The Reserve Bank noted that residential property prices are on a northward spiral in most of the major cities, especially in Delhi and Bangalore, while in Mumbai it seems to have reached a plateau.

According to the Macroeconomic and monetary developments second quarter review by the RBI, which was released today ahead of the busy season credit policy tomorrow, while prices in Mumbai in the last three quarters have been showing moderate growth, in Delhi, prices have been growing at a faster rate, which it thinks was partly due to the activities in relation to the recent Commonwealth Games.

On the other hand, the report noted that the number of transactions in Mumbai, which had registered a sharp rise in Q3 last fiscal, seems to have reached a plateau. But housing prices in Bangalore, which were almost flat for the past 18 months, are showing some signs of increase.

On the financial markets front, the RBI noted that growing risk perceptions and uncertainty in global markets have impacted domestic markets through two different channels - pressure for appreciation of the rupee and rise in equity prices due to sharp rise in portfolio flows.

Despite global market uncertainties, domestic markets functioned normally, with stable volumes and lower volatility. Transmission of higher policy rates were visible in higher issuances of corporate debts, commercial papers as also higher yields on treasury bonds and Gilts and even in deposit rates.

Lending rates have also started to move up, with a lag. In the base rate environment, there have been signs of corporates increasing their dependence on the CP market. Banks have also used the CD route to mobilise bulk deposits, the RBI noted.
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Bringing prudence in lending to home borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India RBI today increased provisioning for teaser loan rates by 160 basis points, from 0.4 per cent to 2 per cent.

For the first time, the central bank has sought to curb excessive leveraging by setting a loan-to-value LTV ratio of 80 per cent. This implies that banks can lend only up to 80 per cent of the property value, with the remaining 20 per cent to be paid upfront by the borrower.

In addition, the risk weight for residential housing loans of Rs 75 lakh and above has been hiked from 100 basis points to 125 basis points, irrespective of the LTV ratio....

The lucrative and fast growing affordable housing segment has attracted the attention of upscale Lemon Tree Hotels, which is looking to leverage its brand in the real estate segment. The company would spin a new entity for the realty venture to be called Lemon Tree Residences to focus on developing a million square feet of residential accommodation in Delhi NCR, particularly Gurgaon. The promoters propose to offload up to 70 to 74 per cent equity in the realty venture to private equity players.

Lemon Tree Hotels, promoted by Patu Keswani, has Warburg Pincus, Kotak Realty Fund, and Shinesi Bank as its investors. Warburg has invested Rs 210 crore while Kotak Realty Fund and Shinsei Bank have jointly invested $30 million in the hotel chain. Warburg Pincus invested Rs 70 crore separately in the company budget hotel chain Red Fox hotels.

We have identified three possible sites in Gurgaon, where we will be looking to invest Rs 100-130 crore for acquiring an asset for developing apartments priced at Rs 30-80 lakh, said chairman and managing director of Lemon Tree Hotels, Patu Keswani. The objective is to price their product at 20 per cent less than the prevailing market rate, he added....

CCI projects CCP, an associate company of Cable Corporation of India CCI, has announced the launch of the second phase of Rivali Park at Borivali West, Mumbai. The phase follows the company first real estate foray in June this year.

The apartments for phase 1B opened with an introductory price of Rs 8,500 per sq ft. Harjith Bubber, CEO and MD, CCI Projects, claimed that the first phase saw an overwhelming response, with customers appreciating the green designs and the healthy living features that they included in the project.

We are now delighted to launch the second phase of this premium project and are looking forward to a similar response. The company flagship project, Rivali Park, spans an area of 22 acres of land in the Mumbai suburb of Borivali East. It is situated off the Western Express Highway, minutes away from Borivali railway station, with all facilities such as schools, hotels and shopping centres in close proximity....

After phase I and phase II of Crescent Parc Royal Greens, Sare-India has announced the launch of third phase as Crescent Parc – Green Parc at Sector 92, Gurgaon. The scheme offers 3 and 4 BHK units in sizes ranging from 1,180 sq ft to 1,900 sq ft and price starting at Rs 23.56 lakh.

Vineet Relia, chief operating officer, Sare India, said, we kept in mind the feedback from our old and prospective customers to make this new venture unique in many respects.

The meticulous designing and unmatchable features take Green Parc a step towards realising a vision of achieving excellence in design, quality and service. The project is destined to change the way of life in Gurgaon and create benchmarks in the national capital region....