India Builders Face ‘Large-Scale Distress’ on Debt Trap, Knight Frank Says

Source :By Pooja Thakur :Bloomberg:- Apr 21, 2011 10:49 AM GMT+0530

India’s real estate industry is expected to face “large-scale distress” amid rising borrowing costs and shrinking access to credit that may force developers into fire sales for assets, according to Knight Frank LLP.

Indian developers will have to repay 1.8 trillion rupees ($40.8 billion) of debt to state-run banks, private equity funds and other lenders over the next two to three years, said Amit Goenka, national director of capital transactions at the Indian unit of Knight Frank. Their cash flow may also be under pressure as creditors seek earlier repayments, he said.

“I see large-scale distress coming up,” Goenka said in an interview today. “Right now it’s more of financial jugglery which is keeping builders alive for a few months before everything starts to cave in.”

Small privately held developers may go “belly up” and the industry will see large scale mergers and acquisitions and more distressed sales, Goenka said. The central bank’s interest rate increase this year to curb inflation has led to tighter liquidity and higher borrowing costs for developers. The Reserve Bank of India last month raised the repurchase rate to 6.75 percent from 6.5 percent and boosted the reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent.

Many property companies raised capital at interest rates of between 21 percent and 25 percent from finance companies, while sales volumes dropped by about 50 percent, Sanjay Dutt, chief executive officer of business at the Indian unit of Chicago- based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., said last month.

Unsold Homes

Home inventory levels have climbed to 28 months in Mumbai, the highest among the six cities tracked by Liases Foras, a real estate research company whose clients include Housing Development Finance Corp., India’s largest mortgage lender.

Developers who had access to cheap capital after the 2008 credit crisis are now facing a cash crunch as the equity fund raising route has been shunned by investors. Banks have also cut lending amid a bribery probe in November and the central bank has tightened provisioning rules.

Real estate debt outstanding with state-run banks is about 1.6 trillion rupees while those at private equity funds stand at almost 100 billion rupees, Goenka estimates. Private lenders are owed about 40 billion rupees, he said.

“It’s clearly a debt trap, the story has turned and will only get more dramatic this year,” Goenka said. “I do see shades of the 2008 crisis playing out with some failures in the industry.”

Mumbai, India’s most expensive real estate market, had a record number of unsold housing units, Goenka said. Still, he doesn’t expect developers to slash prices. Land values have declined by as much as 40 percent from peak rates, he said.

Developers need to repay 220 billion rupees and some have defaulted, Goenka said, without naming any company. “There will be continued defaults this year.”

Rs 125 crore housing project for senior citizens

Source :PTI : Monday, March 07, 2011, 12:38


Coimbatore: A city based promoter on Sunday launched Rs 125 crore housing project at Puluvapatti, on the outskirts of the city for senior citizens.
 
The project will have 120 apartments, 60 each in one block, with two and three bedroom facilities, and 30 individual villas on five acres, D Muruga Ramanathan, chairman, M R and Associates and Promoters India Ltd, said.
  
The company was targeting NRIs for the projects, since their aged parents or relatives can be taken care of with total security and safety, he said.
  
The apartments would cost between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, while the villas would each cost Rs one crore, with all modern facilities, greenery, garden with flowers and medicinal plants, he said.
  
The project is expected to be completed in two years, Ramanathan said. 

Lower stamp duties can check corruption in real estate: PM

Source:IANS:Friday, March 18, 2011, 14:03:

New Delhi: In a candid admission that black money in the realty sector was an unfortunate reality in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said one way out of this malaise was to reduce stamp duties that may tempt undervaluation of assets.

 

"As far as black money in real estate is concerned, unfortunately that is a realty," the prime minister said at the 10th edition of the India Today Conclave at the Taj Palace Hotel here.

 

"One way out of this would be to lower the stamp duties. The stamp duties in our country are a big obstacle to cleaning the mess with regards to transactions in real estate," he said during the question-answer session after his inaugural address.

