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Shares of the Bangalore-based real estate developer Sobha rose as much as 7 per cent to hit an intra-day high of ₹ 439.70 on the BSE after the company, post market hours on Thursday, said that it achieved best ever quarterly sales volume in December quarter. “Sales volume achieved during Q3-21 is the best ever quarterly sales volume reported by the company without any major launch during the quarter,” Sobha said in a press release. During the quarter, Sobha achieved total sales volume of 1,133,574 square feet of super built-up area valued at ₹ 888 crore, with a total average realization of ₹ 7,830 per square feet. Sales volume, total sales value are up by 27 per cent and 29 per cent respectively as compared to Q2-21. “Residential housing demand has gained traction as reflected in increase in mortgage loans given by home loan financing banks/ Fls/HFCs. As a result, large developers are outperforming their own previous sales volumes on a Q-o-Q basis. Healthy sales number...

Surge in prices of steel products that are used in the construction sector has an adverse impact on the real estate companies as these materials are now not in a position to pass the additional cost on their buyers and may witness shirking of margin by 4-6 per cent, realtors said on Tuesday. The steel prices have increased at a time when demand for property is slowly getting back on the track with the government measures and low interest-rate regime, they said. Price of construction steel or Thermo Mechanical Treatment (TMT) bars had recently touched ₹ 45,000 a tonne in some markets, which was at least 30-40 per cent higher than the rate in the pre-Covid period. TMT steel bars are generally used material in construction for enhanced protection against earthquake and another type of natural disasters. “The steel price rise is hurting the real estate companies as the property prices are under pressure. The additional cost will result in a shrink of gross margin by 5-6 per cent,” Bengal P...

India’s factory sector ended a rough 2020 on a stronger note as manufacturers boosted production to meet rising demand, a private survey showed on Monday, although the employment situation worsened as firms continued to reduce headcounts. Manufacturing has been one of the main engines driving a recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy after a coronavirus-induced slump early in the year. Business activity is slowly improving after contracting at an annual pace of 23.9 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively in the April-June and July-September quarters. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by IHS Markit, rose slightly to 56.4 in December from November’s 56.3, above the 50-level separating growth from contraction for a fifth month.”The latest PMI results for the Indian manufacturing sector continued to point to an economy on the mend, as a supportive demand environment and firms’ efforts to rebuild safety stocks underpinned anoth...

Ahead of the Budget, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) has urged the government to remove import duty on ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap. Currently, ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap attract basic customs duty (BCD) of 2.5 per cent. In its recommendations to Finance Ministry for the upcoming Budget for financial year 2021-22, ISSDA has also sought removal of import duty on graphite electrodes. ISSDA said “it has appealed to exempt the 2.5 per cent BCD levied while importing key raw materials, including ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap”. At present, both the raw materials are unavailable in the country, making their import mandatory, it said. Removal of duty on ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap is a long-standing demand of the industry. The Ministry of Steel has also at times batted for zero duty on these items. Stainless steel industry meets the bulk of its nickel requirements through ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap rout...

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that as part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), infrastructure projects worth ₹ 44 lakh crore are under implementation. While addressing the CII Partnership Summit 2020, the minister said that the national infrastructure pipeline encapsulates an investment of ₹ 111 lakh crore on infrastructure projects by the year 2024-2025. Currently, projects worth ₹ 44 lakh crore out of the ₹ 111 lakh crore, accounting for 40 per cent are under implementation, while projects worth ₹ 22 lakh crore account for 20 per cent are under development stages. He added that the framework of the NIP involves 39 per cent investment by the central government, 40 per cent investment by the states, and 21 per cent by the private sector. Under the national infrastructure pipeline, investments worth ₹ 25 lakh crore are envisioned in the energy sector, ₹ 16 lakh crore in irrigation, rural agricultu...

Some of the key transit infra projects in Bengaluru, including metro and roadways, will unlock possibilities for large-scale real estate development across 24 key locations in the city. It is estimated that 127 kilometres (km) of metro and 270 km of road projects are under various stages of construction in the city. Bengaluru Metro Phase 2, Extensions and New Lines are expected to be completed between 2021-2025. The major road projects – Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) and Suburban Rail Network are likely to be completed beyond 2025. All these projects are being implemented under various models at an estimated cost of more than $ 11.4 billion. These projects will bring new locations to the forefront and will also be instrumental in driving incremental real estate development across some of the well-established office hubs as also isolated locations which needed public transport connectivity. According to Knight Frank Research’s analysis,...

