Tag: Apartments in Kolkata

International City beside the River Hooghly

If you were a resident of Kolkata in the 70′ and 80’s, you probably would not recognize the glitzy commercial and residential buildings dotting the skyline today. The initiative of real estate developers in Kolkata have infused the once-jaded look of the city with swank residential apartments and commercial spaces with a bold message that ‘Kolkata has truly arrived’.

Moreover, the state government is open to 100% foreign investment in real estate. The state’s urban development ministry has fixed a minimum area of 10 acres for developing housing plots, while 50, 000 square metres has been fixed for minimum built up area in construction development projects.

The Kolkata West International City across the River Hooghly in Howrah, the first venture funded by foreign capital, is spread over 390 acres that will offer 5500 bungalows on free hold land by 2009. With the best lifestyle accessories to boot, the township is a zip drive from the business district.

South City promises to be a landmark edifice as the the Emami, Sureka, Shrachi, JB. and Merlin Group of companies have come together for 3 residential-commercial projects on Prince Anwar Shah Road, B.L.Shah Road, and Alipore. Standing 35 storeys tall, South City will also house the city’s largest mall and an international school.

The city is stretching its limits towards Dankuni with another multi-use township on 5000 acres available for development. National and international bidders are in the fray for this coveted project.

On the commercial property front, 13.3 million square feet will be available in Sector V, Salt Lake and Rajarhat, the city’s IT hub. Retail spaces are also expected to grow to 1.5 million sq. ft of space – from 3 malls to 12 in the next few years, international brands will make their presence felt in the city, as incomes rise and lifestyles get more ‘stylized’. Two real estate projects in the 7-star category were launched in early 2007 to meet the aspiration for global brands amongst the elite of the city.

Appreciation

Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s largest integrated real estate and investment management firm, finds Kolkata an attractive business destination, and worthy of figuring on the company’s list of ’emerging winners’. Inexpensive rentals, a successful private-public partnership model, incentives from the state government, political stability, a fair playing field for all real estate developers are factors very strongly in Kolkata’s favor.
In fact the West Bengal government’s initiative in tying up with private builders has facilitated opening up vast stretches of land which the existing urban land ceiling laws would never have made possible. The West Bengal government has created a cross-subsidy model for real estate developers in Kolkata, allowing them to make profits on high income housing provided middle income groups are sold flats at a no-profit, no-loss basis, and to the lower income groups at a lower than cost price.

The IT sector is growing at twice the national rate at 70% in Kolkata. The demand for 6 lakh sq.ft of commercial space has been expressed by foreign investors, MNCs and banks in the city. In fact, of all the foreign investors looking for investment opportunities in India, 40% of these are focusing on Kolkata.

Experts are of the view that ready commercial spaces available at short notice would make Kolkata a more attaractive destination for major corporations which are now looking for facilitites in the city. The time taken to sanction building plans would considerably cut down construction time by 3-6 months.

Source: NRI Realty News

Eden City comes up with new residential scheme in Kolkata

Eden City Maheshtala, the flagship project of Eden City group, a Kolkata headqua rtered real estate developer, has become the first residential project in the city to get a six star rating by Crisil Real Estate Star Ratings (Crest). These ratings address two critical needs in the realty sector improved transparency and objective benchmarking of projects. Both of which have been fulfilled by Eden City Maheshtala, claims the company.

Spread over 22 acres at Maheshtala near Batanagar, a half-hour drive from the central business district of the city, the project will house as many as 40 ground-plus-seven and ground-plus-15 towers with more than 2,200 flats of two and three bedrooms each. The apartment sizes will vary between 796 sq ft and 1,524 sq ft with prices ranging between Rs 13.14 lakh and Rs 39.78 lakh.

Developers said amenities include a fully equipped club with swimming pool, gymnasium, library, games room, yoga and meditation room, coffee shop and restaurant, banquet halls, medicine shop, convenience store and ATM. Besides, there are four community halls, an indoor stadium, a football field, multipurpose courts, children’s play ground jogging tracks and two natural water bodies. A school, hospital, shopping complex, multiplex and a football stadium are also due to come up shortly in the vicinity.

More than 1,200 families have already been offered possession till date and many of them have already started living there. Bookings are open at present for ready-to-move-in flats as well as flats to be delivered by December 2013, 2014 and 2015, said the company’s chairman, Indrajit De.

Incidentally, Eden City, Maheshtala is the largest housing project in south Kolkata and the first one to be funded through foreign direct investment by UK-based F&C REIT Asset Management.

Source: mydigitalfc.com

New I-T rules may send houses beyond middle class means

Re-development of old tenanted properties that provided a bulk of the building stock in the city is set to cease following an amendment in the Income Tax Act that has made such transactions prohibitively expensive. Developers fear the already limited housing stock supply in Kolkata will dry up, leading to price escalation and sending houses beyond the reach of middle income families.

The new rules also discourage the development of low and middle-income properties in localities where a high-income project has been developed. With the valuation authority equating both projects with the same yardstick, not only does the buyer have to pay stamp duty on the value decided by the registering authority rather than the purchase price, he has to now pay income tax for the differential amount (difference between actual transaction value and valuation done by registration authorities). The developer, too, has to pay I-T on the differential amount.

Source: The Times Of India

Low on cost; high on quality

Building houses can be a costly affair, especially with raw material costs climbing steadily.K R Srikanta Prasad looks at how to build a lasting and comfortable house, and make it cost – effective.
mix and match While trying to be cost-effective, the combination of materials should be planned well. photo by the authorAs we are aware, construction costs are sky-rocketing due to various reasons. It could be due to scarcity, increasing demand, higher production cost and steep transportation costs. Under these conditions, home builders might be happy and more eager to use cost-effective material.

