Monday, May 11, 2009

Million-dollar home dreams vanish as realty dawns

Million-dollar home dreams vanish as realty dawns
The Economic Times, May 10, 2009, Page 1

Neha Dewan & John Sarkar, ET Bureau, NEW DELHI

When the rich get less rich, lavish lifestyles turn into a bad dream. Wide-ranging influences, from shock at sudden economic strains to the rise of simpler living, have shrunk blue-ribbon realty consumption. Million-dollar realty transactions, which used to be routine in big cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, have all but disappeared.

Property brokerage firms point out that the once-tony suburbs of the Capital have been hit the hardest. “Million dollar transactions or deals worth Rs 5 crore are seeing a dip of around 50% in Noida and Gurgaon due to very limited supply,” says Pankaj Jain, executive director of Realistic Realtors, a North Indian real estate consulting firm. But according to property brokers, swish locations such as Vasant Vihar, Shanti Niketan and Anand Niketan are still holding up due to the pent-up demand for independent floors. “Over the last two quarters million dollar transactions in these locations have seen a spurt of around 20%,” adds Jain.

He also points out that cash rich cities such as Chandigarh are seeing only a few such transactions in prime areas like Panchkula and Mohali. “The dynamics of the Chandigarh market are very different. The holding capacity of these areas is quite good. However, owing to the tight supply, only a few transactions are being witnessed in this value,” he mentions.

Even Mumbai, which boasts some of the most costly addresses in the country, is not faring any better. Other than a slim demand in areas such as Cuffe Parade, Lower Parel, Bandra and Worli, million-dollar real estate transactions in the City of Dreams are now far and few. “The supply is always limited, with only a few choosing to go for this segment,” says Rajeev Talwar, executive director of DLF.

Agrees Niranjan Hiranandani, MD of Hiranandani Developers, who feels that the mid and lower rung segments are in the limelight now. “There are not too many such big ticket transactions happening in Mumbai as of now,” he reiterates. “It’s a high price zone and the market for that is limited in the current scenario.”

And down South, demand for $1m houses is also rather low. Says Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CB Richard Ellis, South Asia: “Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills in Hyderabad are seeing an overall decline in such transactions. Similar is the case with Chennai in areas such as Boat Club and Poes Garden.” According to Mr Magazine, it’s also the nervous sentiment that is persuading buyers to postpone their purchase. “Since a lot of the demand in Hyderabad comes from senior IT executives, they are holding back due to uncertainty in the job market,” he adds.

Also, in Chennai, for instance, many independent houses that would roughly cost Rs 5 cr and above are owned by people who have inherited either the land or the entire property. In Bangalore, demand for such luxury apartments is also low owing to the erosion of demand from the market. However, according to Cushman & Wakefield, Bangalore is more important than Chennai and Hyderabad in the South for investment or purchase of property tagged at million dollars due to stronger economic fundamentals.

The trend in Kolkata too is no different. Brokers say the million transactions in the City of Joy are to the tune of 1-2% in areas like Ballygunge and Alipore with a buyer profile mainly consisting of businessmen. “Kolkata is no Delhi or Mumbai. The fastest selling price bracket in the city is in the range of Rs 25-40 lakh. Areas such as Alipore and Ballygunge are saturated now. Fresh development in these areas is impossible,” says Venugopal Sampath, Eastern India head of allCheckDeals.com, a realty brokerage firm.

So what all can a million dollars do for you? While it will offer an independent residence for you in posh locations in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, metros such as Mumbai and Delhi will mean living in upper class suburban locations if you don’t prefer build-up floors. As per C&W, while locations like Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi, Prabha Devi and even further north in areas such as Juhu and Bandra have the potential to offer residential units costing roughly $1mn. In NCR many ‘gated community’ projects in the peripheral locations of Gurgaon and Noida are available in this bracket.

However in Chennai, residential units with a price tag of $1mn will help you snap up luxury residences such as free hold bungalows and high-end condominiums in sizes varying from 4,500 sq ft to 6,500 sq ft in locations such as R A Puram, East Coast Road and Poes Garden among others. In Bangalore, some new high-end residential projects would be available at this cost in areas such as Richmond Road, Lavalle Road and Sankey Road. These apartments would range from 3,700 sqft-6,000 sq ft, with 3-4 bedroom units. So now you know where to make the most out of your million dollars.
Real Estate

2 comments:

Hyderabad Real esatate said...

yes this is true

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