area watch: surajkund
The sunshine spot
Proximity to South Delhi gives Surajkund a definite edge, but its realty fortunes still depend on the proper growth of infrastructure

Over the past few years real estate market in Delhi has gone northwards and people are looking for options near Delhi. A lot of real estate buyers want to live near South Delhi because of the charm that this area holds for them. One of the options that has emerged in the vicinity of South Delhi is Surajkund. It is just 15-20 minute drive from the upmarket GK area. Capitalising on its locational advantage big developers like Omaxe, Eros and Arihant group have already ventured into the residential market here making this sleepy hamlet transform into a bustling neighbourhood.

Green appeal

A part of Faridabad, Surajkund is an industrial town. It, however, has no major corporate presence like in Gurgaon or Noida. But what works for the area is its green cover and proximity to South Delhi. It not just offers a pollution-free atmosphere, but also has mesmerising views of the Aravali hills.

Connectivity-wise, too, it scores extra brownie points as it is well connected to Gurgaon through the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. Then there is the Mehrauli-Badarpur road which connects the area to other parts of the NCR. Once the underpass near Sarita Vihar becomes operational, the connectivity will improve as it will clear bottleneck near the Delhi border. The road connecting Surajkund from Badarpur-Mehrauli is also going to be widened. Work on making Gol Pahari road six-lane has already started.

At present, the nearest metro station is Badarpur. However, an extension of metro station from Badarpur to YMCA Chowk has been proposed by 2014, after which the closest station would be NHPC chowk. And also, the new four-lane Gurgaon-Faridabad Expressway has cut short travel time from Faridabad to Gurgaon from one hour to just 40 minutes.

Another plus point that makes it ideal for residential use is the fact that this is a low density area and people can expect to have cheaper accommodation near Delhi minus the chaos and congestion.

A lot of builders are also looking for plots in the area, which will provide end users with more options to invest here over the next few years. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) is expected to release some plots for group housing here soon.

Roadblocks

Lack of major growth drivers is a definite minus point for this area as the already stressed manufacturing sector is not likely to generate more jobs to boost inflow of people here and increase the demand. “Given the absence of alternative growth drivers, this residential market, however upbeat it may be, will witness only limited growth for now”, says Santhosh Kumar, CEO, Operations, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

Water is the biggest problem in this area. Along with this poor road upkeep and insufficient public transportation are the other sore points that can serve as roadblocks in the growth of real estate here. “Civic facilities such as water, electricity and physical infrastructure are way below the baseline requirements of a promising growth corridor”, rues Kumar.

However, Faridabad authority has, however, given contract of around ~500 crore to NBCC to construct 10 rainwater wells and to give connection of Yamuna water across Faridabad. and this step is likely to solve the problem of water scarcity here in the near future.

All these factors have kept the occupancy levels low in the existing projects and even from the investment point of view this area is good for a long-term investment, say market experts. .

Prices and project

Prices here are still one third of those in South Delhi. Average price in Surajkund is Rs 10,000 per sq ft to Rs 12,000 per sq ft, while in South Delhi the prices hover around Rs 35,000 per sq ft.

With perfect green cover and locational advantage, Surajkund does promise good investment returns. With rates appreciating speedily, investing too would be quite positive and beneficial. “Surajkund has benefited because real estate in South Delhi comes at a high premium. This place still has affordable options and thus ends users and investors are showing good interest”, says Kaushal Jain, Director, Arihant Buildcon. The group is coming up with a residential project — Arihant Southwinds — here. The area has affordable as well as luxury projects lined up giving a choice to buyers from different segments to own property here. “We are coming up with ultra luxury apartments in this area with combination of 3BHK, 3BHK+Study and 4BHK+Study”, adds Jain. We are providing VRV system with each unit, Italian marble, high specifications, big balcony. We are also giving infinity pool, sky part hall with terrace garden and fountains. Every unit is separate as there is no common wall between units."

Almost all the townships and developers have their own schools, hospitals, pool, clubs and playgrounds. One need not go out of his own society to look for such facilities as all the basic facilities are available at ease and in their area itself.

Till now the only well known project in the area are Eros Charmswood village and Omaxe Forest, which are already commanding a healthy premium.

Though some market experts opine that the price appreciation will not be much here, but proper infrastructure and balanced growth can make investment in this area lucrative.

— With inputs from Geetu Vaid

increase in repo rate
RBI jolt for already tottering sector
Geetu Vaid

The realty sector that has already been battling with low sales, fund crunch and reluctant investors in the festival season, received another jolt when the RBI in its Second-Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14 earlier this week hiked the repo rate by 25 bps (basis points) to 7.75 per cent.

The move will mean higher interest rates for home loan takers and costlier funds for developers. Stakeholders at different levels have termed it as a disappointing move that will have adverse effect on sales.

Calling it a case of bad timing Sunil Mantri, President Naredco and CMD Mantri Realty said, “The increase in repo rate will impact the already sluggish real estate market adversely. The announcement has come at a time when most real estate developers were expecting the demand to pick up during the festival season”.

