» BPTP bags largest land deal for Rs 5006 cr
Delhi-based real estate firm BPTP bagged the country's largest land deal worth Rs 5,006 crore. In a fiercely fought bidding war, BPTP beat DLF to win the 95-acre plot in Noida's sector 94. The consortium comprising BPTP and its three subsidiaries offered 1,30,207 Rs/ sq mts, compared to DLF's 1,17,000 Rs/ sq mts and Omaxe's Rs 80,000 Rs/ sq mts.

» Vishal Retail to enter real estate sector
Vishal’s realty venture would be launched either in the second half of the current year or early next year. The company is also planning to acquire 1 crore sq ft area in next three years which would partly be used for expanding the retail businesses and rest for real estate purposes.

» Alok forms real estate venture
Textile firm Alok Industries Ltd has taken a 50% stake in Ashford Infotech for the joint development of real estate projects. It has acquired the stake through wholly owned subsidiary Alok Infrastructure. The venture has already purchased a land bank of around 6.92 acres for around Rs 1.30billion as its first property development.

» Omaxe receives NOC for project in Punjab
The real estate company has got No Objection Certificate from Punjab Pollution Control Board for Omaxe Greens, which towers over an area of 16.5 acres in Derabassi. Omaxe Greens is a modern residential complex consisting of 600 spacious apartments in ten majestic towers.

» Navi Mumbai SEZ in troubled waters (MAHARASTHRA)
The Mukesh Ambani-controlled Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd has been charged with indulging in illegal land-filling activity by the tehsildar of the Panvel taluka. Navi Mumbai SEZ is developing a Special Economic Zone over 2,000 hectares in association with CIDCO.

» Mega township for low-income group coming up near Mumbai
Matheran Realty announced that it will build an integrated township at Karjat, about 100 km from Mumbai, for people with low income. The flats will be of sizes of 300 to 500 sq ft and priced at 999 Rs/ sq ft.

» Kolkata’s civic body to lease out more plots (WEST BENGAL)
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has cleared the decks to lease out two more plots to hotel companies. Both plots are on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass - a 21-km road that connects the airport with the city. Three new five-star hotels are already being built along this road, and two, run by ITC Ltd and Hyatt Corporation, are in operation.

» Ahmedabad heads for housing crisis (GUJRAT)
In all the upcoming projects like GIFT and special economic zones (SEZs) that promise to create thousands of jobs, there is a missing caveat. While the state government is developing mega projects for the mega city, not many realise the other repercussions on Ahmedabad’s real estate. If experts are to be believed, the city is going to face an acute shortage of residential properties in the coming years.

» Buyers defer home plans on market fall
The overall negative sentiment in the stock market has deterred many buyers in the residential property market. Many were looking at funding their initial down payment or taking a smaller home loan by divesting their holdings in the markets, but now they are being forced to look for alternative sources of funding.

» Chandigarh sees boom in hospitality
Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia Pacific recently announced its plan to set up a hotel at Zirakpur, it is an indication as to how the city has caught the fancy of the hospitality sector that is willing to expand itself in and around Chandigarh.

» SC gives green signal to 3rd floor
The Supreme Court okayed the construction of third-floor dwelling units on residential plots in Delhi, a move that could bring cheer to nearly 50 lakh Delhiites crammed for space in their small houses. Earlier, the landlords could only build two floors and a room atop it without a kitchen so as to prevent the house owner from using or renting it out as a full-fledged dwelling unit. Now, owners of such residential houses can construct a full-fledged dwelling unit.