News Letter
Tata Housing announces new scheme with zero stamp duty for homebuyers
Tata Housing has announced a new scheme with zero stamp duty for customers availing a construction-linked payment plan for projects in Maharashtra starting this week.
This follows the Maharashtra government’s decision to reduce stamp duty from 5 percent to 2 percent.
This exclusive zero stamp duty scheme is extended across Tata Housing ready-to-move-in (RTMI) and under-construction projects in Maharashtra under the construction-linked payment plan.
Projects include Serein (Pokhran Road 2, Thane), Amantra (Kalyan Bhiwandi Corridor), New Haven Boisar II (Boisar (E), Nr. Mumbai), La Montana (Talegaon, Nr. Pune) and Prive (Lonavala). The scheme will be applicable till October 31, 2020.
“The state government’s recent decision to reduce the stamp duty from 5 percent to 3 percent from 1 September to 31 December 2020 and by 2 percent from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021 is certain to help in uplifting the current market sentiment," said Amit Parsuramka, senior vice-president and chief sales and marketing officer, Tata Realty and Infrastructure.
"We, at Tata Housing, keep the homebuyer at the core of our business and thereby look for opportunities to meet and exceed their expectations in terms of quality and price of their dream home,” he said.
“The policies implemented by the government in addition to the reduced stamp duty are sure to lead to the return of opportunistic investors and NRI’s to consider real estate as an investment,” he said.
Tata Housing recently launched the Move In India scheme that allows customers the flexibility to pay a 15 percent or 20 percent now depending upon the agreement value and move into immediately in case of RTMI properties while the EMI’s start after September 2021.
This scheme is valid for projects across the country with units ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 6 crore.
Private equity inflows into Indian real estate plunge 85% to Rs 65 billion, says Colliers International
With investors, both foreign and domestic, are adopting a cautious approach to Indian real estate against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic, the overall private equity inflows into the sector stood at Rs 65 billion through August 2020, which is just 15 percent of the corresponding period in 2019, a report by Colliers International has said.
The report by Colliers International titled Future India: Captivating Strategic and Private Equity Investments was launched on September 17 at the FICCI 14th Annual Summit.
Newer asset classes such as data centres and rental housing gained prominence among investors. During 2020 through August, the leading segments have been data centres, driven by demand for cloud infrastructure, as well as offices as they tend to offer steady rental income. Robust domestic consumption also maintained investors’ confidence in industrial and logistics assets.
The growing demand for data centres provides an attractive opportunity for investors to capitalise on the interplay of real estate (location), infrastructure (power and fibre network) and technology (cloud services).
As per Colliers International, in 2020 through August, the segment attracted interest from multiple large institutional investors, with investment inflows of Rs 7.8 billion.
While investment over the coming year may be muted due to pandemic-inspired slower decision-making by investors, the segment is expected to grow over the next two-three years as existing participants expand their portfolio and new players enter the market.
The segment will attract inflows from both foreign and domestic funds to the tune of Rs 297 billion during 2020-2023, translating into a CAGR of 5 percent. Against the backdrop of robust demand from e-commerce and other consumer-led occupiers, investors are recommended to stay focussed on the segment to reap the benefits.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the residential segment has experienced lower sales velocity, leading to near-stagnation. Certain developers are looking to offload bulk inventory to investors by offering steep discounts, owing to tough market conditions.
Investors may consider equity investment in completed units of affordable and mid-segment residential projects that may offer desirable returns beyond a holding-period of 3-4 years. Investors should benefit from low entry price and gradual recovery in the economy due to increasing impetus of the government to revive demand in the residential sector.
Investors should consider partnering with top-tier developers and invest in greenfield residential projects to capitalise on inherent end-user demand. Investors may consider opportunistic assets in hospitality and retail real estate segments that offer attractive valuations.
Investors may also explore opportunities presented by over-leveraged developers who are keen to monetise their assets in order to reduce debt burden.
