Page 128 - Real Estate

Real estate platform NoBroker aims Rs 1,000 cr revenue in FY24: Co-founder

Nobroker, the real estate platform that directly connects property owners with tenants and buyers, expects to touch Rs 1,000 crore revenue-mark this year as it has been doubling its billing since 2020, one of the co-founders said. Founded by Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta and Saurabh Garg in Bengaluru in 2014, Nobroker was the first proptech unicorn (over USD 1 billion valuation) and is now majority owned by external investors such as Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Elevation Capital which collectively have pumped in over USD 350 million over the years. Late last year, Google too chipped in with USD 3 million for the company. According to the co-founder and chief technology officer Akhil Gupta, now, the promoters collectively own around 20 per cent of the company, which is present only in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. "We have been doubling our topline since 2020 when we grossed USD 27 million. We do not disclose revenue numbers before filing to t

Casagrand to invest Rs 8,000 cr to develop projects in Maha over next 3 yrs

Chennai-based Casagrand on Monday said it plans to invest Rs 8,000 crore to develop realty projects in Maharashtra over the next three years. The company said it plans to develop 20 million square feet in Mumbai and Pune as part of its expansion plan. It, however, did not share any specific detail on the plans. The announcement comes close on the heels of Bengaluru-based Prestige Group entering the Mumbai real estate market by launching or announcing projects. The nearly two-decade-old company claimed it is among South India's top three builders, and has initiated an aggressive expansion plan. The company is set to deliver over 140 projects and 40,000 homes in Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Hyderabad in 2023, according to a statement. Its founder and managing director Arun Mn said it has delivered 123 projects on time, and it is targeting to increase the sales value to Rs 7,200 crore in FY24 as against Rs 4,200 crore in FY23. He further said that it is sending 1,400 employees

Experts suggest changes in insolvency law to revive stalled realty projects

Changes in the insolvency law and formulating a scheme offering subsidised interest rates are among the several measures suggested by an expert panel to the Centre for reviving stalled real estate projects in the country. The 14-member panel led by former NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant presented the committee's report to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday. The Report of the Committee to examine the issues related to Legacy Stalled Real Estate Projects said to encourage financial institutions to fund stalled projects, a scheme offering subsidised interest rates, similar to MSME, is recommended. "Such a scheme would reduce perceived risk, stimulate financial support and lead projects to completion. "Additionally, the Central Government may consider a guarantee fund similar to MSME for such finances. The MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) will prepare a detailed scheme and send it to the Ministry of Finance, in this regard," the report ...

Delhi Rera directs builders to open Grievance Cell, display registration no

The Delhi Real Estate Regulatory Authority (DRERA) has directed real estate promoters and builders of the national capital to "appoint an 'Allottee Grievance Cell' for each project with a dedicated telephone number to redress grievances of allottees". It has further ordered them to display their names, addresses, RERA registration number of the projects, and details of the Allottee Grievance Officer and Allottee Grievance Cell with telephone numbers prominently at the construction site of each project. The three-member authority, consisting of Anand Kumar, Ajay Kuhar and Devesh Singh, has directed all the builders to report compliance with the order by September 30, 2023. "Any failure to do so will be viewed as a contravention of the Act which can invite penalty under Section 61 of the Act," the order said. Under Section 61 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, if a promoter of a real estate firm defaults with the provisions of the Acts, rules or regulations, i

WeWork India Q1 revenue up 40% to Rs 400 cr on rising demand: CEO Virwani

Co-working major WeWork India's revenue grew by 40 per cent to Rs 400 crore during the first quarter of this fiscal year on rising demand for flexible workspace across major cities from corporates, its CEO Karan Virwani said. The company, which is owned by real estate firm Embassy Group and WeWork Global, has started its 50th centre at Saket in South Delhi, marking its entry into the national capital market. The new centre, comprising 54,000 square feet area and around 700 desks, is located in a commercial building developed by realty firm Eldeco. In an interview with PTI, Virwani said the company has completed six years since it opened the first centre in India and now it has 50 centres and around 90,000 desks across seven cities. "It has been a great journey of growing both the co-working/flexible workspace segment and WeWork India as a brand. In the last three years, since COVID, the adoption of flex space growing significantly," he said. The demand is increasing as more and mor

