Improve infrastructure on city roads: DDC

September 28th, 2009 No comments »

KOCHI: The District Development Committee (DDC) has asked the State government to resolve the traffic problems of the city by recruiting more personnel to city traffic police and constructing more overbridges and flyovers.

K. Babu, MLA, moved a resolution to this effect at a meeting of the committee held at the collectorate conference hall on Saturday. M.J. Jacob, MLA, seconded the resolution. District Collector M. Beena presided.

MLAs, M.M. Monayee, and Dinesh Mani pointed out the various difficulties in the repair works and maintenance of roads in the district.

Dr. Beena said that efforts had been intensified for the construction of the approach road to the Kumbalanghi-Ezhupunna Bridge. Executive engineer, Public Works, said that maintenance works of Brahmapuram-Karimukgal Road would be undertaken shortly.Bills on works executed using the flood relief fund till June 30 had been cleared, Assistant Development Commissioner V.S. Soman said.

K.V. Beena, programme coordinator, National Rural Health Mission, said that tender procedures had been completed for the maintenance works of the taluk hospital at Muvattupuzha. Babu Paul, MLA, asked for more facilities at the hospitals in Pandappilly and Payipra.

Dr. Beena said that Rs. 13 lakh had been allotted for the community health centre at Malippuram. M.K. Purushothaman, MLA, asked about the progress of work on the health sub centre at Nayarambalam.

MLAs, Dinesh Mani and K. Babu asked to remove the shortcomings in the functioning of government hospitals at Chellanam and Palluruthy.

Mr. Monayee and Mr. Jacob wanted the maintenance works of the Muvattupuzha and Periyar Valley irrigation canals to be completed by November. Mr. Paul said that early completion of survey works in the irrigation project areas was vital for the eligible to be granted possession rights. Dr. Beena informed the meeting that approval had been received for the construction of village offices at Kalloorkkavu and Kaipattur.

T.U. Kuruvilla, MLA, brought to notice the construction of compound wall for the forest depot at Kothamangalam and the resultant traffic problems in the area.

News Published Under:  The Hindu

Capital gains under income head soon

September 28th, 2009 No comments »

The draft Income Tax Code aims to simplify the income tax rules. The new norms will come into effect on April 1, 2011. Of the many things suggested, proposals relating to capital gains will have an impact on property investment and planning.

The receipts relating to ordinary sources, such as employment, house property, business and capital gains, will be classified under income.

The gains arising from the transfer of assets will be treated as capital gains that is to be added to the total income of the financial year in which the investment asset is transferred irrespective of the year in which the consideration is received.

If you sell a property in 2009 and register it in 2009 but the full and final payment happens in 2010, the year 2009 will be taken for tax purpose.

In case of compulsory acquisition, capital gains will be taxed in the year in which the compensation is actually received.

For immovable property, if the period of holding is less than three years, capital gains will fall under short-term and the gain made by transfer of the property is added to income from other sources and income tax has to be paid for the total amount.

In case of the property held for more than three years, capital gains is taxed at 20 per cent of the gain made. The tax will be exempted if the gain made is deposited in specified bonds (issued by the National Highways Authority of India or the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd.) within six months from the date of transfer.

This is set to change. In the proposed code the distinction between short term and long term is removed. Gains made from the property, irrespective of the years of holding, will be added to the income of the year.

 News Published Under:  The Hindu

Needed: a national regulator for real estate

September 25th, 2009 No comments »

Sunrise sectors generally follow a pattern of rise and fall leading to consolidation and structural changes.

Time has come for the real estate sector in India to transform from a largely unorganised sector into an organised one, with a national regulator in place.

From its heyday, spurred by credit flow following the opening up of the sector to foreign direct investment and listing of real estate companies in the stock market, there has been a substantial erosion of money from the sector in the recent past. Still, there exists a yawning gap between people’s buying power and unrealistic expectation of sellers. In these circumstances, affordable housing options in a city such as Kochi will depend heavily on how soon the sector gets regularised.

Every sector has undergone similar transformation. “For instance, with the opening up of the equity market, a regulator called SEBI [Securities and Exchange Board of India] came in. Likewise, real estate is in the process of a structural change because this is an investment asset class. This is something that people need,” says Suraj Nair, chief executive officer of Honey Bricks Property Management Private Ltd., which seeks to build an institution base for property intermediary services for the buyer and the seller. Problems crept in when seller expectations rose sky-high for various reasons. “But Kochi was not an isolated case because there was a wave of credit available across all asset classes around the world,” Mr. Nair says. “Equities and real estate in all economies outperformed everything else. When it declined, it did so the world over. In cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore, there was substantial erosion in property prices to the level of 45-50 per cent. Gold was outperforming all asset classes everywhere, including Kochi, where the erosion was only 10 to 12 per cent so far.”

