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CREDAI seeks stress on infrastructure development

July 12th, 2010

Infrastructure is a key issue that has to be addressed if urban gridlock is to be avoided, says Kumar Gera, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI).

He says that according to reports, the population in cities will grow by 60 per cent by 2030.

In five States, the urban population will be larger than in rural areas. By 2030, an estimated 70 per cent of the country’s GDP will come from cities. In such a scenario, infrastructure is hugely important and if it is not addressed, there would be a gridlock. Hence, “greater focus is needed on infrastructure.”

In India, unlike in developed countries, real estate is not part of infrastructure development, which includes roads, power and water.

Affordable housing, play areas and institutions were also real estate-related infrastructure.

Typically, in Indian cities, infrastructure comes after development and thus pushes the prices up in those areas. Those who are unable to afford the cost, had to look to areas with less infrastructure where prices were lower.

In States such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan, developers are encouraged to go in for townships that include infrastructure. On demand in the real estate sector, Mr. Gera says there was a slowdown about a year ago. Real estate came to a standstill in terms of sales and prices did come down by 10 per cent to 40 per cent. Prices had not returned to the earlier levels yet. They have started moving up. Demand for residential units is buoyant in most places.

 

News Published Under:  The Hindu

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Posted in India Real Estate, Infrastructure Development, Real Estate

Floating rate: old borrowers take the hit

February 5th, 2010

If you have taken a home loan in recent years, you may be paying higher interest rates between 10 per cent and 13 per cent, whereas new borrowers are charged 8-8.25 per cent for the first two or three years and later on at around 9 per cent (as per prevailing rates then), which may be still much less.

Being a loyal customer who has been paying EMIs (equated monthly instalments) for the past few years, ideally the lender should have rewarded you by charging interest a notch less than that charged to the new customer.

The floating rate home loans are benchmarked to PLR (Prime Lending Rate) or Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR).

The PLR is defined as “the lowest rate of lending offered for the most preferred borrower and for such loans which are fully secured.”

A committee headed by Executive Director was formed by the RBI felt that there was much less transparency in fixing the PLR and it recommended to do away with PLR and introduce a base rate comprising of all cost elements which can be identified and are common across borrowers.

The committee recommended charging the same rate of interest for new borrowers as well as old borrowers under floating rate loans.

When it was expected that the woes of lakhs of home loan borrowers would end, the leading bankers aired their inability to charge same rate of interest for all borrowers old and new, under floating rate home loans.

The RBI officials clarified that since incremental funds have brought down average cost of funds for banks, why cannot they pass on the benefit to old customers.

Some bankers have expressed the fear that offering same interest rate for all borrowers may invite legal disputes as interest spreads (loans offered at PLR-2%, PLR -3% and so on) varied from customer to customer.

The RBI should help set right the injustice meted out to existing borrowers.

News Published Under:  The Hindu

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Low-down on loans

January 22nd, 2010

As we enter the new calendar year, the focus is once again on the interest rates. This time, unlike last year, the rates are showing mixed signs. While deposit rates have already dipped, the lending rates haven’t kept pace with them.

Even banks are playing the waiting game and have created innovative products. That makes life tough for the borrowers as they need to take an informed decision. Here are some tips for choosing your loan:

Many banks have launched hybrid loans wherein the rate is fixed in the first year of the loan period but is linked to the market rate from the second year onwards. Here, the assumption is that the rate would go up at a later date though chances of the rate coming down are not ruled out. For instance, some banks have pegged the first year rate at eight per cent. One of the reasons why the rate could be higher from the second year onwards is the linkage of the rate to the benchmark lending rate which still hovers around 10-11 per cent.

In the last few years, though banks have reduced the lending rate on special products, they have not cut down the benchmark rate. So, Barring home loans, most other loans such as personal loans or overdraft facility continue to attract an interest rate of over 14 per cent. Hybrid loans will be suitable for individuals who are looking at home loans with a tenure of less than 10 years.

Since the interest component of an EMI is large in the initial years, it will be profitable to go for this option even if the lower interest is for a period of one year.

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Builders see bright prospects for 2010

December 31st, 2009

Next to the information technology industry, it was the housing and real estate sector that was the talking point of 2009.

The long-term players in the field took a wait-and-watch approach, and they believe that it was worth waiting.

The prospects for 2010 look bright, say the builders in unison. As the heady prices of the boom period came down, people heaved a sigh of relief. It was good because a market correction was necessary, says K. Lava, managing director, Skyline SFS.