Tata Housing MD and CEO, Brotin Banerjee termed the move to be on the expected lines, but damaging for the sector on the whole.

Samantak Das, Chief Economist & Director Research Knight Frank India opined that the RBI could have deferred the hike to allow some momentum to return to the sector during the festival season. “Global economies have shown firming up of activities and as a result, Indian exports have shown an upward trend. The exchange rate has shown stability and agricultural output is expected to improve even further in the coming months. Keeping this in view, the central bank could have adopted a wait-and-watch approach by deferring the repo rate hike,” said Das. Traditionally, the October-December quarter is seen as a robust period for the sector as number of deals that are finalised increases during this time.

This increase will be a double whammy for the common man as not only will his loan burden increase, but the developers too will pass on the increased cost to the buyers. and this fact is going to hit the demand in the affordable segment. Incidentally affordable segment is the one that has the maximum inventory overhang in almost all the major cities in the country. “Demand for affordable and mid-end real estate projects may be adversely impacted due to a possible hike or adjustment in home loan rates. Expensive properties may not be negatively affected drastically as their demand is relatively inelastic and volumes not very large." Pankaj Bansal, Director of M3M India.

However, the banks are yet to announce an increase in the home loan interest rates and home buyers are waiting for the new interest rates. Many are hoping that the banks may not immediately increase interest rates. CBRE South Asia Chairman & MD Anshuman Magazine says, “Increase in repo rate and reduction in Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate will hopefully not result in an increase in home loan interest rates. Even a small rise at this point could dampen the festive sentiments of home buyers and will not auger well for the industry.”

On a positive note Neeraj Gulati, Managing Director, Assotech Realty Pvt Ltd said, “ This hike reflects the ongoing revival strategy by the apex bank to cope up with the crisis that our economy has suffered. We are certain that very soon we will witness steady growth and a liberal policy which would bolster the real estate fraternity; as of now we need to take measure for countering the financial crunch which the industry is going through.”

“The only relief in the new policy appears to be that liquidity in the market will improve with the change in MSF”, says Mantri.

Industry body for developers CREDAI demanded that policy makers should find a solution to manage inflation without comprising on economic growth.

“The sole purpose of increasing the repo rate was to curtail the prevalent inflation regime. As a part of the real estate fraternity we expected relaxation in repo rate and the existing CRR which would have brought sigh of relief from the liquidity crunch most developers are going through”, said Gaurav Gupta, Joint Secretary, Rajnagar Extention Association

“The apex bank needs to ensure that necessary steps are taken to support the economic growth, considering the low investor and consumer sentiment prevalent in the market. There is a need to have policies to drive real estate growth as this is the second largest contributor to our GDP,” said Banerjee.

tax tips
Does Will make me the sole owner of father’s property?
S. C. Vasudeva

Q.My father had made a registered Will that was signed by two witnesses in my favour (his only son) and it had no mention of my two married sisters. I came to know about the existence of this Will only after his death. My sisters gave/signed no objection letters and the patwari also consulted them personally. After this the revenue authorities mutated (Intqal) all five acres of agricultural land in revenue records in my name in 2008. Out of the five acres, two acres were inherited by my farther from his father (my/our grandfather) and rest three acres had been acquired/bought by my father after the death of my/our grandfather. My questions are;

Does this mutation make me the lawful sole owner of the all five acres of land and can I sell it?

What is the best way, if I still want to gift some land to my sisters.

One of my sisters is an NRI. Do I have to write a Will for her share, as she can not be given the land in the form of a gift?

What is ancestral property in this case; two acres or all five acres?

I am NRI. Can I, in agreement with my NRI wife, give three acres to my NRI son by writing a Will?

Is it that my NRI son can inherit my assets, especially agricultural land, only if I write a Will in his favour or will he be treated as natural sole legal heir in spite of being an NRI)?

Will my sisters still be treated as legal heirs of the said property, if I give all five acres to my son only by writing a Will? In other words, will it be mandatory for my son to obtain No Objection Certificate from my sisters for getting the property transferred to his name? — t.s. gautam

A.Your queries are replied hereunder:

The mutation in records with patwari on the basis of the registered ‘Will’ would make you a lawful owner of the five acres of agricultural land.

A person of Indian origin can acquire any immovable property in India by way of inheritance from a person who is a resident in India and he can also gift such property to a person resident in India. In case you want to gift a portion of land to your sister who is resident in India, a gift deed will have to be executed in her favour and stamp duty on the basis of the market value of the agricultural land will have to be paid for such a gift deed to be registered.

It would not be possible for you to gift the agricultural land to your sister who is an NRI in view of the prohibition contained in the regulations issued under Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. You can, however, make a Will in her favour.

The ancestral property in this case would be two acres only.

You can make a Will in favour of your son who is an NRI in respect of such agricultural land.

In case you have only one son, he can be considered a sole legal heir in case both you and your wife are not alive and he becomes the legal heir to the properties left behind, even if no Will has been made in his favour. However, it would be advisable to write a Will to avoid any complications with regard to obtaining of a succession certificate.