The government’s antitrust body on Wednesday conducted raids at offices of UltraTech Cement and two subsidiaries of the world’s largest cement maker LafargeHolcim, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. Swiss-based LafargeHolcim in a statement to Reuters confirmed officials visited the Mumbai offices of ACC and Ambuja Cements and said the companies were fully cooperating with the authorities, but could not comment further as the matter is ongoing. Several officers of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) were involved in search operations conducted simultaneously at multiple locations across the country, late into the evening, the sources said, asking not to be named because of the confidential nature of the raids. Searches were also conducted at company Shree Cement Ltd, a third source said.None of the Indian cement companies responded to Reuters requests for a comment. The CCI did not respond to a request for comment. The CCI does not make any details of ongoin...

Augmented by stamp duty cut and the festive season of Dusshera-Diwali, Mumbai recorded home sales volume at 9,301 units in November 2020, registering a 67 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise over the same month last year. At 9,301 units registered last month, the residential sector of Mumbai recorded the highest-ever registrations in the month of November over the last nine years, according to a recent report by Knight Frank India. The registration of residential properties last month witnessed a sharp increase of 67 per cent YoY to 9,301 units due to higher demand in festive season and reduction in the stamp duty by the Maharashtra government. The growth of 17 per cent month-on-month (MoM) last month comes after a 42 per cent MoM growth during October 2020 and 112 per cent MoM growth during September 2020, when the sales of residential property showed an upward trend after the COVID-19 lockdown. According to the report, the stamp duty cut of 300 bps (basis points) continues to propel the...

Before the pandemic, Mayank Vora, 34, and his wife were struggling to afford a one-bedroom apartment in one of Asia’s costliest cities. Now they are the proud owners of a two-bedroom home in a high-end residential complex on the outskirts of Mumbai they bought for ₹ 1.09 crore ($150,000). “What was unaffordable a few years back is now our dream come true,” Mr Vora said. “Everything fell into our budget this time.” They’re not the only one jumping in. Home sales in the city, India’s commercial capital, jumped to an eight year high in October, according to data from Knight Frank. It’s an abrupt turnaround for a market that’s spent three years in the doldrums after a prolonged shadow banking crisis strangled access to credit. At the end of June, prices in Mumbai were 0.45 per cent lower than the same quarter in 2018, according to data from the central bank. India isn’t alone in seeing a resurgence in property despite the grim econ...

The rate-sensitive banking, auto and realty stocks are trading firm after the Reserve Bank of India left key lending rates unchanged as expected and raised its GDP forecast. The Nifty Bank index – which gauges stocks of 12 major lenders in the country, including SBI and HDFC Bank – jumped as much as 1.81 per cent in the aftermath of RBI policy announcements. At 11:30 am, the Nifty banking index had strengthened by 0.8 per cent at 29,703.65, the Nifty auto index had gained 0.58 per cent to 9,299.20 and Nifty Realty index had added 0.03 per cent to 283.10. The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee maintained the key lending rate unchanged at 4 per cent today and revised its projection for real GDP growth at -7.5 per cent for financial year 2020-21.

S&P Global Ratings on Monday retained its forecast of 9 per cent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal year, saying even though there are now upside risks to growth but it will wait for more signs that COVID infections have stabilised or fallen. S&P, in its report on Asia Pacific, projected the Indian economy to grow at 10 per cent in the next fiscal. “We retain our growth forecast of negative 9 per cent in fiscal 2020-2021 and 10 per cent in fiscal 2021-2022. While there are now upside risks to growth due to a faster recovery in population mobility and household spending, the pandemic is not fully under control. “We will wait for more signs that infections have stabilised or fallen, together with high-frequency activity data for the fiscal year third quarter, before changing our forecasts,” S&P said. According to the official data released last week, the Indian economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing ...

The infrastructure output contracted 2.5 per cent in October from a year earlier, falling for an eighth straight month, government data on Friday showed. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors including coal, crude oil and electricity and accounts for nearly 40 per cent of industrial output, contracted 13 per cent in the seven months through October from a year earlier, the data showed.

The registration of residential properties in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) during October rose 36 per cent year-on-year at 7,929 units on higher demand during festive season and reduction in stamp duty by the Maharashtra government, according to Knight Frank. Knight Frank India on Monday released a report ‘Mumbai Residential Snapshot October 2020’ that analyses Residential sales for the MMR. The registrations in October 2020 rose by 42 per cent month-on-month and 36 per cent year-on-year, the property consultant said. Home sales volume in Mumbai stood at 7,929 units in October 2020 and were boosted by stamp duty cut and festive period of Navratri and Dussehra, Knight Frank said. The demand, which was badly hit during April-June due to lockdown to control COVID pandemic has improved from July onwards. “At 7,929 units registered in October 2020, the residential sector of Mumbai recorded the highest ever registrations in the month of October over the last eight years,...

India’s infrastructure output in September contracted 0.8 per cent from a year earlier, government data released on Thursday showed. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors including coal, crude oil and electricity and accounts for nearly 40 per cent of industrial output, contracted 14.9 per cent in the six months through September from a year earlier, the data showed.