A fair price range is important for the market, he adds. And the way the market had boomed, the sector had become a playfield for all comers out to make some easy money. Now that the mad rush has died down over the last one year, only the strong players who have solid finances and a record of timely completion of projects continue in the field.

The white-collar workforce in the country looks at a car as the first priority and then comes housing, Mr. Lava says. The automobile industry started picking up by mid-2009, while the housing sector saw good momentum by October this year, he adds.

The Union Finance Minister has said that there has been a good growth during the year, surpassing the estimates. This reflects all-round growth, Mr. Lava says.

The property sector, one of the major contributors to growth, cannot be left behind. This is not a sector people can ignore, says M.D. Jairaj, managing director of Jairaj Builders.

Lessons

Some important lessons that the builders have learnt is the pricing of property. There is definitely more demand for houses with areas between 800 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft that cost between Rs.20 lakh and Rs.35 lakh. Many builders have turned to make more offerings in this category.

There is more movement in smaller size homes, but an all-round demand for all categories of houses was experienced in the latter part of the year, Mr. Jairaj says.

More demand will automatically come through by March when stocks will finish by the end of this financial year, says George E. George, managing director, Infra Housing.

The recession has brought down the prices to an affordable level, perhaps. These prices are likely to continue into the next year. Prices have become steady and the better prospects in store are not likely to raise them, Mr. George says. The recessionary trend has been good in the sense that there is more stability in pricing compared to the boom period when prices had gone up sky-high. The builders see the growth in metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai as a benchmark for better prospects for the property market in the coming year. They are on the upward track in the two cities and Bangalore has also started reflecting the same momentum. So, the effect on smaller cities such as Kochi is also expected to be on the same track, Mr. George says.

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Posted in Kerala Real Estate, Real Estate

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A closer look at repayment options

December 15th, 2009

Housing loan seekers must analyse whether the special repayment options offered are beneficial. 
For many customers of home loans, the EMIs (equated monthly instalments) remain constant throughout the tenure. For example, if a loan of Rs.20 lakh is taken at nine per cent interest and the tenure fixed is 15 years, then the EMI will be Rs.20,286 throughout the tenure if the interest rate is not altered.

However, these days, banks and home finance companies offer a number of repayment options, which are a bit complex. Here is an effort to analyse them.

SURF

If you are a professional seeking a home loan and having good employment, no bank or home finance companies will like to lose you as a customer.

They will lure you with a higher loan amount by offering a telescopic repayment facility, also called as the step-up repayment facility (SURF), under which the EMIs will be less initially and will gradually increase over fixed intervals.

Let us suppose you are eligible for a loan of Rs.20 lakh under the regular scheme with EMIs of Rs.20,286 for 15 years at nine per cent interest. Under SURF, you will be eligible for Rs.25 lakh for the same tenure and interest, but the EMI will be Rs.18,750 for the first 24 months, Rs.25,357 for the next 60 months and Rs.29,325 for the balance 96 months.

On the face of it, it looks attractive. For a higher loan, the initial EMIs are less. But it is beneficial to the lender and not you, as in the first two years, the lender will be collecting only interest. As a result, the total interest payable over 15 years will be 10 per cent more than in the normal scheme.

For a loan of Rs.25 lakh under the regular scheme, the total interest payable will be Rs.2,064,133 in 15 years, whereas in SURF, the total interest payable will be Rs.2,286,608, an additional interest of Rs.2,22,475. Hence SURF scheme is not advisable.

FLIP

If you are applying for a home loan with your father/mother who is left with less service (or if your service left is less than 15 years and your wife has more service left), in the regular scheme, your loan eligibility will be less as the tenure offered will be restricted to the service left for the elder applicant.

Under these circumstances, the flexible loan instalment plan (FLIP) comes in handy. It works the exact reverse of the SURF scheme. In the initial years (up to the retirement of elder applicant) EMIs will be higher and for the balance period, the EMIs will be much lesser.

For instance, a man is left with five years of service with a salary of Rs.40,000 a month and his wife has 12 years’ service and her salary is Rs.25,000 a month. In the normal scheme, the couple will be eligible for a loan of Rs.12.5 lakh for five years’ tenure, considering 40 per cent of the combined income towards EMI and interest rate of nine per cent. If you opt for FLIP, the eligibility will get enhanced to Rs.16.5 lakh. For the first five years, the EMI will be Rs.26,000 approximately, and for the balance seven years, it will be Rs.10,000.

