The unorganised nature of Indian realty is the sole reason why it had always been in the dire need of a regulatory authority which will now be available post the implementation of nationwide RERA from May 1, 2017. Several states and almost all the Union Territories have notified the laws of RERA before the said deadline of April 30th, 2017. RERA is something which is happening for the first time across the nation and would more or less be finalised along the framework which was set forth by the central government. RERA tends to bring about a new dawn in the sector of Indian realty and limit the concerns of several homebuyers and investors who had almost written off this sector which has seized to be one of the greatest employers and contributors to the country’s GDP. Slowly with the turn of clock, RERA would also settle down as any normal regulation similar to the hundreds we observe in our day to day life but the initial phase will definitely hold key to how better it is accepted amongst the developers and buyers. 

Industry Reacts:

Manoj Gaur, Vice President CREDAI – National & MD, Gaursons Group

At the outset, I welcome this much awaited initiative of RERA, which should bring huge relief to homebuyers as well as regulate the real estate sector of India. With the implementation of this act, now all approvals will have to be in place and the agreement signed with buyers includes the interest and the penalty clauses laid down in RERA. Also, the statute now demands that the builder should mention carpet area also specify common areas and the parking areas separately. At the CREDAI level too, the apex body of developers is holding training sessions for developers to educate them on the changes expected in the new business environment.

Deepak Kapoor, President CREDAI-Western U.P. & Director, Gulshan Homz

The buyers of property market in particular had waited long for RERA becoming a reality which guarantees safeguarding of their rights and interests. For long has this sector and its buyers being affected, but with RERA in place now, soon there will be a regulator in every state who will monitor all the transactions and have answers for their grievances. The amendments are fair and developers have already started working on the lines because these will now pave way for a better demand and supply in the sector. 

Avneesh Sood, Director, Eros Group

With RERA implemented in full scale now across major states and union territories, developers are sure to find it encouraging towards building a better image for the sector. Infact, most of the developers who are genuinely into real estate had already been following the rules which have been set forth by this act. With the government concerned and showing direct intentions towards the sector, RERA will enhance the sentiments in the sector paving way for growth. Possessions are the hot cakes in the sector today and history of a developer in the near future would be judged on the possessions they have offered.

Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd.

With so many states implementing RERA today, we will see a completely different scenario in the sector in near future. Infact, developers have been gearing up for RERA ever since it became an act in the parliament and have been working based on the norms excluding the limitations. These limitations, if some, can be done away with only when it is existent in the real scenario helping everyone understand them better and try devising corrections.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Co – Founder & Chairman, Signature Global 

Indian real estate sector will shape up in a different manner now. With RERA on board and implemented in full force, each state will have a regulator in place to safeguard the interests of the buyers and promote fair dealings in the sector. The housing demand in particular, will catch up momentum which will allow better performance of the sector. But, apart from everything else, the one thing that will infuse buyer sentiments in the sector will be of timely deliveries. 

Ashwani Prakash, Executive Director, Paramount Group

The regulatory act (RERA), has been able to arrest the uncertainty in the real estate sector, vis a vis the investors and end users. The mere passage of the bill had given a lot of clarity and made real estate dealings more transparent there by bringing the confidence in the investors and the end users.  Once this confidence sets in completely with it’s proper implementation, the market is bound to grow at a steady pace. Single window clearance system once implemented across the country will allow RERA to function smoothly, without which there might still be some barriers.

Rajesh Goyal, Vice President CREDAI-Western U.P. & MD, RG Group

Developers are certainly well prepared for this change now with RERA implemented across several states. The impacts are certainly going to be visible for both buyers and developers soon. Developers who are not able to deliver on their promises would be automatically filtered out reducing the existing supply in the market, the sector would be much more organised than before and people would be answerable for what is being done at each stage of project development. Buyers on the other hand would be assured of timely deliveries or assured penalty charges in cases of delay but simultaneously would see the property prices going up because of the supply reducing drastically.

Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, Antriksh India

This act is aimed at protecting the interests of consumers, and also seeks to promote fair play in real estate transactions and ensuring timely execution of projects. With this act in place, every state will now have a regulator who will be continuously supervising and monitoring. Moreover, the projects will now be completed on time and developers will have to submit all the layouts, plans and documents with the regulator who will ensure transparency and hence, customers will feel more secure while transacting.

Gaurav Gupta, General Secretary, CREDAI - RNE

RERA is the biggest thing to happen in the Indian real estate sector and we hope that it will infuse 300% more confidence in the buyers to buy their dream home. This in turn will allow end users to create demand, but will take a while to get going and certain case studies to prove its effectiveness. This act will safeguard the interests of every buyer which will allow a transparent and secured route to transact in future. Once the Act becomes fully functional in each state, grievances will not remain unanswered, and will come with a definite solution. RERAwill open more sources of institutional funding for the sector as institutional confidence will also go up in the presence of a regulator. We hope that the teething problems in its implementation will sure be addressed by the government in a practical manner as the intentions of the government is very clear towards protecting the interests of the buyers rather than to strangulate the sector. 

Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun Group

RERA’s prime motive is to curb the irregularities persisting in the real estate sector and protect buyers’ interest. There are strict guidelines in the act against developers who are unable to deliver on time. But we cannot deny the fact that developers today are under severe pain of not getting the obligatory clearances and approvals on time; and if this continues then they’ll be axed for no reason. Thus, the government must ensure the passage of single window clearance, so as to allow the sector to work in a much systematic and organised manner, with full support for RERA as well.

Vikas Bhasin, MD, Saya Group

For long has the sector’s buyers and stakeholders being affected due to the absence of a watchdog for the real estate transactions. But with RERA now in place, there will a regulator in every state who will monitor all these activities and have solutions for the problems of the buyers. Developers who had been working fair and square need not worry much about the circumstances post the implementation of the act because adhering to norms and guidelines is a general business practice and that is what RERA is all about, to ensure all norms and guidelines are followed.

 

ICICI Bank, HDFC make home loan cheaper to match SBI's rates

India’s largest housing finance company HDFCICICI Bank have slashed interest rates and are now offering home loans of up to Rs 30 lakh at 8.35% — the same rate which State Bank of India offers.

In terms of the new schedule of rates, salaried women borrowers will get home loans at 8.35% and others at 8.40% for loans up to Rs 30 lakh.

In the case of ICICI Bank, loans above Rs 30 lakh will be available at 8.5% and 8.55% for women and other borrowers respectively.

HDFC Bank offers uniform rates for men and women at 8.5% for loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, and loans above Rs 75 lakh at 8.55%.

Last week, SBI intensified competition in the home loan segment by reducing its home loan rates by 25 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) to 8.35%. While ICICI Bank has reduced interest rates by 30bps from the previous rates, HDFC’s rate reduction is 15-20bps as the mortgage company had already brought down rates to 8.5% last month.

ICICI Bank customers taking home loans in the affordable segment will also have the option to choose either a floating interest rate, or a fixed interest rate for the initial two/three years followed by floating rate.

According to ICICI Bank officials, the last time home loan rates were at current levels was in 2009.
 and the largest private lender 

Source- ET Realty

Haryana RERA to protect home buyers' interest: FM

NEW DELHI: Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu Singh on Saturday assured home buyers that their interest will be protected through the real estateregulatory Act (RERA).

"We need to bring back the confidence of home buyers and investors, without which the business wouldn't move an inch," said Singh, adding, "RERA will ensure that on one hand the builders get a good business environment to work in, while on the other the rights of home buyers are protected."

The minister was speaking at an investment convention organised by NAREDCO, Haryana.

The Haryana government has let off most ongoing housing projects which have been delayed and remain a worry for many home buyers in its draft rules for the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

Projects which have applied for occupancy certificate or part completion certificate have been excluded from the ambit of RERA, provided the same is granted by the competent authority within three months of the application.

