Omaxe Multi-Product SEZ- Alwar Rajasthan

Omaxe has entered into memorandum of understanding with State of Rajasthan for facilitating the setting up of multi product special economic zone at District Alwar Rajasthan.

Further, the company has promoted a wholly owned subsidiary by the name of Omaxe Rajasthan SEZ Developers by making an investment of Rs 5,00,000. The proposed multi product special economic zone (SEZ) project is likely to be built in 5000 hectares area and is to be executed within a period of 5 years.

Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Property Prices Sky Rocket

Our analyst in Mumbai just told me that a Record deal has been struck in Mumbai. Wadhwa Builders mopped up plot number C-70 in Bandra Kurla Complex at a whopping Rs 46,806 / sft. They will develop a commercial complex there.

Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries mopped up 30,550 sq meters plot in BKC for Rs 918 crore for a commercial center and a car park.

Bangalore + Chennai + Hyderabad Real Estate Review

Exclusive survey of South Indian Real Estate Market. What is common in the Tri-Cities of South India is , IT/ ITeS is still the key demand driver in these markets, though Retailing is fast catching up.

• supply across asset classes gets more visible, while most of this is pre-leased/sold; risks remain.
• residential prices are holding /stabilized after some correction, while rentals are firm/increasing; land prices spiraling; Owning a Bungalow is now a dream for a middle class Indian.
• Infrastructure development is slow compared to Realty

Bangalore Real Estate:
Strong demand for IT space has led to 4-5% increase in rentals (Rs.42-45/sq ft); residential sale prices (Rs 3500/sqft) are holding with yields of 3-4%, relatively better than 1-2% in North. Potential supply risks, however, remain. We see good progress on infrastructure projects; new airport (Apr'08), peripheral road network (large parts complete) to enhance value ahead.

Chennai's Realty Reality:
While Chennai is a growing IT destination, Sriperumbudur near Chennai is an emerging manufacturing hub. This has led to land prices spiraling and greater thrust on infrastructure. IT space rentals (Rs.38-42/sq ft) are on the rise; residential prices are also firm at Rs 3600/sqft. Supply risks are relatively lower vs. other southern markets, barring some pockets.

Hyderbad Emerging IT Hub:
Madhapur (Hi-Tech City) and Gachibowli are the IT CBD of Hyderabad. Land availability/clear titles and spiraling land prices are key challenges. Potential supply risks have kept IT space rentals (Rs.36- 40/sqft) in-check; residential is a relatively (Rs 4000/sq ft) better market. Progress on road/airport projects and the pace of construction is encouraging.

Puravankara sends DLF Packing in Hydrabad Deal

Puravankara Projects has won the tender bid from APIIC (Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation) for development of massive project at the prestigious Hi-tech City, Hyderabad, involving an investment of over Rs 3,500 crore. High-Tech City is the new IT destination for many in the world and the area has developed rapidly with world class infrastructure facilities.

Purvankara punched out DLF in the race to bag this piece of land. Purva is at a definite advantage now because their is no fixed floor space index for this land and the vicinity areas paving way for real sky scrappers.

DLF Emporio Luxury Mall in Delhi

Luxury and premium retailing is a taste and only the elite few in India really have to background and passion to do it. Vijay Mallya from Bangalore was the first and now K.P.Singh of DLF is following in his footsteps unveiling DLF Emporio, the biggest Luxury mall in India. [Other smaller destinations include Taj in Mumbai, Khan Market Delhi etc] The mall is 350,000 sft in size.

The mall will open for business on March-1st next year. Armani, Versace, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, D&G etc will all be available under one roof. Ms Kajal Aijaz of DLF Luxury Mall said,

The mall would reflect retro Indian opulence. From architecture and interior to ambience and tenancy mix, we have tried to retain the stamp of Indian luxury. We also have 34 Indian designers for the first time under one roof. Indians are well travelled, so we have to offer the best in Emporia.