This scheme is advisable as applicants will get a higher loan amount and end up paying lesser interest compared to regular schemes.

Home saver account

In the regular home loan, you go on paying EMIs comprising interest and principal amount. It is a non-transactional account. In the home saver account, the home loan account is made transactional by connecting it to a current account. It works like an overdraft facility and the borrower can park his surplus savings in the home saver account and can withdraw the surplus as per his needs.

Till the surplus (other than EMI) amount is lying in the account, it will earn same interest as that of loan. Such interest earned is accounted as principal loan amount repaid on a daily product basis. In this scheme, one can save a lot of interest payable on home loan as tenure reduces considerably. The scheme is ideal for business class applicants, who will have a current account for their business deals, which earns no interest and will have a high turnover on daily basis. The scheme can be opted for by high net-worth individuals who can keep surplus funds parked in their home loan account.

Accelerated repayment

Under this scheme, the borrower is allowed to increase his EMIs as and when his income is increased and he can pay lumpsum amounts, which will be apportioned to the principal loan outstanding. In this scheme, the loan gets repaid faster resulting in a lot of savings in interest payment and the long-term debt closes much earlier.

This scheme is good for salaried class borrowers, as whenever they get an increment, or disposable income is increased, they can use it for increasing the EMI amount or use it for part prepayment.

The banks and the home finance companies will try to lure you by offering many special schemes, saying that the scheme is custom-made for you and will try to push you to seek a higher loan amount. This is because there is surplus credit available and fierce competition among banks and home finance companies is making it difficult for the lenders to attract good customers.

Hence, before finalising the option, the customer needs to thoroughly analyse whether the special repayment option offered is really beneficial.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

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Posted in Kerala Real Estate, Real Estate

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Meeting the aspirations of the budget buyer

December 5th, 2009

The recessionary phase has, perhaps, made the builders change strategy and think of offering projects to people on the lookout for budget homes.

For this segment, a rather big one, the priority is owning a house and luxuries such as a swimming pool or a spa are low on the agenda. The builders here had not addressed this need well earlier.

Their target had been mostly the non-resident Indians who had funds to invest in property. But with the recession making this section delay new investments, the builders seem to have found a new market in the budget section.

Late entry

“It is not really true that builders have ignored the budget segment,” says Jayanthan Namboothiri, managing partner of Lotus Properties. The concept of flats has made a late entry into Kerala.

The upper segment of society readily accepted it and the builders were ready to meet the requirements of this section with luxury amenities.

These include anything apart from the basic flat and facilities.

What adds to the cost are facilities such as swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, a jogging track, a private jetty if it is a waterfront project, a health club, a spa and so on.

The budget buyers have looked upon living in flats as a luxury which they cannot afford.

The budget and low-budget flats have made a mark during the recessionary period. A major problem during the boom time has been the skyrocketing prices of land, Mr. Namboothiri says. Many people are interested in buying flats with areas of about 1,000 sq ft and prices in the range of Rs.25-30 lakh. Rajeev Kumar Cheruvara, director, Apple a Day Properties, says that there is a large segment for whom housing is a need and not an investment. The construction sector has failed to address the needs of this segment, he says, as most builders were not offering products that the end-user really needs. In many other industries, the profit margins range from 20-50 per cent, perhaps, but in the construction sector, the boom time has given builders 200-300 per cent margins, he adds.

Corrective measure

The recession is actually a corrective measure so that there are houses available at affordable prices, Mr. Cheruvara says. A good number of families have combined annual incomes ranging between Rs.4 lakh and Rs.6 lakh each.

A sum of Rs.25 lakh is the maximum that they can afford for a house.

Builders should have products with prices ranging from Rs.6 lakh to Rs.1 crore so that it can cater to all segments. There needs to be products that range from the popular to the premium in the housing sector, he adds.

A large number of people in the lower segment of society continue to build houses themselves on small plots of land.

Mr. Cheruvara says that one-bedroom villas at affordable rates will attract that segment.

A person who likes to build a house on three cents of land will be attracted. All these need to be without frills as people in this segment are looking for shelter and not luxury.

Though food, clothing and shelter are the basic needs of man, shelter has become rather speculative, he says. This is because the product is being designed for speculation.

Such affordable housing is usually found a little away from the city, maybe 6 km to 10 km away or even more. But some builders have started offering budget flats even in prime locations.

