MAY 24, 2007

NATIONAL NEWS

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Realty check- Foreign money in real estate is good

If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. And certainly not in bits and pieces. That is an adage that has been forgotten in the needless meddling that the country’s real estate sector has been witness to, of late. A week ago, restrictions were placed on the use of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) for the construction of integrated townships.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164999

PLACE: NEW DELHI

DLF likely to price offer at Rs550-600

DLF Ltd, the Delhi-based developer that is set to make an initial public offering (IPO), will likely price its shares between Rs550 and Rs600, helping it raise as much as Rs10,500 crore, in India’s biggest domestic share sale. People are not very comfortable about investing in DLF. There are other big IPOs lined up too. And I think people will prefer to subscribe to those IPOs than DLF since real-estate stocks have not been performing well,” he added.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/24000159/DLF-likely-to-price-offer-at-R.html

PLACE: MUMBAI

Home loan rates to stay hard for a while

Home loan borrowers may have to wait awhile before they see interest rates soften unless the Reserve Bank of India relaxes some of the fiscal curbs it has imposed on banks, Rajiv Sabharwal, Senior General Manager at ICICI Bank, and in-charge of its home loan division told the Hindustan Times. With loans no longer cheap, and the ongoing correction in real estate prices, the demand for home loans is also expected to slow down marginally, Sabhrawal said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=c8554657-f5b1-4aa3-a917-
9eb58775d50f&&Headline=Home+loan+rates+to+stay+hard+for+a+while

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Get real about the impossible trinity

Late last week, in order to check capital inflows into India, the ministry of finance modified its rules for external commercial borrowings (ECBs). It lowered the ECB interest rate ceiling (over Libor), and banned the use of ECBs for integrated townships in the real estate sector.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164995

PLACE: KOCHI

India-UAE relations on high note: Consul General

Indian Consul General in Dubai Venu Rajamony, today said the bilateral relations between India and the UAE was on a high note due to the recent initiatives propelled by the respective governments. '' UAE entrepreneurs were particular of investing in India in the fields of IT and real estate and Indian businessmen were coming forward to set up business at free-trade zones in the Emirates,'' Mr Venu said.

http://www.newkerala.com/news5.php?action=fullnews&id=32257

PLACE: CHENNAI

Align the education system with business verticals

Companies must provide opportunities for personal and professional development of employees – in-house or offsite – if they have to battle attrition. Some jobs are seen as hot, while some are not. Ms Khanna agrees, stating that jobs in IT that have requirements on specific technologies - like Web 2.0, SAP – are “really hot. The energy power and construction sector is getting hot, as are retail, real estate marketing, investment banking and portfolio management.”

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200705231652.htm

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Dollar Thrifty eyes 10% share of market

US car-rental firm Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. is looking to grab 10% of India’s car rental and leasing market by 2010, a senior company official said on Wednesday. Nijhawan Group has diversified interest in travel, finance and real-estate business. “10% market share is certainly very achievable for a brand,” Yves Boyer, the firm’s executive vice-president, international, told reporters.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/24001818/Dollar-Thrifty-eyes-10-share.html

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Financing Real Estate in India

It’s a huge figure we are looking at US$ 90 billion. That’s what Merrill Lynch forecasts that the Indian realty sector will grow to by 2015. As they say, no matter how thin you slice, there are always two sides. A growing economy comes with its own burdens creating demands on infrastructure and real estate.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/10192157/Financing-Real-Estate-in-India.html

PLACE: AHEMDABAD

Deco Light to diversify into panel mfg

Deco Light Ceramics Ltd, a Morbi-based vitrified ceramic tiles manufacturing company, has planned to diversify into the manufacturing of aluminum composite panels (ACPs), for which the company is also setting up a manufacturing facility involving an investment of Rs 3.35 crore. Currently, there are only three units which manufacture ACPs in the country. Being a new concept in India, the ACP segment offers a huge growth potential as real estate market is booming.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=237724

