Property analysts vow that India’s property markets are getting out of Covid 19 lockdown and market uncertainties. The best indicator is the buoyancy in the shares of credible realty firms that are trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). As the nation unlocks...
Affordable housing sector gets boost
Residential property sales across tier-I cities rose 9% from a year ago led by affordable housing and performance of southern property markets of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, ET Realty reported. Sales volume in Bengaluru and Hyderabad rose 26% and 24%, respectively,...
Residential launches and inventories fall across top metros
Residential real estate launches and inventories saw downward trend even as sales inched across top metro cities in the country, according to Kotak Institutional equities. New launches were at 37.2 million sq ft in Q2 FY19, which are significantly lower than 62.1...
Liquidity crunch, defaults hit housing projects
An analyst says these days must be the most eventful period for real estate with major disruption taking place at the same time. A series of reforms in the form of demonetisation, implementation of Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, the Goods &...
JLL opens global centre of expertise in Bengaluru
Affordable housing generates buyer confidence
There is increasing confidence among homebuyers to invest particularly in the affordable housing segment since the introduction of regulations aimed at transparency and accountability of realty companies. Latest statistics shows that residential launches across seven...
Office leasing, Bangalore tops, cost-sensitive
Office leasing activity across India’s top nine markets rose more than 10%, with total leasing of over 20 million sq ft during the first half of 2018, reports Economic Times. Bangalore along with Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Mumbai led the leasing activity with 80% share,...
Hurt by GST, builders speed up high-end projects
Property developers are rushing to complete high-end residential projects as buyers prefer ready-to-move-in homes to save on goods and services tax (GST) for under-construction projects. According to Mint newspaper big and mid-sized real estate firms with healthy...
Realty estate firms sharpen focus on affordable housing
The new trend that is seen among real estate developers is their increasing focus to meet demands of customers. It is reflected in their growing interest in getting into affordable housing. According to market analysts it is the affordable segment that would drive...
Fly-by-night builders get the boot
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State with Independent Charge in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, says sooner than later the fly-by-night operators in India’s real estate sector will be completely eliminated. Thanks to the Goods and Services Tax regime...
Retail realty portfolios are set to expand
Top investors and developers are looking to buy out shopping malls and land to expand their retail realty portfolios on the back of urban India’s consumption story. The Mint newspaper reported that large investments by global funds and demand for quality malls have...
Hybrid offices, smart work spaces gain acceptance
Recent trends show that corporate India is moving into ‘hybrid’ spaces that are leading to a rise in co-working culture, particularly in metro cities where the start-ups are being provided flexible working options at affordable prices. Companies with limited space...
Eventful year for India’s housing sector
The year 2017 has been the most eventful year for the real estate sector, at least in this decade, according to various analysts. The demonetisation drive launched in November 2016 had a cascading impact on the following months, while the enactment of the real estate...
Economists warn of drop in real estate finances
Development economists are concerned by the recent trend that the share of bank lending to real estate sector has fallen sharply to 17 per cent in 2016 from over 68 per cent in 2013 as banks are reluctant to provide credit to this industry due to rising NPAs and lower...
Right time to enter real estate market
COO of Square Yards Kanika Gupta Shori says in a comment that since the past few quarters, the real estate markets in India have been going through a phase of massive change. Most retail investors and homebuyers make the mistake of entering the market when the trend...
Commercial property segment to grow faster
High demand is expected to push absorption of commercial real estate across the country by over 10% to 33.5 million sq ft in 2018, Economic Times reported. Supply of new grade-A commercial spaces, which proved a hindrance for absorption last year, is estimated to rise...
Growth trends in property market
Real estate is not a single industry but consists of asset classes such as residential, commercial and retail. All these categories are inter-related and depend on each other to drive growth. Residential projects tend to crop up around commercial office catchments,...
City planners in bullock-cart age: Hardeep Puri
Master plans drawn up for Indian cities tend to focus only on land use, at the cost of ignoring issues like public transport, water and funding governance, speakers said at a seminar on urban planning in Bengaluru. The controversial Bengaluru Draft Revised Master Plan...
Tamil Nadu Smart city projects in limbo
Tamil Nadu lags behind other states in implementing the smart city project, according to a report from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs submitted in the Rajya Sabha. The 11 cities in Tamil Nadu selected under the project have not even spent 1% of the total...
Builders demand regulation of cement
The Builders' Association of India (BAI) has demanded the setting up of a "Cement Regulator" and implement other reforms and regulatory mechanisms for the construction sector to ensure its streamlined growth. The subcontractors in the construction sector are still...
Alternate Investment Fund for Ahmadabad realty
An Ahmadabad-based group of realtors has launched a Category-2 Alternate Investment Fund (AIF), one of the first of its kind, to finance real estate projects in Gujarat, Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru in the commercial and industrial space. The SEBI-approved Purple...
Cabinet clears infrastructure projects worth Rs 121.78bn
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared projects for constructing a 14.1km long two-lane tunnel at Zojila pass providing all weather connectivity to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir at the cost of Rs 68.08 bn and an AIIMS in...
Banks asked not to move NCLT against Jaiprakash
The Reserve Bank of India has ordered banks not to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Jaiprakash Associates in order to safeguard the interests of home buyers. The company is among 28 firms that banks were directed to refer to bankruptcy court if debt resolution...
Indian Railways enters real estate in big way
The Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest rail networks, is planning to develop its huge property and has announced plans for rail station makeover. One of its major steps under its rail station development plan is to increase developer's lease period to 99...
