Indian Property

By Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India Effective investment in residential property requires the chosen location to meet certain parameters. Fundamentally, the area should have good social infrastructure, availability of adequate public transport and sufficient economic activity to sustain development and growth. These parameters apply equally to investment in NA-certified land approved for residential development and flats in a residential project. In order to mitigate most of the investment risk, one should restrict one’s residential property investment to Tier 1 and select Tier 2 cities. It is also most prudent to invest in properties where the price tag falls between Rs. 2500-5000/sq.ft., since such a price tag provides downside protection against any capital value erosion. Simply put, the cost of construction and minimum cost of land literally makes this price segment safe, and almost guarantees capital appreciation. Further Guidelines...

By  Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India: Even as sales velocity for mid-income and luxury housing in Bangalore fluctuates with macro-economic variations, the city’s affordable housing segment has been witnessing steady demand on the outskirts. Availability of large land parcels at lower price points and the rapid expansion of the city in all directions have encouraged real estate developments even in the outlying areas. Infrastructure developments such as the planned Metro Rail and Peripheral Ring Road also play a part in making these affordable emerging areas attractive and viable. During the first half of 2016, two significant market dynamics have been observed in Bangalore’s real estate market – an increase in new commercial launches, and a rise in the net absorption of commercial spaces. While the absorption levels are currently somewhat sluggish in the residential sector, commercial real estate is witnessing increased momentum with developers ...

by A. Shankar, National Director & Head of Operations – Strategic Consulting, JLL India City Expects Investments Of INR 2,076 Crore; Sustainable Real Estate Growth Assured Kochi hits a six to become the next highly preferred real estate destination in India. All potential drivers such as IT development for employment generation, Metro rail for intra-city connectivity, the Smart City tag for basic infrastructure, port-based development for industry and commercial growth, airport terminal for international connectivity and foreign investment and tourism for the hospitality industry are emphasized in Kochi. This will ultimately boosts demand for housing and make it one of the next highly-preferred real estate destinations in India. The 6 reasons why this will happen shortly: 1)             Inclusion in the top 20 Smart Cities: Recently, the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India identified the top ...

By Ashwinder Raj Singh, CEO – Residential Services, JLL India The luxury segment in the Indian real estate sector is an ever-evolving one. Everything that money can buy is now being made available to buyers who want to live life king size. Sky villas are one of the latest developments on this front. The concept is not new, but borrowed from the more evolved western real estate markets. It has been around in the country for a few years now, and it has gained wide-spread acceptance in recent times. What Is A Sky Villa? Villas and penthouses have for long been marketed to HNI home buyers, but sky villas combine the benefits of both penthouses and villas - along with some additional unique features. Unlike a villa, which is basically a standalone bungalow or a penthouse which is just an apartment on the top-most floor of a high-rise, a sky villa is a humungous multi-level apartment which often covers 2-3 floors. It combines the luxuries of a sprawling bungalow with the advantag...

by Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India · China’s biggest developer Wanda signed an MoU with Haryana earlier this year; more developers from China and Japan are expected to follow suit ·  Large residential and industrial projects of particular interest Given the current prime minister’s focus on improving India’s stature amongst the global investment community, there has been a big change in India’s image as a business and economic hub. After 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) was allowed into the real estate industry, it was only a matter of time before foreign developers made big investment announcements. One of China’s most prominent developers, Dalian Wanda Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this year with the northern state of Haryana to develop ‘Wanda Industrial New City’. The investment of USD 10 billion, phased out over the next decade, is a very significant outlay by any Chinese company in India. Other Chinese developers ar...

by Nirav Kothary, Head – Gujarat Operations & National Director – Industrial Services, JLL India  Gujarat is one of the most industrialised states in India, with a well-earned reputation of being very investor-friendly. The state has a proven track record for attracting high volumes of investment, becoming the most favoured investment destination in India on the back of its sound economic policies and pro-active governance. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit has acted as an effective catalyst for Gujarat’s journey of industry growth, and the 6th edition of Vibrant Gujarat in 2015 saw as many as 21,304 Investment Intentions signed.  The Gujarat Government is developing the only IFC (International Finance Centre) in Gujarat – GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) is an under-construction central business district to be built on 886 acres of land. Additionally, Dholera SIR, the Gujarat affordable housing mission, the Kalpsar Project, PCPIR, DMIC, DFC, High-Sp...