The Supreme Court today adjourned a hearing in the matter of waiving “interest on interest” on loans up to ₹ 2 crore, frozen during a six-month moratorium granted because of the coronavirus crisis, to Wednesday. The top court was due to hear the matter on Tuesday on a waiver of interest on deferred EMIs – or interest on interest – to help small borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic, after it told the government last week that its affidavit “fails to deal with several issues raised by petitioners” and asked for more details from the RBI and centre on their plan to help the borrowers. The outcome of the case could have far-reaching consequences not only for millions of borrowers, but also for banks. The government has already told the court it would waive the compound interest on loans up to ₹ 2 crore under a COVID-19 support plan, in a move that will bring relief to millions of borrowers. It has also said it would not be possible to further supplem...

State Bank of India on Wednesday announced a concession of up to 20 basis points – or 0.20 percentage point – on home loans, in a bid to attract homebuyers in the ongoing festive season. The scheme is applicable to loans for houses worth more than ₹ 30 lakh and up to ₹ 2 crore. The latest scheme doubles the concession offered by SBI in an existing festive season offer. SBI said the concession will now also be applicable to customers borrowing up to ₹ 3 crore in eight metro cities.  Under the scheme, SBI will provide a concession of 20 basis points (0.2 percentage point) on home loans above ₹ 75 lakh, and an additional 5 basis points on applications made through the YONO app. Therefore, those applying for a home loan during the applicable period using the mobile app will get an effective concession of 25 basis points.  In other words, borrowers will get a 25-bps concession in the applicable interest rate on home loans of more than ₹ 75 lakh if applied through mobile...

Brookfield Asset Management will buy an Indian developer’s commercial properties for $2 billion, the biggest real estate deal in the South Asian nation. The Canadian asset manager is acquiring 125 lakh square feet of rent-yielding offices and co-working spaces from RMZ Corporation, the privately held developer said in a statement on Monday. The Indian firm said it will have zero debt after the transaction and will use the money to expand its portfolio. Large foreign investors are buying into the Indian office market in recent years. Since 2011, the segment has garnered $15.4 billion of equity investments, according to property research firm Knight Frank. Blackstone last week signed a non-binding agreement to buy some assets, a deal Bloomberg News previously reported could be worth $2 billion. The transaction “accentuates the unabating strength and resilience of the commercial office business,” Arshdeep Singh Sethi, RMZ’s managing director, said in the statement. ...

In order to promote the housing sector, Reserve Bank of India on Friday decided to rationalise risk weightage on housing loans, making the product attractive for both borrower and lenders. With revision in the risk weightage, the requirement of capital provision for banks will come down. This will encourage banks to push housing loan products with attractive features. “Recognising the criticality of the real estate sector in the economic recovery, given its role in employment generation and the interlinkages with other industries, it has been decided, as a countercyclical measure, to rationalise the risk weights by linking them only with Loan to Value (LTV) ratios for all new housing loans sanctioned up to March 31, 2022,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said. Such loans shall attract a risk weight of 35 per cent where LTV is less than or equal to 80 per cent, and a risk weight of 50 per cent where LTV is more than 80 per cent but less than or equal to 90 per cent, he said. Thi...

After getting battered badly during the Covid-19 lockdown between April and June, the real estate sector is slowly picking up as the number of new launches and sales have increased in the last three months in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) says a report by Knight Frank India, a real estate consultancy firm. In the MMR, 7,635 housing units were sold in July to September period compared to 2,687 units sold during April to June quarter. In the pre-Covid-19 quarter (January to March), the number of housing units sold were 15,959. The MMR includes Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane as well as parts of Palghar and Raigad districts. Rajani Sinha, chief economist and national director (research), Knight Frank India, described it as an encouraging trend. “The recent cut of stamp duty by 3 percent has been a big motivation for many of the buyers. In addition, the low interest rates on home loans plus the freebies and discounts offered by the builders have all resulted in increase in sales,” said S...

Angel Broking’s ₹ 600 crore initial public offering (IPO) will list on the bourses on Monday i.e. October 5, 2020 at 10:00 am. The IPO had received a muted response from the investing community. The public offer of the broking firm was subscribed 3.94 times, receiving bids for 5.4 crore equity shares as against the offer size of 1.37 crore equity shares, as per data available with the stock exchanges. The retail category was subscribed 4.31 times, qualified institutional buyers portion received 5.74 times subscription and non-institutional investors category, 69 per cent. Angel Broking IPO was open for bidding between September 22 and September 24, 2020. The public offer consisted of a fresh issue of ₹ 300 crore and an offer for sale of ₹ 300 crore. The lead managers for the share offering were ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Capital and SBI Capital Markets, whereas Link Intime India was the registrar to the issue.