Facing the heat
Construction companies are finding it hard to deliver the goods in view of the steep hike in the prices of steel and cement, writes S.C. Dhall
Faced with spiraling input costs and margin, the construction companies in the region are now feeling the heat of the rising steel and cement costs. According to experts the steep hike in cement and steel prices has pushed up the construction costs by Rs 150 to 225 per sq. feet in the past one year.

NCR rents likely to stabilise
Rentals in the National Capital region are expected to stabilise in the next quarter as supply is set to increase in Gurgaon and Noida, says a report. According to commercial real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis, rentals are expected to be stable in the next quarter as the supply is set to increase significantly in Gurgaon and Noida.

Solan’s sore point
Lack of planning and haphazard development
With the district town of Solan witnessing the highest growth rate of 57.26 per cent in Himachal, the growth in real estate sector too has witnessed an upsurge. Though major builders are yet to set foot in the town, yet the overwhelming demand for flats has made the builders from plains to start projects here. Major players have been hesitant to start projects here basically due to the lack of proper planning which has reduced the town into a jungle of concrete.

GREEN HOUSE
Landscape with imagination
Satish Narula gives tips on maintaining low cost and low maintenance species of ground-cover plants
One of the most demanding aspects of landscaping is the low cost or minimum maintenance concept. This can only be achieved when the planner is well versed with the kind of species and their behaviour. Selected species also need to have a matching environment for placement. Let us discuss some of these, starting with the lowest growing, the ground covers.

Realty meet to be held in Mumbai from April 28
Terrapinn is back with one of India’s most significant annual real estate events in Mumbai ‘Real Estate Investment World India (REIW) 2008’. With less than a week away, this groundbreaking conference will be held from April 28-30 in Mumbai. The three-day long forum will serve as a key platform to map out opportunities within India’s property sector.

Theme dreams
The windows of your house can open to a Spanish, Hawain, British, Balinese, Chinese landscape or even to quiet whispering woods, here in India as theme housing projects catch the fancy of home buyers
Property purchasers can now choose between spending their time among the mysterious landscape of an English hamlet or visually cruising along a Venetian gondola as developers vie with each other to offer theme based housing projects to its clients.

Sluggish economy retards realty growth in Lanka
Although the real estate market is up and vibrant in Sri Lanka, property developers have complained that the industry has been badly hit due to “the downturn in the economy,” a media report said earlier this week.

Tax tips
Using capital gain from the sale of agricultural land
Q. Kindly clarify the following points: Whether the total proceeds or only the capital gain from the sale of agricultural land will have to be used for the purchase of agricultural land?

Real Ventures
Parsvnath likely to ink deal with Groupe Casino
New Delhi: Real estate player Parsvnath Developers is on the verge of signing an equity partnership with Groupe Casino for the latter’s cash-and-carry business in India, while the realty firm will be the franchise partner for retail venture of the French giant. According to sources close to the development, the Delhi-based realty firm is in advanced stage of negotiations with Casino and is likely to sign the equity agreement in the next 4-6 weeks.

• Ansal API ties up with Malaysia’s UEM Group
• Berkeley group forays into real estate

Housing loan scheme for slum dwellers
United Bank of India has launched a housing loan scheme for slum dwellers across the country in order to facilitate construction or upgradation of dwelling units for the urban poor.