21st
April, 2007
NATIONAL NEWS
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Global real estate funds to enter India
With falling property prices, global private equity real estate
funds are expected to open their wallets wide, reports CNBC-TV18.
Property prices have begun cooling again. Demand is slowing
down, bank finance has dried up, and real estate IPOs do not
seem set for a grand welcome on the equity markets. But the
situation is not as grim as it sounds. Global real estate
funds are lining up to enter Indian real estate.Sanjay Dutt,
Deputy MD, Cushman & Wakefield, said, “Our estimate
is close to USD 1.5 billion have already been committed and
going forward two to three billion dollars will be committed
this year which is substantially higher”.
http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/privateequityrealestatefundssanjaydutt
/globalrealestat/market/stocks/article/277431
PLACE: MUMBAI
Aditya Birla Retail may float real estate fund
Aditya Birla Retail, the newest kid on the retail block, is
weighing options to float a real estate fund, in line with
the trend where retailers are looking at it as a mode of raising
funds to cater to the ever-increasing demand and cost of prime
real estate. The move is likely to give a fillip to the already
booming realty funds business in the country. “To address
specific funding requirements and we may look at setting up
a fund to acquire real estate assets which is one of the major
concern areas for any retail player,” said Sumant Sinha,
CEO designate, and Aditya Birla Retail.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=161777
PLACE: CHANDIGRH
Double whammy!
The recent decision of the Punjab Pollution Control Board
(PPCB) to cancel the change of land use (CLU) of prominent
builders on Chandigarh ’s periphery, following interim
decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sent builders,
investors and end-users in a tizzy. The decision, coming with
the change of guard in Punjab with the assumption of office
by the Parkash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP government in the state,
has virtually put a question mark over the status of investment
in the real estate market amounting to hundreds of crores
of rupees in the periphery. In fact, the decision has spread
panic among the investors and builders alike with the real
estate industry fearing a cascading affect on the on going
projects.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070421/real1.htm
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Wait-and-watch policy for developers
The much-awaited correction in real estate is around the corner.
Thanks to the Reserve Bank of India ’s (RBI) regulation
of a hike in interest rates, the ultimate result is going
to be a ‘popular’ effect on ‘overly-high’
real estate prices. Though developers are still not willing
to accept the reality and are hoping that the effect will
be ‘short-term’, the middle-class need not feel
that their dreams of owning a house have been deferred.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=6f9bc194-c1b9-488f-ab6d-dacb7b1aacae&
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Carlson to cash in on hospitality boom
India is overwhelmingly beautiful and we will get 4-5 Regent
hotels in India . The company is also going to double its
popular T.G.I. Friday's restaurants in India from 6 to 12
by next year, taking the total number to 35 in the next three
years. Carlson is in talks with real estate companies including
DLF.Nelson adds, “FDI is allowed 100% and we have some
equity in some partners, with more property coming in we are
talking to real estate partners for the same.”
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/carlsongroupmarilyncarlsonnelson/carlsontocashho/market
/stocks/article/277436
PLACE: MUMBAI
Dharavi makeover now a model for the world
That global eyes and camera lenses are focusing on Dharavi
is not new—from The Chicago Tribune to BBC News, everybody
has been visiting. Still, if there remained any doubt about
the intense world interest in Dharavi’s future, these
can now be put to rest. The May 2007 issue of National Geographic
has put Dharavi on the cover, in a feature titled “
India ’s Shadow City ”. Reporting on the poor
living in “some of India ’s hottest real estate”,
National Geographic writer Mark Jacobson and photo-journalist
Jonas Bendiksen tell an evocative story of the lakhs residing
in “the most diverse of slums, arguably the most diverse
neighbourhood in Mumbai , India ’s most diverse city”.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=232655
PLACE: MUMBAI
Sebi tightens realty IPO norms
Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) has told real estate companies that the primary
objective of raising money from the public should be developing
land banks they already own and not buying land, an investment
banking source involved with the initial public offer of a
large property developer said. Developers that had filed offer
documents to raise money by selling shares to the public have
also been asked to provide additional information under new
rules for real estate companies, sources said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Sebi_tightens_realty_IPO_norms/articleshow/1931869.cms
PLACE: NEW DELHI
India Does Not Need SEZs – The SEZ Act Will Have To
Go!
