Dwarka sub-city residents prefer moving to larger homes within locality

The article was published at MagicBricks.Com and can be accessed at: here.

 
Dwarka sub-city is mainly an end-user driven market with the whole infrastructure up and running. It is well-connected with Metro Rail and airport, and a destination of choice for home buying.

We have seen a trend wherein, existing residents of Dwarka sub-city look for better and bigger apartments within the Dwarka sub-city itself. These are primarily the ones who are residents of the earliest launched societies in the area and are now looking towards societies with better maintenance and construction quality. In a way they are looking for upgrade. Those who are already residing in a 3BHK with twin car parking, power back-up, etc and are looking towards 3BHK+servant’s room with other things remaining the same.

We have seen good inventory available in Sectors 21 and 22 and now Sector 19B being a hot spot. The price range for the 1,500 sq ft, 3BHK apartment, with parking facility and power back-up in Sector 7, is Rs 95 lakh to Rs 1.15 crore, depending upon location of the society, infrastructure quality, internal maintenance and many other factors.

Is it the right time to buy?
For Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway, this is the best time for the first-time home buyers, as they will not only get the property at discounted rates, but also may get further discount of 3-6 per cent, in terms of freebies.

The charges like PLC (Preferential Location Charges) and club membership can be waived off, based on the level of negotiation and the type of property.

For Dwarka sub-city, we have seen the prices softening for the past six months, and there is no reason for delaying the decision now.

Is it the time to invest?
For Investors, Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway still holds a lot of opportunities, provided one can spot the properties under distress. We have been seeing the quantum of distress sales and one can have a great bargain in these times, when short term real estate investors are exiting.

It is not recommended to go for investment in the said stretch as far as the newly launched or already launched properties are concerned as better options are already available. An investor could rather consider other alternative such as Sohna in Gurgaon and also Neemrana.

Neemrana provides the best point of price-entry that many have missed at the Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway. This is backed by the whole infrastructural development that is coming up to support it, with Japanese city coming into existence along with many other international firms setting up their base.

Rajat Dhar, managing partner, Cogent Advisory

The article was published at MagicBricks.Com and can be accessed at: here.

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REIT: A new dimension to real estate investing - Part I

The article got published on MagicBricks.Com, and can be accessed at: here.

Wished to ride the real estate wave for harvesting better returns but have been put off by high real estate prices in India? Introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India could open up new avenues for you.

Traditionally, an investor intending to venture into real estate would scout for the best residential or commercial properties with an intention of growth or regular income from the real estate investment.

For majority of investors, rising real estate prices have put them out of the market. This adds on to the fact that the investment would also be limited to one or two properties, and thus in this case a ‘Real Estate Portfolio Management’ can not be executed in the truest sense. On the other hand, consider the case where you have invested in a real estate project in Noida, and the land on which the project is being constructed comes under dispute between landowners and builders (like the case in Noida extension). With Real Estate Funds, your investment is not placed into one single project and hence your investment basket is protected.

There is a silver lining amid these high real estate costs. The answer lies in Real Estate Mutual Funds (ReMFs), ReITs and Real Estate PE (Private Equity) funds. The real estate investment scenario got a drastic change with the sector getting opened for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2005.

While ReITs & ReMFs will take some time to get structured in India, Real Estate PE funds have already made their way in the said space. Some of the funds active in the market include Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Indiareit Fund Advisors, HDFC Real Estate Fund, ICICI Venture; ASK Property Investment Advisors, ArthVeda STAR Fund from DHFL and Kotak Realty Fund.

What are ReMFs and ReITs, and what differentiates one from the other?
ReITs are popular and prevalent in developed markets. They are listed on stock exchanges and governed by transparent norms. ReMFs invest in commercial properties and own them. They make gains by renting out or selling their holdings; like mutual funds and share profits with investors.

Real estate PE funds are, however, different. These funds invest in real estate projects by tying up with the developer, wherein the developer sells a portion of the project to the fund. Some funds tie up with companies also. These funds are primarily for HNIs, for real estate investment purposes.

The PE advantage: PE takes care of all the due diligence required for selecting the properties to invest into; and there is a specialised team that does the valuation, assessment and screening before investments can be committed to the project. Moreover, investors’ amount is spread out over multiple properties, so that diversification plays out well over here.

Rajat Dhar, Managing Partner, Cogent Advisory

The article got published on MagicBricks.Com, and can be accessed at: here.

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