Real estate market overview – North India

The real estate market in North India collectively has been seeing an upward trend. Though Delhi is experiencing a slowdown in the real estate market, its peripheral regions are in huge demand. Tier II cities around Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) like Chandigarh have seen steady growth in the realty sector owing to the expanding NCR. Earlier restricted to Gurgaon and Noida the real estate market has now moved along other districts of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

NCR now covers 13 districts of Haryana with recent additions of Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Jind and Karnal. It has also included Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. The NCRPB (National Capital Region Planning Board) has also identified Jaipur as a Counter Magnet Area.

Experts suggest that Mahendragarh (135 kms from Delhi) and Bhiwani (114 kms from Delhi) in Haryana and Bharatpur (220 kms from Delhi) in Rajasthan will see a 15% increase in property prices in the next 4 years.

Residential properties at one of the latest additions to NCR, Bharatpur is selling at INR 1500 per sq. ft. and the industrial plots are selling at INR 200 per sq. ft. Reports also suggest that the growing retail and financial sector in Bhiwani and Mahendragarh (Haryana) is helping real estate by creating opportunities.

Bhiwadi in Rajasthan has shown signs of fast development with well known builders like Avalon, Omaxe, and Ashiana developing townships in the area. Bhiwadi has been one of the fastest growing regions lately. Bhiwadi also boasts of rapid infrastructure development after the automobile giant Honda opened a production plant creating 10,000 jobs in the region.

According to the National Housing Bank (NHB) Residex, the real estate prices have shown a marginal rise in Q2 of 2013-2014 with Faridabad at 0.99% and Chandigarh at 0.53%.

Inversely a few areas have also seen a downfall in the prices with Meerut at a sharp decline of 6.88%, followed by Delhi, 4.53%; Ludhiana, 4.46% and Jaipur at 1.82%. Real estate prices at Dehradun were stagnant.

Developers have now moved to smaller towns because construction cost and approvals are becoming a huge hassle in areas like Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida real estate market. Also the economic slowdown is the metros have resulted in a lack of interest by the end users.

Recent reports also suggest that there is a strong demand for housing loans from the peripheral NCR region for the mid-segment properties.

The NCRPB provides soft loans to developers to the extent of 75 percent for infrastructure projects in NCR. Reports suggest that the board has already provided financial assistance to 277 projects worth INR 18,994 crores upto March 2013. In the Haryana sub-region of NCR, 106 projects have already been completed with an estimated cost of INR 4,683 crore apart from the 76 ongoing projects at an estimated cost of INR 9,238 crore with the financial assistance of NCRPB. The Haryana sub region has shown immense potential and growth in the region.

Gurgaon on the other had has shown exponential growth of 293 % in the past decade, the highest in the NCR region. Gurgaon and Noida remain a favourable real estate option for many with MNCs, corporate establishments and a range of retail units to cater to the growing population creating a steady demand for properties for sale in Delhi NCR. Luxury and mid-segment housing show high demand in this region. Though stagnant in the beginning of 2014, report suggests that the real estate market will pick up pace by the end of 2014.

Greater Noida is an educational and industrial hub showing great potential. The real estate prices have seen a reasonable amount of increase with the development of Buddh International Circuit and Yamuna Expressway. The Noida Expressway region, therefore offers a high price range of ready-to-move-in-units in 2014. Greater Noida properties seem to show a steady growth in prices.

Southern parts of Gurgaon offer a range of luxury apartments while the Golf Course Road and surrounding areas are a well-established real estate segment. Investment along the Dwarka Expressway is said be profitable as a long term investment option with all major builders developing projects in the region.

Ghaziabad still retains its position as a budget housing investment haven. Here the property prices are low compared to Gurgaon and Noida and is therefore a reasonable investment choice for many. Also, quite a few projects are under construction in the Rajnagar Extension area and along the National Highway 24.

Lucknow and Patna show a balanced real estate growth across all sectors; however Faridabad has shown a lot of promise owing to its proximity to Delhi and Gurgaon. The upcoming metro link and lower property value has attracted a lot of end users to this part of NCR. Faridabad’s Neharpar has emerged as a reasonably priced housing locality. Properties in Neharpar, also known as Greater Faridabad will turn out to be a great investment option.

