25th
April, 2007
NATIONAL NEWS
PLACE: MUMBAI
Real Estate counters back on bulls` list
Real Estate stocks had been on the receiving end in recent
times following increase in interest rates by RBI over last
two months. On March 30, RBI had unexpectedly increased
its overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point
to a 4 1/2 year high of 7.75% to tame rising Inflation rates.
The RBI decided to keep key lending rates unchanged to support
slowing economic growth, taking in consideration that five
increases in the past year were enough to tame inflation.
This decision brought the Real Estate stocks back in action.
http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/innernews.asp?storyId=32872&lmn=1
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Realty couldn’t have asked for more
The RBI announcement of reduced risk weightage for sub-Rs
20 lakh loans provided a booster shot to almost all realty
stocks, resulting in a sharp upswing in prices. Real estate
developers such as Ansal, Mahindra Gesco, Parsvnath, Sobha
and DS Kulkarni saw their stock prices move up by 4-9%.
Construction companies with exposure to real estate, such
as Mumbai-based Hindustan Construction, Hyderabad-based
IVRCL and Nagarjuna Construction also saw stock prices move
up 7-7.5% each.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Realty_couldnt_have_asked_for_more/articleshow/1952034.cms
PLACE: AHMEDABAD
JP Morgan to tie-up with IIMs, ISB
On the company’s business, Vijayan said that his company
manages $6 billion of assets (till December 2006) in India
. The company had invested in 54 Indian stocks. He further
informed that the firm was overweight on infrastructure
(36 per cent), telecom (above 10 per cent), consumer industry
(13 per cent), financial sector (16.5 per cent) and IT sector
(15 per cent). While the company’s investment is underweight
on real estate and downstream oil companies Giving the reason
for the underweight investment in both these sectors, Vijayan
said that the real estate sector is not transparent on its
business model and so his company in not comfortable in
the present scenario to invest in real estate.
http://www.businessstandard.com/strategist/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu7&subLeft=8&autono=282350&tab=r
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Reddy ‘surprise’ fires up the Street
On a more important note, the central bank has estimated
a growth of 24-25% in the credit off take, he added. Across
indices, the BSE Bankex was the best performer, gaining
more than 4% or 280 points. Prominent gainers included Indian
Bank, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce
and Bank of India, which ended between 7-10% higher. Real
estate stocks like Ansal Housing, D S Kulkarni, IVRCL Infrastructure,
Sobha Developers, Parsvnath and Mahindra Gesco were back
in demand. The RBI has reduced the risk weightage for sub-Rs
20 lakh loans, which will benefit real estate developers
as it will allow banks to increase their exposure to the
sector on the same capital base.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Reddy_surprise_fires_up_the_Street/articleshow/1952036.cms
PLACE: NEW DELHI
BSE Bankex outperforms Sensex
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s move to maintain
status quo on the interest rate and other key rates front
in its annual policy statement helped bank stocks to outperform
peers from other sectors. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)’s
Bankex jumped 279 points or 4.06% to end at 7,161 points
against Sensex' gains of 208 points or 1.5% to close at
14,136 points on Tuesday. The real estate stocks, which
bore the brunt of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) rate
hikes last month, also seemed to be back in reckoning. RBI’s
decision not to touch the CRR and repo rates in its annual
credit policy, too gave a considerable boost to real estate
stocks. There was a rally in all the major bank stocks as
soon as the policy statement was made public.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=162160
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Brand Big B: Rs 50-cr deal with Unitech
Brand Bachchan is very much alive and kicking. Critics,
who claimed that the king is losing his 'magic', may soon
have to eat humble pie as Big B closes in on the country's
largest endorsement deal at Rs 50 crore for real estate
major Unitech. Together with this, the total value of endorsements
signed by Mr Bachchan in the past few months has touched
a whopping Rs 100 crore, which includes renewal of his ongoing
contracts with Cadbury, Dabur, Luxor, S Kumars and Emami,
among others.
http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2007/04/25/17654.html
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Real estate in India - Impact on hospitality
The real estate story in India is on the rise. While more
than 50 bigwig foreign funds have already checked in, the
first half of 2007 will see at least 25 more funds making
an Indian entry. This will mean that almost US$ 10 billion
of foreign direct investment will be injected into the sector.