PLACE: MUMBAI

Acting too pricey

No Mumbai citizen will be surprised that a new report has ranked this city seventh in the list of the costliest locations in the world in terms of rent. The city’s infrastructure is bad enough, but even the quality of the real estate and the match-boxes that pass for apartments leave a lot to be desired.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1098706

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PLACE: ARIZONA

Law firm's new practice to address real estate problems

Shutts & Bowen LLP has launched a complex loan workout practice group to focus on clients who are grappling with the effects of a slowdown in the real estate market. For the new group, the law firm says it will use lawyers from its Orlando, South Florida and Tampa offices who are experienced in the fields of bankruptcy, creditors' rights, real estate, receiverships, taxation and litigation.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/05/21/daily28.html

PLACE: WASHINGTON

Wells Real Estate Files for IPO

Wells Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. on Wednesday filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $345 million in stock.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4830645.html

PLACE: NEW ZEALAND

Board Changes Pave Way for Real Estate Industry Reforms

The Government has appointed consumers advocate David Russell and a former justice minister to the board that licenses real estate agents in a further sign that it is serious about calling the industry to account. New chairman of the Real Estate Agents Licensing Board, Wellington barrister and a former Labour government minister, Bill Jeffries, plans to open up its hearings and decisions to the public.

http://www.newswire.co.nz/main/viewstory.aspx?storyid=374586&catid=3008

PLACE: UKRAINE

Brokerage unveils real estate fund

A leading Kyiv-based investment bank has announced plans to raise investments by floating shares of a newly established real estate fund on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investments Market (AIM).

http://www.kyivpost.com/business/general/26645/

PLACE: NEW YORK

Growth restrictions drive up Basalt real estate prices

The Basalt Town Council's conservative stance on development is having a marked impact on the midvalley market. A lack of housing inventory and government’s conservative stance on development is driving up real-estate prices in the midvalley, industry observer.

http://www.aspendailynews.com/article_19819

PLACE: NORTH CAROLINA

Austin real estate still going strong

Gains in occupancy and rental rates continue to paint a positive picture in the Austin apartment market. The local market saw occupancy creep up less than a percentage point in April to 93.38 percent -- the highest occupancy level of any of the major Texas markets, according to a new report from Texas real estate services firm O'Connor & Associates. Average rent per unit raised $2.05 in April to $794.23. The month also saw the absorption of 77 units for a total of 1,907 in the last 12 months.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2007/05/21/daily27.html

PLACE: NEW YORK

Will the International Real Estate Bull Market Hold Up?

It looks like green pastures to me. International governments, especially parts of the non-western world, continue to spend billions on infrastructure and real estate development projects, both residential and commercial. In Canada, the Edmonton real estate market is up almost 48% in 2007. And in China alone, 300 million farmers are forecasted to move from rural farmlands into major Chinese urban cities in the next two decades. So there’s a great demand for prime real estate in both small and robust foreign countries.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/36327

PLACE: NEW ZEALAND

David Russell joins real estate watchdog

A man well known for standing up for the rights of consumers will now be keeping real estate agents on their toes.Former Consumers' Institute chief executive David Russell has been appointed to the Real Estate Licensing Board.He is joined by barrister and Transport Accident Investigation Commission chief commissioner Bill Jeffries and real estate heavyweight Murray Giera.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=117990

PLACE: CANADA

Valley Man Faces 140 Felony Charges Stemming From Real Estate Fraud Case

Investigators say 54-year old Phillip Contreras conducted appraisals illegally by using his boss's license. Police call it the perfect scam because he used his employer's license and reputation. Phillip Contreras is accused of posing as a licensed real estate appraiser and forging his boss' signature on dozens of home appraisals.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=5332830

PLACE: CHICAGO

CoreNet Chicago: Silos Gone, Corporate Real Estate Pros Must Embrace Integration

IT cannot be separated from HR, which cannot be separated from corporate real estate," Nancy W. Hickley (pictured), senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Steelcase Inc., told a full room recently at the May luncheon meeting of the Chicago chapter of CoreNet Global, the national association for corporate real estate executives.

http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003589574