– See more at: http://blog.indiaproperty.com/real-estate-market-overview-north-india/#sthash.zbemUZ3x.dpuf

Increasing demand for residential real estate in Chandigarh

Increasing demand for residential real estate in Chandigarh

 

Chandigarh in north India is the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. While traditionally considered to be a tier II city, in recent times Chandigarh has become a hot destination for the IT and ITES sectors, with many companies setting up their base in this city. The city’s reputation as an upcoming IT hub was further cemented with the establishment of the IT Park at Mohali, the prestigious Chandigarh Technology Park (CTP) at Manimajra and the Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park that houses many companies like Infosys, Net Solutions, IBM Daksh and FCS Software Solutions Ltd.

Additionally the Punjab government has given the green signal for the metro rail covering Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. This will greatly improve connectivity in the city.

While the past few months have seen a stagnation in the realty market in Chandigarh, the multi-fold infrastructural developments, planned localities and upcoming IT parks are today driving property values with a special demand for plots in Chandigarh.

For those looking to invest in apartments in Chandigarh, the areas of Mohali, Greater Mohali and Zirakpur which are close to IT industries have seen a great demand for flats from professionals flowing in from these cities. These flats are mostly concentrated in the affordable segment than the premium ones. New projects being launched are within the price range of INR 2100 – 4000 per sq. ft. Few of the ongoing projects in this segment include Nirvana Greens, Tuscan Residency, Sandwoods Opulencia, and D homes among many others.

Independent homes and luxury villas are the other growing segments in the residential market in Chandigarh, with many luxury homes veering above the one crore mark. These luxury villas in Chandigarh located in the newly developed New Chandigarh residential suburb (Mulanpur), on the outskirts of the city can be easily compared to the best luxury homes in any other tier I city in the country. They offer prospective homeowners a host of ultra modern facilities like landscaped gardens, round the clock security, power back-up, club houses etc. Mulberry villas by Omaxe, and Ireo Hamlet are some of the prominent luxury projects in Chandigarh. Another project that is receiving a lot of consumer interest is the Hyde Park Estate by DLF – Chandigarh’s first residential development and self-contained luxury township that is spread over 200 acres.

In addition to this, many more constructions are coming up in different areas of the city. Riding high on the upcoming infrastructural developments and with an increasing demand from IT professionals in the city, the residential property market of Chandigarh is only expected to grow in the future.

Lakshmi Datta Arun for IndiaProperty.com

 

The Hot Locations Roundup – Chandigarh

The Hot Locations Roundup – Chandigarh

Chandigarh, ranked as the hottest emerging city on five key parameters such as real estate, business development etc has become a hub for property builders and developers across the country. Owning the credit of being the first planned city of India, Chandigarh is identified as the top ranking city for potential real estate growth in the market with its rich physical infrastructure and business environment. Property investment in such a promising city will turn out to be an excellent prospect for all the buyers. Here is a list of some of the Hot Locations in Chandigarh to help you out in the home buying process

Panchkula

Panchkula, a planned city in the Panchkula district gets its name from the five irrigation canals located here. It is surrounded by Himachal Pradesh in the north, Ambala district in the south, Punjab to its east and Union Territory of Chandigarh in the west. Pinjore, Barwala, Panchkula, Rajpur Rani and Kalka are the 5 towns in the Panchkula district and it shares its borders with Chandigarh, Solan, Mohali and Ambala districts. Morni, the only hill station in Haryana comes under Panchkula and the entire disrtict holds 42.54% of forest cover, which is the highest in the state.

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This township is divided into 3 phases. Sectors 1 to 19, basically an industrial area takes the form of a large triangle, with railway line on one side and Zirakpur Kalka road on the other side of the triangle. This part of the district centers the most prime and well-developed sectors. Sectors 20 to 30, developing to be the modern Panchkula extends its arms to some parts of the Zirakpur Kalka road and either side of the banks of Ghaggar. Phase 3 is the newly proposed project whose sectors extends beyond Ramgarh to the eastern wing of the existing sectors.

Panchkula is apt to be called a hot location with its share of institutions, colleges, schools, hospitals, tourist destinations, theaters, hotels, shopping malls and more in its close vicinity. With rapid real estate developments, this is one of the ideal places to buy a property in Chandigarh.

Zirakpur

Zirakpur, located in the foothills of the Shivalik range is surrounded by Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali city from all sides. With the venture of IT Parks in Chandigarh, real estate demands have increased in this area. Leading property developers foresee Zirakpur as a potential central attraction for the city and hence are coming up with world class projects such as Krishna Enclave, Royal Estate and many others.

