realestate2022

Go for your dream home now! this is a good time as any other Given the softness in home prices and loans available at reasonable rates, the question is whether buyers should take the plunge and buy their dream house or should they should wait for a while. The RBI’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged has disappointed property developers already grappling with sluggish demand for the last few years. To make matters worse, demonetization has further slowed down transactions because of the shortage of currency notes. Cash forms a major chunk of property deals, comprising anywhere between 10-40 percent of the property value. Buyers are in a wait-and-watch mode, hoping for prices to fall further. The builder community, which was hoping for a rate cut, was disappointed at RBI’s decision with Credai, the developers association terming it “unfortunate”. Given the softness in home prices and loans available at reasonable rates, the question is whether buyers should take the plunge and bu...

Cherry-Picking Investment Opportunities In Indian Real Estate Indian real estate still offers opportunity for good ROI &  some PE funds are cashing on it As different real estate asset classes continue to show differential growth patterns in India, having a clear vision of forthcoming trends becomes mind boggling, especially for investors. That’s why successful asset allocation strategies between various asset classes now requires higher amount of research, focus and investment experience. This possibly explains why focus of private equity players into real estate has increased considerably even as performance of real estate stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), India’s legacy and a popular stock exchange, has been poor from the GFC (global financial crisis) phase of 2008 to 2016. If we look at the sectoral market-cap data, the BSE realty sector’s market-cap has only seen de-growth over the last eight years since the financial crisis of 2008. As against that, the market-ca...

Real Estate is having no effects after Demonetisation Contrary to the popular belief, Real Estate is having "NO EFFECTS" after Demonetisation Talk of the town is the effects on real estate after demonetization. Maharashtra Inspector General for Stamps and Registration in a statement said that there was a fall of almost 65% in documents to be registered in Maharashtra after 9th November 2016. At the same time, National association of builders (CREDAI) issued a statement through its president Gitamber Jain that rates are not falling. According to Real Estate Brokers, many builders have sold dead stock in old currency with a promise to settle things after 31st March 2016. Now, all this indicator neither will have any effect on real estate sale nor on prices. Researcher houses have predicted a fall of prices up to 55% and estimates were cited as actual figures. All those projects, especially affordable housing, taking all white / cheque payments along with major portion of housin...

Impact of GST on Indian Tax System In India, there is two type of taxes are levied. These taxes are direct or indirect tax. “Indirect taxes” according to John Stewart Mill, “are those which are demanded from one person on the expectation and intention that he shall indemnify himself at the expense of another – such are excise and customs. Currently in India, Service tax, Value added Tax, Excise, luxury tax, entertainment taxes etc. are Indirect taxes. Now government is contemplating to subsume all such major indirect taxes in to one single tax as “Goods and Service Tax Act”. Here are essential points on to understand about Goods and Service Tax: 1)      Currently, excise duty is levied on manufacture of goods; whereas GST would be levied on ‘supply’ of goods and services. 2)        Currently, state from where movement originates of goods or services gets revenue. GST is a destination based consumption tax; the revenue will accrue to the ...

RBI’s Monetary Policy Statement : Key Highlights Following are the highlights of RBI’s fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2016-17 RBI’s next monetary policy statement is on 8 February. Photo: Bloomberg Taking markets by surprise, RBI governor Urjit Patel on Wednesday kept short-term lending rate unchanged. The central bank lowered its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 7.1% for this fiscal and said demonetisation would lead to a short term disruption in economic activity. The benefits are in the medium and long term, it said. The Patel-led six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which had in its first policy review in October cut interest rate by 0.25%, belied expectations and unanimously decided to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.25%. Following are the highlights of RBI’s fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2016-17: 1.  The RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, reverse repo at 5.75%. 2.  The RBI leaves cash reserve r...

Salient features of Benami transaction Act, 2016 The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act received the assent of President on the 10 th  August, 2016. The act defines “Benami property” as any property “which is the subject matter of a Benami transaction and also includes the proceeds from such property.” Here “Benami transaction” means, “(a) A transaction or an arrangement, where a property is transferred to, or is held by, a person, and the consideration for such property has been paid by another person; and (b) The property is held for the immediate or future benefit, direct or indirect, of the person who has provided the consideration, except when the property is held by the Karta, or a member of a Hindu undivided family.” Under this act, there would be four authorities to look into the cases concerning Benami act, and undertake required investigations. For the purpose of same, the bill seeks to establish four authorities, namely, (a) the Initiating Officer; (b) the Ap...

Where Indians Are Investing Today Traditionally, there has been a high affinity for physical assets such as precious metals, jewellery and real estate among Indians. This trend has been changing quite rapidly over the last decade. The reasons are varied. One important factor playing a role here has been the increased penetration of financial instruments tapping populations living even in remote villages. The result has been that the ‘only store of value’ feature offered by physical assets is fast disappearing. Also, technology is enabling banking solutions to reach remote villages much faster, while also making financial transactions easier and less expensive. With focus on direct subsidy transfers, opening of bank accounts is becoming mandatory for all, including those who were out of the banking circle so far. With these developments, the only reason left for an individual to invest in physical assets is for returns. Real estate is a good investment option, but not by taking leverage...

Indian Retail Real Estate – Future-Proofing The Revolution Indian retail real estate has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis since the advent of organized retail in the early ’90s. Major transitions have happened in terms of design, size, provision of facilities, tenant mixes and business models. From the initial years of organized retail formats in India to the massive malls and their international and domestic brands today, it’s indeed been a fascinating ride. The entry of online retailers over the last couple of years has spurred the progress even more, resulting in an unprecedented rate of change. With rising disposable incomes, growing urbanization and changing aspirations, there has been surge in consumption. Today, shopping is not limited to just buying products – shoppers are seeking a differentiated experience, and expect innovations. For this reason, leisure and entertainment have become imperative factors in the success of shopping malls today. Developers today are making t...