Your children and your wife would be the legal heirs and would inherit the property after your death. Your sisters are also one of the category of legal heirs in case you do not have aforementioned heirs or they are not alive after your death. In case you make a Will in favour of your children who are alive after your death, your sisters can’t claim any share in your property. 

How much tax will I have to pay?

Q.I have purchased a ready built house for Rs 35 lakh by raising a home loan of Rs 27 lakh and the house is self-occupied but one room of the house has been given on rent of Rs 2500 per month. w.e.f. August 1, 2013 to a student. My total income from salary will be Rs 6,70,000 including the rental amount of Rs 20,000 (i.e.Rs 2500 p.m. x 8 months). The total interest on housing loan for the 2013-2014 financial year will be Rs 1,89,000 and Rs 1 lakh invested u/s 80C. Interest paid on education loan of my ward will be Rs 60,000. What will be my tax liability in this case? — sant singh longowal

A.The facts given in the query do not indicate the percentage of the area which has been given on rent so as to ascertain that portion of the interest which can be allocated to property given on rent. The query also does not indicate the amount of house tax paid as well as the annual letting value of the self occupied portion. You should ascertain the Annual Rateable Value adopted by the house tax authorities for payment of house tax. After deducting the proportionate house tax leviable on the self-occupied portion from Annual Rateable Value, you can deduct a sum of Rs 1,50,000 (the maximum permissible amount for a self-occupied house) paid as interest on the housing loan from the figure so arrived at. The income from the let-out portion will be computed separately by deducting the proportionate house tax from Rs 20,000 being the annual letting value of the rented portion. A statutory deduction @30 per cent of the balance amount and the proportionate interest on the basis of sq. ft. area of let out portion will be deducted to arrive at net annual letting value of the let out portion. Both the annual letting values shall be aggregated to arrive at the figure includible in total income, which in the case cited in the query should be a loss. Such loss, if any, should be adjustable against the salary and interest income. Thereafter deduction allowable under Section 80C will be reduced from the income so arrived at. The figure so arrived at would be the total income chargeable to tax for the relevant assessment year. 

Stamp duty on gifted property

Q.I live in Dubai and I purchased a plot in India six months ago. Can I transfer it to my mother and after that can she gift it to her brother? — gaurav

A.A gift of plot to your mother would attract stamp duty payable on the market value thereof. Similarly, as and when the property is gifted by your mother to her brother the same would also attract stamp duty at the market value of the property prevailing as on the date of the gift. The transaction as envisaged would involve payment of stamp duty for both the transactions. It may be added that gift in both the case would not involve any income-tax implications.

What will be the indexed cost of my flat?

Q.I had booked a flat jointly with my spouse on a construction-linked payment plan on March 22, 2010. The builder issued us the allotment letter in May, 2010 and the contract with the builder was signed in November, 2010. The flat is still under construction and the possession of this flat has not yet been given. We have made the following periodic payments to the builder:

March 22, 2010 : Rs 4,00,000

April 1, 2010 : Rs 19,00,000

March 12, 2012 : Rs 25,708

January, 11 2013 : Rs 32,910

February 1, 2013 : Rs 5,00,000

Total amount paid so far : Rs 28,58,618

If this flat is sold in this financial year before taking the possession, then what would be the indexed cost for the computation of LTCG? — sunil sharma

A.In case the flat is sold within three years of the date of allotment, capital gain arising on sale of allotment right would be in the nature of short-term capital gain and indexed cost would not be relevant in such a case. However, in case the flat is sold after three years of the date of allotment, the indexed cost would be relevant as the capital gain in such a case would be treated as a long-term capital gain. The indexed cost on the basis of figures provided in the query would work out at Rs 37,21,665 as per details given hereunder:

 email your queries to realestate@tribunemail.com

vaastu wisdom
Spruce up your home on Diwali
Madan Gupta Spatu

Q. Is it essential to clean house near Diwali? — shashi prabha

A.Incidentally today is 'Nark Chaudas 'on which as per Vaastu and Hindu mythology, cleaning of premises, discarding and disposing off old newspapers, magazines, broken glasses, utensils , stopped watches, unnecessary documents, empty cartons or pens etc. brings prosperity in home. It is advisable to get rid of all the unwanted stuff that we tend to accumulate unnecessarily. All things that are no longer useful yet they occupy space in our homes. Old and stale items carry negative energy and it is important to get rid of them if you want to lead a comfortable and trouble free life. In our culture it has been made mandatory giving it a religious touch and specifying a particular day like a day prior to Diwali.

Q.I have read in your columns that east-facing houses are the best as per Vaastu principles. But my concern is that how can everyone have a house facing east. What are the options or remedies for those who don’t have east-facing houses? — satnam singh

A.I fully agree that each house in the city can’t have the exact auspicious direction, but you can choose any direction and build the house as per Vaastu norms. East-facing dwellings ensure the maximum benefit of morning sunlight, which, as we all know, contains the life-sustaining Vitamin D. Limit the number of openings towards the west and south as afternoon sunlight isn’t as beneficial.