But one should make sure that the cost-effective material they intend to use is of good quality and durable. It should facilitate easy maintenance and not be a post-construction white elephant!

Here are a few general guidelines to aid in analysing how a particular material can be termed cost-effective.

A locally available material is always cost-effective as the transportation costs are minimum and we do not spend on middlemen. Your plans should have a good architectural layout and detail. There should be a proper combination of the materials chosen.

Modular and standardised units manufactured in factories on a large scale cost less as the production costs are low. The materials that can optimise on labour costs during construction and installation are a must as the labour costs are too high. Choose materials that do not have a high processing cost. Material that is recycled is generally not expensive unless it involves more labour to process and install.

While it is important to identify materials that are clearly less expensive, it is relevant to understand that cost-efficiency for a particular material depends on the situation as well as how it is used in a structure.

Also, if one has to achieve substantial savings while building, one has to ensure that cost-effective material is used in every part of the construction, from the foundation to the finishing, because all of it contributes to the overall cost.

We can make a list of different important materials that go into construction and save costs based on the merit of their content and the ease with which they can be implemented.

Foundation

A dump made out of boulders, brick bats, quarry waste and cement is a good alternative to conventional-size stone masonry. Even concrete waste can be recycled for this purpose.

Walls

Regular table moulded bricks used in rat trap masonry require less mortar joint and bricks; hence lower costs. Cement concrete blocks are cost-effective compared to conventional brickwork.

We have terracotta hollow blocks with different designs that are exposable in masonry. This is a good option provided they are not plastered and painted.

Conventional-sized stones that are not elaborately dressed in combination with bricks in composite masonry can work out really well.

While the stone face can be exposed, the brick face can be plastered and painted. Light-weight cement-based blocks made out of cinder contribute to economy in framed and high-rise structures.

Where suitable quality soil is available, soil stabilised blocks made in-situ are a welcome option. They are made using soil, quarry dust and cement and can be used for load-bearing walls.

They have a finish and colour that can be left without plastering. This material is not only cost-effective but also eco-friendly.

Precast concrete wall units that can be assembled on site are an option in large scale constructions. They save time and thus cost. Bamboo is renewable as well as cost cutting.

Roofs

Composite roofs made out of filler slabs can cut concrete and steel costs. Terracotta blocks that are designed for roofs can be adopted. Precast beams and roof slab elements in RCC are widely used under suitable conditions. Also, there are materials like ferrocement and fibre reinforced concretes that can be explored. These units can be thin and can take different forms. With practically adaptable design options, one can arrive at cost-effective roofing elements.

Wood

If one can recycle old wood for doors and windows, it saves a lot of money. Choosing aluminium and steel options are much cheaper than wood. Door frames made of concrete are available which are durable and involve less maintenance. In some situations, less expensive wood used for packing can be reused for panelling, railing or flooring.
Hardwood that is enamel painted is less expensive compared to polished teakwood.

Flooring

Locally available natural stones that are pre-polished are a good option. Other economical options are cement-based tiles, ceramic tiles and clay tiles. In-situ mosaics and cement floorings are also possible. Thin granite tiles made out of wasted granite works out really economical both in material and labour costs.

Others

There are so many other places where costs can be cut. Non-modular switches in electrical work, CPVC pipes and fittings in plumbing, white fittings in sanitary work, distemper in painting, kadapa slabs for storage shelves etc are options to name a few.
Thus, by a thorough market survey and an intelligent and discriminating choice and combination of material, it is possible to make a project cost-efficient. Cost-effectiveness need not always mean cheap. Good quality is a must.

Often cost-efficient material is also eco-friendly. Conversely, one that is eco-friendly can be cost effective. It costs little to be natural! The “add-ons” are what add to the cost!

Source: Deccan Herald

RBI Report – Kolkata property prices up by 60%, highest among Cities

Kolkata property prices have moved up 60% year-on-year, highest among all the Indian cities and much above the national average of 21%, the RBI said in its annual report.

To track real estate price movements, the RBI has compiled quarterly house price indices for nine major cities as well as an aggregate all-India index based on data on property transactions received from registration authorities of state governments.

The RBI, in its annual report, has pointed out that property prices in Kolkata witnessed the highest growth of 60% between the fourth quarter of 2012 fiscal and fourth quarter of 2013 fiscal. It was lowest for Mumbai at 10.6% during the same period.

Although Credai president and managing director of CSR Estates C Sekhar Reddy said the RBIs’ assessment is based on presumptive valuation, data available from the West Bengal government show that property prices have sky rocketed mainly because of high value land sale pushed by the state government agencies since 2009.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA) and the West Bengal Housing Board are mainly responsible for land deals and the three agencies together have sold a little above 5,000 acres for R18,000 core in the last four years, a KMDA official said.

KMC this June auctioned a 2-acre plot on the EM bypass for R115 crore, the biggest land deal in Kolkata so far with price per cottah translating to R96 lakh. In an earlier land deal in 2009 KMC sold a 3.35-acre plot on the same EM bypass for R135 crore via the auction route and this translated to R70 lakh per cottah. Prior to that

Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) auctioned a 2.25-acre plot in the IT township of Rajarhat for Rs 51.13 crore.

The government agencies have set the trend, Harsh Vardhan Patodia, of Credai Bengal said. He however did not agree with the RBI figure saying property prices in Kolkata have gone up 18% in the last one year but prices in the city crashed during the fourth quarter last fiscal.

The latest National Housing Bank residex (for quarter to March)

Source: The Financial Express