Those projects which have received completion or part completion certificate in case of plotted colony and occupancy certificate for the building blocks of integrated complexes like group housing, commercial, cyber park or cyber city have also been excluded.

The Haryana government has now invited objections or suggestions towards the same by May 14.

NAREDCO on Saturday demanded an investor friendly and customer oriented real estate regulator that can act as a facilitator to effectively run real estate business transaction with optimum satisfaction to all customers.

"The need for real estate regulator was felt necessary because some developers did not adhere to their promises in deliveries of houses to the intended lot," said Parveen Jain, president, NAREDCO.

The builders' body also urged for a uniform stamp duty on all real estate transactions.

Meanwhile, the Haryana FM also asked real estate developers to pay their dues to the tune of Rs 17,000 crore to the government at the earliest.

Singh also announced that the state is in talks with the Centre for an international airport at Hisar.

Source: ET Realty

Gujarat CM launches scheme for Homeless

GANDHINAGAR, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday launched implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Gramin) in Gujarat at a function at Anand, starting with distribution of approval letters and booklet of model designs to over 14,000 homeless people  in rural areas of five districts — Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Anand, Aravalli and Kheda.

Speaking at the function, Rupani said that his Government is committed to help the homeless poor build their own houses, without discriminating between BPL and APL families. It is part of the State Government’s plan to provide housing to all.

 “The plan is to encompass 204,703 beneficiaries in the State, help them build their own house with 20 per cent subsidy to be directly deposited in their bank account in installments. The first installment is Rs 40,000,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister is the pride of Gujarat as he

had launched a series of welfare schemes for the poor. The State Government is also marching ahead to help the

last man in the last mile,

he added.  

Source- The Pioneer

Importance of CSR activities in Indian Real Estate

 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are undertaken by corporates to help the underprivileged with various means. This might be through providing free or subsidized education, food, health check-ups or helping the society as a whole by organizing awareness campaigns around tree plantation, traffic, safety & security etc. 

At Eros Group, since our inception 70 years ago we have always stressed on helping the needy and the less privileged ones with whatever we can. In fact taking the thoughts ahead we have recently launched a series of CSR activities which includes distribution of blankets last winter at our Greater Noida project site and continuing it with tree plantation, conducting yoga camps for our buyers and recently constructed Greater Noida West's first public drinking water system just outside our project, Eros Sampoornam. Very soon we are planning to organize Blood Donation camps as we have heard that most of the NCR based hospitals do not have sufficient blood bottles to meet the demands. We have decided to conduct such CSR activities at least once in a month. 

Real estate sector suffers from trust and if all the developers who actually care for their surroundings join hands to bring a change and start doing something for others then this sector will never again become the victim of mistrust. 

There are very few people who have the will & the resources too, to help others and this should be a responsibility. 

- Avneesh Sood, Director, Eros Group.

Yamuna E-way authority eyes 2 more townships as 2nd phase gets govt nod

                  The second phase of the MasterPlan 2031 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) was approved by the Yogi Aditya Nath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Monday. According to the plan, YEIDA will have two new urban nodes, or townships, in its area, which will comprise a dedicated industrial area and a heritage city to promote tourism.

With the state government’s approval, YEIDA has become the largest industrial township in the country with an area encompassing 2,687 square kilometres.

According to officials, YEIDA had in August 2015 decided to reorganise the area falling in the second phase of its Master Plan 2031. A detailed survey of the proposed notified area, which encompasses more than 1,100 villages, was carried out with the aim of focusing on sustained and controlled development along the 185-km Yamuna Expressway between Greater Noida and Agra.

In March 2016, an amendment to set up two urban nodes or townships comprising a dedicated industrial area and a heritage city to promote tourism was proposed, which the state has now given its nod to, officials said.

