Residential sales in top 8 cities grew 13% in 2017-18: Report

Affordable housing continued to be the mainstay of the demand as the contribution of this segment to the overall sales in tier I cities

MUMBAI: Residential sales across top 8 tier I cities of India has grown 13% during the financial year 2017-18 (April-March) with Mumbai Metropolitan Region witnessing maximum growth of 25%, showed data from Liases Foras Ratings & Research.

Affordable housing continued to be the mainstay of the demand as the contribution of this segment to the overall sales in tier I cities including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad stood at 18% during the fourth quarter.

The government has been pushing affordable housing through various schemes and incentives. Lower home loan interest rates and necessary impetus by the government to affordable housing has played a key role pushing sales in this segment.

The government has supported the housing sector through affordable housing fund, lower Goods & Services Tax (GST) rates, increased tenure of loans under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and extended income tax benefits to apartments of carpet area of 645 sq ft.

Mumbai was followed by Delhi-National Capital Region with 19% increase in sales for the year. In south zone, Chennai and Bangalore have shown a slow down with sales numbers showing a drop of 15% and 5%, respectively while Hyderabad witnessed a growth of 17%.

On year-on-year basis, new launches across these top 8 markets have declined in most cities except in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata where launches grew 42%, 53% and 29%, respectively.

With a growth in sales and drop in new launches the unsold inventory in the tier 1 cities have dropped by 3% from a year ago to 9.29 lakh units as on March end.

During the fourth quarter ended March, residential sales across these tier I cities increased by 14% with Hyderabad emerging as the leader with a 33% increase followed by Bangalore with 30% rise, MMR with 19% growth and 14% increase in Pune. Kolkata is the only city that witnessed a marginal decline of 1%.

During the fourth quarter, sales in affordable segment with price tag of less than Rs 25 lakh increased 24% from a year ago. Sales in the cost bracket of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh increased by 4% on an annual basis. Sales in the cost bracket of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore increased by 17%, while sales in luxury segment with Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore rose 13%. Sales in ultra-luxury segment above Rs 2 crore rose 13%.

Weighted average price across tier I cities witnessed a muted increase of 1%. Marginal decline of 1% was observed in Pune and NCR while prices dropped by 4% in Chennai. Prices in Ahmedabad witnessed no change while a slight increase of 1% was observed in Hyderabad , Kolkata , MMR and Pune each, the data showed.

NCR led with the highest contribution to sales in the affordable segment with 26% followed by MMR with 23%, Ahmedabad with 20% and Pune with 15% of total sales in this segment. All 8 cities cumulatively sold highest in cost range of Rs 25 lakh – Rs 50 lakh, with sales of 35% of total sales, followed by cost range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore at 30% of total sales.

Among regions, MMR contributed the highest to overall sales at 17,143 units or 25% of total sales followed by NCR at 15,326 units or 22% of total sales, the data showed.

During the quarter, MMR added the highest new launches, with a contribution of 25% followed by Bangalore 17% and NCR 11%. Among various cost segments, the cost bracket of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore witnessed maximum new launches amounting to 39% of total new supply followed by the cost brackets of Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs with 36% contribution.

The Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore segment of MMR witnessed maximum launches of 5,545 units contributing 11% of the total new launches across eight tier 1 cities. Kolkata contributed 29% of the new launches in the affordable segment with less than Rs 25 lakh followed by MMR 25% and Pune 24%.

Source : https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/residential-sales-in-top-8-cities-grew-13-in-2017-18-report/64256679?photo_id=59863844

Commercial Property Investment - High Return Game

Buying a property for commercial purpose is a huge investment. That is the reason why investing in commercial traditionally has been the job of only high net worth individuals or institutional investors. However, time has brought change. Many types of investors are getting into the game.



Investment Routes

There are 3 main ways to invest in commercial property: buying the space directly from a developer, purchasing the commercial developer's share from the stock market or investing in a real estate fund that focuses on commercial real estate. Many developers, particularly in big cities, are offering small spaces in A-Grade buildings.

Investors looking towards getting retail space can now have multiple affordable options. The major advantage of smaller units are that it is easier to find tenants for the spaces and the premises can be used by the investor his or herself if they happen to be entrepreneur. Today, professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and auditors are investing in commercial properties for profit and for self use. The private bankers and WMFs (wealth management firms) encourage their clients to buy commercial properties as the properties can protect their clients from stock market volatility and inflation. Even banks are now lending 50 to 60 percent LTV (Loan to Value) to customers for these properties. The exact percentage depends on a customer's net worth and their ability to repay.

What to Look for

Despite wide array of price options, buying commercial property definitely is not child play. The process requires foresight, research and thorough planning. The followings factors should be taken into consideration before investing in a commercial property:

• Location: Before making an investment, buyers need to establish the location's soundness and its demand-supply dynamics. If buyers do not research enough, they may end up making the wrong investment.

• Economy: Buyers should also note the effects of population growth, the job market and the respective market's economy is sound.

• Developer: Investors should check the credentials of the developer, the potential infrastructure development, the quality of property management and the public transport accessibility to the project.

• Dynamics: While investing in retail business, one needs to consider the footfall, the frontage and the adjoining catchment's dynamics.

• Amenities: People who look to make an investment in commercial property need to ensures that a property's given amenities fulfil their business needs. If someone wishes to invest in an office, they need to consider breakup of cash flow through maintenance expenses, building insurance and property tax. They also need to check the lease term, the long-term appreciation potential and the refinancing and repositioning potential.

• Professional Advice: Before making any investment, investors should seek the help of a lawyer and a knowledgeable commercial property real estate agent.

Why Invest?

The rental income from commercial property generally is 9 to 12 percent while residential property only offers 3 to 4 percent. The sheer pride and numerous benefits of ownership are just two reasons why you should look at commercial investment.

Remember, you not only make profit on the sale of appreciated property but also from rental cash flows. Your capitalization rate actually measures the demand of the property.

Source: https://goo.gl/oyCeca