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Zirakpur is witnessing rapid commercial and residential developments on Ambala road with malls, hotels, housing projects and lots others. Zirakpur has good many numbers of air-conditioned and non air-conditioned local buses running through the city, connecting it with Panchkula, Chandigarh and other major parts of the city.  It is located on the Patiala-Shimla highway and the Ambala-Chandigarh highway and a proposed plan to increase the commuting facilities to other states and cities is in the pipeline. The nearest airport is located in Chandigarh, which is just 5 km from Zirakpur.

On a finishing note, Zirakpur is growing to be one of the most promising residential localities of Chandigarh, catering to all the amenities and then some with its rich and developing projects. If you are planning to buy a property in Chandigarh, then this is one area that is definitely worth looking into.

Mohali

Mohali, earlier a part of the Rupnagar district has now developed into a separate district and comes under the jurisdiction of the Punjab state. Mohali is a part of Chandigarh Tricity along with Panchkula and Chandigarh, with only the boundary of Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh dividing the area. When originally Mohali was conceived it was just an extension road without any unique planning. Now Mohali is targeted as a rich investment opportunity by leading Outsourcing IT companies and Multinational Corporations.

Quark City, a 51 acre Special Economic Zone project is situated in the district of Mohali. This multi-use development area is complete with a residential complex and is coming up with every conceivable urban amenity in its close call. 25,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs are expected to be generated out of this project. Another attraction to Mohali is the world known cricket stadium developed by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), which draws international fan crowd throughout the year.

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Mohali is one of the most hot and happening cities of Chandigarh, booming with developments each passing day. Growth in the real estate sector has been spectacular in the recent years and is expected to be on the increasing graph in the coming years.

Micromax Canvas Juice 2 Is A Budget Phone With A Big Battery, Android 5.0

Micromax Canvas Juice 2 Is A Budget Phone With A Big Battery, Android 5.0

 

Micromax is one company that had given us the first smartphone with 30-day battery backup in the days of feature phones and looks like the company is still committed to delivering phones with long battery life. Not so long ago, Micromax had come out with its Juice handset to cater to this market and now it is taking the proposition to the next level with the sequel of that phone.

The smartphone is called Micromax Canvas Juice2 and it comes with a 3,000mAh battery. The company claims that this smartphone will deliver talktime of 9 hours and a standby time of more than 18 days.

The smartphone comes with a metallic finish, and comes equipped with 5-inch HD (1280*720) display. Powered by a 1.3GHz Quad core processor, the Micromax Canvas Juice 2 has 2GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 32GB. It runs on Android Lollipop 5.0.

Sporting an 8MP AF rear camera and a 2MP FF front camera, the smartphone will be available in the market starting today and can be picked up in Fawn metallic color. The Micromax Canvas Juice 2 is priced at Rs 8,999 and is available across online and offline stores.

WhatsApp Voice Calling Feature Spotted On IPhones

WhatsApp Voice Calling Feature Spotted On IPhones

There has been enough talk about the WhatsApp voice calling feature on Android. A new leak has revealed that this VoIP based calling feature could be making its way to the iOS version of the app as well. It was previously believed that WhatsApp calling was limited to Android devices, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
It is said that users can access this feature by pressing the dial button right next to a contact. However, this is still in beta, so it might not make its way to the full version of the app anytime soon.
The feature is being spotted on 2.11.17.444 version of the app as of now. But we can’t be sure if all users with this version number will be able to make use of this feature right away.
Unlike Android, Apple doesn’t allow manual side loading of apps, so users will have to wait until WhatsApp officially brings the feature to their devices.
WhatsApp voice calling allows users to converse with their contacts more seamlessly rather than limiting themselves to short voice messages or texts. The UI is pretty simple with the ability to switch between voice calls and chat menus conveniently.
The addition of this feature might have a substantial impact on the likes of Viber, Skype etc which are currently some of the best VoIP apps available out there.
We’re guessing WhatsApp voice calling should work across platforms, so its functionality will probably not be limited to just Android and iOS.

So could there be a Windows Phone version of this feature? It’s hard to tell at the moment, but the WhatsApp application on the Windows Phone platform needs a lot of other upgrades and improvements before getting something like VoIP calling. [