According to Arunvir Singh, chief executive officer (CEO), YEIDA, the “two new urban centres” will be developed into smart cities across more than 20,000 hectares. “The Tappal-Bajna centre will be developed across 11,104 hectares, while the Raya urban centre will be across 9,366 hectares,” he said. “While Raya centre is expected to serve a population of 9.75 lakh by 2031, Bajna centre will serve 12.75 lakh,” he told TOI.

YEIDA officials said that Phase 2 includes more than double the area of Phase 1 in the Master Plan 2031. In Phase 2, land has been reserved for green spaces besides mixed land use including industrial, residential and institutional. Recreational green areas and corporate spaces have also been earmarked along the Yamuna Expressway area in the master plan.

“The dedicated tourist zone in the Raya urban centre will have a riverfront area compassing 109 hectares of land with 102 hectares of water bodies and recreational area covering 1,498 hectares. The tourism zone will sprawl across 731 hectares,” Singh said.“The idea is to provide tourists coming to Vrindavan and the Mathura-Hathras-Agra tourist circuit with world-class space they can enjoy and take tourism to the next level on the global map,” he added.

The Tappal-Bajna centre, meanwhile, will boast an area dedicated to industry. The area will include mixed land use space and recreational zone across 1,755 hectares besides water bodies and natural features over 103 hectares.

Source - ET Realty

KKR INVESTS ₹200 CRORES IN SIGNATURE GLOBAL’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Delhi: Leading financial investor KKR has committed to invest ₹200 Crore in the National Capital Region based affordable housing player Signature Global India Private Limited. The company has alongside launched two more affordable housing projects in Gurugram primarily ‘The Millenia’ in Sector – 37D and Solera 2, in Sector 107. The projects would also be coming up under the Haryana Affordable Housing Policy like their earlier projects. The company also plans to deliver the first phase of the project Solera, launched in 2015 under the same policy and awarded a 5 star rating from CARE Rating, by the early 2018. This will be the first delivery of any Haryana affordable housing policy project across Haryana . 

On this occasion, Pradeep Aggarwal, Co – founder & Chairman, Signature Global said, “It is very exciting and encouraging at the same time to partner with a leading financial investor like KKR and we wish to take forward this partnership in a long way. We are currently developing approx 7,400 affordable homes out of which we have already allotted 5005 units and 2400 would be allotted soon. We wish to develop over 1,00,000 affordable homes till 2022 . The current launch of over 1900 units is a step in the same direction and would come up at a total cost of ₹500 Crores.”

Apart from the recent accrual of ₹200 Crores, Signature Global had also raised ₹150 Crores from ICICI Prudential in May last year. To boost rural and urban housing , post demonetisation, the Prime Minister had announced interest subsidy of up to 3, 4 & 6.5 per cent on loans taken under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. The amount raised through this recent funding would be used towards the development of its affordable housing projects.

Speaking further on the group’s expansion plans, Ravi Aggarwal, Co – founder & Managing Director, Signature Global Group said, “Signature Global has the vision of Har Parivar Ek Ghar and working with that vision, they wish to be one of the leading contributor towards the PM’s vision of Housing for All and that is the reason we would be soon expanding to other cities like Karnal, Ghaziabad and further to multiple cities in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Lalit Aggarwal , Co – founder &  Joint Managing director added we are also exploring opportunities for Joint Development Agreement across the country in affordable housing segment. Talks are already in the closing stages of a JDA in Mumbai for affordable housing. We are looking at launching another 20,000 affordable housing units by the end of this financial year wherein our focus will remain the same of providing quality housing for first time home buyers.”

KPMG India Private Limited and Yes Securities Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of YES Bank Ltd. acted as financial advisors to the transaction.

About Signature Global:

Signature Global Group is a 21st century real estate and infrastructure development company with a vision to provide the best possible real estate solution to their valued customers, clients & stakeholders. Founded by a set of seasoned professionals with an aim to amalgamate global standards and quality to Indian Real Estate Industry, the group showcases decades of experience in stock market and financial services sector.

 The group is headed by Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal, who is also the Chairman of National Affordable Housing – ASSOCHAM and Treasurer of NAREDCO – Haryana.