Square Yards launches app-based retail property management platform
Integrated real estate platform, Square Yards, has launched an app-based rentals and property management platform Azuro aimed at renting properties faster through online tenant screening and rent collection.
The App, available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, apart from enabling property owners to manage showings and getting their properties rented faster through Azuro’s tenant scouting teams; also enables tenant screening and background verification, gets rent agreements signed digitally, enables online collection of rent and even gets repair and maintenance services executed through a click of a button.
For the tenants, it enables swift rental payments including payment through credit cards and downloads rent receipts. Maintenance issues are taken care of by Azuro’s property management teams.
"Rentals and property management is a multi-billion opportunity that is currently under-served in India. Most landlords find it cumbersome to attract quality tenants, follow up for rent payments and most important to serve frequent demands of tenants for maintenance of the property. Tenants tell us they want the entire rental process to happen online, from property agreements, rent payments and maintenance requests,” said Tanuj Shori, founder and CEO of Square Yards.
Square Yards acquired Mumbai-based start-up Azuro earlier this year and completed its full stack service spectrum with rentals and property management services. Currently present in five major metro cities in India, it manages over 1500 properties with an annual rent of 6.5 mn dollars.
In the last three months, it has signed exclusive mandates with over 25 developers like DLF, Godrej, M3M, Emaar, L&T Realty, Mahindra Lifespaces among others to execute and manage close to over 5000 apartments for rentals and property management services.
How the pandemic has changed apartment building amenities
After the Sept. 11 attacks, some landlords installed sturdy posts outside their buildings to guard against future strikes.
A legacy of the current health crisis? Kettlebells with handles made of copper.
Opting for the brown metal known for its antimicrobial properties instead of steel is among the steps some developers are taking to keep viruses out of their amenity spaces.
While slow to embrace major changes — some developers say they’re hopeful that pandemics will not be a concern when their projects finally open in 2023 — developers are making tweaks in the face of the COVID era.
They’re adding cabana-lined roof decks, repurposing lounges as outdoor schools and switching out built-in couches for more movable versions to facilitate social distancing, as well as adding ventilation systems that are deluxe even by the standards of luxury apartments.
“We haven’t had drastic changes,” said Whitney Kraus, the director of architecture and planning for Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing, but added, “I don’t think amenities will ever go back to the way they were before.”
Some upgrades will likely appeal whether a disease is rampaging or not.
The residents of Astoria Lights, a co-op redevelopment on 38th Street in Queens, for instance, will probably enjoy a new roof deck long after the COVID crisis has passed.
After watching residents throng to an existing public roof deck after it reopened in July and noticing that units with private terraces at the Rowan, a nearby project, were hot commodities during the lockdown, the co-op decided to boost the complex’s amount of outdoor space, said John Petras, a RockFarmer co-managing principal.
Similarly, key fobs unlock lobby doors, so no touching is required. Kraus, of Brown Harris Stevens, said that motion-triggered faucets and automated toilets are also bound to be deployed in shared spaces soon. “Amenity spaces are prime locations to really embrace the current technology,” she said.
Other changes are less physical and more programmatic. At One West End, a 3-year-old condo with 246 units from the Elad Group and Silverstein Properties with 246 units, 234 of which have sold, residents have repurposed a portion of a stylish sixth-floor terrace.
White couches where adults might have once sipped cocktails will be pushed aside to make way for socially distanced classes for children after their online-school day is through. There will be acting lessons and chemistry experiments, according to a project spokeswoman. When the weather turns chilly, the building might roll out heat lamps.
But as couches can be repositioned, and gym machines plugged back in, many of the COVID-era fixes will be short term, according to Nancy Packes, the principal of Nancy Packes Data Services, which consults developers on projects.
Indeed, people may be scared to gather in amenity spaces today, she said, but they will likely pack them again soon.
Delhi Metro back on track, resumes operations for 7 lines
Delhi Metro’s Red, Green, and Violet Lines resumed services on September 10 with the same schedule of four hours of passenger service each in the morning and evening under Stage-I plan of resumption of services.