Even as the Congress and the CPI (M) and their respective
governments in New Delhi and Kolkata are busy covering up
the state
-sponsored barbarism in Nandigram the 'empowered group of
union ministers' has cleared the deck for the government's
SEZ campaign
with only a few minor modifications in the SEZ policy. There
will now be a cap on the size of SEZs – individual SEZs
will henceforth not
exceed 5,000 hectares. Half of the area in an SEZ will now
be earmarked for the main processing activity with the other
half still left free
for real estate business. And governments will apparently
no longer be involved in the act of forcible land acquisition
– that part of the job
will from now on be left to the free market!
http://www.countercurrents.org/dipankar210407.htm
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
PLACE: ORLANDO
Man pleads guilty to real estate swindle
A man who operated a Florida real estate company that investors
say was a classic Ponzi scheme has pleaded guilty to fraud.
Aleem Hussain told a federal judge in Orlando Thursday that
he had swindled investors in his company, Main Street USA
Inc., the Orlando Sentinel reported. In a Ponzi scheme,
early investors are paid with money taken from later investors.
Hussain brought more than 10 Orange County sheriff's deputies
and other employees into his company as investors and, in
some cases, employees. He wooed them by paying for meals
and stays at resorts and by promising to double a $100,000
investment in six months.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/04/21/man_pleads_guilty_to_real_estate_swindle/
PLACE : MICHIGAN
Michigan Real Estate: For Sale by Owners Access the Real
Estate MLS
Southeast, Mi -- Sellers succeed in a tough market by knowing
exactly what selling options are available in todays technological
world of real estate.At http://www.MichigansMLS.com sellers
have professional marketing options available to them, for
much less. Homeowners can sell their homes at a fraction
of the selling costs, compared to traditional 6 and 7% commissions
charged by real estate companies.
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-michigan-real-estate-sale-owners-access-real-estate-/2007/04/20/2536977.htm
PLACE : LAS VEGAS
Real Estate and Development
Kenneth Heebner, who manages the CGM Realty Fund, one of
the top-performing real estate funds over the past decade,
said the nation's
home prices may plunge as much as 20 percent in some markets
because of rising defaults from subprime loans. That would
flood the real
estate market and prices and be the "biggest housing
price decline since the Great Depression," he told
Bloomberg.com.
http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/04/20/realestate.html
PLACE: TEXAS
Is Texas A Real Estate Destination?
A Texas economist is shining a positive light on the Lone
Star state's current real estate market. While Dr. Mark
Dotzour, a chief economist at the Real Estate Center at
Texas A&M University, says Texas is not immune to the
nationwide increase in foreclosures, he still views the
state as one of the most affordable and economically viable.“Interest
in Texas real estate has magnified by the declining markets
elsewhere across the nation,” Detours said. He went
on to say that Texas , in particular, is benefiting from
its expanding population. “The latest figures show
Texas is growing by about 400,000 each year,” Dotzour
added. “All of these people need homes or apartments
in which to live.”