Anil Gopinath, marketing manager of Galaxy Homes, says, “We have found a good demand for two-bedroom apartments for Rs.10-15 lakh going up to a maximum of Rs.30 lakh. Two-bedroom flats with areas of 600 sq ft each have a good demand if built in the city. The location and price both have to appeal to the customers.”

These flats will have basic facilities and security but will be devoid of luxury amenities. Such housing will be a relief to a large number of people who find it difficult to build a home.

Low awareness

Mr. Namboothiri believes that awareness of living in flats is low in villages. This can be one reason that people feel reticent about approaching the builders.

It is people in urban areas who have picked up flats built in panchayat areas.

A change in attitude is, perhaps, round the corner and the builders catering to the segment believe that the demand in this segment is bound to increase slowly.

Mr. Cheruvara says that if affordable property is built, there will definitely be a buyer.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

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Posted in Kerala Real Estate, Real Estate

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Commercial spaces in high demand

November 10th, 2009

The recovery in the realty sector nationwide is leading to an upward trend in urban rental values. For almost a year, the economic slowdown had a negative impact on the growth prospects of commercial spaces.

Today, for instance in Kozhikode, the scene is vibrant with more commercial buildings coming up even on the outskirts of the city. The shortage of commercial spaces has forced builders to set up projects in new areas, such as the mini bypass and the n ew Ramanattukara-Malaparamba bypass. Some have already drawn up plans to establish hotels and business-related ventures on the upcoming stretch from Malaparamba to Vengalam.

Property developers say the Vengalam-Ramanattukara bypass will witness a big growth in terms of commercial and residential projects. The availability of space will give the stretch a boost to real estate business. Besides, the place will be free from traffic chaos.

Builders say that land is not available in the centre of the city for constructing shopping malls. So, they are forced to develop new commercial sites on the bypass. A multitude of projects ranging from star hotels, showrooms and supermarkets are coming up from Thondayad to the Malaparamba junction. This is a strategic location and has good connectivity.

The ‘hi-lite’ group is coming up with ‘hi-lite’ Hills, a commercial and residential project. The ‘hi-lite’ Plaza will have office spaces in two towers with over 10-lakh sq ft of built-up space. The towers, each of eight storeys, will be equipped with all amenities and a corporate ambience suited for all kinds of commercial enterprises. Among the advantages is a peaceful working environment.

It will have 100-plus office spaces with areas starting from 750 sq ft. The first tower will be completed in July 2011. The selling rate is Rs.4,500 a sq ft.

The company hopes that the area will accommodate information technology parks, multi-specialty hospitals and star hotels. One of the reasons for such expectations is that Kozhikode accounts for a large volume of remittances from Non-Resident Indians. Further, the city is known for its strong trading class.

Back to investing

People who have made a fortune in West Asia have forayed into new ventures here. Many have started investing in businesses in new regions. The recession in Dubai and Kuwait has made many invest in shopping complexes here. Business enterprises are not so risky in the State. Moreover, it offers a steady income. Banks are also willing to finance new projects, they say.

The slowdown has forced many multinational companies and retail giants to stop business in the city almost a year ago. But now they are retuning to reinvent their businesses. The businesses run by local companies might have had gone through a rough patch but they have emerged stronger.

Today, the rental rate quoted at shopping malls in the heart of the city ranges from Rs.200 to Rs.300 a sq.ft. This is high even in comparison with the rates prevailing in the market during the real estate boom in 2007.

However, commercial spaces are available at nominal rates in the range of Rs.15 to Rs.50 a sq ft in areas such as Malaparamba, Nadakkavu, Karaparamba and West Hill. The rental rate at prime locations such as Mavoor Road is above Rs.100 a sq.ft. It is also high near Malabar Christian College Road, Arayadathupalam, YMCA Cross Road, Railway Station Link Road, Eranhipalam and Annie Hall Road.

The rates are soft in residential areas such as Chinthavalappu, Chalappuram, Karikkamkulam, Bilathikulam, Mankavu and East Hill. Warehouses are available at cheaper rates in areas adjoining the main junctions on Beach Road or at West Hill.

A year ago, many private banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and telecom players have started looking for commercial spaces away from the din of the city. Most did not want to remit high floor rates. Others wanted locations close to residential areas. Today, they believe their strategy has worked. House owners having plots adjacent to National Highways, especially on Kannur Road (National Highway no.17), try to sell their land to developers or construct office spaces. The trend is seen in other parts of the city as well. They hope that the positive outlook will spur growth and end the shortage of commercial space.
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Posted in Kerala Real Estate, Real Estate

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Waiving pre-closure penalty will ease burden on borrowers

October 29th, 2009

At a time when Indian households have been forced to cough up more for their monthly living needs, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seems to have come to their aid. Last week, the Central Bank, for the first time, has indicated that it is not comfortable with the penalty being charged by banks for pre-closure of loans.

