Housing Development Finance Corporation HDFC, India largest mortgage financier, today increased its retail prime lending rate PLR by 50 basis points bps to 14.25 per cent. This is the first time HDFC is increasing its PLR in two years.

According to a senior HDFC official, 75 per cent of the mortgage financier’s lending is done at floating rates. Our costs of funds have gone up and we have to maintain spreads and profitability. Our rate hike comes after many banks active in home lending have raised rates. The increase is unlikely to impact the pace of home loan growth, the official said.

For HDFC, the spread on loans over the cost of borrowings for the quarter ended June stood at 2.34 per cent compared to 2.31 per cent for the year ended March 31, the executive added....

Aditya Birla Group, promoted Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail today said it will set up its high-end luxury stores The Collective in three new cities next year, besides expanding in the existing locations. The company currently operates two stores, one each in Mumbai and Bangalore that sell high-end luxury apparel and accessories from brands across the world under The Collective banner.

We are opening the third store in Delhi on Sunday and the plan is to explore opportunities in Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad by next year. We will also look at opening more stores in Mumbai and Delhi, MGLRC Chief Operating Officer Ram Iyer told PTI. Iyer, however, did not specify the total number of stores the company is planning to set up in 2011 saying that talks were currently on with the real estate developers. The company is likely to make an investment of about RS 40 crore in next year. One store entails an investment of Rs 8 crore, Iyer said without specifying the total investment planned.

According to Iyer, the luxury retail market in India is picking up well and strong economic indicators in the country promise healthy growth of the sector. Despite the downturn in the last two years, the existing two stores owned by the company have already reached a break- even point. The Bangalore store that was launched in October 2008 registered a 35 per cent increase in turnover, while the one in Mumbai launched last year is also registering strong growth, Iyer said without disclosing the revenue figures....

Value and Budget Housing Corporation VBHC has launched its first project in Bangalore -Vaibhava. The project will offer apartments with a price between Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The project, located on Chandapura-Anekal road, will comprise 1,900 flats which will be built in 3 phases across 16.1 acres.

At Vaibhava, VBHC claims it is deploying advanced construction methods that will ensure high quality while keeping costs under control. The company believes this will help in delivering on its promise of handing over the allotted apartments in 12 months.

The Housing Development Finance Corporation HDFC has taken an equity stake in VBHC. VBHC plans to build over 1 million houses across the country in the next 10 years and is already working on its upcoming projects in Chennai, Hyderabad and the NCR....

Godrej Properties, the real estate arm of the $2.6 billion Godrej group, is tweaking its business model of developing properties for outright sale to developing projects that it will own, manage and lease. The model is similar to the one adopted by DLF for its commercial developments in Gurgaon where it builds office buildings and leases them out to marquee clients earning a steady stream of income.

We are planning to construct three high-quality office space buildings aggregating to around 1.5-2 million sq ft in phase one, of the 36.5 acres plot of land in Vikhroli, Mumbai owned by our group firms. We will hold these as part of our portfolio for lease rather than sale because we believe we are at the early stages of something whose value will increase quite a bit over a period of time, a Godrej family member told FC Build.

The office buildings will also have a retail component at the base of all the buildings. The total retail space to be developed across phases could thus range between 4 -5 lakh sq ft, the Godrej family member added....

Nitesh Estates has announced the launch of its Rs 200-crore South Bangalore condominium project Nitesh Caesar Palace located on Kanakapura Main Road. The project would develop 516 apartments on about 4.5 acres, and would also include 30,000-sq-ft retail space, said a company press release.

Some of the amenities that the project would have include a fitness centre, indoor squash court, covered swimming pool, dribble court, meditation centre in the clubhouse along with its entertainment lounge and indoor games room. There will also be provision for a creche, Laundromat, etc.
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