Hotel developers have already announced thousands of square
metres of land. Sanjay Bansal began by asking the panelists
why real estate is showing so much interest in hospitality.
To this, Shakti Singh replied, "We at DLF have different
models. We are developing assets and giving them to professional
management companies to run. We have signed with Hilton
for our hotel projects."
http://www.expresshospitality.com/20070430/management07.shtml
PLACE: HYDERABAD
New-age sectors turning gurukuls
If you cannot find the right talent, then groom it yourself.
That seems to be the mantra of the new-economy businesses
today that are facing a severe shortage of skilled human
resource. Sectors like infrastructure, real estate, microfinance,
animation and organised retail have witnessed phenomenal
growth in the recent past, but the number of people trained
to work in these sectors has not grown much, resulting in
a huge talent crunch.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Newage_sectors_turning_gurukuls/articleshow/1951987.cms
PLACE: NEW DELHI
Individuals can stock up
"This gives investors more liberty to play in the forward
market and make good use of currency fluctuations, which
was earlier permitted only for institutions," N Subramanyam,
senior consultant, Basix Forex said. Six months back, the
RBI had raised the overseas investment limit for individuals
from then $25,000 to present $50,000 as well as the ceiling
on mutual funds was upped to $ 3 billion. Following this,
there has been substantial growth in overseas investments;
especially ultra high net worth investors are looking forward
to buy overseas equities and real estate.
http://www.businessstandard.com/banking/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=282338&subLeft=1&leftnm=2
PLACE: MUMBAI
Overseas PE funds help rich Indians diversify portfolio
Sitting in his Nariman Point office, 42-year-old chartered
accountant Gaurang Mehta (name changed) tracks his portfolio,
which has a handsome mix of blue chips, mid-caps and even
illiquid stocks. But, this high networth individual (HNI)
is also keen to diversify his investments into other assets
outside the country like the banking sector in China or
the real estate sector in Indonesia.
http://www.businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=282269&leftnm=0&subLeft=0&chkFlg=
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
PLACE: TEXAS
Investment Real Estate: Become An Expert and Become Rich
As a sophisticated real estate investor I spend hundreds
of hours analyzing markets to determine if it is a hot market
for our investors, almost as much time as I study the actual
properties. Invariably my analysis leads me away from my
own real estate market; in fact, the market we choose may
be thousands of miles from our office.
http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/20070425_investexpert.htm
PLACE: TEXAS
Leslie Louis Appelt, 'grandfather of industrial real estate,'
A&M benefactor, 88
Leslie Louis Appelt, a longtime Houston real estate industry
leader, World War II veteran, Texas A&M alumnus and
noted university benefactor, died Sunday at his home in
Bastrop of lymphatic cancer. He was 88.Appelt, who established
his real estate firm in 1957, developed a number of industrial,
commercial and retail sites, including the Jacintoport Industrial
Park at the Houston Ship Channel, the ColoVista Country
Club in Bastrop and the Kingwood development.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4745767.html
PLACE: IRELAND
Concerns for Irish property owners as Spanish stock falls
Spain had been immersed in a building bonanza since the
mid-1990s and many property companies on the Madrid stock
exchange saw their value phenomenally double over the past
year alone. But a saturated property market and rising interest
rates are expected to slow Spanish house price growth to
between 3% and 5% by the end of the year, from a high of
18.5% in late 2003. The sudden decline has in some cases
been highly dramatic, with share in one Spanish real estate
company falling by 60% this week. “This is the burst
of the Spanish real-estate bubble,” said Alberto Espelosin,
a strategist at Zaragoza, Spain-based Ibercaja Gestion,
which manages about €5bn in property.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=31234-qqqx=1.asp
PLACE: WASHINGTON
Terrorism Insurance Imperative for a Strong Commercial Real
Estate Market
If the terrorism insurance program were allowed to expire,
coverage would become largely unavailable and unaffordable,
and the gears of commercial real estate would grind to a
halt, according to the National Association of Realtors(R)
and the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,94220.shtml
PLACE: TEXAS
Chronicle Exposes Houston Business/Real Estate Developer's
First Amendment Exploits, Anti-Rights Side to Fight Back
with Sex
Beaumont trial attorney, Real Estate Developer and President
of Houston's Pacer-PSI, Brent Coon of Brent Coon Associates
opened fire - using his own special ammunition, the local
courtroom. Mr. Coon wants reporters for the month-old legal
journal Southeast Texas Record arrested. He requested bench
warrants against the journalists from local Judge Donald
Floyd.