30% of DLF Emporio would be occupied by men's exclusive brands. At least 12 international watch brands would occupy 18,000 sft. The luxury retail market is expected to grow 27-30% and Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai are the hottest cities for the same. Ms. Aijaz also wants folks from Bangalore an Mumbai to travel to Delhi to shop at Emporia :-)

Bangalore + Chennai + Hyderabad - High Rental growth

Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad are witnessing high rental growths according to a study by Cushman and Wakefield [Cushman's survey is mostly for upscale properties in elite areas].

In Bangalore, Commercial Street and Brigade Road vicinity continue to be prime retail locations. Kormangala and Indiranagar are also witnessing small brand retail operations.

In Chennai, Khader Nawaz Khan road has witnessed 100% jump in retail rentals YoY. This region has presence of retail brands such as Benetton, B&O, Wills Lifestyle, Atmosphere, Movenpick etc.

In Hyderabad, Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills are preferred by new-age retailers. Demand far supersedes supply in these areas and hence Begumpet is witnessing hectic activity with 100% rise in rentals YoY.

Retail Space of Big retailers in India

We have obtained an an exclusive chart from OctaMedia India Retail Research on the number of stores and area the big retailers of India occupy. At the end of March-2007, Pantaloon Retail was the leader with 5 mn sft under operations and plans to multiply by 6 fold to 30 mn sft by the end of 2010.
Vishal Retail stood second followed by Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle retailer Trent. Reliance Retail details were not available but in any case it is not very significant at the end of FY2007.

DLF invites PE funds for Affordable Housing

DLF has attracted participation of private equity real estate funds in its township projects by diluting 49% equity stake at a premium, in seven residential projects to a Merrill Lynch & Co entity for a consideration of Rs 1481 crore.

The mid-income housing projects, located in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore would get fully developed in about 7 - 8 years time frame. In a related but separate transaction, the company has also diluted 49% of its equity stake at a premium, in another middle-income housing project in Panchkula, Haryana to Brahma Investments, for a consideration of Rs 194 crore.

DLF began trading as SENSEX stock from today, replacing Dr. Reddy's Labs.

A V Birla Retail + Parsvnath in Talks

Aditya Birla's Retail Venture is in talks with Delhi based real Estate Developer - Parsvnath Developers to setup a Hypermart and a super mart in Delhi and NCR.

The hypermarket is expected to come up in the Sreelampur Mall and will be sperad on 100,000 sft space. A V Birla retail has launched its first hypermarket in Mysore, near the silicon valley of India. One of Parsvnath's metro malls is likely to house a supermarket for Aditya Birla Retail.

Parsvnath Developers is constructing 35 malls across India and 20 metro malls. The metro malls are all located on land adjacent to metro stations in Delhi. Retail India is hungry for real estate space and has evolved a new model of retailing for Land Lords in upscale locations of Tier-I cities.

Parsvnath SEZ MoU with Madhya Pradesh Government

Parsvnath SEZ (PSL), a subsidiary of Parsvnath Developers has signed a MoU with Government of Madhya Pradesh to provide facilities and incentives at the 76 acres SEZ being developed, by the company at Indore.

The agreement will ensure that the rules and policies of the state for providing and promoting single window clearance are made available to the SEZ, which was notified recently. This will also help PSL to avail various incentives and facilities under various schemes announced by the State / Central Government, which will ensure its development is on the fast track.

An important highlight of the MoU is that the State government will facilitate an approach road to the SEZ site as per the master plan and will provide requites like electricity and water to the SEZ on priority and PSL will start work to develop and construct the proposed built up area of 18.74 million square feet.

Unitech BUYs 1750 Acres in Vizag

Just couple of weeks ago we had covered the real estate market of Vizag. Unitech, the first real estate company that made it to the BSE SENSEX has announced that it has bought 1,750 acres of land from Andhra Government promoted APIIC for a whopping Rs 3,328 crore. This is the largest real estate deal in the country. Unitech will develop this land at an estimated cist of Rs 30,000 crore over the next 10 years.

DLF's Bangalore deal maybe scrapped as it is under investigation and may face a Nandigram like situation during land acquisition.