Seven lines of the Delhi Metro network are now open.
DMRC will be running 35 trains on the Red Line (Rithala-Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda), performing around 413 train trips during morning and evening hours from September 10, officials said.
Similarly, 40 trains with approximately 344 trips will be put into service on the Violet Line (Kashmere Gate-Raja Nahar Singh). On the Green Line (Kirtinagar/Inderlok- Brig. Hoshiar Singh), 20 trains with 268 train trips will be put into service.
The trips will be subsequently increased as the operational timing of services get extended on September 11 and September 12 with the opening of other lines in a graded manner, Dayal said.
On September 11, the remaining lines will also be reopened under stage-2. These would include the Magenta Line from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden and Grey Line from Dwarka to Najafgarh.
Under stage 3, the Airport Express Line from New Delhi to Dwarka Sec-21 is expected to be reopened on September 12, making
The entire Metro network will be made operational for passenger services throughout the day from September 12, with all social distancing norms/guidelines to be followed by the passengers during the travel due to ongoing pandemic.
The home ministry had issued guidelines allowing metro services in the country to resume operations in a graded manner, following which DMRC had said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12.
DMRC had appealed to passengers to travel light and "talk less inside trains to prevent the possibility of short-range aerosol transmission".
Due to the pandemic and strict social distancing norms, the carrying capacity of a train has been drastically reduced to around 20 percent of the pre-lockdown period.
Passengers have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel as far as possible.
Besides Delhi, Metro networks also restarted operations on September 7 in a graded manner in Lucknow, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, but remained closed in Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata and Jaipur.
The Kolkata Metro, the country's first rapid transit system, is yet to resume service.
The Maharashtra government had on September 1 decided against the immediate resumption of Metro and local train services.
No decision has been taken on restarting metro services in Jaipur.
Delhi Metro's Blue Line and Pink Line services resume from today
Two days after the Yellow Line resumed operations, Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Pink Line are hitting the tracks from today (September 9) as part of the first stage of graded resumption of metro services.
Blue Line from Dwarka Sec -21 to Electronic City/Vaishali (65.35 km and 58 stations) and Pink Line from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar (57.58 km and 38 stations) have resumed operations after 171 days, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.
Commuters can avail of services on these two lines from 7:00 am to 11:00 am in the morning and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the evening along with Yellow/Rapid Lines which are already operational since September 7.
DMRC will be running 66 trains on Blue Line performing around 478 train trips during morning and evening hours on September 9 and 10. Similarly, 27 trains with approximately 228 trips from Majlis Park to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 and 13 trains with approximately 291 trips from Trilok Puri-Sanjay Lake to Shiv Vihar sections of Pink Line will be put into service during the next two days. The trips will be subsequently increased as the operational timing of services get extended on September 11 and 12 with the reopening of other Lines in a graded manner,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC.
The list of Gates which will remain open for entry of passengers at each station along with all necessary updates is available on the home page of Delhi Metro’s official website www.delhimetrorail.com for easy access to passengers.
In addition to the above lines, three more lines- Red Line from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda (Ghaziabad), Green Line from Kirti Nagar/Inderlok to Brigadier Hosihar Singh (Bahadurgarh) and Violet Line from Kashmere Gate to Raja Nahar Singh (Ballabhgarh) will also resume services from September 10 with the same schedule of four hours of passenger service each in the morning and evening under Stage-I plan of resumption of Metro services.
Thereafter on September 11, the remaining lines will also be reopened under stage-2. These would include the Magenta Line from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden and Grey Line from Dwarka to Najafgarh.
Under stage 3, the Airport Express Line from New Delhi to Dwarka Sec-21 is expected to be reopened on September 12.
The entire Metro network will be made operational for passenger services throughout the day from September 12, 2020, onwards with all social distancing norms/guidelines to be followed by the passengers during the travel due to ongoing pandemic.
On the second day of restarting operations, the Yellow Line had clocked as many as 8,300 passengers until 11 am on September 8, DMRC sources said.