Doors and windows should also allow for maximum natural ventilation and light. 

Q.I have heard from elders some categories of people from whom property should not be purchased . Is there any meat in this? — suresh rana

A.According to Vastu Shastra, a plot or house should not purchased:

From those who became Insolvent.

From person suffering from leprosy.

From lunatics.

From people who have left the country, etc.

Who are childless.

Similarly, land donated to temple, allotted to watchman of village or colony, land in possession of charitable trusts, land without any time deed or disputed , shouldn’t be purchased. Land containing boulders, ant hills, worm hills, bones and skeleton etc, should not be acquired.

Any property which is in the possession of 10 persons.

Q. Is it unlucky to buy a plot facing south? Which is the best direction to buy a plot to construct a house? — dhavleesh rattan

A. All directions have their own importance. Plot facing east is good for scholars, philosophers, priests, professors, teachers etc. North-facing plot is good for those in power, administration and those who work for government. House facing south is good for business class and for those who work in business organisations. West is good for those who provide supporting services to the society. However, it has been practically observed that south- facing homes have resulted in diseases for the women members of the family.

Q. What is the relevance of griha pravesh ceremony 
and ritual? In foreign countries there are no such bindings. — bakhtawar singh

A. A new home heralds new beginnings, changes and challenges in various areas of life. Little wonder then, that almost every religion and culture attaches great significance to the purification ceremony of the new house. This ceremony clears negative vibrations and energy from the house. Apart from the purification rituals prescribed by your religion, there are several types of ceremonies/rituals that you can perform. The following are some house purifying ceremonies you may opt for:

The griha pravesh of any building - office, factory or house - is not recommended before the completion of construction.

A welcome sign at the doorstep carries a lot of positive energy

The symbol of Swastika , Om , Ek Onkar etc has great power and is recommended at the entrance as it induces energy and strength for the family members.

Mail your queries to— vaastu@tribunemail.com

Fresh launches keep NCR market upbeat
Vineet K. Singh

There is no doubt that NCR presents itself as a unique investment opportunity for buyers and developers, likewise. This region has witnessed an overall growth in the range of 9-10 per cent this year. The appreciation and rental yields being offered here are propelling people to invest here. Other factors like availability of land parcels, corporate houses opening branches, rise in commercial development, affordability compared to Delhi are contributing to the growth of NCR as an active real estate market.

Noida has witnessed a 15 per cent growth in Q3-13 as compared to Q1-13 this year. In fact, Greater Noida Expressway stretch is one of the most promising belts in NCR. The highway is to be extended up to Lucknow.

The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project which will start from Dadri is also a great incentive for people investing here as the connectivity will witness improvement. Among many developers, new developers that are coming out with projects in NCR are KV Developers, GrihaPravesh, Lotus Greens Developers, SARE Homes, among others.

Most of the projects that will be rolled out would cater to the right mix of affordable and premium segment, launching in the budget range of Rs 30-70 and Rs 70 lakh above category. The prime areas that will see the launches in the next one year are Noida Extension, Noida Expressway, Sector 92 on Dwarka Expressway, Pataudi Road, Neemrana etc.

Despite the slowdown, the fundamentals seem strong and real estate will always be a safe asset class to invest. KV Developers will be launching its first project in Noida Extension. GrihaPravesh launched its project in Sector 77, Noida and has already sold off 80 per cent of the total units.

Lotus Greens Developers is due to launch its first project within the next two months in NCR - either Noida or Gurgaon catering primarily to the buyers looking out in the above Rs 70 lakh budget range.

Gurgaon residential market also presents attractive options to end users and investors. The region has seen a 15 per cent increase in Q3-13 as compared to Q1-13 of this year. Dwarka-Gurgaon Expressway and NH8 corridors accounted for the highest residential demand in the Gurgaon market. Gurgaon residential market is seeing a strong demand and supply mechanism in the luxury segment. The sales volume has been strong despite the overall slowdown. Gurgaon presents investment opportunities in every segment - residential whether premium or affordable, office, retail, IT space, entertainment or any other.

Apart from Noida and Gurgaon residential market, Ghaziabad and Faridabad have also shown growth potential with a half yearly growth of 19 and 16 per cent, respectively. Top developers are entering these two markets in order to capitalise on the growth and appreciation that these localities offer. Infrastructure projects like the Taj Expressway, which will be near Sector 80, and a highway starting from Kalindi Kunj and running parallel to the Mathura Road is fuelling investment in these parts of Delhi NCR. NH-24 bypass, Crossing Republik, Raj Nagar Extension (Ghaziabad) and Greater Faridabad (Faridabad) regions offer comparatively cheaper options.

— The writer is Business Head, 99acres.com

1.32 lakh new homes on offer in eight cities

New home launches up by 5% in Jan-Sept: Cushman & Wakefield

India’s eight major cities saw launch of 1.32 lakh homes during January-September 2013, up by five per cent from the year-ago period, according to global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield. These eight cities — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, NCR and Pune — had witnessed launch of 125,590 residential units during the corresponding period of 2012.

