NAFIS, Shabbir Husain

Source Business Standard (India):

• Dawnay Day International, the $10 billion UK-based investment company, is planning to invest $1.5 billion in the booming Indian real estate sector in the next two years.

• Dawnay Day has entered into a joint venture with a Bangalore-based family to develop a mixed property development including office and retail on 16 acres with an investment of Rs 400 crore. Dawnay Day India Land, headed by MK Singh, will execute the project.

• G Naggar, chairman of Dawnay Day International, said, “Though realty prices are cooling down and interest rates are going up, Indian real estate space is very interesting. We want to actively develop properties by forming JVs with landowners, apart from outright purchase, consortium tendering/auctions. We will be part of India’s development and growth and will invest in property and infrastructure projects across India’s geography.”

• Unlike Europe where Dawnay Day is mostly into development of commercial space, the firm would focus on residential development in India, Naggar said.

• “We like to invest mostly in commercial development. But, we want to focus on the enormous opportunity in the residential development equally in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Finding the right partner and the right property is our priority,” he said.

• Dawnay Day is even exploring possibilities in warehousing, as the group sees a lot of potential in the sector in wake of burgeoning organised sector in the country.

• On the Indian real estate sector, Naggar said, “With rising interest rates and inflation on one side and rapidly developing Indian economy on the other, realty prices should soon stabilise. This cooling off and drop in the stock prices of realty firms provides an excellent opportunity for us to invest in realty projects, including integrated townships.”

• The UK-based companies has three subsidiaries in India — financial services provider and advisory firm Dawnay Day AV India, Dawnay Day Hotels India and real estate development firm Dawnay Day India Land.

• Dawnay Day Hotels India has plans to invest $200 million to build 10-15 hotels in the next three years. It has acquired properties in four cities — Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Jaipur — and are close to finalising deals to buy properties in three other cities.

Dawnay is surely trying to capitalise on the shortage of ~19.4 million housing units, including ~6.7 million units in urban India, hence it makes sense for them to invest in residential spaces in India than in commercial.

Seems like foreign investors in the Indian reality sector are mushrooming at the same pace as Web 2.0 companies, both wanting a bite of their respective spaces.

With so much money and so many players, in the reality sector, it would be interesting to see how the developers differentiate themselves from one another based on cost, amenities, payment facilities, brand name, transparency, quality, customer service et… One’s mistake will be other’s advantage. I am sure the firms will be working hard not to make a mistake and loose credibility and market share.

Other posts related to Real-Estate.

Source Business Standard (India) :

• India Inc’s booming realty sector is triggering an unprecedented demand for real estate analysts.

• Demand for analysts, experts and consultants is not only emerging from brokerage houses and advisory companies, but also from merchant bankers, media, aviation and big corporate houses, which plan to develop their land-banks.

• There, however, exists a shortage of professionals. According to Jai Mavani, executive director, KPMG India, “This is because, traditionally, the sector was opaque and did not have the scale and institutional involvement. After companies started hitting the markets and more realty-based financial products rolled out, the need for superior research and financial engineering arose.”

• KPMG has a team of 25-30 professionals, who specialise in real estate.

• This year, students of the Indian School of Business were flooded with lucrative offers from real estate consultancies and finance companies.

• Mutual funds are also gearing up for infrastructure and real estate schemes, even though the latter has not yet received the regulator’s nod. UTI Mutual Fund has already hired experts for infrastructure and would be exploring real estate schemes, once permitted.

• Leading private airline Jet Airways is also scouting for real estate experts to gear up its proposed pilot training institute project.

• The demand for analysts grew significantly after the realty sector was opened to foreign investment and companies tapped domestic and global capital markets to raise funds. Kirti Dalvi of Angel Broking feels that compared with other sectors, real estate analysts have to focus more on valuation part of the company.

• “Valuing a land bank is different from the process followed in other sectors. A fresh talent choosing this area has to spend much time in adopting these skills. Few years back, this was not seen as a drawback, but now companies highly appreciate these skills,” she said.

• On the remuneration front too, analysts are having a good time. An analyst with 2-3 years of experience is drawing anywhere between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.

Seems like a boom time for analysts and real estate agents. Each time foreign money starts to flow in the country, the sector sees a growth in the demand for professionals – IT, real estate, tax planners, financial consultants are a few examples. A similar trend might be on the rise in the retail setor too. Professionals with sourcing, logistics and distribution experiences will in high demand.

Other posts related to Real-Estate.