Commercial real estate

Capital value expectations as well as monthly rentals both have marked growth in September quarter for commercial real estate segment in India, but still its lower than the expected as per the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), UK based qualifications and standards authority for property, construction and land. Apart from that the Indian commercial property monitor also indicated that maximum number of tenants and investors felt that market valuation for commercial real estate segment is much expensive in comparison of previous quarter. In contrast, the percentage of tenants and investors who felt that price of commercial dipped in third quarter of 2015 was about 30 percent in comparison of earlier quarter.

According to Devina Ghildial, MD, South Asia, RICS, “The commercial property segment in India was always upswing because demand was outstripping supply, but growth in rentals value was modest with its early expectations”. The more she added that in India, there is dearth for grade A office space under commercial segment in major cities because many new MNCs are looking towards more business in India and for that they are looking for more space to set up new office space. In our country existing large business organizations are ramping up their business and operation with solid pace, but the supply of grade A office space is not able to match up to this demand, leading to healthy appreciation. As per the records of property price cycle of commercial segment, a large group of segment (about 38.3 per cent) feeling that its in establishment phase. Apart from that percentage who believed that it is in early uptrend phases, is about 27.2 per cent. And almost equal percentage, which is about 24.7 per cent, felt that commercial property segment was in mid-downturn stage, but only 6.2 per cent felt that it is in mid-upturn phase, whereas; 1.2 per cent felt it had peak stage.

According to recent reports, there was a spurt in the demand in Indian real estate sector and when it comes to commercial property because auto, IT and e-commerce start-ups, telecom, banking financial services and insurance (BFSI), consumer durables, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors are looking for more space to enhance their business and operation in premium cities such as; Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) and these cities have witnessed several large-sized transactions during the quarter.

According to Ashutosh Limaye, Head of Research & Real estate intelligence service, JLL India stated that “In India commercial properties are more affordable in comparison of other countries and apart from that rentals in our country have bottomed out and making its way up. The more he added that rise in rental was gentle, but the direction was definitely up and rentals in real estate’s commercial segment is fair and competitive, but it’s still below the previous peak of 2008. Metro cities like; Bangalore was one of the few market which has reached its peak in the year 2008 while real estate sector in other cities remained more than 10 per cent below it, whereas; Chennai was 2 per cent below its peak and Pune was at 10 per cent while rest were over 10 per cent lower than their peak. In 2008, the price was high as Rs400 per square feet (sq ft) in the cities Mumbai and Delhi. In present, Nariman Point is 30 per cent lower than commercial property rental values of 2008 while other suburbs areas such as; Kurla and Andheri is 20 per cent lower.

According to J C Sharma, MD of Sobha Developers, India offered arbitrage in two things; one office rentals and second salaries or wages. The more he added that MNCs came to India because of these two arbitrages, which is competitive in comparison of global market. The more he added that if you will include the market of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai and Delhi, so its 90 to 95 per cent of the totals transactions in the India’s commercial property segment and it is very affordable in comparison of emerging global market such as; Southeast Asian countries such as; Jakarta, Bangkok and Malaysia.

Motilal Oswal Real Estate

MORE, (Motilal Oswal Real Estate) the real estate arm of Motilal Oswal Group plans to raise about Rs. 1000 crore through its third real estate fund. The funds will be utilized for development of residential projects by reputable developers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. The money will primarily be raised in about a dozen transactions of Rs 80-120 crore each from high net worth individuals and family offices.

Explaining the move, Sharad Mittal, director and head of the fund said, “the realty market is consolidating right now and prices are expected to remain stagnant for some time. This therefore, is the correct time for investors to invest through indirect investing since we would participate in the project profits rather than relying entirely on the future price rise.”

The fund has been set up as an alternative investment fund or AIF category II, registered with stock market regulator SEBI. “We expect to achieve first close by mid-January 2016 and conclude fundraising in the next six-nine months depending on the market conditions. Given the current scenario, direct investments may not fetch superior returns,” he added.

Motilal Oswal has in its two earlier funds invested capital under a mezzanine structure in top five property markets with developers such as ATS, Shriram Properties, Godrej Properties, Rajesh Lifespaces, Ahuja and Casa Grande. The new fund will also focus on top six property markets in the country. The first fund worth Rs 200 crore, raised in 2009, has been fully deployed and is currently in exit mode. The fund has exited its four out of total seven investments and given returns of about 82% of the capital. In March this year, MORE had raised Rs 500 crore through its second fund which is presently in investment mode wherein around 80% of the capital has already been deployed.

The third & the new fund, with a tenure of five years from final close looks to target a gross internal rate of return of about 23 – 25%. “We shall continue to undertake mezzanine investments with established developers for their mid-income housing projects across top cities. We shall also undertake structured equity investments depending on the market scenario,” said Mittal.

Image Credits : DNA

Despite a rough market scenario and inadequate interest from limited partners (LPs) in the Indian real estate segment, Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Ltd, is raising up to $1 billion for its first residential real estate fund, confirmed a top executive of the company.

The fund will explore for investment opportunities in five property markets—National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. “We are looking to partner mid-sized developers in real estate projects that have already got the key approvals. The fund will not provide capital to buy land or invest in an early stage of a project,” says Venkat Ramaswamy, executive director and co-head of global asset management, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd.

Edelweiss has been making investments in real estate projects mainly out of its own balance sheet since last 6-7 years. However as it gears up for a full-fledged fund, it looks to tap investors in Asia, Europe and the US this time. “Edelweiss is a meaningful investor, we have an extremely good team with strong real estate market connects in our five addressed cities, which is essential in terms of deploying and recovery of capital,” Ramaswamy added.

Get new home this festive season

Buying a new property was hitherto out of reach for home buyers given the peaking real estate prices. The demand for realty therefore, has been stagnating. Despite this, no attempts to review prices have been made to lure buyers to the market again.

According to RBI Annual Report, the number of unsold properties have not only increased but there has also been a fall in number of new launches. The real estate sector has 48 months worth of unsold inventory which is very high. However, instead of lowering prices, they depend on the Central Bank to reduce interest rates.

Industry body Assocham, in a recent survey indicated that the residential market in Delhi-NCR is trapped with an estimated inventory of 1,70,000 units, while  data compiled by property advisory JLL India and Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) shows 77,460 residential units across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai are lying unsold.

Realty experts opine that in order to clear the huge backlog, there is a scope of easing property prices especially in Mumbai & the National Capital Region.

With the festive season round the corner, developers are already providing different schemes and attractive discounts on residential properties. A further 10% discount or price correction on an average is expected in the market, states a report in the Asian Age.

While the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in the SBI Conclave highlighted the need for lowering realty prices to stimulate demand, Navin Raheja, the Chairman & Managing Director of Raheja Developers believes that any further price cuts are not likely.