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

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 views expressed in this article are the author´s own. This article was published on magicbricks.com and can be accessed here.

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Is Neemrana an investment opportunity?

It has been proposed that Neemrana, Shahjahanpur and Bahrod be included as three sub-metropolitan cities in the National Capital Region (NCR). Surprised?

Not all deserve enough to be included in the Delhi-NCR and hence, there would be strong rationale for that. Here, we will discuss what has led to this being proposed. Our analysis is for the perspective of the retail real estate investor, hoping to make decent returns over a tenure, with some odds in his favour.

In the current recessionary scenario where property prices are heading towards the downward spiral across cities, everyone is scouting for the best option to invest in the real estate space. In this scenario, there are two aspects that a real estate investor should keep in mind – ‘the price point of entry’ and ‘location & type of property‘.

Gurgaon in the Delhi-NCR space has always been on a real estate investment destination map. However, lately with the rising real estate prices and recessionary environment it may no longer be an ideal investment option available or even qualify for being in the first three choices for real estate investments. Amid such a scenario, a real estate investor has to take an objective and long term view of the real estate investment.

From an investment perspective, it is better to identify satellite towns or cities that are coming up around Delhi-NCR with promising prospects. We have heard about the Gurgaon-Manesar-Bhiwadi-Neemrana-Jaipur belt being developed. These satellite cities/towns can be seen as the Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway of yesteryears, providing an ideal price point of entry. Here, I would cover Neemrana, the least heard about as an investment destination.

Till a couple of years back, Neemrana was known as the tourist destination only with Neemrana Fort attracting foreign and domestic tourists. However, change in the state government policies with respect to setting up of businesses and attracting foreign companies to set up businesses, turned the tide for Neemrana. This was also because the place was marked by the government for setting up of business and supporting residential units, not to speak about necessary infrastructure support that will come up to support both of them.

Here, we are considering the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor), wherein it has been decided to include Neemrana and Kushkheda, in the first phase, with development of industrial townships here on the lines of Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Rajat Dhar, managing partner, Cogent Advisory

‘The views expressed in this article are author’s own’. The article was published at magicbricks.com and can be accessed here.

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Does Your Financial Advisor / Agent follow SEBI Circular on Risk Profiling..?

When was the last time your agent / or financial adviser conducted your Risk Profile...?
Do you know SEBI has issued guidelines for financial advisers and advisory firms..?
Is your bank or agent following those and educated you abut those guidelines..?

Financial Advisory is going a sea change in India, with SEBI having come up with new guidelines and refining of the existing one. There are separate guidelines for banks and Independent Financial Advisers and Wealth Management Firms.

The regulatory body had to take strict decisions in reference to the wealth management services being provided by agents, brokers and bankers. The backdrop of this could be found in our blogpost here.

The key changes have recently been done by SEBI is in KYC (Know Your Customer) norms, that would impact your savings and investments, if your adviser or agent is not adhering to the same.

So, What Does SEBI Guideline Say..?

This is in reference to SEBI Circular No. CIR/MIRSD/11/2012, and it says that:

• Intermediaries shall strictly follow the 'risk based due diligence' approach as prescribed by SEBI Master Circular on AML No. CIR/ISD/AML/3/2010 dated December 31, 2010.

• Also, Intermediaries will conduct on-going due diligence  based on Risk Profile and Financial Position of the client as prescribed in the master circular.

• These guidelines are applicable for both new and existing clients.

What does risk profiling actually mean..?
Each individual has different perception and appetite for the risk he can take in his investments. While as, some are aggressively investing in equities or stocks of companies, others are
only comfortable in fixed deposits or government bonds.

So, it is imperative that a process is followed that enables to determine the investor's preference to investing in the type of securities.

What agents are currently doing...?
Currently, it has been widely observed that investor invests in funds or securities as recommended by their agents, brokers and bankers. Now, there had been cases where regulators have noticed that certain products were sold to investors that were totally against the need of the client. These were the cases of mis-selling. And there was no way to prove the same. Now, client has to fill the risk profile and sign the dotted line.

What does it mean for client...?
As clients have to fill in the risk profile, they are now more aware as to whether they are conservative, moderately conservative, balanced, moderately aggressive or aggressive client. While client finalises his investments with his agen, he can cross check as to whether the fund or security he is investing in actually falls in line with his risk profile.

How are clients safer now...?
As per the guidelines, risk profile has to be documented and the same process has to be done once every year. If at any given point in time it is found out that the funds or securities recommended to the investor didn't fall in line with the risk profile or if there is the case of mis-selling; client grievances can very easily be resolved now.

This is the one step more in the direction of investor protection and in regulating the intermediaries. There are a whole set of guidelines that have to be adhered to in the investment management space; and those agents and firms who will not change are surely be moved out of the market by the regulator and the competition alike.



 

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