At least 59 land deals totalling 2,018 acres closed so far this yr: Anarock

At least 59 land deals have been struck involving 2,018 acres so far this year across the country for the development of real estate projects and industrial purposes, according to Anarock. Real estate consultant Anarock noted that the number of land deals has gone up post Covid pandemic as real estate developers look to expand their business to tap a rise in demand for residential and commercial properties. Land parcels have also been purchased for setting up manufacturing units and hospitals. "Our latest research indicates that as many as 59 separate land deals for over 2,018 acres have been closed across the country between January to August 2023," Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock, said. In the corresponding period last year, he said about 50 land deals for 1,438-plus acres were closed across various cities. Puri noted that so far this year very few of these deals were for large land parcels. "The three largest were in Ahmedabad, for approx 740 acres, and one deal each in Ludhian

BoB to auction Sunny Deol's Juhu villa to recover Rs 56 cr on Aug 25

State-owned Bank of Baroda has put on the block a property owned by actor and sitting BJP Member of Parliament Sunny Deol to recover Rs 56 crore through an e-auction to be held on August 25. The Gurdaspur MP, whose latest flick Gaddar 2 is a box office success having already grossed over Rs 300 crore since the release last week, has been in default on a Rs 55.99 crore loan from the bank and interest and penalty, since December 2022, the second largest state-owned lender said in a public tender on Sunday. The bank, which has attached the property, Sunny Villa located on the Gandhigram Road in the tony Juhu area of the megapolis, has fixed the reserve price for the auction at Rs 51.43 crore and an earnest money deposit of Rs 5.14 crore. Apart from the Sunny Villa, the 599.44 square metre property also houses Sunny Sounds, which is owned by the Deols, and is the corporate guarantor to the loan, while his actor-politician father Dharmendra is the personal guarantor of the debt, accordin

Evergrande's bankruptcy highlights China's real estate crisis: Experts

The filing for bankruptcy by Evergrande, Chinese real estate giant signals the beginning of Beijing's real estate crisis, CNN reported on Friday.

Sebi's new rule gives board representation rights to REITs' unitholders

To boost corporate governance norms, markets regulator Sebi has notified rules introducing special rights to unitholders of REITs who can now nominate representatives on the boards. Also, the regulator has introduced the concept of a self-sponsored real estate investment trust (REIT). Further, Sebi said that principles of stewardship code would apply to members, nominated by the unitholders, on the board of directors of investment managers of REIT. Amending rules for REITs, Sebi said, "Unitholders holding not less than 10 per cent of the total outstanding units of the REIT, either individually or collectively, shall be entitled to nominate one director on the board of directors of the manager." This would ensure pro-rata rights to all unitholders. Further, the director so nominated would recuse from voting on any transaction in which such nominee director or the unitholder who nominated such nominee director is a party, Sebi said in a notification on Thursday. Over the years, ret

Noida Authority CEO meets 24 builders over Rs 26,000 cr dues, buyers' woes

Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M on Friday held a meeting with two dozen real estate developers to discuss the recovery of Rs 26,000 crore in pending dues and difficulties faced by home buyers in 60 group housing projects, officials said. Expressing angst at the situation, the CEO directed his department that action, including the issuance of recovery certificates, should be initiated against builders who have not cleared their dues against the plots allotted to them, the Noida Authority said in a statement. The information regarding the dues should be published in the newspapers and the project site. Boards should also be installed at the project site's gate mentioning their liability towards the authority, he directed his officials. The senior IAS officer, who took over as the Noida Authority CEO last month, noted that every working day in public hearings in the authority, AOA (residents' associations) and flat buyers complain about the poor quality of the building constructed in the

Retail leasing up by 15% in megapolis in first half of 2023: CBRE Report

Increased leasing by homeware and department stores, consumer electronics and fashion & apparel retailers have pushed up retail leasing in the megapolis by close to 15 per cent in the first half of the year, says an industry report. Retail leasing across investment-grade malls, high streets and standalone developments during January-June 2023 rose 14.6 per cent in Mumbai, taking the total leasing to 0.21 million sqft, compared to 0.18 million sqft in the corresponding period last year, realty consultancy CBRE said in a note. Key sectors that drove absorption include homeware & department stores which snapped up 20 per cent of the total fresh leasing, followed by consumer electronics and fashion & apparel (17 per cent each) during the period under review, it said, adding the leasing demand was driven by secondary leasing in high streets and mall clusters. Some of the top leasing deals include a consumer electronics player leasing 20,800 sqft in Jio World Drive in BKC, ...

Slowing economy, credit crunch: What's ailing China's real estate sector?