More than 15,o00 passengers travelled by Delhi Metro on September 7 after it resumed services after almost 169 days due to COVID-19.
Also, as many as 1115 smart cards were sold on the first day.
Very few people decided to avail Metro services as they weighed concerns over health and urgency to reach work.
Platforms and key hub stations, including Rajiv Chowk, were mostly empty and the ambiance far removed from the usual hustle and bustle.
India Sotheby’s International Realty to market two Tata Housing projects in Gurugram
Tata Housing Development Company (THDC) has partnered with India Sotheby’s International Realty for the strategic marketing of two residential projects. As part of this, India Sotheby’s International Realty will be handling the marketing campaigns for the Gurugram-based developments Tata Housing Gurgaon Gateway and La Vida.
Tata Housing’s Gurgaon Gateway is an 8.9 acres development and comprises ready-to-move 3 BHK residences at Sector 112, Gurugram. Comprising of 6 towers with just 358 apartments, it’s a low-density project with plush double-height lobbies, timber sun decks and private terraces in the apartments.
LA Vida is a premium housing development by Tata Housing situated at Sector 113, Gurugram near Dwarka Expressway. The project is being built over 12 acres comprising 8 towers with 2 and 3 BHK residences.
“The real estate market in North India has always been dynamic and it continues to grow rapidly even in the current scenario. Gurugram, in particular, is expected to remain as a popular choice for both commercial and residential real estate projects owing to its proximity to Delhi, a major international airport and presence of various international companies," said Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL).
Our engagement with India Sotheby’s International Realty will enable us to reach out to the modern homebuyers seeking spacious, luxurious houses that are situated amid greenery,” he said.
“We are looking forward to working closely with many influencers and quality channel partners to market these prime developments. As two industry leaders come together, I am sure that customers will benefit from the game-changing strategies that we have designed in the interest of adding more value for the buyers,” said Vineet Nanda, Director – New Projects, India Sotheby’s International Realty.
Only 33% real estate developers receive investment-grade loans
Only 33 of the top 109 real estate developers received investment-grade loans (BBB and above) with aggregate sanctions of Rs 2.3 lakh crore, according to an analysis by Kotak Institutional Equities. Around 25 percent of loan sanctions to builders were below investment grade.
As per the analysis, as many as 32 out of the 109 developers having loan sanction of Rs 817 billion (16 percent) had their credit ratings suspended.
As many as one-third of developer loans are categorised as sub-investment grade. Substantial delays and stranded projects have led to a deterioration in the financial health of developers, as per the analysis.
“Investment-grade loans are loans mostly sanctioned to top-tier developers,” explained Sandeep Reddy, co-founder at Propstack.
Also, larger loans actually take lesser security cover because these larger loans sanctioned to big builders comprise not only construction financing but also lease rental discounting which means that these are loans tied against office assets and have a consistent rental revenue stream attached to them.
Going forward, there is a likelihood of an increase in defaults, as well as credit downgrades for the weaker developers that may not be able to sustain the absence of incremental sales due to the current lockdown and ensuing economic weakness, it said.
It has been observed that top developers take larger loans and usually these larger loans take lesser security cover. Smaller loans--up to Rs 50 crore--have higher security covers at 1.79 times. In contrast, if the loan is for over Rs 500 crore, the security cover eases to 1.48 times, showed data from real estate data analytics arm, Propstack.
Some of the larger loans are also not construction financing but lease rental discounting which means that these are loans against office assets which get regular rental income.
Therefore, above investment grade loans are mostly taken by grade A developers and have a higher concentration of lease rent discounting loans.
During COVID-19 when execution and demand risk is high, several lenders are seeking higher security and receivables cover from companies seeking financial support.
The security cover for these loans has gone up to 1.66 times based on the funds sanctioned so far this year as against 1.62 times a year ago, Propstack noted.
