RE:why no
by ABC on Apr 10, 2008 10:48 AM Permalink
Speculation has it that builders are shoring up property values by calculated leaks of a few freak, big-ticket deals. Last November, Citibank sold a flat in NCPA Apartments on the Marine Drive waterfront for Rs 34 crore, that is at a rate of over Rs 97,000 a sq ft. The deal created a buzz in the property market and helped jack up prices further in south Mumbai. Many of these purchases involve those in the realty business themselves.
Sameer Gehlaut, executive director of Indiabulls, is believed to have pulled off a purchase of an apartment in developer Suresh Raheja%u2019s famed Chattan Bungalow project on Malabar Hill for a price close to Rs1 lakh a sq. ft.
Two years earlier, another Indiabulls director, Gagan Banga, bought a flat in Cuffe Parade%u2019s Maker Towers B from Citibank for Rs7.2 crore, a rate of Rs 37,500 a sq. ft.
Money from abroad, increased disposable incomes, huge upgrades in salaries over the past few years, a bullish stock market (until recently) and a continuous flow of migrants have contributed to the upward trend in commercial and residential real estate prices, says a real-estate investment analyst.
But the trend may be changing, says Mahesh, a broker from Sion. %u201CI know of someone who till some months ago refused to sell his flat for less than Rs65 lakh. Recently, he sold out for Rs55 lakh.%u201D