As many as 31,434 units were launched in affordable segment, while 75,529 and 24,032 homes were introduced in the middle-income and high-end segments, respectively. Nearly 1,100 luxury homes were also launched.

“Contrary to tradition, there has been a decline in new launch activities in Q3 2013 as economic conditions have not been encouraging for developers. Slowed down in demand with consumer confidence at lower ebb on account of increased and consistently high pricing in key cities,” C&W Executive Director Residential Services Shveta Jain said.

Launches of new homes fell by 43,907 units during July-September period compared with 47,048 units in the previous quarter.

The demand from first-time buyers and end users has been consistent as genuine buyers with adequate capital look at this phase as ideal to enter the property market on account of stable capital values, she said.

“Most developers are focused on keeping the levels of unsold inventories low, thus to promote sales, developers are resolving to innovating marketing to ensure buyers can get more value from their product,” Jain said.

“Developers are looking at alternate strategies from promotional offers to resizing of units in order to meet the end consumer demand of economically viable housing,” she said. — PTI

Affordable housing needs customised lending models
Given the target segment and the large social imbalances, it is critical for the government to create a self-sustainable ecosystem of affordable housing where all stakeholders are benefited. More public private partnerships (PPPs) in affordable and low-cost housing will be of supreme help

The low-cost housing segment has got some boost in the past few years largely after the retrenchment of the housing market in 2008-09 but there is still a long way to go and there is a need for comprehensive steps from the government in this regard. One of the most important pre-requisites for solving the housing challenge is to identify the beneficiaries. Given the country's vast population, it is certainly of utmost importance that platform such as the Unique Identification Authority of India (Aadhaar) or the National Population Register is effectively utilised to recognise the target segment as per their social and economic categorisation.

Lending institutions need to develop customised lending models that take into consideration the buyer's ability to pay, so that it will enable people from these groups to buy low-cost houses, typically in the range of Rs 5-20 lakh. The government can also explore the rental model and create funds to channel finance into Lower Income Group (LIG) and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) households. Innovations should be explored while laws should be simplified in the realty market. More clarity and transparency are required in land titles, so that the government can identify illegal ownership and free up additional inventory.

Sumit Bharana Director, Era Landmarks Ltd

In 2008, when the demand for houses in the higher-end segment was dropping, the focus turned to the affordable housing for low-income groups and weaker sections of society. The paramount contributor towards the success of affordable housing was the engagement between the developer and the community. Now, again the development organisations and other financial organisations are working to fill the void between these groups.

This segment now seems to be a pawn of market slowdown. It receives an incentive from the real-estate developers so long as there is a recession. Affordable housing started well when there was a slowdown. However, the past two years have again seen the market move towards mid and high-income housing but now has finally witnessed a new start. This segment of housing would channelise more bank funds into the realty market - considering infrastructure and construction being the priority sectors in the country for employment to urban poor, especially construction workers.

Some of the key aspects of affordable housing in India are location of the project, property specifications, services provided, price identified and finally the ticket size of the project.

Now some new schemes will be introduced in the realty sector while some traditional major schemes will be modified to make this market more people-friendly. This move by the government will lead to more demand for construction material like steel, cement etc. Moreover, it will also seek to encourage the state governments to provide land to meet the acute shortage of affordable housing and to work in the partnership model with the private players.

For this to happen, the government has already started banking on public private partnerships (PPP). This implies that government will set up the enabling framework and private sector players like developers and microfinance institutions (MFIs) will partner to deliver the affordable housing units. Traditionally, private sector has always been a little slow to tap this market as it seem easier and profitable for developers to make money with mid and high segment housing.

This segment of housing has to be supported by the government as the cost of land is a critical issue in the construction industry. There needs to be a regulator and some policies to regulate this market.

One of the main factors for the general neglect of this sector was the lack of government initiative. There are vast tracts of land lying vacant in almost every city. This land should have been used for housing as the adverse impact of current economic downturn is generally experienced by the lower income group. Policies do not incentivise development of a vacant plot. However, there is an immediate need for a policy already working in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for affordable housing.

Financing is another issue. Even if developers are willing to build appropriate housing structures for the poor, they find it difficult to come up with suitable structures to finance them. Now, given the fresh optimism in the market, it seems like affordable housing is an idea whose time has come.

diwali decor trends
Accessorise rich this festive season

We are now heading towards the peak of festive season. The first thing that strikes our attention at this point of time is our home’s décor. Well, many get anxious about the ways to change the interiors of their house, but it is not always that tedious. But if you are going to try it for first time, then some small steps can sort out your big challenges. Here’s what a couple of top home designers suggest for you this Diwali.