According to media reports, the RBI is planning to ask banks to discontinue the practice of foreclosure penalty, which was a bane for the borrowing community.

At present, borrowers sitting on large chunk of loans need to think twice before shifting loans as in most cases the penalty amount runs into thousands of rupees.

Though penalty charges are applicable for all types of loans, it is particularly harsh for those sitting on home loans because of the large loan ticket size.

Hopefully, it will be a thing of the past soon.

As a borrower, you are bound to feel like celebrating but you will have to wait a little longer.

For, the RBI’s move is likely to be applicable only for fresh loans though the regulator is not averse to the idea of extending it to old borrowers at a later date.

In fact, the RBI wants to make life good both for new and old borrowers by removing various disparities between the two.

For instance, there is a move (still in early stage) to remove the concept of benchmark rate and replace it with a single rate which would be

The above changes, in reality, would put a greater emphasis on the concept of borrowing and borrowers would be required to keep track of loan pricing.

At present, for many borrowers, the downward trend in interest rate did not mean much as they were forced to continue with existing loans because of pre-closure penalty. In the case of home loans, the penalty amount was good (huge) enough to maintain their loyalty.

For instance, a loan amount of Rs.30 lakh required the borrower to cough up a penalty of Rs.60,000 for foreclosure (at a rate of 2 per cent) and worse, this was not funded by the fresh lender.

As you are aware, loans when shifted from one bank to another, take care of only the principal amount and do not include other charges.

Hopefully, the new regime will bring in the desired changes.

As pointed out earlier, the changes on the home loan front require borrowers to be agile to the changing dynamics and it will be prudent for borrowers to prepare for an early closure in their own good.

Gone are the days when borrowers could feel comfortable with the fact that their EMI is not a burden. With interest rates fluctuating on a regular basis, it will be advisable to look at the option of closure of loans well before the due date.
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Builders see a change in buyer sentiment

October 13th, 2009

There have been some genuine enquiries right from the second quarter of 2009, says Najeeb Zackeria, president of the Kochi branch of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India. The interesting part is that there are enquiries in all segments of property, be it budget, semi-luxury or luxury, Dr. Zackeria says.

There are enquiries for villas, but unfortunately, there are no stocks available at present. The builders over the last year had concentrated more on delivering the ongoing projects. It was not a good time to announce new ones.

The customers’ approach is to go in only for finished products or projects nearing completion. This approach has slightly changed, he says. However, the change in this graph has favoured only builders who have sustained through the recessionary period and have delivered their products in time. Unless progress is seen in a project, customer confidence will be lacking.

The customer confidence is just coming back, says M. Unnikrishnan of the Thripunithura-based Royal Projects. There is a release from fear. The market is very much alive, but the budgeting is small. The customer is having a studied approach, Mr. Unnikrishnan adds.

Earlier, an investor will put in an extra effort to go for a higher budget, but now the customer is looking at the builder to help them make a good buy within their fixed budget. In fact, quite a few genuine enquiries are not materialising into buys only on the aspect of cost.

Customers have had to face bad times because quite a few projects in areas such as Kakkanad have come to a standstill. These probably had come up without any USP and hence were hit by the market trend, Dr. Zackeria says. The delay in the SmartCity project may also have been playing on the customer mind. Another factor affecting Kakkanad was perhaps the mushrooming of a number of small-time builders during the boom period, some of whom were not able to sustain through the difficult times. The builders are taking the new momentum in the market with caution. “We do not expect any rapid improvement,” Dr. Zackeria says. It will take about another six to eight months for a turnaround, he adds. It will happen as a spontaneous effect of the overall economic improvement, and depending upon the absorption of the present supply of stock and end-user demand, the new supply will start trickling in.

In fact, quite a few builders are waiting for some more time to pass before they announce their new projects. The full concentration is on completing projects in time.
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Investors in property back in the hunt

September 5th, 2009

Property rates have begun to stabilise following the correction in prices in the real estate sector. Following the recovery of the economy, investors are looking for a slew of ongoing and upcoming projects in cities such as Kozhikode.