After research for five months prior to its launch in July, Honey Bricks realised that in major tier-1 and -2 cities, over 70 per cent of real estate buying was for personal use or dwelling. About 25 per cent came in as investment. Kochi was, perhaps, the only city where it was primarily an investment option. “But there is something called affordability index. For instance, when a company’s health is evaluated, its market capital, balance sheet, a lot of financial ratios and economic indicators are taken into account. Similarly, there are a lot of financial indicators and economic ratios that define the value of property. Take the rental yield, for instance. Suppose someone buys an apartment for Rs.50 lakh in Kochi. The maximum rental yield that he would get could be in the range of Rs.8,000 to Rs.12,000 depending on the type of furnishing that has been done. In stray cases, the rent could be about Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 depending on the grandeur of the interior. If instead Rs.50 lakh is put in the least preferred of investments called fixed deposit, you are bound to get Rs.23,000 to Rs.24,000 after tax. Is real estate an investment option at this point when the least preferred investment option could yield a better return?” Mr. Nair asks.

“The seller has to be brought down from his level of expectation to a reasonable level of expectation. As for the buyer, there is still demand for real estate property, but the cream is gone. That raises the question of affordable housing,” he says.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

Kerala set to open first phase of Rs.600-cr IT park

September 19th, 2009 No comments »

The first phase of the Rs.600-crore Koratty information technology park in Kerala, being set up as part of the state government’s plan to open IT parks in all districts, will be opened Oct 10.

The project, coming up on 42 acres in Koratty in Thrissur district, is one of the fastest developed IT parks in the state, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, chief executive of Infopark Kochi, which is developing the project, told IANS.

“The 42-acre plot that was given to set up the park earlier housed the Madura Coats factory. In just seven months of taking over the land, we refurbished the 14 villas that existed over there. There is also an old club house, which has been modernised,” said Bhattacharya.

Eight villas and the club house are ready now and 10 companies which would employ 400 professionals are all set to function from here, he added.

The remaining six villas would be ready in the next few months.

“The rates here are so cheap that we offer plug and play facility at Rs.30 per square feet. Those who want semi-furnished facilities, the rate per square feet is just Rs.15,” Bhattacharya said.

The prevailing rates at the Infopark and the Thiruvananthapuram-based Technopark are around Rs.45 per square feet and upwards.

In the second phase development, the government plans to set up a 200,000-square feet IT building, incorporating the green building concept.

“This new signature IT building will be designed to provide a beautiful and inspiring atmosphere and once complete there would be more than 6,000 professionals working at the Koratty IT park,” Bhattacharya said.

In May last year, the state government announced that IT level parks would be developed under private-public partnership model in all 14 districts.

In the first phase, IT parks would come up in Kollam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

Currently, IT companies operating in the state are based either at the Technopark or Infopark.

Nearly 150 companies are operating in the Technopark. They employ close to 20,000 people, while around 40 companies that employ nearly 8,000 people are in the Infopark.

News Published Under:  Manorama Online

KSHB back with project proposals

September 19th, 2009 No comments »

The government is on an offensive to end the slackness in the housing and real estate sectors by launching projects at a time when private builders seem to think twice before doing so.

Taking a cue from what the housing boards in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and a number of other States have done, the Kerala State Housing Board has planned to take the private-public partnership route to wipe away its liability.

In fact, one of the prime projects at Marine Drive will help the board come out of the red, believes Noel Thomas, Housing Commissioner and Secretary of the board. In a month, consultants will be selected for giving a detailed project report on the Marine Drive plan. The board, which has about 18 acres of land at the Marine Drive, plans to have a tourism, commercial and housing project.

Hotels, office space, convention centre and multiplexes are some of the ideas that have come up. A preliminary study by the board has pointed out that 17 lakh sq.ft of built-up space can be made available.

Since there are environmental concerns, the government held several rounds of discussion before agreeing to the project, Mr. Thomas said.

With an eye on the upcoming LNG terminal at Vallarpadam, the board has conceptualised the space here with a futuristic design, Mr. Thomas said. The prime project will be launched early next year and the full project is likely to be completed by three years, he said.