by Santhosh Kumar, CEO – Operations & International Director, JLL India For the last 3-4 years, residential real estate market has seen sluggish demand, which has caused the unsold inventory levels to go up in some of the key Indian geographies. Supply/demand mismatch in terms of price and configurations has been the main reason for the rise in inventory levels. From developers’ point of view, this has eventually resulted in: 1. Correction of prices in many markets in order to improve sales velocity of unsold products 2. Increased project launches with the right configurations to cater to existing demand Interestingly, 2016 had started on a sunny note. The residential real estate market, which had witnessed a slump in project launches in 2015, showed a visible comeback in the first quarter. There was a six-fold increase in launches of the affordable housing projects, as developers predicted greater demand in this highly price-sensitive segment. One way or the other, factor...

By Ashutosh Limaye, Head - Research & Real Estate Intelligence Service, JLL India There is a lot of opacity in India’s real estate market. The industry is highly fragmented, and availability of data/ information in the public domain is limited. Moreover, the real estate industry is very locally orientated and in India, with every market behaving in its own unique way. In fact, there is more diversity in Indian real estate than in most other countries. Nevertheless, mapping the terrain and making sense of it is vital for investors and end users, corporate occupiers and developers, and this is where international property consultants (IPCs) like JLL come in.  It is important for all real estate stakeholders to be able to understand and adapt to local market dynamics, and at the same time remain attuned to global trends. All these factors highlight the importance of market research consultants in today’s market. Thanks to these consultants and their deployment of expert team...

By Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country head, JLL India The retail real estate industry in India is gradually maturing and going towards the next wave of evolution. With the rapidly changing aspirations of Indian consumers, influx of international brands - and, importantly, increased competition from e-commerce, there is now a pressing need for physical retailers to evolve. Within this process, shopping outlets will have to provide a more specialized shopping experience. The Indian Mall Arrives Let’s start from the beginning. The first Indian malls started springing up in the 1990s, and from then on began more or less taking over the retail landscape. These shopping malls were suburban, lacked adequate parking facilities, and had a standard line-up of mass arcade chain stores and food courts featuring all the usual suspects. Until then, department stores and high streets were the main shopping attraction and provided consumers with restricted options. With the liberalisation and ...

Mumbai, 21 January 2016: International property consulting firm JLL India has partnered with RICS to publish its latest real estate research report on Capital Market trends in the Indian Real Estate sector. The report 'Peering into 2016: Taking Pulse of Investor Preferences' tunes in to the voice of the investor community to gauge the investment patterns and key investment themes in the Indian real estate for 2016. According to Ramesh Nair, COO & International Director, JLL India: "Private Equity capital has been instrumental in propelling the real estate boom in India, but it is a sector where banking finance has had its own restrictions to cope with. After a relatively muted CY 2013 and CY 2014, PE investors increased their bets into the Indian real estate sector significantly in CY 2015. This report examines the motivations and expectations of PE funds who are now actively ramping up their exposure into this sector." JLL carried out a survey of ...

By Ashwinder Raj Singh, CEO – Residential Services, JLL India The most frequently-occurring type of disagreement in Indian real estate is land dispute. Cases range from of illicit land grabbing and illegal land sales to instances of purchase of land where no actual purchase has taken place – to name just a few. The real estate market has historically been plagued by such issues, and the current government’s initiative of facilitating e-registration to streamline the registration of immovable properties is an extremely progressive move which has been universally welcomed for its transparency and ease of use. E-registration has simplified the process for providing evidence of titles and facilitating transactions, and will go a long way in preventing the unlawful disposal of land. This online registration system effectively put paid to the various underlying problems and loopholes in the traditional land registration process, based on the Land Registration Act of 1925, which typical...

By Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head at JLL India JLL Research’s latest report ‘Is Indian Real Estate Heading Towards A Tectonic Shift?’ examines the transitions that India’s real estate has undergone over the past decade. Among the major trends is how developers have been decreasing apartment sizes to suit affordability of buyers. Builders are exploring innovative ways to make residential housing across major cities more appealing to potential buyers at a time when it is increasingly becoming difficult to sell expensive apartments. Around the country, builders are emulating the famous sachet marketing strategy adopted by FMCG companies in the late 1990s. Unable to sell expensive homes in a sluggish market, builders across India are making smaller apartments without lowering the price per square feet and compromising on the quality of product. In the last five years, average apartment sizes falling across all major cities of India. The following chart shows the varying degree...