 

"So that is one way in which we can work towards a system whereby black money will be less of a menace in transactions related to real estate."

 

The prime minister's comments come against the backdrop of the findings of the finance ministry that creation of black was the highest in the real estate sector, followed by the manufacturing industry.

Dubai mulls new mortgage model to boost real estate

Source : PTI:Friday, March 18, 2011, 18:56


Dubai: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Absalon Project, a joint venture between affiliates of VP Securities and Soros Fund Management, have launched a feasibility study for a mortgage system in the UAE, based on the principles of the Danish Mortgage Model.
   
The proposed model involves private residential mortgages being funded by the issuance of standardised bonds and creating a large and liquid mortgage bond market, DIFC Authority Chief Economist and Head of External Relations Nasser Saidi was quoted as saying by the UAE's official news agency Wam.
   
He said that once legislative gaps are filled, the system could be implemented within 18 months.
   
"Sustained recovery of the real estate sector is essential for the revival of growth in the region. The underlying economic fundamentals and demographics are positive.
   
However, reform and development of housing finance are necessary for the medium-to-long term recovery of the real estate sector," he said.
   
"We have proposed to set-up of a mortgage securitization mechanism to create a market similar to the Danish Mortgage Market. No investor has ever had a loss due to mortgage default, despite several financial crises," he added.
   
Saidi also proposed to establish an Emirates Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (EMGC) to support the recovery of the region's mortgage markets.
   
The proposed model would reduce the risk and exposure of real estate developers and lending institutions, provide additional funding to the housing finance market and give strong impetus to the financial markets as an engine of economic growth.
   
The idea is said to have been well received by commercial and mortgage banks, construction companies and developers, regulators, investors and stock exchanges.
   
A unique feature of the Model is the interchangeable nature of the mortgage and the bond.
   
It allows a homeowner to retire their mortgage not only by paying it off directly, but also by buying an equivalent face amount of bonds at market price.
   
Essentially, the mortgage insurance scheme would spread risk and stimulate market liquidity. 

DLF plans more luxury malls, eyes Hyderabad, Chennai

Source : PTI :Monday, February 21, 2011, 16:11


New Delhi: Real estate developer DLF Ltd that currently operates luxury mall - DLF Emporio - in the Capital is considering to start similar projects in other big cities, including Hyderabad and Chennai, that are seeing traction for high-end brands.
   
"We are looking to open more luxury malls in cities like Hyderabad and Chennai," DLF Malls Business Head Savitri Devi Singh said.
   
The company is currently in talks with the existing tenants at its DLF Emporio for the same. "There are some 10-12 anchor brands we are in discussions with to bring up similar models in other cities," she said.
   
According to Singh, who did not disclose the investment planned by the company in future projects, developing malls for housing luxury brands is an attractive proposition.
   
"DLF Emporio has already broken even and is doing very well in terms of revenue generation. It is a very viable business," Singh said, although she declined to divulge the amount, developer invested on the mall.
   
According to her, the mall is currently operating at a conversion rate of about 70 per cent. Some of the brands in DLF Emporio include Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Fendi, Dior, Just Cavali, Aigner, Tods, Tiffany’s, Burberry and Hugo Boss, along with some leading Indian designers.
   
"Even Chandigarh has good potential for selling luxury goods, but we are not sure whether it would be right to open another mall there due to its proximity to Delhi," she added.
   
Cities like Bangalore and Mumbai already have luxury malls such as the UB City and Galleria, respectively and entering there is a much lesser attractive option.
   
If experts are to be believed, there is a dearth appropriate retail space in India that is keeping many luxury brands away from the country.
   
"There is a serious need to have more retail spaces for luxury brands to expand or enter India," AT Kearney Principal Neelesh Hundekari.
   
According to a CII-A T Kearney report, India's luxury market, which is small compared to global standards, is likely to grow three times and touch USD 14.7 billion by 2015.
  
In 2009, the luxury industry, including products, services and assets, was estimated at USD 4.76 billion.