Indian Property Show in London

The Indian Property Show in London was officially launched on the 25th April 2015 on Saturday. The Chief Guest as well as the Brand Ambassador of the show was no other than Bollywood director, producer and actor Arbaaz Khan. This property show was held at the Olympia West Hall London, and it showcased more than 40 real estate brokers and developers. This property show was the perfect platform for the investors from the UK to see the work as well as meet the property developers and market experts from India.

What is the show all about?

In the past few years this show has gained immense popularity among the NRI buyers who are interested in property exhibition apart from providing the best platform for the buyers to meet their Indian real estate developers. According to Mr Khan., he can see the journey of the transformation of the property show and would like to be associated with the show for a long time. He further added that, this show is about highlighting biggest and the greatest properties across India. The show is about increasing the awareness that the Indian real estate and therefore the show concentrates on giving all the insights and even brief analysis of the Indian real estate sector.

According to Mr. Sunil Jaiswal, organisers of the show and representing the Sumansa Exhibitions, in India, about US$1 trillion has been spent to improve the current infrastructure and there has been increased support from the government for the development of the industrial projects. Global investors are looking towards India as a hub in terms of the real estate sector as the urban population is expected to grow and increase in the employment and education will increase the demand for both commercial as well as residential projects.

He further added that the NRIs will have lot of benefits as they take the leverage of weak Indian rupee against the dollars and invest the same in projects which will ensure value and higher returns. The show comprises of one of the most interesting segment called the Property Dhamaka, which is about offering exclusive discounts and deals for the people who are looking for spot booking. This offers also included attractive down payment deals and EMI options. UK NIRs have been given the option of good discounts. This show was able to bring together various properties from Noida, Gurgaon, Delhi, Greater Noida, Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore apart from various other cities.

All the visitors at the show were given the opportunity ok seeking legal advice related to the properties they are interested. Free seminars were conducted to give insight on all the details of the properties. Apart from legal advice people were also given the opportunity to seek advice from the Vaastu experts as well. Delegations were conducted by the market experts to highlight the growing potential of the Indian real estate sector and the increasing number of investment opportunities in different cities of the country.

Sahara chief Subrata Roy

It is reported that Sahara group has sold a plot near Delhi-Gurgaon border, which is worth of Rs 1,211crore and M3M India has brought it, which is Gurgaon based real-estate developer. It is considered as the one more step to raise the funds for bailing out Subrata Roy, a chairman of Sahara India, as Supreme Court allowed Sahara India to sell four properties located in Pune, Chauma, Jodhpur and Vasai. In the response of an e-mail Sahara India said, “We have presented all the relevant records in front of the honorable Supreme Court. Since it is the matter of sub-judice, we cannot comment any further on your query”.

M3M announced the sale on Thursday, but Pankaj Bansal, Director at M3M India, stated that it was not a distress sale by Sahara India. According to Pankaj Bansal, “M3M plans to build a mixed-use project on the land to build the internationally-branded residences and serviced apartments with retail and entertainment zones.

Sahara India, has been trying to sell the 185 acres, nearby IGI Airport (Indira Gandhi International Airport), from last one year. As per close officials, it had initially put a price of Rs 1,700 crore for the plot, but the deal with M3M has been closed at Rs 6.5 crore an acre. Brokers and market experts stated that, ongoing rate for an acre of land in this area is between Rs 9 crore and Rs 10 crore. In this project M3M will be able to construct on approximately 12 million sq ft. About deal M3M informed that court was about to sale, which then gave permission to close the deal, while explaining about payment arrangements, Pankaj Bansal, Director at M3M India said, “Our company has six post-dated cheques and Sahara India will get the entire money in form of installments in next six months.

To protect homebuyers from unscrupulous property agents, the ministry of housing is planning to make it compulsory for real estate brokers to get registered with the proposed real estate regulatory authority (RERA). It also plans to expand the purview of RERA to cover commercial as well as residential real estate.

Real estate agents will now have to get registered with the proposed real estate regulatory authority and get a licence and get it renewed periodically before they set up shop. If the broker were to commit a fraud, the licence can be cancelled – as is done in Dubai and Singapore. It also means the end of the fly-by-night property agents.

Honey Katyal, CEO, Investors Clinic says that it is a welcome move as brokers will be made more accountable for property deals by getting a service tax registration code and a licence from the government and paying service tax to the authority. Now they get just a dealer code from the developer. The real estate market is also going to get more organised.

“The fact that a licence can be cancelled if the broker were to indulge in fraudulent activities will instill fear in the minds of the broker community,” he says.

S K Pal, an advocate, says that since brokers play the most important role in the supply chain – they are the first point of contact before the buyer finalises a property deal – they ought to be made accountable.

In most cases, when problems arise with a project, the broker simply washes his hands off the entire deal. That’s primarily because he has received his commission and the matter is closed.

If brokers are regularised and their licences renewed from time to time, they will be brought under the tax net and will also have to pay licence fee to the government which means revenue for the latter, Pal adds.

The move will help regulate black money, increase revenue collection, and strengthen the system of brokerage. Pal cites an example of a doctor who booked a property worth `80 lakh in the NCR. The broker he had invested with had promised him a free ticket to Dubai but the trip never materialised because the broker did not get his commission from the builder. The matter went to court.

“A qualification bracket can also be brought in. The message of the government is clear – strengthen the house buying process by bolstering the confidence of the investor. Regulating them is essential because the broker is always in a better position for collective bargaining with the builder as he does block bookings for them,” says Pal.

In the long run, the role of brokers can be enlarged to that of agents who can sell Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) in the future; they can also operate seamlessly anywhere in the country. What this means is that the marketing cost of builders can come down drastically.

Will bringing brokers under the ambit of RERA create another pile of files on property disputes? This argument does not hold water as initially files may pile up but in the long run, as the market gets regulated, agents who are found to have indulged in fraudulent practices, will be ejected from the system and cases of fraud will come down drastically.