http://www.dsnews.com/view_story.cfm?id=1066
PLACE: ARIZONA
Real Estate: Internet valuation not an appraisal
The Arizona Board of Appraisal has sent Zillow.com two letters
demanding that it "cease and desist from all appraisal
activities in the State
of Arizona until such time as they are performed by a licensed
or certified appraiser in this state." The Criminal
Division of the Attorney
General's Office has sent a similar letter to the Seattle-based
Internet real estate portal. In defining an appraisal as
"an opinion of value,"
the Board of Appraisal would seem to have set itself in
opposition not just to Zillow.com but to other popular real
estate valuation sites
such as Eppraisal.com, CyberHomes.com, etc. The board has
not sent notices of violation to them.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0420gl-swann0420-ON.html
PLACE: WASHINGTON DC
Real estate market booming for commercial
Commercial real estate in Tampa Bay is showing positive
indicators in 2007, according to a new report by Colliers
Arnold. Strong market fundamentals combined with continuing
demand has created the climate for a rise in new construction,
the report said Employment continues to be one of Tampa
Bay's strengths, with unemployment at 3.3 percent for February,
down slightly from 3.4 percent for February 2006. More than
26,500 jobs were added in Tampa Bay during the past 12 months,
the report said. Lease rates continue to be strong, as well
as the absorption rate, both beating national averages.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/04/16/daily56.html
PLACE: MENAFIN
Cubic Real Estate to execute $545m projects in UAE
A spokesperson at Cubic Real Estate (CRE), a new property
developer, said that the company is planning to execute
$545 million worth of projects in the UAE market in the
next 12 months, Gulf News reported. According to the company
spokesperson, CRE's two major projects in the heart of Dubai
will be the $20 million Kaizen-One and the $20 million The
Parkway. Apart from these, the company is also developing
three multi-storey complexes Downtown Jebel with a gross
development value of $165 million. It is worth mentioning
that CRE is a leading independent property developer with
headquarters in Dubai . The company also has an international
presence with offices in London and Moscow .
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093150584
PLACE: UKRAINE
Azarov: Real-estate tax will not be introduced soon
Real-estate tax will not be introduced in Ukraine soon,
First Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister My kola Azarov
has told journalists, Cabinet press office reported. Mr.
Azarov was commenting on the draft Tax Code that the Government
considered on Wednesday. According to him, there is presently
no serious information base for administration of real-estate
tax. Therefore, according to him, real-estate tax will not
be introduced in 2008 or 2009.
http://en.for-ua.com/news/2007/04/20/131513.html
PLACE: MERIDIAN
Three Named Principals at Meridian Real Estate
Seitz, a SIOR and NAR member has managed all facets of real
estate transactions throughout the country with significant
experiences in the Midwest market. His real estate specialties
include industrial property acquisition, disposition and
leasing, multi-market corporate services and tenant representation.
Schwegman, also a SIOR and NAR member, has completed a variety
of tenant representation assignments, construction projects,
build-to-suit developments, surplus property dispositions,
project leasing assignments and investment sale transactions
with an aggregate value in excess of $400 million.
http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=D14B5CAEFA616C7526067AB4F74CA508
PLACE: PORTUGAL
Algarve real estate swindlers arrested in Lisbon
Four individuals, thought to be part of an international
network whose main activity is allegedly purchasing real
estate with bogus bank loans granted through fake documentation,
were arrested in Lisbon last week. Upon their arrest, the
individuals, aged between 36 and 55 years of age, were found
to be in possession of phoney documents.It is believed the
four suspects have already completed three real estate transactions
in Quarteira, Albufeira and Lagos , having duped the banks
involved out of an estimated 900,000 euros.
http://google.the-news.net/display.aspx?id=904-33
PLACE: CANADA
Prestigious Properties makes real estate investment a snap
Real estate investors need to be more creative than ever
these days. Prestigious Properties of Canmore represents
one of the best examples. Company President Thomas Beyer
and Chief Operating Officer Doug Thiessen have repeatedly
demonstrated that the syndicated purchase of carefully selected
rental properties can bring investors reliable quarterly
cash flow and significant equity appreciation, with minimal
risk. However, they have grown slightly wary of the Alberta
market.”
http://www.businessedge.ca/article.cfm/newsID/15176.cfm
PLACE: CHURCHILL
Real estate continues to buck regional, national trends
The Fallon real estate market continues to buck regional
and national trends by maintaining strong median sales prices
while sustaining
fewer home sales."Fallon is insulated from the national
trend (of lower sales prices and fewer homes sold) and always
bucks the trends,"
said Bob Getto, Certified Residential Specialist with Prudential
Ferguson & Getto in Fallon. "We are correcting
back to what the market
was normally (pre-2005)."
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070420/FALLON/704200422/1029/FALLON
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