Pragati, Serene tie up for housing project for elderly in Hyderabad

Pragati Group and Serene Retirement Community, part of Covai Property, has announced the launch of Serene Pragati, a speciality villa project that focuses on elderly care. It is proposed to develop 328 affordable and yet luxurious villas about 25 km from Hyderabad but close to the new international airport and the IT hub of the city....

HDFC to consolidate funds in Shapoorji Pallonji realty projects

Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd’s (HDFC’s) private equity fund is withdrawing its investments in five projects of Shapoorji Pallonji and Co Ltd, and instead diverting the money to significantly increase its stakes in two of the group’s residential projects. The five projects are special economic zones (SEZs) and information technology (IT) parks, Mint reported, citing two people familiar with the development....

Realty stocks with telecom exposure take a hit on Street

Shares of real estate companies DB Realty and Unitech tanked on Thursday after the Supreme Court scrapped 122 second-generation (2G) licences granted to companies in 2008. Experts, however, justified these companies' diversification into telecom, one of India's fastest growing sector. Property consultants said the SC order will not impact these realty companies' credit ratings and future options to raise capital as the two businesses were "not overlapping"....

EIH Q3 profit surges 59%

East India Hotels on Thursday posted 59.4% year-on-year rise in the net profit at Rs 45.3 crore from Rs 28.4 crore in the corresponding quarter recording previous year. The growth was on account of better top line of the company and improved operational margins as against the corresponding period....

Customers breathe easy as bank sealing suspended

The Noida authority will on Friday de-seal eight banks that were closed down on Wednesday for operating out of residential premises. It has also suspended its sealing drive against commercial establishments running in non-commercial areas, such as residential and commercial, till March 5....

Evade stamp duty, pay 10-fold fine

Undervaluing property to avoid paying full stamp duty could earn a penalty 10 times that amount. A property owner in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura, who tried to save Rs 29 lakh by this method, will now have to pay a Rs 3.22-crore penalty. That’s not all. An FIR has been registered against him and has been sent to the economic offences wing of the Delhi Police, reports Hindustan Times....

MCG starts process of taking over colonies from builders

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has initiated the process of taking over private colonies from private builders after repeated complaints by the councillors and residents about the pathetic condition of facilities provided by these builders....

No construction allowed in notified Haryana areas

No construction can be carried out in the urban and notified areas of Kurukshetra, Ladwa, Pehowa and Shahabad without permission of the Haryana Town & Country Planning Department, officials said....

Land encroachment on rise in Bengaluru

In just two areas around Bengaluru, realtors have usurped 2,580.02 acres of government land worth over Rs 5,000 crore. In 382 instances, 1,127 persons have fabricated documents and grabbed land with the help of officials....

Malaysia property prices likely to rise in 2012

Prices for residential property in Malaysia are likely to increase over the coming 12 month believe the country’s leading developers, according to a report from the Real Estate Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA)....

Singapore’s cooling measures show effect

Although the private property’s price index in Singapore recorded a new high of 205.7, the 0.2 per cent growth is the lowest percentage increase per quarter since the financial crisis of 2008, PropNet has revealed....

Australia beats US, Singapore as ideal home for expats

Australia beat out the United States and Singapore to take top place among expatriates as an ideal residence for quality of life and career prospects, according to a new international survey....

Blackstone to launch another fund targeting European real estate

Blackstone will launch another global real estate fund targeting European assets in 2012, according to perenews.com, which quotes Tony James, the firm's president and chief operating officer, as saying the company has been waiting for European Banks to start selling assets....

Kolkata’s Concast Group ropes in Shah Rukh as brand ambassador

Kolkata-based Concast Group with interests in steel, TMT bars, cement, real estate and infrastructure has roped in Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan as the brand ambassador for its TMT steel bars under a two-year contract....

Highway developers seek escape route from dividend distribution tax

Changes in rules that would prevent the cascading effect of dividend distribution tax (DDT) is one of the key demands of highway developers from the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in the Budget for this year. This has been one of the long standing demands of highways developers as well as infrastructure companies....

Amusement parks industry seeks social infrastructure status

The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries seek Government support to resolve issues such as high, multiple and differential taxation at State-level, funding and land requirements. The growth of amusement parks will help improving the flow of tourists, which will result in increased tax revenues to the State Government concerned....

Ambuja Cements sales up 4% to 2 million tonne in January

Ambuja Cements reported a little over 4 per cent rise in January sales at 1.91 million tonne over the same month last year. The company had sold 1.84 million tonne cement in January last year, Ambuja Cements said in a statement....