Dazzle with drapes

Curtains, Blinds and draperies are also one of the most popular and ideal home furnishing items for festive season. They are capable of lending mood and ambience to a room. A change in window and wall drapes can pep up the dullest of rooms. The royal long curtains endow a sense of dignity to the walls of your house. There are various patterns like zari, embroidery, bead embellishments available in the market that makes for a good choice. Soft plain cotton and silk curtains with beads, baubles and similar accessories can revamp your regular dull curtains. The muslin curtains are evergreen. “Bright colours are always the best option for rooms so get in bright glittery furnishings like orange and red to the room. You can also buy net in silver, golden or red color available at reasonable cost and running it on the floor hugging the wall. It adds makes your home bedazzle”, says Monica Kamal, who has her label Siddharth By MKC.

“If you talk about curtains this Diwali, go for earthy and ethnic colours with interesting motifs on them. Solid soothing colours would also give an adventurous look”, says Honey Jolly, Design Head of lifestyle store Home Ettu.

Table-top treat

With most family dinners and parties held in the dining room, it becomes the favourite area to display your best curios and furnishings. Let your dining table become an irresistible place with exclusive table mats, covers, or runners. Apart from adding a trendy charm to your space, it also camouflages any scratches or stains. “Jute mats in vibrant colours are in vogue. They give an exotic look without being heavy on the pocket”, says Kamal. — TNS

Fab fabrics

Fabrics in linen give a new look altogether. Old paintings can be donned in bright lustrous golden or copper frames that would add more years to their charm and grace. Hang these in your living room to earn more complements. The classic wall hangings will do the work too. “You can give your house an ethnic touch by using those rich and sonorous "torans" at the entrance. These torans are believed to bring prosperity and blessings”, adds Jolly.

Trend watch

Combine bold, solid colour curtains with pastel sheer curtains with paisleys or floral motifs on them to create an effect that is just as elegant as it is pretty.

Monika Kamal

Get one prominent wall painted in a bright textured colour to enhance its vivacity. Creative wall art or colourful wallpaper can enhance the overall look of your space. Festive colours like fluorescent green, basic orange and bright yellow will speak volumes about your creative instincts.

honey Jolly

Cushion effect

Honey Jolly, Design Head of lifestyle store Home Ettu says, “ If we talk about accessories like cushions, pillows and bed spreads, these all should celebrate the festive spirit. Change the covers of your cushions and sofa set and go for pastel shades there as it would endow it a cultural look.

“Cushions play the main and most important role in setting up of the mood and the tone of interiors. Their colour, designs and fabrics can completely change the décor of any living space accordingly,” says Monica Kamal, who has her label Siddharth By MKC. She advises to choose from huge floor cushions, bolsters, triangular ones, or just the regular shape if you are not the experimental sorts. Bright colours and a touch of bling will complete the festive look, she adds.

Designs that trap negative energies
Manav Mander

With Diwali just a day away, it is rangoli time. Women of the house are all geared up to create a magic of designs and colours to give their rangoli that distinct look which will actually floor their guests. Rangoli is not meant for mere beautification of the house but also has a religious significance. It is believed to prevent evil from entering the home. Both positive and negative energies are there all around us and can have their effect on our homes as well. The complicated rangoli designs are meant to trap the negativity. The negative energies get entangled in the complexity of the rangoli design and can’t enter the house. Hence rangolis are believed to absorb evil and prevent negativity from harming us. These also remind us to keep thinking positively, so that we can make our lives prosperous.

Traditionally, rangolis were made of rice powder but nowadays a variety of colours are used. Now eco-friendly and indeed human friendly colour-dyed materials are also available in the market these days. The rangoli patterns are usually made with rice powder that has been coloured with dyes. You can get lovely, bright colours to make your designs with. You can even use flower petals, cereals (the orange and yellow-coloured dal), turmeric powder, to lend colour to your rangoli. The flowers commonly used for rangoli are marigold, chrysanthemums, jasmine, etc., whose flowers may be used as borders to outline the design.

Inspired from nature

Rangoli motifs like peacocks, swans, diyas, flowers, creepers, etc are usually inspired from nature. Rangoli designs are symmetrical in nature and geometric in shape. If you want to try out a design of your own, first draw it on a piece of paper and fill in the design with coloured sketch pens to get an idea about how the rangoli will look.

Grab a stencil

Want to make a rangoli pattern this Diwali, but do not know the art? Don’t worry for all those who want to welcome guests with a rangoli at the doorsteps have a solution. All you have to do is buy a rangoli stencil from a nearby shop and the art of making rangoli is simplified. All you have to do is fill in the colours in the gap to get a beautiful and intricate rangoli design. The bigger stencil is priced between Rs 70-75 while the smaller version is available at Rs 40-45.

Ground Realty
Perfect display
Jagvir Goyal.

Gone are the times when a household used to have one TV and the whole family watched it together. These days every member wants to watch his favourite channel and that too in the privacy of his own room. Thus, whenever a new house is constructed provisions are made to accommodate a TV in each bedroom. Conventional bulky TVs have been replaced by LCD and LED televisions these days. LCDs, are thin panels that can be mounted on a base stationed over a table or on the wall. Earlier, these used to be hung on the walls by driving dash fasteners in the walls and fixing the LCD supporting brackets on it. This system had its drawbacks as the wall used to get damaged and any pipe or conduit concealed in it used to get punctured. To overcome this problem, LCD panels are now provided on the walls and LCDs are mounted on these panels.

