Real Estate Investment Pastures

The best cities for real estate investment currently are all outside of Indian metros. According to a research by JLL the top  5 cities which have great potential with lowest market risk  include Chandigargh, Kochi, Jaipur and Nagpur.(http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/ResearchLevel1/research_india_30_real_estate_opportunities_in_tier_III_cities.pdf) The major drivers here include cost advantages in real estate and labour, affordability and talent pools for IT/ Non-IT businesses.

· Rental price rates in Bangalore have dipped by 20-30% due to fall in demand and the economic turmoil which has led to several job cuts forcing people to look for more affordable options. Rental prices especially have taken a hit in prime properties across localities in Marathalli, Whitefield, Kodihalli etc. This data is also backed from 100floors.com where average rental prices in prime localities like Koramangala, Indiranagar, Airport Road etc have seen at 15 – 18% drop in the rental prices quoted on listings by property owners and agents. For instance, average rental prices quoted by listing owners in the month of November 08 on 100floors.com was around 11,200 Rs/ month. For new rental listings in the same locality added in the month of January 09 this is now around 9,100 Rs/month.

· HNI Indians looking to buy property abroad – due to crash in prices globally. Dubai is the most sought after foreign locale, say brokers familiar with the latest fad. According to Mr. Syed Mazaz, the Mumbai representative of Dubai-based real estate brokerage, Better Homes, property prices in Dubai are comparable to those in Delhi or Mumbai - starting from as low as Rs.3 million ($62,000) for a studio apartment in the International City project in Dubai to Rs.15 million ($309,000) for a two-bedroom luxury apartment facing the sea. Countries such as Singapore, Mauritius, Thailand and Malayasia - where prices have dropped up to 30-40 percent in recent months - are also attracting Indian investors.

· The overall economic situation, job cuts and the general sense of gloom in the market is expected to increase demand for affordable housing. Builders have already taken this cue and there are several affordable housing projects which have already started across cities such as The Commune by Golden Estate in Bangalore, apartments in Navi Mumbai and Pune , Chandigarh by several smaller builders etc all targeting at a price range of anywhere between 15-25 lakhs. Even bigger builders like Purvankara are getting into this space, with Purvankara going to launch a budget housing project next month under their Provident Housing and Infrastructure Limited, (PHIL) brand name.

· Analysis of the demographics of people searching for properties to buy, sell or rent using online portals like 100floors.com and others are mainly found to be around the age group of 25-35 years by our research team. The cities from which this persona comes from are New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. There is a keen interest within this user group to view consolidated data on new projects, best offers and discounts. Builders having taken the cue from this have made most of their projects online enabling users to view amenities, floor plans and specifications of homes within a project and also actively promoting them with other real estate marketplaces like 100floors.com

Hope for home Buyers, Startupdunia

100floors, a Bangalore startup, hopes to provide a real estate marketplace for various Indian cities by offering a complete,easy to use solution to end users, agents, brokers and real estate builders.

Some of their more interesting features:

* Access by web, phone , SMS to buy-sell-rent properties

* Provides a map view mashup to easily identify and locate the area vicinity

* Provides free legal services online or over the phone

* Provides home appraisal services

The startup also has another portal in stealth mode currently. As per them, the combination of 100floors and this undisclosed portal will provide a much better and comprehensive solution to all the stakeholders.

They’ve received an angel funding of ~ $2 million.

As a tech savvy person and possibly an early adopter — do you use real estate portals — if so, how effective have you found them ?