Enquiries, bookings and sales of apartments and villas have shown a spurt in the past two months. Developers of mega projects and others are elated. “Nearly 90 per cent of the apartments have been booked at the 20-storey Metromax, a residential complex on the Thondayad bypass,” says Ahmed Backer, senior manager (sales), ‘hi-lite’ Builders.

Work on Metromax, consisting of 272 luxury apartments, has been completed. “We have started focussing on the interiors and exteriors of the units categorised into four types. The apartments will be ready for occupation before July 2010,” he says. Uniform prices have been fixed for all types of apartments, including two kinds of three-bedroom ones, on all floors.

The rate is Rs.2,700 a sq.ft, Mr. Backer says. The company’s another massive project, said to be the biggest venture in Kozhikode city, is the ‘hi-lite’ Hills, also on the Thondayad bypass.

It comprises two mega projects with a total built-up area of 20 lakh sq.ft. One is exclusively for residential purpose and the other is top-notch office space.

Mr. Backer says the first towers of ‘hi-lite’ Plaza will be completed in July 2011. The rate is Rs.4,500 a sq.ft. The rates of ‘hi-lite’ Residency will be Rs.2,550 a sq.ft. The residential project will be completed within a time-frame to keep the promise made to loyal clients, he says.

Builders say that the prices of apartments have not skyrocketed during the real estate boom that started in 2006.

Kozhikode has never seen unreasonable and artificial rates unlike other parts of the country. So the correction here is minimal, whether for apartments or villas.

The rate for premium luxury villas such as Highlands of Calicut Landmark Builders at Methottuthazham Junction, 3.5 km from Arayadathupalam, is Rs.3,350 a sq.ft.

The villas will have a minimum area of 2,000 sq.ft. Together with the villas will be the budget apartments priced at Rs.1,710 a sq.ft. The rates have been kept uniform till the sixth floor. But it will be Rs.1,750 a sq.ft from the seventh floor. There will be two- and three-bedroom types having areas in the range of 614 sq.ft to 930 sq.ft., says Sonnet Sasikumar, sales representative.

The project of the Calicut Landmark Builders near Silver Hills Public School and Silver Hills Higher Secondary School has been a successful venture. A few ready-to-occupy flats is priced at Rs.1,950. Almost all the villas have been sold out, Mr. Sasikumar says.

Spring Dale Villas of ‘hi-lite’ Builders at Palazhi is priced at Rs.3,500 a sq.ft. The total area of a villa will be 2,200 sq.ft. However, clients have the option of choosing areas up to 6,000 sq.ft. Thirty-five out of 110 villas have so far been sold, Mr. Backer says. Half the luxury apartments of Horizon Properties at Chevayur have been booked. The 12-storey two- and three-bedroom flats are sold at standard rates of Rs.2,350 a sq.ft, says Pradeep Kumar, managing director.

The project will be completed within a year. The two-bedroom flats have areas of 1,151 sq.ft. each and three-bedroom ones, 1,673 sq.ft. “We have also come up with special Onam offers at attractive prices,” he says.

The 12-storey apartments of Seiken Properties at Malaparamba is priced at Rs.2,500 a sq.ft. Sixty per cent of the units have been sold.

The project will be completed in December 2010. There will be eight types of flats ranging from those with one bedroom and having areas of 657 sq.ft each to those with three bedrooms and having areas of 1,364 sq.ft each, says Nikhil C. Mohan, sales manager.

However, the three-bedroom duplex flats on the eleventh and the twelfth floors are priced at Rs.1,950 a sq.ft.

The apartment will have a fitness centre, swimming pool and broadband connectivity, Mr. Mohan says.

Raj Madan, assistant manager (marketing) of Pentium Builders, says that bookings for the Pentium Vrindavan Vertical Homes have started, although its official launch is on Saturday.

The new project will be at Eranhipalam, comprising two- and three-bedroom units.

The priced fixed at Rs.2,400 a sq.ft is negotiable, he says. Ritz Marina of Galaxy Builders is a big super-luxury apartment complex coming up on the Kozhikode beach.

The rate of each apartment is Rs.3,000 a sq.ft.

Nearly 55 per cent of the apartments in the 26-storey building have been sold out, says Janzeer Ahmed, executive director.

Mr. Ahmed says the recovery of the economy have given investors an opportunity to scout for projects. The prices have been kept in tune with the standard rates prevailing in the city. The rate of an apartment at Ellyzium Court near the C.H. Flyover is Rs.2,600 a sq.ft. A few more apartments at Leo Paradise are available, he says.
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