The basic purpose of providing LCD panels on the walls is to hide all the wires and cables behind them. The cables are now no more restricted to the incoming cable TV cable and the LCD wire. Many types of cables like electric cables, HDMI cables, audio-visual leads, dish cables, home theatre cables are provided these days. All these cables get entangled with one another with the passage of time and look messy and ugly in a room. LCD panels effectively hide all these cables from the sight. The provision for LCD panels is made these days in the bedrooms and in the living room. Size of the LCD panels is decided by keeping in view the size of the LCDs to be hung over them. While bedrooms may have smaller size LCDs of 26 inch or 32 inch, the living room may have a bigger LCD of 42 inch or 51 inch or more. The size of LCD panel should be kept to accommodate big-size LCD in future.

Designs: The architects allow their imagination to run wild while designing LCD panels. Their only requirement is the free space available on the wall and the size of the LCD proposed to be hung on it by the owner. The architect may design from a simple and rectangular LCD panel to a semi circular, polygonal, triangular, diamond shaped or stepped LCD panel with drawers or shelves attached at the bottom.

Fabrication: LCD panels are fabricated out of ¾ inch thick, boiling-water proof ply boards and finished with decorative facings. The ply board, when cut to the required size, is provided with a 2 to 3 inch wide and ¾ inch thick ply board or wood backing all along its periphery at the back. This is done to create hollow space behind the LCD panels. This hollow space between the wall and the LCD panel accommodates the wires and cables in it. Small diameter holes are made in the panel to draw out the shoes of the cable to connect them with the appliances.

Drawer provision: Every LCD panel should accommodate at least one drawer in it. More than one drawer can also be provided. The drawers may not be very deep but should be able to accommodate remote controls of LCD, dish set-top box, DVD, Bluetooth dongle etc. Some handy DVDs etc may also be stored in it. A side cabinet or bottom drawer may be designed to contain DVDs and VCDs.

Shelves & niches: LCD panels essentially have projecting shelves at the bottom to accommodate the DVD player and the set-top box of the DTH dish connection. While a set-top box may be rested on a 6-inch projecting shelf, a DVD player needs a shelf projecting by more than 12 inch, depending upon the size of the DVD player. A common shelf for both the items with drawers at the bottom makes a better arrangement. In addition more shelves can be designed to display some photo frames or artefacts on them. Niches can also be created in the LCD panel to accommodate a vase or a candle stand or any other object of art.

The wires: Provision is made in the latest LCDs and LEDs to receive connection from all types of wires. HDMI input ports are provided in the LCDs to connect a DVD player, a Blu Ray, HD cable box or HD set top box to the LCDs. For this purpose, HDMI cables are used. HDMI cables used should be high-speed cables, tested to carry HD signal up to 1080p for best quality images. DVD player, Blu Ray, HD cable box can also be connected by using the three component (Red, Green and Blue) and two component (Red & White) Audio Video (AV) cables. Then there is a cable coming in from the dish to the set top box. Then there are power cords to connect the LCD, DVD player and set-top box to the power sockets. All these wires are accommodated behind the LCD panel. Care has to be taken to well locate the holes to draw out the wires for their connections to the appliances.

Home theatre system: In case you want to add a home theatre system to a room, you need to plan its addition beforehand. A home theatre system has two front speakers, two rear speakers, a front central speaker and a sub-woofer. Wires are to be run to all these speakers from the main unit and all these wires need to be concealed to avoid a messy look.

— This column is published fortnightly

Decorative finish

The LCD panels can be finished with decorative laminates of suitable shade and finish or with teak plywood. In case teak plywood is used as decorative finish, it has to be given melamine or PU polish according to the owner's preference. When mica or laminate finish is provided, a mind boggling choice of colour and designs is available. However, while choosing the shade and finish of laminates, care should be taken that the LCD panel finish complements the overall finish of the room and adds to its ambience.

Landmark exits Wave’s Ghaziabad township

Dalmia group’s private equity firm Landmark has exited the Ghaziabad township project of Wave group for Rs 350 crore, which is more than three times its initial investment.

Gaurav Dalmia-led Landmark Group, which invests in real estate projects, had put in Rs 111.26 crore in Wave Group’s township project spread over 4,500 acre.

“Landmark has earned 3.15 times on its initial investment,” the company said in a statement. A senior official from Landmark said the fund was invested in 2007 in the township project in the form of equity and the same was bought back by Wave group. A Wave spokesperson declined to comment.

“In the ongoing scenario where private equity investors in real estate are struggling to recoup their investments, this successful exit envisages the payout taking place in six tranches between June 2013 and February 2014,” it said. Landmark has exited two more investments this year. Its investment in the ATS Group resulted in earning of 2.3 times on its investment.