http://www.houstonrealnews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=193947
PLACE: CAMBRIDGE
Harvard clashes with community over real estate
Just 10 years ago, Harvard University officials were scrambling
to restore Harvard's reputation, transforming it from an
underhanded real estate corporation to a world-renowned
research university advancing the public good. The Boston
Globe had just reported that the University had purchased
52 acres of land in Allston under the guise of a front company,
and outcry had erupted in City Hall and local living rooms.
http://www.pennindy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90&Itemid=1
PLACE: PHILADELPHIA
East Lycoming School District’s real estate tax collector
resigns
East Lycoming School District school board approved the
resignation of real estate tax collector Jane Mausteller
at Tuesday night’s meeting.“She resigned from
her elected position in the middle of her term,” business
manager David Maciejewski said. The board unanimously approved
the Lycoming County Center Collections Office to take over
Mausteller’s responsibilities. “The county is
offering services at 90 cents per bill,” Maciejewski
said. He said that making the switch could save the district
about $10,000 over the next four years. The board also made
a consensus that they would not support a foreign language
trip that could potentially take place in June of 2008.
The destination of the trip was not named.
http://www.sungazette.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=17457
PLACE: CANADA
Real Estate Sales Hot In Huron-Perth In March
March was a busy month for many real estate agents in Huron
and Perth Counties. The Huron-Perth Real Estate Board reports
152 properties sold last month. That's an increase of 19
per cent from February. The average price also jumped to
194 thousand dollars in March, from 188 thousand the previous
month. Real Estate Board president Cathie Szmon says new
listings are growing faster than sales, but that's balancing
out the market, which is still strong.
http://www.am920.ca/news.php?artID=19039
PLACE: WEST INDIA
Residential real estate outlook still gloomy
Sales of existing homes in Florida took another dive in
March, falling 28 percent from a year ago, according to
the latest report from the Florida Association of Realtors.
In Tampa Bay it was even worse with only 2,502 homes sold,
or 38 percent fewer than in March 2006... Sales of existing
condos dropped last month by 32 percent statewide and by
48 percent in Tampa Bay. The median sales price dipped 5
percent to $164,100. The real estate market has been in
a prolonged slump for more than a year, although prices
continued to rise until July 2006, despite slowing sales.
Now both factors are in free fall
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/04/23/daily18.html
PLACE: NEW YORK
Real estate appraisal a hard road for newbies
If you think you might like to become a real estate appraiser,
first read "How to Get Started in the Real Estate Appraisal
Business" by Daniel J. Nahorney. After you learn how
difficult it is to get started and the very low pay for
trainees who must acquire 2,000 experience hours, plus taking
training courses to qualify for the basic appraiser's exam,
you might consider another career.The author is not an appraiser,
but he interviewed many longtime successful appraisers who
responded with glowing reports about the wonders of the
appraisal profession.
http://www.upstatehouse.com/rss-display.php?id=inmannews62939
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