The housing projects of the board in at least four other places in Ernakulam district are expected to add to the signs of revival that the sector is showing these days. “We believe a revival in the sector by the end of the current financial year,” Mr. Thomas said.

The board has planned to invite builders for the construction on a build-share-transfer basis. The bidders should have done a project of that level in the last three years. Such a criterion is to keep the less-experienced ones away.

The board has got into a financial crisis because of the large number of houses it has financed for the weaker sections who have not been able to remit their part of the payment,

Mr. Thomas said. Unlike the boards in other States, the KSHB has built 6 lakh houses. With a loan of Rs.2,000 crore from HUDCO over the past 35 years, the board has not been able to take up many projects. So far, the liability of Rs.1,500 crore is over and a new outlook with private partnership is expected to push the board on track again, Mr. Thomas said.

Since pricing of houses is most important in a downward looking market, the board intends to keep it affordable considering the market dynamics at the time. In Panampilly Nagar, there will be a 32-unit complex, while the project at Kumaran Asan Nagar will be a 36-unit one.

At Thrikkakara, where the board already has project in innovative housing for the working class, there will be yet another project for the middle and higher income groups that will have 60-65 units.

At Irimpanam, where the board has some prime roadside land on the side of the Seaport-Airport road, a multi-storey housing complex will have a basement and two floors of commercial area.

If these projects are implemented, the board is likely to give a lead to many building projects in the State that are, at present, either going slow or have come to a standstill.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

Kerala golf course to open by December

September 12th, 2009 No comments »

Kochi (Kerala): The first phase of a Rs.480 million golf course being built by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) here would be complete by the end of this year, a senior company official said Friday.

“The golf course would open with nine holes by December this year. Building this would cost Rs.20 crore (Rs.200 million). The first phase would be ready by December and this would match any international golf course,” CIAL company secretary K. Venkitesweran said.

He said the state-of-the-art golf course will have 18 holes. “The golf course, situated on 130 acres, is coming up just next to the fourth largest airport that handles many international passengers in the country.”

Venkitesweran said 800 applications have been sold for Rs.10,000 each by now.

“By next month we expect to do the screening of the applications and allotment of membership would begin. We have an early bird offer where the membership fee has been fixed at Rs.200,000,” he said.

In July this year, CIAL announced a dividend of 10 percent, up from eight percent announced last year. The paid up capital of CIAL is Rs.300 crore.
News Published Under:  Manorama Online

Kerala finds a place in NLRMP

September 12th, 2009 No comments »

Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran says this is a signal that Kerala is moving in the right direction. He tells K.A. MARTIN that the first instalment of Rs.5 crore is welcome. 

Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran has welcomed the decision by the Department of Land Resources under the Union Ministry of Rural Development to put Kerala among the first four States to get Central funds for the ambitious National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NLRMP).

He told The Hindu on Friday that this was a signal that Kerala was moving in the right direction in modernising and computerising land records.

Mr. Rajendran said that Kerala would need more money to achieve the goal of total computerisation of land records and the first instalment of Rs.5 crore was welcome.

Along with Kerala, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh have been chosen for receiving the first instalment during the current financial year.

The NLRMP will help computerise the entire process of property transaction records and network revenue offices.

The Revenue Department had submitted a detailed project report under the NLRMP for 2009-10 at an estimated cost of Rs.6 crore. This was approved by the Planning Board and funds allotted in the State Budget.

Besides, a detailed project report for the work at an estimated cost of nearly Rs.30 crore was submitted to the Union government.

The Revenue Department is expected to complete data entry, revalidation and training of officials and networking of offices in a time-bound manner.

The department has selected Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Alappuzha districts for the first phase of activities.

In the second phase of computerisation of land records, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad have been chosen.

The NLRMP emerged out of two Centrally sponsored schemes — computerisation of land records and strengthening of revenue administration and updating of land records.

The main aims of the NLRMP are to usher in a system of updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records, interconnectivity between revenue and registration offices and replacing the present deeds registration and presumptive title system with that of conclusive titling with title guarantee, says information posted on the Land Resources Department web site.

Committee

The Union government has constituted a committee on State agrarian relations and the unfinished task of land reforms in January 2008.

The basic belief behind launching the land records modernisation programme across the country is that effective management of agrarian relations and good land administration are key to economic development and poverty eradication.