Paradigm shift in India investment
Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India, says in 2017 he has seen a paradigm shift in how India invests its money. “While still reeling under the impact of demonetization, the year saw an introduction of major policy changes as well as the boom of newer and...
Emergence of professionally-run realty firms
The decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to approve the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) platform is facilitating investment in the Indian real estate market. It is estimated that this would create an opportunity worth Rs 1.25 trillion in...
Network is cornerstone of plans
A major concern of Smart City planners is the need to have heightened security and the need for reliable and interruptible security feeds. Installing devices, such as IP cameras and security sensors at key assets and infrastructure across an urban area is...
Emphasis on role of smart citizen
In South Africa, Smart City protagonists say that the country should have smart citizens for the technology-driven new urban centres to succeed. By 2050, it's expected that nearly 80% of South Africans will be living in urban areas. This massive acceleration in...
Need for structural reforms
It is generally accepted that the current trends in Smart Cities point to the need for structural reforms in order to attract private participation, which is quintessential for introducing relevant technologies and reforms in the urban context. A recent study has...
Market to double to $1.4 tn by 2020
A report by market research company Grand View Research says the global Smart Cities market will hit $1,423 billion in 2020, nearly triple the global market size of $568 billion in 2013. This increase is due to the rapidly expanding population, speedy urbanization and...
Spanish port is global lab
Spain's historic port of Santander has become the testing ground for Smart City concepts and designs. Thousands of sensors driven by digital technology have taken the pain out of parking. No rubbish bin overflows and grass is watered only when needed. The northern...
US survey to elicit key factors
The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has partnered with the Smart Cities Council (SCC) to conduct a first-ever national research study in the United States. They will jointly conduct a survey among 3,428 communities in April and the results will...
Creating value for citizens
The objective of Smart City should be to provide good governance and value for services to citizens, experts have said at a meeting in Ahmedabad. This can be achieved through integrating different technological systems in a city-which may link payment, civic services...
Africa’s digital plans
African countries are catching up with the idea of building Smart Cities that will have basic infrastructure, flexible network-sharing opportunities and universal interoperability. These are considered vital and cost-effective cornerstones on which to build a Smart...
E-scooters to be key gainers
With governments increasingly going for Smart City concepts, they also realise the importance of fighting urban traffic congestion and rising levels of CO2 emissions. Experts suggest that one of the solutions is introduction of electric bikes and scooters. A study by...
Big data challenges
The challenge before Smart City planners is to find ways to analyse the massive data that would be gathered through Internet of Things with the need to process billions or more data points each second. By deploying sensors and network connectivity to everyday...
South Africa’s smart projects
South Africa, which has already put in place some variants of Smart City Solutions, are planning to utilise these to build world class urban centres in its biggest cities ̶ Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban Smart Cities are becoming a critical necessity because...
San Jose approves smart vision
San Jose, the home of American high-tech companies, is aiming at using technology to better serve the residents, including setting up of wireless nodes that will be used in a pilot to become a smart or connected city. Sensors on the device will help the city...
Dubai study indicates trends
A research by the University of Dubai has led to the creation of a framework based on information and communications technology, to support Smart City initiatives worldwide. The research conducted by Mahmoud El Hendy, Lecturer at College of Information Technology,...
Creative approach lauded
Drew Hemment, Founder and Creative Director of FutureEverything, says cities can be creative and liveable as well as smart. He thinks creativity and grassroots innovation can contribute positively to the development of Smart Cities. Vikas Shah has been named as...
Demand for connected devices soars
Research company Gartner is predicting that in 2016, Smart Cities in UK will use 1.6 million connected devices, a 39 per cent increase over 2015. Local Government Association predicts the amount of money available to deliver the most popular local services will shrink...
Dublin eyeing to be on top
Dublin, which is proposing to develop it as a Smart City, is embracing the trends in new technologies and research. Some of the best brains in technology and research are collaborating with the four Dublin local authorities to solve issues using the data that is there...
Mapping a path to become smart
The Smart Cities Council’s Readiness Guide makes it easier for mayors, city managers, urban planners and city staff to leverage a Smart City framework to improve local liveability, workability and sustainability. The new online version of the Guide provides more than...
Defining city elements better
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have identified a handful of key elements that define Smart Cities'– cities like Singapore and Copenhagen, which are both at the top of their game in using technology to enable their citizens to enjoy a better quality of...
Cyber threat potential up
Navigant Research forecasts that Smart City technology market will represent over $20 billion in 2020. In line with this explosive growth, investment in more complex technologies will be significant, but as always, with increased technology comes greater...
China goes for urbanisation
Urbanisation is creating pressure on China to leverage digital technology to create Smart Cities, which are defined as areas that apply digital technology and intelligent design to facilitate sustainability, along with high-quality living and high-paying jobs....
Crowd sourcing for ideas
Some of United Kingdom’s leading experts and organisations on Smart City development are contributing ideas for Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) - the nation's largest urban redevelopment project. This is part of a new Smart City report made from...
Getting the project work done
There is no doubt that Smart City projects are expected to address many issues connected with urbanisation which is on the rise in Asia. To make the project successful it is necessary that all stakeholders are encouraged to work a team with single-minded focus on...
Emerging multi-billion-dollar industry
Analysts say that within the next four years, a bunch of cities around the world will be transformed into Smart Cities that will ignite the growth of a multi-billion industry from information communication technologies to smartphones. Market research firm IHS...
Security, surveillance market
India’s security and surveillance market is looking increasingly positive following government’s Smart City initiatives. The focus on homeland security and safety of citizens, goods and property has given a positive push to the growth of security equipment makers....