Rentals at 450 Rs per sq ft in Mumbai

Mumbai: Mumbai's property market has set a new record! A commercial property was sold at a whopping Rs 450 per sq foot in the financial hub of Bandra Kurla complex.

Forget residential buildings, which are already above a crore for a standard 2-bedroom flat, the office spaces in Mumbai are now costing something next to one in Manhattan.

Corporates are literally struggling to find a reasonable deal. Over the past 9-months, rentals have shot by 40 per cent in the posh Bandra Kurla complex area in Mumbai.

Limitless Group, a sister company of Dubai based developer Nakheel has recently signed a $ 10 billion joint venture with real estate major DLF, to develop townships in Mumbai.

The Dubai based group has already snapped up 12,000 sq feet in the famous IL&FS building in Mumbai, which is now renting out space in the building at Rs 450 per square foot.

The Limitless Group will pay Rs 54 lakh a month for its own office space.

Rents in Bandra Kurla Complex have now crossed the rentals at Nariman Point and Lower Parel areas where they are at Rs 290 - 350 per sq foot.

Sources say this recent deal at IL&FS already has led the builders quoting sky high prices for mediocre properties. Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLLM said, “It’s purely because demand is outstripping supply. 12 months ago the prices were at Rs 250 a sq foot, which though seemed high at that point have gone much higher now.”

Recently, the British High Commission pre-leased a space in the under-construction Naman Chambers for Rs 350 per sq foot.

The Fortune 2,000 building and Windsor Plaza are now quoting Rs 330 a sq foot compared to Rs 250 six-months back.

The Bandra Kurla complex has only 3 lakh sq feet of commercial space to offer at the moment. And that is a far cry from the current requirement.

Industry watchers say approximately 2 million sq feet of office space will enter this market in the next 2 years, and that's when corporates could find some respite from the soaring rentals.

Purvankara - Panaroma project delays

It seems no builder is immune to the age old problems of timely construction and litigation. Here is a posting from a mailing list. There was a posting on craigslist which has a 3 bed flat at 72L. Seems like a lot of misery already when you are parting with 72L. The litigation is a bonus

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After a long delay, Purva Panorama complex on BG road seems to be almost complete, but the trouble for the owners/residents seem to be just starting??

The entrance to the complex has signboards that the area is disputed in the Karnataka high court. There are some painted graffitti on the walls of Purva panorama by SC/ST activists who are claiming the land. Till the time this is decided by the court, Purva Panorama residents have to undergo further misery.

Legal hurdles block new Bangalore airport

Business Standard reports. With this delay the airport will not function till atleast mid -2009. After which there could be some development of infrastructure. IMO Devanhalli real estate is the biggest con-job ever conceived. Should take another five years before anything useful happens in that area

Govt fighting 40 cases on six-lane approach road.

The new Bangalore international airport will probably be ready before time (scheduled for completion in April next year), but the modern access road to it will not, recreating the image of a journey done partly by bullock cart and partly by jet aircraft.

As things stand, travellers will take around two hours to reach the airport, which is 35 km away from the city centre, for at least a year after it starts functioning.

This is because of legal hurdles the government is facing in acquiring land for a 21-km dedicated expressway to the airport.

The government is fighting at least 40 different cases related to land acquisition.

To cut the journey time and derive full benefit from the state-of-the-art airport, the government decided to build six-lane toll expressway. The optimum alignment was worked out with the help of satellite imagery and a preliminary notification was issued on March 3 for land acquisition.

Residents of Bagalur, Bhairathi, Chikka Gubbi, Dodda Gubbi, private residential township developers and farmers filed cases in various courts seeking a change in the expressway alignment or denotification of their lands from acquisition.

Government sources said many powerful politicians also owned land along the alignment of the road and wanted it changed.

“We changed the alignment five times unofficially before freezing it. But they are still not satisfied. If the land acquisition process is completed by July, the expressway will be ready by March 2009 but that appears improbable. As things stand, the expressway will not be ready even by 2009-end,” a source said.

The road alignment has been marked physically. No real estate development will be allowed along the expressway till the project is completed. Of the 750 acres needed, just over 110 acres are in the government’s possession.

Recently, Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is also in charge of infrastructure development in the state, acknowledged that there were “stumbling blocks” in the way of the project . “We are committed to resolving them to implement the project,” he said.

At present, the upcoming Bangalore international airport at Devanahalli can be reached by travelling 28 km on the Bangalore-Hyderabad National Highway 7 from the city and then 4 km along an access road.

In view of the heavy traffic on the national highway and the resultant journey time required, the state government conceived the expressway.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 482 crore and 26 companies have submitted application for qualification. At present, the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) and the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) are jointly handling the project.

The BMRDA intends to invite tenders to develop the road on a build-own-operate-transfer basis. Once completed, a high-speed rail link will also be set up along the expressway.

The Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) represents the first greenfield private sector-owned and operated airport in India. Private promoters hold a 74 per cent stake in BIAL and the remaining 26 per cent is held by the state.

SMR builder problems

Email threads keep pouring in on unscruplous builders. This time in Hyderabad. Be forewarned

SMR claims to be a reputed builder in South India. The experience of those who have bought flat in SMR Technopolis, Madhapur, Hyderabad is pathetic and people wanting to buy a flat in SMR are warned. The residents of the apartment were forced to unite together to fight against the atrocities of this builder. SMR promises a lot of facilities and attracts buyers but after they have managed to con the prospective buyer, then you just have to run behind them. All the owners have spent numerous numbers of hours just waiting on their office. Facilities such as play area, club house, sports court were promised. The flats were supposed to be ready more than 6 months back, but they are just not bothered to complete the flat. The commercial complex (in front of the apartment) corporates who have leased the office are being wooed and pampered since they pay exorbitant rent. The parking area supposed to be for visits of the residential area complex has been handed over the commercial. The decisions by the builder are taken without any consultation with the residents.

The area is a complete mess with workers all over the place and showing no signs of completion of the project. Most of the facilities promised in the brochure have not been provided. No wonder, the builder is finding it extremely difficult to sell some of his flats now. Recently, the builder had the audacity to ask for the monthly maintenance charges without even having completed the facilities and handed over the apartment. All complaints to the builder are falling on deaf ears.

If you are looking at purchasing an SMR property, PLEASE DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

FRUSTRATED SMR RESIDENTS