On Thursday, one of the biggest Chinese real estate groups, Evergrande, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 15 in New York

Rentals up 20% as landlords take advantage of the 'return to office'

NoBroker's mid-year report on real estate trends sheds light on rental and buyer preferences as well as the key trends driving prices in the sector

Authum Investment picks up 1.9% stake in DB Realty for Rs 100 crore

Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd on Thursday picked up a 1.9 per cent stake in real estate developer DB Realty for Rs 100 crore through open market transactions. Following the stake purchase by Authum, DB Realty shares zoomed 11.84 per cent to close at Rs 135.10 apiece on the NSE and bounced 11.11 per cent to settle at Rs 134.45 per share on the BSE. According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE and NSE, Authum Investment and Infrastructure bought 40 lakh shares each on both the bourses in four tranches, amounting to a 1.9 per cent stake in DB Realty. The shares were acquired in the range of Rs 123-127 apiece on the NSE and BSE, taking the combined transaction value to Rs 100 crore. Meanwhile, two individuals -- Abhay Shyamsunder Chandak and Aditya S Chandak -- offloaded a total of 80 lakh shares of DB Realty on NSE and BSE at the same price. Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd is a BSE-listed and registered NBFC in the business of investment in shares and ..

Motilal Oswal Alternates to raise Rs 2,000 cr realty fund by March 2024

Motilal Oswal Alternates on Thursday said it is targeting to raise Rs 2,000 crore in a realty fund which will primarily lend to residential developers for buying land. This will be the sixth such fund from the platform promoted by the domestic brokerage, and over the last 15 years, it has delivered a return of over 20 per cent to investors, its managing director and chief executive Vishal Tulsyan told reporters. The company is targeting to achieve similar returns from the latest fund as well, he said, adding that while the real estate went through a very difficult phase over the last decade due to aspects like getting it under a regulatory purview, the prospects look much better now. It is primarily targeting to lend to developers looking for funds to purchase land, he said, adding that banks and non-bank finance companies do not engage in this business. The platform plans to raise the money from avenues like high net-worth individuals, domestic institutions and family offices by .

Honer Homes launch Rs 3,000 cr gated community project in Hyderabad

City-based construction firm Honer Homes on Thursday announced the launch of a Rs 3,000 crore gated community project here, claimed to be the largest in the city. According to Promoter-Director of Honer Prime Housing Balu Chowdary, 'Honer Signatis' is being developed with 7.8 million sqft built up area housing 3,266 apartments in about 28 acres. As much as nine million sqft (90 lakh sqft) is currently under construction. Projects of about 10 million sqft are currently in the planning stage for future development, Chowdary said in a press conference, speaking about his company's works. The firm has already completed two projects of 3.2 million sqft in the city, he further said. He said Honer Homes is offering its customers a limited time irresistible launch price and hoped that all home seekers would take advantage of it.

Avg rent in Gururgram increases by 28% annually in Jan-Jun: Savilis

The average monthly rental for premium housing rose 28 per cent year-on-year in Gurugram during the January-June period of this year on higher demand, limited supply and appreciation in capital values, according to Savills India. In Gurugram, the "average rentals witnessed an increase of 28 per cent YOY (year-on-year) across all markets. GCER (Golf Course Extension Road & SPR (southern peripheral road) and Golf Course Road saw the highest rise in rentals with 33 per cent and 31 per cent YOY growth, respectively," real estate consultant Savills said in its report. As per the report, the average quoted rentals are for 3BHK and 4BHK apartments on Golf Course Road and 3-BHK apartments in other micro markets. As per the Savills data of the first half of 2023, Golf Course Road commands a monthly average rental of Rs 1,95,941, while the average rent at Golf Course Extension Road and Southern Peripheral Road is Rs 1,01,000 a month. The data showed that average rent in New Gurugram is Rs ..

China tries to defuse fears after real estate developer's debt struggle

China's government is trying to reassure jittery homebuyers after a major real estate developer missed a payment on its multibillion-dollar debt, reviving fears about the industry's shaky finances and their impact on the struggling Chinese economy. There is no indication Country Garden's problems might spread beyond China, which seals off its financial system from global capital flows, economists say. But they highlight the industry's struggle under pressure from the ruling Communist Party to reduce soaring debt that is seen as an economic threat. That has bankrupted hundreds of small developers and depressed China's economic growth. The Country Garden episode has echoes of Evergrande Group, which is trying to restructure more than USD 340 billion owed to banks and bondholders. Fears of a possible Evergrande default in 2021 rattled global markets, but they eased after the Chinese central bank said its problems were contained and Beijing would keep credit markets functioning. A centra

Led by Twamev, Apple, retail leasing in Delhi up 65% between Jan and June

At the end of 2023, retail leasing is expected to touch 5.5-6 million sq ft, the highest level after the 2019 peak of 6.8 million sq ft

Top 5 Commercial Projects to Invest in Gurugram

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