a revenue of Rs 10,869 crore as stamp duty in 2023, up 22 per cent from the previous year. In December, 12,255 units were registered in Mumbai city (an area under BMC jurisdiction), up 31 per cent from 9,367 units in the year-ago period. Knight Frank has compiled the data on the registration of properties from the Department of Registrations and Stamps, Maharashtra government. The data includes sales in primary (fresh) and secondary (re-sale) markets. Of the overall registered properties, residential units constitute 80 per cent. Knight Frank CMD Shishir Baijal said the demand has been driven by risin

Bengaluru's net office space leasing soars 15 times in Oct-Dec: Report

Bengaluru saw a 15-fold jump in net office leasing during the quarter due to many large leasing transaction from corporates as well as low base effect, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield said on Saturday that the net leasing of office space stood at 18.63 million sq ft during the October-December period across major eight cities as against 9.06 million sq ft in the year-ago period. The Bengaluru office market achieved the highest volume and also maximum surge in percentage term during the current quarter of this calendar year. The net office leasing or absorption in Bengaluru jumped to 80,50,266 sq ft during October-December from 5,18,622 sq ft in the year-ago period. "Many large deals that were under negotiation in the previous quarters, but occupiers were adopting a cautious approach and delaying, have sailed through in Q4. As a result, fresh leasing of space jumped," the consultant said, explaining the sharp jump in office demand in

Registration of properties in Mumbai city may rise 33% in Dec: Report

Registration of properties in Mumbai municipal area is likely to rise by 33 pc annually to around 12,500 units during this month on better demand, according to Knight Frank. As many as 9,367 properties were registered in Mumbai city (area under BMC jurisdiction) during the same month last year. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India has compiled the data of registration of properties from Department of Registrations and Stamps, Maharashtra government. As per the latest data of December, 12,134 units were registered till 12 noon and the number is set to reach around 12,500 units by late evening. "Homebuyers in Mumbai continue to demonstrate confidence in the property market, buoyed by stable demand and an enhanced positive sentiment. This optimism has resulted in a significant surge in property registrations in Mumbai," the consultant said in a statement on Saturday. Of the overall registered properties, residential units constitute 80 per cent. Mumbai city is estimated to see

Residential realty momentum in 2023 strongest in decade as demand picked up

Latest Anarock Research data indicates that housing sales in the top seven cities have created a new peak in 2023, an all-time high