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NEW DELHI: The ambiguity on the smart city project which was announced in the previous budget continues with it getting no mention in the current budget, Ganesh Vasudevan, ceo, Indiaproperty.com

"The objective of the budget was - to improve the quality of life and to pass benefits to common man. To an extent the budget has succeeded in doing so. As expected the budget majorly focused on growth of infrastructure in the country. But the ambiguity on the smart city project which was announced in the previous budget continues with it getting no mention in the current budget.

Allocation of Rs 70,000 crore to Infrastructure sector, tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation, revitalising the PPP model for infrastructure development - are just some of the inclusions which will help growth of infrastructure and thereby the realty industry in the country. As seen in the past infrastructure projects have proven to be seeds for the growing realty industry in India as they direct housing and commercial developments towards them.

With Ahmedabad-Dhaulera Investment region and Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park now ready to get basic infrastructure, one can expect an increased interest from developers in the area.

6 crore housing units for rural and urban housing by 2022 is a positive move by the government towards fulfilling its agenda of housing for all by 2022 and filling the housing deficit in our country. Another highlight was the government's commitment towards controlling flow of black money in the country especially in property dealings and promoting cashless transactions. The flow of funds via electronic transactions will have a high impact on the realty industry and would bring the much needed transparency in our industry.

Even though there is a proposal to rationalise the capital gains taxes for the listings of REITs in the country, the details of the proposal were not specified during the budget.

We believe that an increase in the buying capacity of home buyers will help recover the realty industry in India. Even though the industry was expecting some additional tax exemptions for common man, saving of up to Rs 4,44,200 in a financial year will definitely motive property buyers."

Mumbai: The real estate industry, which had pinned high hopes on Union Budget 2015 for revival of the liquidity-starved sector, welcomed some of the proposals of finance minister Arun Jaitley, but said that there was no clarity on development of 100 smart cities. The industry leaders said the document also lacks serious incentives to boost the key sector. 

In the first full-year budget of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Jaitley proposed to rationalize the capital gains regime for the sponsors exiting at the time of listing of units of real estate investment trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and also announced creation of six crore homes to meet the centre’s “housing for all” vision. 

“Overall the budget’s direction is positive with several macro factors making way for a better economic regime. However, with three consecutive bad years for real estate that left developers and other stakeholders gasping for fresh air, the expectations were high. Unfortunately, the budget has not given them anything to cheer about,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India. 

“The budget announced the government’s intention to build six crore houses towards the “Housing for all by 2022” initiative. Specific details on this subject, however, were not elaborated on and neither was any light shed on the Sardar Patel Urban Housing Mission in terms of fund allocation, funding instruments and entities, exact timelines and project locations, among other factors,” said Anshuman Magazine, CBRE South Asia’s chairman and managing director.

Gera Developments’s managing director Rohit Gera said, “Though the budget is positive, it has completely ignored the residential real estate market and there is a total lack of any push for the housing sector. We had hoped for increased deduction towards home loans amongst other things to give an impetus to the industry.” “Given the prevailing indirect taxes, stamp duty, borrowing costs for both buyers and developers, the industry was hoping for some serious incentive given the significant housing shortfall, but it was one big miss. However, the industry is hopeful in the course of the year the government will make some announcement in this regard,” said Gera. 

Embassy Office Parks chief executive Mike Holland said, “Indications that tax pass through on REITs will be implemented is welcomed. We will await and review the detail but if the understanding is correct, this has the potential to stimulate the REIT market in India which can release lower cost capital, increase liquidity and stimulate the next phase of enhancement of India’s urban infrastructure.” 

“The budget is positive and balanced. The proposal to rationalise capital gains tax regime for REITs is a welcome step. Also, the reduction in corporate tax will lead to higher investments in the realty sector,” said Gaurav Gupta, director of Omkar Developers. 

“The decision on providing six crore urban and rural housing units, revisiting and revitalising the PPP model, increasing funding for infrastructure, introduction of predefined permissions regime and proposal to rationalise capital gains tax regime for REITs, will have a positive impact on the sector,” said Brotin Banerjee, managing director and chief executive of Tata Housing. 

The industry, however, said the budget lacks direction for development of 100 smart cities, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The budget did not provide any details on the initiative taken by the government for developing 100 smart cities. Factors such as how it will define these cities and which cities have been identified remain unclear. But increased allocations for rail-road development, penetration of education and training centres and push to Digital India initiative could contribute to the shaping of smart cities,” Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle. 

Indiaproperty.com CEO Ganesh Vasudevan said “the budget’s objective was to improve the quality of life and pass on benefits to the common man. To an extent the Budget has succeeded in doing so. As expected the Budget mainly focused on growth of infrastructure, but it had no mention of smart city project.”

Marathahalli situated in south eastern Bangalore is one of the fastest developing suburbs in Bangalore city largely driven by the IT Sector. Surrounded by the Outer Ring Road this locality has been strategically located close to the top IT corridors of Bangalore City. It is located next to the top developing localities in the city namely Whitefield and Electronic City. The development in these localities have propelled the growth in Marathahalli as well. Apart from the ORR (Outer Ring Road) the locality is served by Old Airport Road, National Highway 7, Sarjapur Road and the ITPL Road.

According to a report Solid Grounds Report by IndiaProperty.com, “Over the course of the last one year the residential property prices in Marathahalli has appreciated by over 20%. Buyers are shifting their attention from Whitefield to Marathahalli as this area is well connected to Whitefield and the going rate for properties here is 10% lesser than those in Whitefield. Ground water level here has dropped due to the influx of population into this area. Many residents here depend on tankers for water supply. This micro market possesses sound social infrastructure in terms of educational institutions, hospitals and malls. With improved infrastructure, Marathahalli will be well on its way to becoming one of Bangalore’s prominent real estate hub.”

he locality has excellent connectivity, but the growth in the IT sector has created a commercial/ retail real estate space in the locality like no other. The locality banks on the fact that it is a well-balanced residential and office space market which has resulted in a sudden surge in retail activity in the region. Properties in Marathahalli there are suitable both for investment and living purpose as the locality is a well-rounded locality. Price of apartments for sale in Marathahalli is anywhere between INR 3500 to 5000 per sq. ft.

Marathahalli has seen a lot of development in the past 5 years. This is one of the older localities or suburbs in the city and has been on the sidelines because of all the development in localities like Whitefield and Electronic City. However today older properties and construction in the area has given way for newer buildings and residential and commercial spaces in the city. As of today around 75% of projects in Marathahalli are apartments and the rest are independent homes or villas in the region. Mid segment housing in most in demand and buyers seem to eyeing properties in the price range of INR 35 to 50 lakhs. 2BHK properties of average unit size of 1200 sq. ft. has been the most popular form of investment.

This shows that the locality heavily relies on mid segment housing when it comes to the real estate sector. IT sector is what the real estate market as well as the rental market here. If you are looking to rent out a 2BHK apartment in the area, you must be prepared to shell out INR 15,000 to 20,000 per month.

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