Exclusive: Around Rs 500 crore available for construction of stuck Amrapali projects, says NBCC; more funding expected
State-owned construction company NBCC has said that around Rs 500 crore is available with it to complete pending Amrapali projects and that construction of 17 projects across Noida and Greater Noida is currently ongoing.
The development comes shortly after the Supreme Court resolved the issue of funding for the stuck Amrapali projects. On August 31, SBICap Ventures, which manages the government-sponsored Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) fund, agreed to finance six projects with approximately Rs 625 crore.
The six projects that the SWAMIH Investment Fund agreed to fund are Silicon City 1 and 2, Crystal Homes, Centurion Park–Low Rise, O2 Valley and Tropical Garden. The amount would cover a total of 6,973 units. The apex court had also directed the court-appointed receiver to finalise the legal framework to regulate the funding of Rs 625 crore and submit a report within four weeks.
Asked if the amount was enough, Gupta said that the rest of the money is also coming through. “Around 50 percent of the amount is to be paid by homebuyers and they have already started to pay up. The Supreme Court has also fixed the instalments for all the projects and timelines. Banks have been directed to provide loans to NPA account homebuyers; part of the money has to come from unsold inventory and from the sale of Floor Area Ratio. All these steps will ensure that the pace of construction will pick up,” he said.
Only two projects have not been granted clearance. “We are hoping that this clearance will also come through,” he said.
As for the pace of construction, Gupta said: “We may reach the pre-Covid level by October. Currently, around 8,000 workers have been deployed on these projects and this may double in the next two months. Work was badly affected by Covid-19 but it is now progressing well,” he said.
Premium residential project in Chennai: Keppel Land collaborates with TVS Emerald
Keppel Land Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into a joint venture with leading Indian developer, Emerald Haven Realty Ltd, a TVS Group company, to jointly develop a freehold condominium project in South Chennai, the company said.
The company has entered into a partnership with Emerald Haven Realty, to pick up 49 per cent stake in the joint venture at a total consideration of about Rs 77.2 crore, it said in a statement.
Under the agreement, the joint venture will develop a freehold premium condominium project in south Chennai spread across 2.4 hectares along Pallavaram Thoraipakkam Radial Road (PTR), a fast-developing information technology (IT) corridor in South Chennai, India.
The total development cost is expected to be about Rs 5.4 billion with Keppel Land’s share estimated to be about Rs 2.6 billion.
Keppel Land and TVS Emerald plan to develop a premium condominium offering recreational facilities and a modern clubhouse on the site. The gated development will have a total saleable area of about 1.0 million sf and will comprise apartments in mostly two- or three-bedroom configurations, with many units offering scenic views of the adjacent Kovilambakkam lake.
The construction for the development is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2021.
“We are delighted to collaborate with TVS Emerald, one of the top developers in Chennai, for this premium residential project. This partnership is in line with Keppel Land’s strategy to strengthen our presence in top-tier cities in India such as Chennai, and creates a platform for future collaboration with TVS Emerald,” said Ho Kiam Kheong, President (India), Keppel Land.
The site enjoys convenient access to the Chennai International Airport, the established IT corridor of Old Mahabalipuram Road, as well as amenities including reputable educational institutions, hospitals and retail malls.
“TVS Emerald has been developing and delivering state-of-the-art projects in Chennai for close to seven years. For this upcoming development, we are delighted to partner with reputed Asian property company, Keppel Land, which places paramount importance on enhancing customer experience. We are confident that this joint venture will result in the development of an exemplary project of superior quality and sustainable living. We are also excited to create a platform with Keppel, to bring in future, larger mixed development projects to Chennai,” said K. Gopala Desikan, Director of TVS Emerald.
Keppel Land is the property arm of Keppel Corporation, one of Singapore's flagship multinational companies with a global footprint in more than 20 countries.
The TVS Group is one of India's leading business houses, with over 50 group companies, close to 50,000 employees, and a turnover of over 8.5 billion dollars. Emerald Haven Realty Limited (EHRL) is the real-estate company forming part of the TVS Group. It was started in 2013.