Indians – 3rd biggest investing community in US realty market

With an $8 billion investment in the US realty market, Indians have become the third biggest international investor community after Canadians and Chinese as per brokerage firm Sotheby’s International Realty.

I think and I believe Indians that live in the US are one of the largest group of millionaires in the America… they are already there and therefore they are investing in real estate,” US-based Sotheby’s International Realty President and CEO Philip A White told PTI.

According to US-based National Association of Realtors data Indians had spent $5.8 billion in fiscal 2014 to purchase real estate in that country. China topped the list of foreign nationals with $22 billion in in realty for the one year period ended March 2014.

The spate of investments in the international real estate market is not only limited to US markets but also to London and Dubai where Indians have invested 1 billion pounds and $2 billion respectively in the first half of 2015.

In August 2014, Sotheby’s International Realty signed an agreement with Indian firm RealPro Infra Pvt Ltd towards establishing its Indian arm under the name North India Sotheby’s International Realty, aimed towards catering the increasing luxury real estate demands of resident and non-resident Indians.
Informing the details about the investments made by the Indian community in the US, North India Sotheby’s International Realty Founder and President Ashwin Chadha said: “After Canadians and Chinese, Indians are third largest international community in US in terms of real estate investment and had invested around $8 billion last year.”

Speaking about their optimistic expectations of the Indian luxury real estate market, White said, “India as a country has huge potential to be the top nation in terms of business for us. It may take few years to get there.

“Indians searching property globally, I think we all know Indians put big premium on real estate as a tangible asset to protect from inflation or number of things so I think they keep on looking at the opportunities,” White added.

Elaborating about their domestic arms operation so far, North India Sotheby’s International Realty Founder and CEO Amit Goyal said they have already tied up with some established players in the sector including Tata Housing, Sobha and Max Group’s Antara Housing.

Image Credits : DNA

The Neptune Group had acquired a 22 acre land parcel in an auction conducted in 2005 with the highest bid of Rs. 101 crore. The developer built a retail mall on 6 acres and a residential complex on another 6 acres of this land situated on LBS Marg, Bhandup.

According to sources, Tata Housing Development Company and Neptune have inked a contract to jointly develop a 10-acre residential project in this eastern suburb of Mumbai. While Neptune will provide the land parcel from the 22 acre chunk and secure approvals from the civic authority, Tata Housing will be responsible for conceptualisation, construction and marketing the project.

The project which has a total development potential of 1.2 million square feet is expected to fetch revenue of Rs 1,700 crore. All approvals to commence the work have been secured and the Construction is likely to be completed in four years.

LBS Marg, which was once known for being an industrial belt has now transformed into a major residential hub of Mumbai. Although Ready apartments in the locality are priced at about Rs 17,000-18,000 per sq ft, Tata and Neptune are considering launching the project at Rs 12,500 per sq ft.