News Published Under:  The Hindu

Investors in property back in the hunt

September 5th, 2009 No comments »

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.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

Slashed rates bring cheers to borrowers

August 30th, 2009 No comments »

Housing loan rates are being slashed. The aggression by banks and home finance companies is intended to capitalise on the festival season spend and hence the special offers are valid till September 30. An analysis has been done to understand how significant these differences in rates offered by the banks are to a prospective borrower.

Taking the two big players, the SBI and LIC Housing Finance Ltd. (LICHF), we assume a borrower seeking a 15-year term and a loan of Rs.20 lakh (house property valued at Rs. 30 lakh).

The difference between the SBI and the LICHF is in the first three years. While the LICHF offers an 8.9 per cent rate fixed for the first three years, the SBI is offering 8 per cent for the first year and 9 per cent for years two and three.

Our assumption is that from the fourth year onwards till the 15th year, the rate of both banks will be identical at 12 per cent. The SBI offer is cheaper by 0.9 percentage point for Year 1 and expensive by 0.1 percentage point only for years 2 and 3.

When the EMIs are compared, Rs.52 is paid additionally per month for the first year and Rs.6 saved per month for next two years by choosing LICHF. For a five-year term, the interest difference in absolute terms is Rs.7,920 and for a 15-year term, it is Rs.9, 600. On property worth Rs.30 lakh for which a loan for Rs. 20 lakh is taken, Rs.9,600 works out to 0.32 per cent of the property cost and 0.5 per cent of the loan of Rs.20 lakh.
News Published Under:  The Hindu

New tax code and housing loans

August 24th, 2009 No comments »

How will the realty sector be impacted by the new tax code proposed by the Union government? Will the generosity seen in respect of the income slabs for the salaried class lead to any negative factors for property developers and buyers? These are some of the questions that have come up after the code was unveiled last week.

Bankers and builders have positive views about the tax code, but they are sceptical about the absence in it of the existing income-tax exemption of housing loan interest payments up to Rs.1.5 lakh annually. Borrowers will have to spend more for tax payment as well as the equated monthly instalment (EMI), many say.

As of now, the tax for individuals having annual incomes up to Rs.1.6 lakh is nil. It is at the rate of 10 per cent of incomes between Rs.1.6 lakh and Rs.3 lakh; 20 per cent between Rs.3 lakh and Rs.5 lakh; and 30 per cent for Rs.5 lakh and above.

The code, which will replace the Income Tax Act in 2011, proposes to tax incomes between Rs.1.6 lakh and Rs.10 lakh at 10 per cent. The tax liability will be Rs.84,000 plus 20 per cent of the total yearly income for incomes exceeding Rs.10 lakh but below Rs.25 lakh. In addition, the tax liability for those having incomes above Rs.25 lakh will be Rs.3.84 lakh plus 30 per cent of the total income.

However, savings up to Rs.3 lakh of a salaried person will be exempted from income tax. The existing limit is Rs.1 lakh under sections 80C, 80CCC and 80 CCD of the Act. “The Rs.1.5-lakh limit for housing loan interest exemption is an attractive option for the salaried class. The Centre should continue with it to increase the flow of funds into property investments. Otherwise, the proposal will be counterproductive,” says Nityanand Kamath, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Kozhikode chapter.

A salaried person whose yearly income is between Rs.4 lakh and Rs.5 lakh will be forced to think twice before going for a housing loan. A person whose annual income is Rs.4.5 lakh and has taken a housing loan of Rs.9.5 lakh now gets Rs.1 lakh exempted from his gross salary. The individual also gets an exemption of nearly Rs.1 lakh under sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD.

That means he will be taxed only for Rs.2.5 lakh of his income, at 10 per cent.

He will not get the benefit of the Rs.1 lakh interest exemption when the code comes into effect. After considering the benefits under other categories of deduction, the gross salary will be calculated at Rs.3.5 lakh. The individual will then have to seek ways to increase savings from the existing Rs.1 lakh to Rs.3 lakh. “But that will not be possible for a person with a low income because he will have to pay the EMI,” says K.K. Ajithkumar, Assistant General Manager, Federal Bank Ltd.

At the same time, a person who has not taken a housing loan will have a wider choice of savings on account of the Rs.3 lakh limit. Thus, the individual who has taken a housing loan will have to pay more taxes than others with equal income who have not taken a housing loan.

Many believe that the proposal will be detrimental to the policy of affordable housing in the country. The government will have to do a rethink on the proposal before it intends to introduce the Bill on the tax code in the winter session of Parliament.
News Published Under:  The Hindu