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Fresh NRI enquiries raise hopes of revival in India's real estate market

Fresh NRI enquiries raise hopes of revival in India's real estate market Real estate market in India is likely to get a boost following re-commencement of inquiries by non-resident Indians on available stock of housing in the Bombay residential market in recent months.

According to Cushman and Wakefield, an international real estate consultant, NRI investors have made inquiries on several available housing stock in Bombay in the last two months.

''We expect these inquiries to convert into transactions during the last quarter of 1998,'' says a briefing paper on developments in the Bombay property market prepared by C&W.

Cuffe Parade appears to be losing favour with expatriates given the limited shopping, social and recreational facilities in the immediate vicinity. Demand from these clients is largely for the areas of Malabar Hill, Napeansea Road, Breach Candy, Altamount and Carmichael Road.

In July, the residential sales market was very active and accounted for about 55 per cent of the total transactions. While commercial transactions accounted for 35 per cent of total transactions, the land transactions reduced to about 10 per cent.

North Bombay had the lion's share of commercial property transactions with 61 per cent during the month while south Bombay continued to be buoyant, recording about 63 per cent of total residential transactions. A number of the commercial sales were intra-company transactions at unusually high values not at all reflective of prevailing market values, the paper said.

A selection of high value transactions in south Bombay included Mont Blanc, Kemps Corner at Rs 20,530 per square feet, Woodlands (Peddar Road) at Rs 16,800 per square feet, Prabhu Kutir, Altamount Road, at Rs 20,050 per sq ft, Om Vikas Towers, Walkeshwar at Rs 17,400 per sq ft and Maker Tower, Cuffe Parade at Rs 11,275 per sq ft.

Transactions in central Bombay included Kalpataru Heights (Rs 9,500) and Kalpataru Habitat (Rs 6,300). In north Bombay, transactions included Nakshatra, Bandra (Rs 9,200), Janki Kutir, Andheri (Rs 5,300) and Golden Acres, Juhu, (Rs 6,200).

Bandra, considered to the queen of the suburbs, had witnessed several leave and license transactions which included Apsara Bungalow for Rs 32.5 million as deposit plus Rs 50,000 per month as rent, Gol Mahal for Rs 264,000 per month paid in advance for 36 months and Nirvana for Rs 7 million as deposit plus Rs 30,000 per month.

In commercial propery deals, Jolly Maker Chambers in Nariman Point experienced two high value inter-company deals for a total area measuring less than 2,000 sq ft at excessively high rates ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 24,000 sq ft. In the past eight months, this building had consistently witnessed sales from Rs 14,000 to rs 16,000 per sq ft.

UNI