The other exit was from Shipra’s housing project in Ghaziabad, where Landmark has earned 2.10 times its original investment of Rs 50.53 crore in the deal. — Agencies

Price heat maps

Price Heat Maps are now available on the Housing.com website to help people gauge price variations across the city. Colour coded to ensure ease, the map shows localities tainted in a gradation from red to green to indicate high to low prices. Buyers can now simply hover over a locality and find the average price of its houses.

The Price Heat Maps are available for Mumbai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Noida and Ghaziabad. These are available for both services, rent and buy and even allow the users to choose the rate according to the area or the number of rooms. 

realty bites
Poor quality hits retail real estate

The poor quality of retail space, regulatory issues and subdued economic growth are holding back international retailers from expanding their presence in the country, say experts. “There is supply constraint in the market and the next few years are going to be a bit of a challenge. Besides supply constraints, lack of quality retail space is also impacting the overall sentiment in the retail real estate sector,” Anupam Yog, marketing director at Virtuous Retail, which is into mall development, told PTI.

Although several overseas groups took up space in new developments in anticipation of a future supply crunch, a few retailers are cautious as the economic outlook remains subdued, CBRE South Asia said in its report. “International brands had plans to expand their presence here. But now they are adopting a careful approach in smaller cities,” CBRE South Asia retail services head Vivek Kaul said. Though interest for expansion is there, they are not proactive because of the ups and downs in the economy and no clarity on the future, he said, adding, “they are focusing only on top 10 cities now.”

International brands like Swarovski, Jack N Jones, Only, Vero Moda, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Louis Philippe, Puma, Nike, Voi Jeans, Marks & Spencer, and Calvin Klein among others are present in the country today. On the retail space developers, PwC associate director Bhairav Dalal said, “while vacancy levels in some malls, which are not strategically located, are more, a few developers have even shut down. Typically developer would want a particular return from the brand both domestic as well as international.

“If it is not giving the particular result the developer is expecting, then it would tell that retailer to shut shop and go. In such a scenario, local brands are the ones who are surviving,” he added.

Launch pad

AVJ Heights in Greater Noida

NCR-based realty group AVJ has launched multi-storeyed residential project, AVJ Heightss, in Greater Noida. Aimed at the Indian middle and upper-middle class, this new 12-acre project will offer one- to four-BHK apartments on 600 sq ft to 2,400 sq ft area. The price of units will be ~ 21 lakh onwards.

AlphaOne in Merrut

FDI-funded real estate developerAlpha G:Corp announced the launch of its commercial development AlphaOne at Merrut earlier this week. The high-street shopping and lifestyle destination is a Rs 200 crore project spread across three lakh sq ft, comprising a world-class multiplex, an extensive food court, specialty restaurants and hyper-stores.

Approximately 70 per cent of it would be owned and operated by the company. “The lease model implemented for AlphaOneMerrut would utilise the expertise of Alpha G:Corp to provide the required impetus for driving revenue and traffic for everybody involved,” said S.K. Sayal, Director and CEO, Alpha G:Corp.

The construction of the commercial facility is slated to commence by early-2014. The facility will be ready for launch by December 2015. Located on NH-58 connecting Delhi to Haridwar, Mainland Merrut, a mixed-use development of which AlphaOne Merrut is a part, is being developed on 19 acres at a cost of ~500 crore.

Arthah in Ghaziabad

Thapar Builders announced the launch of Arthah — the company’s first 26-storey residential complex in Vaishali, Ghaziabad. The new project has been designed by architectural firm Morphogenesis. Arthah is the first-ever residential venture of Thapar Builders who have previously built commercial projects for business giants like LIC, Tata AIG, Indiabulls, Reebok, McDonalds, Park Balluchi, besides having prominent lawyers and chartered accounts as tenants.

The 103-metres tall building will be the highest residential tower in Vaishali and is among the top 10 tallest buildings in the National Capital Region (NCR). It will have 84 luxury homes and 48 studio apartments. There are a total of 132 luxury residences.

Imperium Green in Goa

Gera Developments launched Gera’s Imperium Green in Goa earlier this week. Located in Mala in Panjim this will be Goa’s first commercial property that to be powered by Greentelligence and utilising numerous green parameters of an eco-friendly building. Speaking on the occasion Rohit Gera, Managing Director, Gera Developments, said, “In the domain of energy savings, the building has been through energy modeling and stimulation to arrive at optimal solar shading, window openings, use of double glazing etc. All these with the use of modern energy-efficient systems like motion-sensor lighting and energy saver lights that will help to reduce the building’s power consumption by 16 per cent. Compared to the base case the annual savings in electricity at Rs 7 per unit works out to Rs 19.5 lakh per annum.”

It will be equipped with its own separate water treatment and sewage treatment plant as well as use fixtures so as to reduce its water requirement from Panjim city by 75 per cent. It will have 58 office spaces and will be ready by 2015.

— Based on information provided by the developers

Royal Court in Neemrana

Trehan Home Developers Pvt. Ltd., has come up with a new project – Royal Court in Neemrana. The group is coming up with an integrated township with high-rise towers comprising one BHK plus study and two BHK apartments at a starting price of Rs 17.25 lakh.