NEW YEAR BUMPER ISSUE
38
pages 5, 11, 13
RWA INITIATIVES
page15
MANESAR
page19
TIME TO BUY THAT HOME
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAYANTO/ABHIMANYU
THIS ONE IS MEANT JUST FOR YOU H
MPD 2021
PAGES
N EW D E L H I , S AT U R DAY F E B R UA RY 0 4 , 2 0 1 2 , 2 0 PA G E S w w w. h i n d u s t a n t i m e s . c o m
ello readers, and a very happy 2012 to you! We’re celebrating the start of this new year with a focus on ... YOU. We know you have big dreams and what features strongly in that is a home of your own, and you are prepared to expend your energy, time and resources to make this dream come true. So, in 2012, HT Estates, starting with this bumper anniversary edition, will focus on the aam aadmi. Over the next two weeks, you will travel with banker Gulshan and his entrepreneur wife Pragati (pictured above) as they hunt for their perfect home in the Delhi NCR region. Gulshan and Pragati, like many of you, have been renting for all of their married life, saving every penny to buy a home. Now is their time. Will they find a home that fits their budget and their needs in a
what’sinside
part of the city that has schools, hospitals, a Metro connection and enough markets to meet all their requirements? Will they find a home they love AND can afford? Find out over the next two weeks. There is some good news for them. The outlook for the Indian real estate sector for 2012 is mixed but one thing is clear .... this is the right time to buy. There is also word from the government that the economy will start looking up and there is news that an interest rate cut is imminent. For those who are buying property for self use, the news is all good. Especially those in the mid-segment market. For those with the cash to indulge in the luxury or premium segment, expect your dream of owning a house to be realised soon. — Team HT Estates
Waiting to buy a house in Delhi NCR? Begin your search now as interest rates may be lowered, advises Vandana Ramnani
G
ulshan and Pragati’s landlord recently increased the rent by the usual 10%. Fed up with pouring all that rent money down a bottomless pit, the couple have now decided to start looking for a house of their own, hoping that interest rates would have come down by the time they finalise a purchase. If caution dictated the homebuyers’ purchase decision in 2011, this year may see some regaining confidence and moving fast to sign on the dotted line if interest rates soften, inflation is reined in to some extent, and if the job market shows signs of improvement. Like Gulshan and Pragati, it’s time for many sitting on the fence to take the plunge. One should not expect significant price movement this year but the number of transactions should go up. The prices will remain stable, but the volumes will improve and that is the key for the residential real estate market in 2012, says Pranay Vakil, chairman of Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy. Also, with the apex bank hinting at softening its stance
on interest rates, many buyers could be returning to the negotiating table. The Reserve Bank of India hiked the lending rate by almost 13 times in 18 months, which had impacted builders and kept homebuyers at bay. Incidences of new launches will decline. Rise in capital values will be marginal because of low sales but that will also depend on the area and location being considered. “Project-specific price increases can be expected across all sub-markets – this pertains especially to projects that are being delivered or are nearing completion. The mid-end and affordablehousing segments will record appreciation in capital values in the short term from a low base,” points out Ashutosh Limaye, head - research and real estate intelligence service, Jones Lang LaSalle India. The R3000 to R5000 per sq ft market will continue to do well, depending on the area. However, to make housing more affordable, some developers may resort to reduction in unit size, says Geetamber Anand, vice president, CREDAI. Homebuyers have a wide
Sohna Road
Kundli
Manesar
Golf Course Road
What’s the right choice: Explore some of Delhi NCR’s hottest destinations to make your final decision
choice before them if their budget is anything between R40 lakh to R70 lakh. They could choose from completed, soon-to-be-completed or even new launches in areas such as Sohna Road, Golf Course Road, Dwarka Expressway, Manesar, areas in Ghaziabad
and Noida. Also, Delhi’s new Master Plan 2021 has the potential of unlocking a supply of approximately 15 lakh residential units, expected to come up in five new zones. Delhi will throw up the largest supply of housing in the R20-lakh
and R36-lakh price band. That will lead to rationalisation of residential prices in the surrounding areas. According to Anshul Jain, CEO of DTZ India, the moment mortgage rates are down, end users will flock to the market, releasing more
money into it. By the end of the third quarter this year, there will be more activity and real supply in Delhi NCR. The biggest challenge, however, will be the execution and timely delivery of projects. vandana.ramnani@hindustantimes.com